The are many reasons why our cars and trucks are responsible for a major portion of air pollution. In America we are known for having our big SUV’s monster trucks, gas guzzling sports cars, etc. We consume an incredible amount of fuel, and up until recently we haven’t done much to curb our consumption.

In 2004 U.S. cars and light trucks drove 2.6 trillion miles. Which is the equivalent of 10 MILLION TRIPS from the earth to the moon! The average fuel economy of those cars were 19.6 miles per gallon (now fuel economy has gone up to the low 20s). The gasoline in our cars has about 5.3 pounds of carbon per gallon. Annually we are each responsible for putting 1.5 tons of carbon in the air from the exhaust from the fuel in our cars and trucks.

From our cars and trucks we are raising the temperature of the atmosphere, killing animals, causing cancer, respiratory problems, and a lot more. Thankfully things are starting to turn around (slowly).

Originally a few companies decided to introduce electric cars to a small segment of the market back in the early 90s. These cars had a short run and in total, the numbers of cars sold was tiny. The majority of these cars looked ugly/weak, had no power, cost a ton, and had a horrible driving range. It was argued that the car companies which released electric cars at the time were doing it more for publicity than to actual produce a good product it wished to sell. Car companies knew that oil was still in and the small niche of people who wanted cleaner cars didn’t represent a major portion of the market of car buyers, by any means. So a few companies put out their electric cars in small numbers (50-100k) ended the electric car models, and that was it.

Not much else happened in terms of advancement as a whole industry for clean cars in the 90s. There were technological improvements of course, but no company saw the “Green Car” market as being profitable so they had no reason to produce a car with a high fuel economy.

In The early 2000s things began to change. Oil prices went up through the roof (now oil prices are just unbelievable) and many more average people started realizing just how important it is to curb and reduce emissions, stop pollution, and hopefully save the earth.

Let’s move on to what has changed the market. We are presented with the Toyota Prius. This car has a fuel economy of about 45 miles per gallon, one of the highest fuel economy vehicles you can buy for a standard sedan. This car is a hybrid. It efficiently consumes gasoline and uses electricity generated by the motor to also move the vehicle. This combination of using electricity and gasoline to power a car is a lot more efficient than using gasoline to run a car alone.

There are now many cars on the market that come in Hybrid Models, and Hybrid Exclusive Models. In fact, by Christmas this year Cadillac is releasing a hybrid Escalade SUV. The Escalade is known for complete luxury and horrible fuel economy. The hybrid Escalade will offer about 22 miles per gallon, compared to the 12 - 14 miles per gallon previous model.

Besides personal automobiles, Volvo has begun testing Hybrid Garbage Trucks. These trucks run on Diesel Engines (Which is a lot cleaner than they used to be) and Lithium-ion battery packs. The trucks use electric motors to power them when they accelerate up to 12mph. After that, the diesel motors kick in. These trucks are expected to have 30% less carbon emissions than their non-hybrid equivalents and may be put out in full production if trials go well this year.

Electric cars were also seen as weak too. Technology now offers us Lithium-ion batteries that can store huge amounts of power. Thus, there are specialized companies developing electric cars that were unimaginable just a decade ago.

There’s a company called Tesla Motors based in California, that is designing a sports car called the “Tesla Roadster”. This car looks amazing and has the power of a sports car. It can go over 200 miles on a single 3 hours charge, and it can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in about 4 seconds. The car costs an arm and a leg but major advancements from sports cars like these usually find their way into the common consumer marketplace. It’s also at least 1/4th the price to charge the electric car than to pay the price of gas for an equivalent fuel consuming model.

We have discussed electric motors, hybrid motor cars and trucks, and now I’m presenting you with the final design that will increase fuel economy to cars and trucks that should ultimately help reduce emissions put in the atmosphere by a major amount.

Companies (Ford, Toyota, GM to name a few) are developing hybrid electric cars. Which combine all three sources of power to increase the fuel economy of cars to 100-200 miles per gallon / charge. The car works by running on gasoline (smaller fuel tanks as well), it gets charged, and it also stores and uses energy produced from a hybrid drive system. All three systems work together to compliment each other and offer a huge driving range for the vehicle. 1000 Miles Per charge/fill up are what the manufacturers are aiming for. These cars and crossovers will be released in about 2 years and should make their way into trucks in about 6 years.

In conclusion, motor vehicles have been a huge source of pollution for America and the world for the last hundred years. The major car companies and governments are finally starting to see profits and necessity in curbing emission limits and delivering consumers better solutions. Eventually gasoline will be cut out of the equation but for now hybrid and hybrid electric engines will gain traction.

These findings come from the American Cancer Society’s prospective Cancer Prevention Study 2 Nutrition Cohort study.

Interestingly enough, the findings made by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service conflict with Sarah Palin’s reports. Which she has questioned there being true evidence that the Beluga Whale population has been on the decline.

NOAA said the “Cook Inlet” which harbors many of these whales, has had a decline of 50 percent in the Beluga population between 1994 and 1998. Unfortunately the population still hasn’t recovered and conditions have gotten worse.

There are now an estimated 375 Beluga Whales in the Cook Inlet compared with 653 back in 1995.

While securing the site for construction workers have unearthed small land formations and potholes created by glaciers. Digging on the site has given scientists a rare window into the past.

Of course, the potholes and other formations will be covered, filled, and blasted away to create a strong foundation for the new tower.

The FCX is completely clean and produces no carbon emissions. The car only expels water. Japan’s biggest automaker will lease a “few dozen” vehicles this year and expects to up the number to 200 units within three years.

Although Honda received 50,000 applications for the Clarity it only considered applicants who lived near Hydrogen Fueling stations in Torrance, Santa Monica, and Irvine California.

The FCX Clarity weighs 3,600 pounds, can reach speeds up to 100 miles per hour, and has a range of 270 miles.

At the American Astronomical Society (AAS) researcher David Bennett announced the finding of an extrasolar planet called MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb. It’s located 3,000 light-years away from Earth and has three times the mass of our planet. The lightest extrasolar planet discovered weighed in at five-Earth masses and was discovered in April.

The host planet’s star is anywhere from 3,000 to 1 million times fainter than our sun so the planet may be colder than Pluto, but based upon the findings in this discovery astrophysicists suggest MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb could have a thick atmosphere that blankets the planet by trapping in heat. They also go on to theorize this planet may also be covered with a deep ocean.

Once the Kepler Mission is under way (NASA mission to hunt for Earth sized planets. Kepler will launch in February 2009) news like this will occur much more often and bring many exciting possibilities with it.

A report released from industry experts and Energy Department Labs stated we can achieve this within the next two decades. Currently 20 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated through nuclear reactors. Combined this would greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Wind energy also currently accounts for only 1 percent of the USA’s electricity but there has been a 45 percent leap from the previous year’s production. Today wind power in the states produces about 16,000 megawatts, estimated forecasts would have 75,000 more wind turbines producing 300,000 megawatts of power by 2030.

Not only would this alleviate our complete dependency on oil but it would reduce carbon emissions by 825 million metric tons a year. Executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, Randall Swisher, said “This is the equivalent of taking 140 million cars off the road.”

This report does not account for other technological advancements that may emerge in wind power or through other forms of clean energy production.

Artificial colors look great. They make food look vibrant and appealing. The majority of food colors are made with petroleum. They are a derivative of Petrochemicals and Coal tar. These chemicals are in no way made to be ingested by humans or any other animal. In fact, food dye is pulled off of the market regularly because of health concerns. Yellow #2 food dye will likely be the next to go. It’s be shown to cause ADHD, multiple types of cancer, male sterility, and many other issues.

Artificial Colors aren’t just in junk food or sodas. Some salmon farms actually add red food dye to their salmon to make them appear more appetizing. It works. When looking for fish a customer always wants the freshest they can buy. A pink/red salmon is much more appealing to eat than one that’s gray or just darker.

There have been petitions to ban these chemicals and dyes, but most of them still remain on the market. It will really take a lot more research and widespread awareness to ban these chemicals from making their way into our food.

In fact, rising carbon dioxide are making the plants become toxic because they start producing “anti-nutrients” which interfere with the digestion of regular nutrients. Some species of Eucalyptus contain a high protein content, but when higher levels of anti-nutrients are present they bind to them and make digesting protein not possible by the Koalas.

Koala’s only eat the leaves from about 25 Eucalyptus species out of the 600 species in Australia. If carbon dioxide emissions continue to be released in the atmosphere at the current rate then there will be a significant loss in Australia’s Koala population within 50 years.

]]> http://science-news.org/global-warming/australias-koalas-threatened-by-global-warming/feed/ http://science-news.org/global-warming/australias-koalas-threatened-by-global-warming/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencetech/~3/Du75xSMShk0/ http://science-news.org/earthquake/tokyo-shaken-by-68-earthquake/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 23:11:19 +0000 Mike Monahan http://science-news.org/?p=371 A magnitude 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Japan hit Tokyo early Wednesday morning.

Seismologists said the epicenter of the quake was 100 miles northeast of Tokyo, and struck at 16:45 GMT. A half an hour later a second quake hit the same area with a magnitude of 5.3.

No injuries have been reported, and power/communication lines are all running normally.