Authored by Democratic State Senator Christine Kehoe, SB346 was made official on September 27th 2010 (a full 51 days before Washington’s Better Brakes Law). Ultimately, the law consists of 16 specific regulations (read them all here).

Highlights of the legislation include limiting the amount of copper in brake pads at no more than 5% by weight on January 1st, 2021.  By 2025 that number is reduced to .5%.  In January of 2014 limits on Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, and Mercury will be set at .1% by weight.  As a caveat to these restrictions Brake Pad manufacturers will have to obtain a certificates to demonstrate their compliance with relevant laws in reference to the material composition of their products.  Additionally, a $10,000 civil fine will be levied against those who fail to obtain applicable certificates.

This law came into effect after a decade of cooperation between the “Brake Pad Partnership,” consisting of the auto industry, manufacturers, environmental groups, storm water agencies, and representatives of coastal cities.  Studies funded and performed by them throughout the 2000s found that brake pad dust accounted for 35-60% of copper in California’s watershed run-off.

Prior to the bill’s textualization, the Brake Pad Partnership approached a non-profit association of the global copper industry known as the Copper Development Association to discuss the viability of shifting to alternatives (i.e. ceramic).  Their ultimate findings concluded that a 15 year phase out represented the most auspicious approach.  Soon after their report landed on the desk of Senator Kehoe.

While Arnold may not have completely “started the reactor” on this initiative, California does have his foresight and centrality to thank for the future prosperity of their water systems.  Unfortunately this future has yet to be protected in 48 other states in this nation.  You can sign our “Give Water a Brake” petition at the top right of this page.

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet

The University of Tennessee has just come up with a theory about China electric vehicles that may have some believing that there was a little too much of the local whiskey involved in the process.

According to a report released by the university, EVs in China are more environmentally harmful than gas-powered vehicles when factoring in how electricity is produced. The study claims that, when calculating “well-to-wheel” emissions, EVs can be just as harmful as – wait for it – diesel buses. The study, which calculated five types of vehicles and their effect on air quality in 34 Chinese cities, factored in all particulate matter produced in the electricity production process, including dust particles, metals, organic chemicals and acids. Because more than three-quarters of the electricity produced in China is from coal, EVs that depend on such electricity are more harmful than gas-powered cars, according to the report.

Read the entire article at: Autobloggreen

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet

G-Oil motor oil is leading the way for greener driving. By blending American grown base oils (animal-derived and plant oils) with nanotechnology, G-OIL provides superior performance and protection during the maximum oil change intervals recommended by vehicle manufacturers. G-OIL is the only bio-based synthetic motor oil approved by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

In addition to G-Oil being a viable green alternative to regular motor oil, it’s American made. Switching to G-OIL will help us reduce our environmental impact and our dependency on foreign oil.

To find more product and ordering information on Earthgarage, click here.

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.

It’s the only natural gas car that is currently manufactured in the States and the fuel is also produced domestically. Compared with gasoline costs, natural gas can save drivers 30-50% on their fuel bills. And natural gas produces about 30 per cent less CO2 than gasoline. If you own a Civic NG, you can fill up at commercial filling stations in about five minutes or you can opt to have a home filling system put in. These fill the tank slowly as the gas isn’t stored in the way as at commercial stations.

As natural gas requires more storage space than gasoline, the tank is larger, and this means that you have smaller capacity for storage in the trunk compared to other Civics. On a full tank the Civic NG has a range of 248 miles when the tank has been filled at 3,600 psi.

If the natural gas model’s limitations put you off, there are two other eco-friendly options in the 2012 Honda Civic range. The HF is a gasoline engine that offers 41mpg on the highway and 27 mpg in the city. That’s only four miles less on the highway than the Civic Hybrid, which can achieve 44 mpg both in town and on the highway.

All the new Civics have an ECON button on the dash, allowing the driver to instruct all car systems to function at their eco-friendly best, and all models with manual transmission have been given stop start technology, reducing the amount of emissions produced in standing traffic – and increasing their fuel economy, of course.

Google Maps has an assortment of settings for your trip-navigation needs. You can get from Point A to Point B in a car, on a bus, by foot or on a bike. You can get there avoiding highways or toll roads. You can even get there counting in kilometers instead of miles, if you want to travel like a European.

But no mainstream navigation service has yet mastered the holy grail of environmentally conscious travel – the route of least emissions.

Researchers at a handful of universities across the country are at work on this concept, called green routing. The idea sounds pretty straight-forward: Instead of selecting the shortest route to the grocery store, you would be able to pick the path with the smallest carbon footprint. Researchers suspect that on the aggregate, if large numbers of us were adjusting our driving patterns like this every day, it would have a serious impact.

A recent study from researchers at SUNY-Buffalo found that rerouting just a fifth of drivers in a computer simulation of traffic in the Buffalo area could reduce regional auto emissions by 20 percent.

Designing such a system, though, is much more complicated than the idea itself sounds.

Read the entire article at: Atlantic Cities

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet

Tallbikes, which are something of a Portland specialty, have been mostly beyond my understanding. While they enthrall spectators when we see them on the streets, they are difficult to mount (and dismount) and seem to add a layer of danger to urban cycling that is not appealing to the average commuter (who wishes for nothing more than to arrive alive and intact).

When I trailed behind a tallbike this morning, all I could think of was that its rider seemed, in the midst of raw winter temperatures, uniquely vulnerable.

Well, that was my viewpoint until I saw this Russian specialty featured on Gizmodo.

On a bike worthy of Dick Dastardly in the Wacky Races, a man rises above a trail of traffic and then falls below our vision, magically making his bright green bike go from tall bike to low rider in seconds. The mechanism to do the transformation is a flexible seat joint.

Read the entire article here at: Treehugger

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet

After years of negotiations between the industry and advocates for the lucrative yet fragile shellfish beds that litter the tidal flats around Puget Sound, the Washington State legislature passed the “Better Brakes Law” in 2010. Specifically, this outlines that, beginning in 2013, all manufacturers must release a list of all materials in their brake pads and shoes.  By the end of that same year those companies will be legally restricted from adding asbestos, mercury, cadmium, or lead to their products and distributors will only be permitted to sell existing inventory until 2023.  By January 1st, 2021 no brake pad can be manufactured with more than 5% copper by weight.

Washington’s Department of Ecology has been given the task of validating an alternative to copper in pads.  Eight years after alternatives have been proven effective, legal restrictions will increase to where no pad can be produced with more than .5% cooper by weight.

It’s amazing that all of this occurred in the Evergreen State, a temperate rainforest with no scarcity of water.  Imagine the benefits if restrictions on runoff were realized in State’s like Georgia where Atlanta has arguably spent the last decade experiencing water shortages with no end in sight.  Climatic shifts are robbing areas of our nation their most vital resource while we sit back and push (literally) ourselves, and our environment, further into a toxic wasteland (remember half of copper contamination in cities stems from brake pad dust).

In Washington this issue gained traction through an abundance of individual responsibility instead of a perceived scarcity of resources. Regardless of why it was instigated, Earthgarage remains ecstatic that it was.  We should all look at the Evergreen State’s “Better Brakes Law” as a template for others to follow.

What would you have done differently?

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet

A major reason why suburbs must be decisive when planning for the next decades growth is the fact that major cities aren’t a viable option for some incoming workers. The reality is that city living is expensive, and while some may be closer to the office, many workers, especially those relocating with families, prefer to be out of the fast-paced city and living in quiet suburbia.

Automobiles will always be an easy choice for those commuting to and from cities, and car manufacturers would be wise to push eco friendly cars in these areas in order to reduce emissions overall. Highways, a major pathway in and out of cities, can also be enhanced by using separate high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOVs), as found in many major cities, which can be used by both carpoolers (another great way to save money on gas) and those with registered eco friendly vehicles.

Public transportation is also a viable, and sometimes cheaper, alternative to cars. Revamping old public transportation systems, or creating new routes in areas where population is increasing dramatically, is a necessary step in building a greener environment both in and out of the city limits. Not only does this help reduce emissions, but as I spoke about in my previous blog post, having access to public transportation makes city dwellers happier and prouder about where they reside. Creating an efficient, environmentally friendly link between growing cities and the suburbs around them will be an important trend to watch out for in the near future.

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.

“The Edison Awards provide an exclusive platform for honoring innovation, recognizing innovators, and encouraging ongoing innovation among today’s development teams, researchers, designers, “intrapreneurs” and entrepreneurs,” says Thomas Stat, the 2012 Edison Awards Steering Committee Chairman. “We’re inspired by our 2012 finalists and delighted to have this opportunity to recognize and promote the outstanding accomplishments they represent.”

The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose extraordinary new product development methods and innovative achievements garnered him 1,093 U.S. patents and made him a household name around the world. The ballot of nominees for the Edison Best New Product Awards(TM) is judged by a panel of more than 3,000 individuals, including members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), an organization comprising America’s top marketing professionals and academics. The panel also includes professionals from the fields of product development & design, engineering, science and education.

This year, the nominees were judged on a new set of evaluation criteria developed in partnership with Nielsen. These new criteria establish a new definition of innovation, leveraging the primary themes of Concept, Value, Impact and Delivery.

Winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Edison Awards will be announced April 26, 2012 at the Capitale in New York. The annual Edison Awards program encompasses multiple events over a two-day period including an Opening Reception, Meet the Innovators Forum, Innovator’s Showcase and the Awards Gala, where the Awards will be presented.

About the Edison Awards The 2012 Edison Awards are sponsored by Nielsen, Discovery Communications, Science Channel, USA Today, CSRware and Applepeak. For more information about the Edison Awards visit www.edisonawards.com.

Earthgarage.com is a media partner for The 2012 Edison Awards.

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.

California regulators approved a plan that would require 15.4 percent of new vehicles sold in the state to be electric, fuel-cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025.

The rule — supported by major automakers — is part of a broader package of regulations called the Advanced Clean Car program designed to cut vehicle greenhouse gas and reduce emissions.

The sweeping new auto emission standards could mean 1.4 million electric, fuel cell and plug-in hybrid vehicles on California roads by 2025.

“That’s actually a relatively modest goal, but that’s all that we’re mandating,” Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said in a conference call with reporters following the vote.

Read the entire article at: Automotive News

Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet