The video above, courtesy TckTckTck , explains one of the under-the-radar issues that was present all through the COP15 talks and now is re-emerging at the Bonn climate talks. In short, “A handful of developed nations like Japan, Australia and Germany are playing all… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Rich Nations Want Huge Logging Loophole, While Telling Poor to Reduce Emissions From Deforestation (Video)

Photo via NY Daily News The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was passed after the Exxon-Valdez to hold oil companies responsible for their spills. One of the main provisions of the bill was that it held oil companies liable for funding the cleanup of their messes — but only up to $75 million dollars worth. It’s questionable enough whether that sum was adequate to pay for the cleanup in Prince William Sound (there are still tons of oil lingering on the beaches there , remember). But that wa… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Majority of Americans Think Oil Companies Should Pay More for Oil Spills

In separate moves to reduce carbon emissions in Canada, the Ottawa Police Service is installing anti-idling technology on its vehicles while Toronto’s Board of Health votes to limit the maximum time motorists can idle their motors to one minute. By installing anti-idling technology on its vehicles, the Ottawa Police Service expects to save 1,764 liters (465 gallons) of fuel a year per car , which is enough to drive across Canada four times, reports Ottawa Citizen. The technology — which includes auxiliary batteries to run electronics, a small combustion motor to provide heat, automatic vehicle start-up and shut-off and idling monitoring and recording equipment — was installed in two patrol cars in 2009, according to the article. Test results showed that idling decreased by more than 10 percent and carbon emissions dropped by 4,235 kilograms. The anti-idling equipment including installation costs around $2,000 per car, which means it will take about 18 months to pay for itself on each car, reports Ottawa Citizen. In the U.S., a new power management system, launched last year, which allows police cruisers to have full electrical capability without running the engine, could save more than $3,000 a year per vehicle . In Toronto, the city’s Board of Health has voted to reduce the maximum time motorists can idle their motors from three minutes to one minute without risking a $125 fine, reports the Toronto Star. Approval of the no-idling limit now heads to the city council for approval. If approved, the city will ask the province to amend legislation to step-up, according to the article. The newspaper also reports that the health board recommended eliminating the exemption for idling on very cold or very hot days, and replacing a clause that allows TTC (transit) vehicles to idle for up to 15 minutes with one that says transit vehicles can only run while stopped for “an identified need.” In response, TTC says anti-pollution devices on its diesel buses require that the engine run for two or three minutes after the vehicle stops, and in extreme cold, TTC periodically turns garaged buses on and off to ensure they’ll start, reports the newspaper. A report (PDF) from Toronto’s medical officer of health finds that idling wastes 90 million liters (23,775,484 gallons) of fuel per year and emits 215 million tons of carbon dioxide, almost half of it in Toronto. The emissions also contribute to 1,700 hospitalizations in Toronto each year and 440 deaths.

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Anti-Idling Tech Saves Ottawa Police 465 Gallons of Fuel Annually per Car

Here’s a new word to add to your eco vocab: trashanol, an ethanol fuel made from cardboard. International Paper and Fiberight have partnered to create an ethanol fuel from cardboard that is expected to emit 80 percent less carbon emissions…

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Cardboard Used For Ethanol Fuel

Image by B. Alter: F 800 Style Hybrid Mercedes-Benz World is Disneyland for Benz lovers. It is three floors of vintage and new Mercedes, along with a cafe, shop, simulators and a test run. A dream come true for wanna-be Merc. drivers and owners. So what is TreeHugger doing there? We came to hear Prof. Gorden Wagener, Vice President of Design for all of Mercedes talk about the Mercedes-Benz brand and how they keep it aspirational. We also came to see the prototype for the Mercedes hybrid electric car, the… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Mercedes-Benz’ Head of Design Rolls Out Their Electric Cars for the Future

The top concern of U.S. businesses for climate change and environmental issues is reducing carbon emissions, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Appetite for Change global survey. U.S. survey respondents ranked reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions as the issue to most impact their companies over the next two to five years (16 percent), followed by new regulation, (13 percent), energy efficiency (12 percent), and legislation/new laws (11 percent). “The Obama Administration recently announced that the federal government would reduce its own carbon footprint by 28 percent by 2020 . If the government were to push down that requirement through its supply chain to all government contractors and suppliers, the impact on U.S. business would be quite significant,” says Kathy Nieland, leader of the Sustainability and Climate Change practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Eighty-seven percent of U.S. survey respondents say change is likely over the next few years as a result of the climate change and environmental debate. Twenty-eight percent believe these changes could be significant. Although more than half the respondents (55 percent) noted that the climate change and environmental debate has had an impact on the way their organization conducts business 45 percent said it has had little if no impact at all. The survey also finds that there is broad-based support for tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Eighty-eight percent of American companies surveyed said that tax incentives were effective in encouraging businesses to reduce their environmental impact, although 67 percent said that tax incentives currently in place are not sufficiently motivating them to change their business behavior to obtain them. One in four U.S. respondents (23 percent) said government should have primary responsibility for leading behavioral change around climate initiatives, rather than businesses overall or their own industry. In comparison, 44 percent of respondents globally said government should have primary responsibility in this area. A significantly higher proportion of U.S. respondents (38 percent) want business/the market to have primary responsibility for leading behavioral change, compared with only 18 percent globally. A majority (56 percent) of U.S. respondents do not feel that government engages effectively with business to ensure its environmental policies take industry views into account. Only 17 percent said they believe the government has a clear, unambiguous policy with regard to environmental economic instruments. Another finding shows that U.S. businesses are split on whether voluntary programs to disclose their carbon emissions results in a reduction of their environmental impact. Fifty percent said they are not very/not at all effective, while the remaining 50 percent say they are effective. More than four in 10 (44 percent) of respondents said the potential cost savings from introducing energy-efficient measures was “very influential” on their organization’s environmental behavior. A recent study from Ceres and the Professional Risk Managers International Association (PRMIA) indicates that nearly 75 percent of corporate risk managers said political and regulatory environments are their top concerns .

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Emissions Reductions is Top Environmental Concern for U.S. Businesses

Ford Motor Company plans to initially survey 35 top global suppliers on their energy use and estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to reduce carbon emissions in the automotive industry. These suppliers represent nearly 30 percent of Ford’s $65 billion in annual procurement spending. The automaker will share feedback from its data collection process with World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as part of its effort to better understand the carbon footprint of its supply chain and to create a carbon management approach for its supply base. The initial suppliers surveyed by Ford manufacture components such as seats, steering systems, tires and metal components, which require more energy to produce and thus have a larger carbon footprint. While many of these suppliers already measure their GHG emissions, the project would drive collaboration and sharing of processes and practices that can lead to significant emissions reductions and help meet future regulatory requirements, says Ford. “Climate change has the potential to affect all parts of our business, and is connected to other important issues — from water availability and energy security to human rights,” said Susan Cischke, group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “Understanding the carbon footprint of our supply chain is a crucial part of our comprehensive global strategy to reduce greenhouse gases.” The data gathered from suppliers will be evaluated using modeling software from PTC InSight. Preliminary work with PTC already has found areas where both Ford and its suppliers can reduce carbon emissions. Any reductions by suppliers would be in addition to Ford’s own goal of reducing greenhouse gases 30 percent by 2020 from the 2006 model year baseline. Ford also is participating in the Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain Program and is working with the Automotive Industry Action Group to develop guidelines for measuring supplier emissions. The automaker plans to share its experience in measurement and reporting of corporate and supply chain emissions with the industry group. Several of Ford’s top suppliers — DuPont, TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., Bosch and Johnson Controls — are already working to better understand their carbon emissions. As an example, Johnson Controls, which supplies seats, interiors, electronics and batteries to Ford, has goals in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a rating system that enables the company to measure the sustainability of its own supply base. Ford’s announcement comes in the wake of Procter & Gamble’s recently announced sustainability scorecard and rating process to measure the environmental performance of its key suppliers . In the retail sector, Wal-Mart has surveyed its supply chain on sustainability practices in the areas of energy and climate, material efficiency, natural resources, people and community for more than a year and believes its sustainability index could lead to a universal standard that can be applied across all retailers and suppliers . In February, Wal-Mart announced it wants to reduce 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the end of 2015 with help from its suppliers.

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Ford to Measure Supply Chain Emissions

Images by B. Alter At Mercedes Benz World last week, while the men were test-driving Mercedes Benz sports cars on the test track, this TreeHugger was merrily chugging along in the new electric smart fortwo Smart Car which will be out at the end of June. The Benz people didn’t encourage a spin around the wet skid circuit, so we were going at a peaceful and comfortable 40 mph. The others were chomping at the bit to pass–but let them wait–this was fun! … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Test-Driving the New All-Electric Smart Car

Corus , part of the Indian Tata Steel Group , has opened a £60 million ($87.0 million) plant at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales that will reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by 240,000 tonnes per year and dust particle emissions by 40 tonnes per year, reports the BBC. The new plant will recover by-product gas and recycle it as fuel. The gas recovery system will cut the steelworks’ requirement for imported natural gas by around 60 percent and reduce its electricity needs from the National Grid by 15 percent, reports Wales Online. BBC reports that Corus plants at Scunthorpe and at IJmuiden in the Netherlands, as well as at Tata’s plant at Jamshedpur in India use similar technology. Speaking at the launch of the gas recovery system, Kirby Adams, chief executive for TATA Europe, said the proposed changes to the European emissions trading scheme (ETS) from 2013 would hurt the competitiveness of the steel industry in Europe and could cost Corus up to £500 million ($722 million) a year, including £140 million ($202 million) annually in taxes, reports Wales Online. In January, the Alliance for a Competitive European Industry (ACEI) announced its opposition to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 30 percent until other major economies agreed to make substantial and binding commitments. The group said the EU’s climate change policy would further hurt the industry’s competitiveness, citing as an example the steel industry, which has to reduce its emissions by more than 40 percent in 2020 compared to 1990 levels due to the EU ETS. However, a report released in March indicates that ten organizations, primarily in the steel and cement industries, including Corus, could share a surplus of €3.2 billion ($4.4 billion) of pollution permits by 2012 under the EU ETS. The EU has said it may suspend auctions if allowance prices fall “abnormally low” as part of a plan to centralize carbon emissions allowances auctions . The plan, which will take effect in 2011, also would set up no more than two auction platforms through 2013.

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Corus Installs Gas Recovery System at Steelworks in Wales

Image from stuckattheairport.com A lot of hot air is being spent over the paper towels versus hand dryers debate. James Dyson, British super-star inventor of the Airblade hand dryer is up in arms. Apparently Kimberly-Clark, the U.S. paper towel and Kleenex manufacturer, claim that new research confirms that hand jet air dryers increase the amount of bacteria on our hands. And that paper towels are just as environmentally friendly as the air dryer. What is the story? This is counter-in… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Hot Air Over Drying Hands