Transportation

As gas costs climb, driving dwindles

Gasoline prices this week reached a new record average of $4.02 per gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Two-thirds of Americans have already changed how much they drive due to high prices at the pump, according to a poll commissioned by Access America Travel Insurance and Assistance.

Seventy-four percent of those polled said they would drive less, once gas hits $4 per gallon. Eighty-five percent said $5 costs per gallon would motivate driving changes.

The median price to spark a shift in driving habits was $3.20 per gallon, which was near the average several months ago. … Read more

Propane: the 'other white meat' of alternative fuels?

Curtis Donaldson, the CEO and president of CleanFuel USA, thinks that propane doesn't get its due as a transportation fuel.

His company on Monday is expected to announce that its propane engine system has been certified for use by the California Air Resources Board, a more stringent regulation than what the majority of other U.S. states use.

CleanFuel USA supplies pumps and a propane engine system for medium-duty trucks, including vehicles such as school buses and fleets of delivery vehicles.

What's likely to be the primary reason that fleet operators would purchase propane-powered vehicles? Cost. Propane is … Read more

Scorpion sportscar would burn gasoline and hydrogen

A Texas company is offering a glimpse of a high-end hydrogen-gasoline sportscar it hopes to sell by the fall.

Rather than using fuel cells to power an electric motor, the Scorpion from Ronn Motor Company would have an internal combustion engine burning both gasoline and hydrogen, achieving 40 highway miles per gallon.

Unlike with a hydrogen fuel cell car, the Scorpion's "hydrogen on demand" system wouldn't require a high-pressure hydrogen storage tank. Nor would a driver need to find and fill up at a hydrogen fueling station.

Instead, electricity from the Scorpion's alternator sends an … Read more

Green news harvest: Cancelled ethanol plants, electricity from exhaust heat

Here's a sampling of green-tech news and quick commentary. Iogen Suspends U.S. Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Plans - Earth2TechThere are two cases of planned next-generation plants shutting down, an indication of how the smallest changes can throw off the economics of fuel production. How Much Is Enough: How Long Should You Keep Your Computer Before Replacing It? - Planet GreenSome advice on how to keep your PC going a bit longer. Electricity From The Exhaust Pipe - ScienceDaily Thermoelectricity is one of the more interesting areas of research and, to a some degree, commercial development. Rockport Capital closes third cleantech fund at $450M - VentureBeat… Read more

A two-year payback for buyers of future hybrids?

Car battery company EnerDel predicts that consumers will start getting a two-year payback on hybrid electric cars, once a new generation of batteries are mass-produced.

Charles Gassenheimer, the chairman of parent company Ener1, gave a presentation at the Jefferies Global Clean Technology Conference on Thursday in New York, where he said lithium ion batteries in development will bring costs down substantially.

He said EnerDel intends to have a manufacturing line operating in 2010 that is capable of making 300,000 car batteries a year for hybrid electric vehicles that run partially on a battery and partially on an internal combustion … Read more

'Green' jobs could employ 14 million, report says

A 'green' economy could provide new, improved opportunities for 14 million workers, according to a report released Tuesday by progressive environmental and labor groups.

For now, a quick look at any employment ad Web site turns up few opportunities in hands-on, "green" trades, such as installing solar panels. However, the 2007 U.S. Energy Act approved $125 million in funding for workforce training through the Green Jobs Act.

What might the new jobs look like?

Revamped professions, from agricultural inspecting to welding, would cover 9 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to authors Robert Pollin and Jeannette … Read more

Green news harvest: Climate bill scorecard, Bill Gates bails on ethanol

Here's a sampling of the latest green-tech news, along with quick commentary.

Gates set to dump half his stake in Pacific Ethanol - The Sacramento Bee A reflection of investor discontent with the biofuels industry. New Renewable Network Hopes to Make Greentech Connections - Greentech MediaSchmoozing leads to business. The Renewable Energy Business Network expands chapters and incorporates as a nonprofit with new sponsors. Ocean Seeding Banned Until More Research - Earth2TechThis is really just the opening phase of what I expect to be a much bigger debate about geoengineering 'fixes' to climate change.

American Biomass funded for wood-fueled home heating - VentureBeat… Read more

Stupid hybrid tax incentive quotas

I already own a hybrid (a Ford Escape) but am toying with the idea of going for the gusto by trading in the old Ford for a gas-sipping Honda Civic or Toyota Prius hybrid. When I bought my Ford, Uncle Sam sweetened the deal by giving me a tax credit of around $2,000, so my expectation was a similar financial incentive if I went for a more economical model. Not so fast! In its infinite wisdom, the federal government created one of the dumber set of guidelines you could ever imagine.

Once a manufacturer (for instance, Ford, Honda, Toyota, … Read more

Hybrid-electric carmaker readies 220 mpg 'super car'

Hybrid Technologies is preparing a '"green" sports car to submit in the Automotive X Prize contest, according to a report in Popular Mechanics.

The car will come in two versions: one for the Auto X Prize that will have a gasoline engine and battery and another all-electric version.

The gas-battery hybrid will get the equivalent of 220 miles per gallon while the all-electric will get 150 mpg to 180 mpg. A drivable prototype is set to hit the streets in September.

The idea is to make the X Prize entrant something that will result in a mass-produced electric … Read more

Green news harvest: Carbon footprint mashup, silicon oversupply

Oversupply of Silicon Worse Than Expected - Greentech MediaExpect lower solar-photovoltaic costs: good for buyers, bad for suppliers. Also note that thin-film cells are forecast to represent 25 percent of production in 2010. New Report Reveals Huge Variation Between Cities' Carbon Footprints - Wired ScienceCool mashup of Brookings Institute data measuring different cities' carbon footprints.

Toyota building $192M green-car battery plant - Associated PressThe great car battery race is on in earnest: plant will make nickel metal hydride batteries now used in the Prius. Also rumored is a Toyota lithium ion battery plant. T. Boone Pickens' green scheme - Fortune… Read more