Tokyo Tells Large Buildings to Cut CO2 Emissions. Now, Beijing is banning high-emission vehicles. For whatever reason these kinds of things remind me of a ceasefire in a war. If they can stop now, or for a while, why can’t they stop for good? Yellow vehicles are those with, surprise, a yellow sticker on them for not being able to meet Euro I emission standards.

“All yellow-labeled vehicles, most of which are freight trucks, will be banned from roads in Beijing from July 1 to Sept 20,” says Beijing’s environmental protection bureau.

Yesterday Beijing announced that government vehicle usage must be halved…all of this in the run up to the Olympics. So, are the Olympics more important than the planet’s long term livelihood? Seriously, if these kinds of measures can be taken temporarily, why not permanently? Beijing was able to meet its goal of 246 blue-sky days last year. I think we had about 365 such days here in the Valley. (Eating your heart out Beijing?) Seriously, Beijing is to be credited for taking action.

Most yellow-tagged vehicles run through Beijing at night. Think freight trucks. Not surprisingly, Beijing measures 20% more pollutants in the air at night than in the daytime. From 9pm to 4am to be precise. In order to catch the perpetrators, Beijing will patrol 22 laser remote sensing cars to check emissions. How cool is that? It takes about 0.7 seconds to determine emission levels of vehicles. Go Beijing!

Now, where can I get me one of those laser thingees?

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Beijing is getting serious about clean air during the Olympics. The city has removed one half of all government vehicles from the streets of Beijing. The move eases congestion, reduces emissions and saves resources for a greener Olympics, which start 8-8-08. “The government wants to take the lead in guaranteeing smooth transport during the Games,” said a transport official.

The move is more aggressive than an initial plan to ban just 30% of all government cars starting on July 1st. Happy, of course, are the Beijing cabbies. Business is good and traffic is far less congested as they haul around their fares. Beginning on July 20th, Beijing will ban 70% of all government vehicles until September 20th. Altogether, some 210,000 vehicles are expected to be sitting in garages. That number is in addition to the half of 3.3 million cars that will be parked on 0dd-even days. The 12 million commuters in the city can expect some 4 million more to crowd onto buses and other public service vehicles. To meet this demand, some 2000 buses and three new metro lines will be added or extend their operating hours. A 4-day trial period last year showed that it works.

Now, if the city really wanted to save money and do something about hot air, they would try to reduce the number of people that create congestion in the government bureaucracy by 70%, too. And, if that works, help us out here in the U.S. please.

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Al Gore, aka, Captain Planet scores no points for coming to the Obama camp AFTER Barack secures the nomination. What’s up with that? Seriously.

“Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges” including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy, and solving the climate crisis“, Al Gore said. “Barack Obama is clearly the candidate best able to solve these problems and bring change to America.”

And Obama replied : “Where were you when I needed you? Where were you when I was in a dog fight with Hillary to win this nomination? Why now?”

Of course, we know why it took Gore so long to choose a candidate. He wanted to be sure he chose a winner. Gore has a rock-star like following in many parts, but will probably won’t score any points for coming forward after the battle which has already been fought.

[Source: SF Gate]

On a lot of levels, this doesn’t make sense to me and probably you either, but South Korean truck drivers parked their trucks and let them idle away the fuel. They don’t seem to have any more sense about this than their European counterparts but anyway, who’s asking us?The truckers who want lower diesel fuel costs, higher fees for hauling freight and a standardized pricing system, were protesting the Korean government’s policy package dealing with record-breaking crude oil prices.

Let’s see, they want us to give them cheaper fuel, pay them more to haul it and give them a higher wage or, they’ll just paralyze the nation.

In 2003 South Korean truckers went on strike costing the nation some $540 million. This time they got a promise that the government is going to spend $9.77 billion over the next year to deal with these high prices.

In the end, who paid for that? People who went shopping to buy the food and other items they haul. People like you or me!

The dude who helped co-draft China’s national energy strategy, Song Yanqin, participated at Asia Clean Energy Forum 2008 and said that “food security comes first in China, more important than fuel”. He went on to explain that China has no plan to sacrifice food for fuel. Biofuels can find another source, dang it. China is hungry. We want to eat first, then think about energy sources and all that.

The debate is indeed far from over as to the effects of using maize, palm oil, sugarcane and jatropha to produce biofuels or what the effect would be on food prices.

One U.S. designer of high-tech alcohol plants said that “food versus fuel is 99-percent noise. Do your homework and get a noise filter. Time magazine is not your key reference document”. Does that mean that main stream media is not the authority on this topic? What about us bloggers?

In any event, China plans to have dinner, then think about it.

What’s your stance on the biofuel vs food price increase issue?

Image by stelzert

Saudi Arabia is calling for a summit between oil producing countries and consumer states, where the main topic going to be, soaring energy prices. The Saudis promised that along with OPEC they will “guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future”.

Gosh, thanks fellows. You will keep gouging the rest of the world as long as they will pay for it, right? How kind of you.

The kingdom also promised there will be no “unwarranted and unnatural oil price hikes that could affect international economies, especially those of developing countries”. Exactly how not-affected are these developing countries when oil hits record price of $139 per barrel? Do we look stupid, that’s why you’re making fun of us?

One more thing the Saudi minister said “there is no justification for the current rise in prices”, but they still make a killing off the rest of it.

I know how to solve the high oil prices. Stop buying the stuff!!

The reason we get charged so much is because people will pay for it. It’s the market laws that says when the demand is high prices soar so better stop buying it and the price will probably go down. However, the best way would be to use alternative power sources. If OPEC realizes we do NOT need them, they’ll come around.

That’s what GreenPacks is all about - there are other ways.

Original image by anachronist

The world’s speed and nuclear power do not belong in the same sentence, but sure enough China is doing its darnedest to build as many nuclear power plants as it can, using OLD technology. Their target is 4 new generators each year, through 2015.

However, the nuclear plants are going to be just a partial answer for its mounting pollution, energy security problems and the fast growing electricity use, because they will not be able to provide more than 5 percent of its power. Is coal still an option for them? Did they never hear of wind or solar power?

China’s nuclear power companies want to export that ability and technology overseas and the biggest problem would be a huge push to expand the country’s reliance on nuclear power domestically.

Nuclear power is an alternative if it is managed correctly, and when it does go wrong, it goes seriously wrong. But, who manages it correctly?

Yeah, I get the idea about saving the animals, going green, being eco-friendly, going on strike, protesting naked, all those things, after all that’s the idea behind GreenPacks.

Call it a peace treaty, a temporary armistice, a break in the action, down time, chill time … whatever.

India and Pakistan are playing each other in cricket.

There are bats, bowlers, wickets, pitches, strikers and non-strikers, runs, fielders, outs and tea.

The match can go on for three days and nobody will win and still everyone will go home happy … unless, of course, somebody does win.

If India beats Pakistan or Pakistan beats India in this second most popular sport in the world (football/soccer is number one) then the world falls on the brink of nuclear destruction. These countries take their cricket matches seriously. And all the world worries even after the score is published - Who won?

For now -

India won the toss and opted to bat (is it an option to not bat?) against Pakistan in the second match of the triangular (I thought the field was oval shaped) one-day series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.

India have included uncapped (as opposed to the guys who wear caps?) batsman Yusuf Pathan in the team for their first match of the tournament. (I thought it was the second match. I’m confused.)

Pakistan has made one change to the squad that beat hosts Bangladesh by 70 runs in the opening match on Sunday, with all-rounder Rao Iftikhar replacing Fawad Alam.

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Barack Obama will be the democratic presidential candidate. Yeah, yeah, the first black American to have a major party’s backing for president.

Black, white…what we really need to know is whether or not Barack Obama is green? And what shade?

It reminds me of an old not so funny story.

A bus driver during the fight for civil rights days was hauling some kids, black and white. The kids started fighting. Suddenly the bus driver got mad, stopped the bus and told them all to get off the bus.

He lectured them - “You all are not black and white. Stop fighting. From now on, all of you should think that you are green. You got it?”

The kids smiled at each other and at the bus driver and nodded their heads.

The bus driver then said, “Now get back on the bus. I want the dark green in the back and the light green in the front.”

I don’t wonder what color green Obama is. I wonder what he will do with that fist when it comes to punching green. We may find out soon enough.

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Not sure what you will think but the pre-historic family we all know, The Flintstones, got arrested in Brussels, Belgium, while driving towards the European Parliament building.

It wasn’t Fred or Wilma to get the penalty, but six Greenpeace activists dressed as cavemen driving the “Flintstone car”, that protested on the influence of the auto industry on proposals to curb carbon dioxide emissions from car. This week the European Parliament will start debating on the legislation that forces down CO2 emissions from cars, with fines on manufacturers that fail to comply.

“Our activists and their zero-emission vehicle are raising the alarm about the influence this dinosaur industry exercises over EU climate policy,” said Greenpeace transport campaigner, Melanie Francis.

Not sure about you but I remember the pedal powered ‘Flintstone car’ driver that got his traffic ticket dismissed, so I hope nothing happens to these six well-intended cavemen.