An international group of more than 200 leading climate scientists have issued a declaration calling for a global target in 2050 of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50% below their 1990 levels. The 2007 Bali Climate Declaration was issued in conjunction with the COP-13 meeting in Bali, Indonesia at which a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol is under discussion.

The 2007 IPCC report, compiled by several hundred climate scientists, has unequivocally concluded that our climate is warming rapidly, and that we are now at least 90% certain that this is mostly due to human activities. The amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere now far exceeds the natural range of the past 650,000 years, and it is rising very quickly due to human activity. If this trend is not halted soon, many millions of people will be at risk from extreme events such as heat waves, drought, floods and storms, our coasts and cities will be threatened by rising sea levels, and many ecosystems, plants and animal species will be in serious danger of extinction.

The next round of focused negotiations for a new global climate treaty (within the 1992 UNFCCC process) needs to begin in December 2007 and be completed by 2009. The prime goal of this new regime must be to limit global warming to no more than 2º C above the pre-industrial temperature, a limit that has already been formally adopted by the European Union and a number of other countries.

Based on current scientific understanding, this requires that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% below their 1990 levels by the year 2050. In the long run, greenhouse gas concentrations need to be stabilised at a level well below 450 ppm (parts per million; measured in CO₂-equivalent concentration). In order to stay below 2 ºC, global emissions must peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years, so there is no time to lose.

As scientists, we urge the negotiators to reach an agreement that takes these targets as a minimum requirement for a fair and effective global climate agreement.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress

Union Pacific has awarded Railpower Technologies a contract for four multi-genset, low emission, fuel-efficient six-axle locomotives.

The six-axle model is a natural expansion of Railpower’s product offering of multi-genset locomotives, capable of higher tractive effort than the four-axle models. These four locomotives will be added to Union Pacific’s fleet of locomotives serving California. All four units are expected to be delivered during the first quarter of 2008.

Railpower’s RP series are aimed at significantly improving yard switching efficiency and comply with California Air Resources Board (ARB) ultra-low emission standards applicable to locomotives. This is the second order for six-axle locomotives Railpower has been awarded to date. Norfolk Southern placed another order earlier this year.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress

>Market Wire (press release)

Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … >CNNMoney.com - 1 hour ago >Electric car scientists at Lithium Balance in Copenhagen and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) of California announced results of their latest tests of a new battery … >Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … Market Wire (press release) >all 3 news articles

Originally Syndicated via RSS from hybrid car - Google News

>Market Wire (press release)

Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … >CNNMoney.com - 9 hours ago >Electric car scientists at Lithium Balance in Copenhagen and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) of California announced results of their latest tests of a new battery … >Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … Market Wire (press release) >all 8 news articles

Originally Syndicated via RSS from hybrid car - Google News

>Market Wire (press release)

Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … >CNNMoney.com - 13 hours ago >Electric car scientists at Lithium Balance in Copenhagen and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) of California announced results of their latest tests of a new battery … >Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … Market Wire (press release) >all 8 news articles

Originally Syndicated via RSS from hybrid car - Google News

>Market Wire (press release)

Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … >CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago >Electric car scientists at Lithium Balance in Copenhagen and ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) of California announced results of their latest tests of a new battery … >Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 … Market Wire (press release) >all 6 news articles

Originally Syndicated via RSS from hybrid car - Google News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from hybrid car - Google News

In a recent survey conducted by Energy Insights, an IDC Company, 81% of respondents indicated concern about climate change.

When participants in Energy Insights National Residential Online Panel were asked specifically about their concern regarding the effects of climate change, 51% of respondents said they are very concerned and 30% said they are somewhat concerned. Only 5% indicated they are not concerned at all about climate change.

Regarding what they think is the single most important energy-related issue facing the United States today, respondents were divided, with the most common choice being gasoline prices (29%), followed by dependence on foreign oil (25%) and then climate change (17%).

When asked who among government bodies, private businesses, and individuals should take the lead on combating climate change, the largest group of respondents (37%), said no one should take the lead; every group should contribute. Thirty-four percent (34%) of respondents felt the federal government should take the lead, while only 3% of respondents responded that electric and natural gas utilities should have a lead role.

Although respondents did not think that utilities should take the lead, they did indicate that utilities should take some course of action. More than half (52%) said that electric and natural gas companies have a major responsibility (10 on a 10-point scale) in combating climate change. Another 32% rated electric and natural gas utilities’ responsibility in combating climate change a 7, 8, or 9. Moreover, sixty percent (60%) of respondents said their local utility companies are not doing enough to combat climate change.

When asked whether they have taken action in the last 12 months to limit their carbon dioxide emissions to help reduce climate change, well over half of respondents (64%) reported having done so. The majority said they have used less heat and air conditioning (63%), washed clothes in colder temperatures (59%), and replaced standard light bulbs with CFLs in the last year (52%). Further, the majority of respondents (59%) are willing to pay $1 per month or more on their monthly utility bills to support utility and government efforts to limit the effects of climate change. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of respondents said they are not willing to pay extra on their monthly utility bills.

To understand residential utility customer concerns about climate change, Energy Insights surveyed 498 members of the Energy Insights National Residential Online Panel, all of whom were US residents. Data was collected using an online survey in June 2007.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress

Sample lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions relative to a gasoline baseline. Click to enlarge. Source: UCS

Heightened concern about oil dependence is generating growing support for alternative transportation fuels, but some would emit significantly more greenhouse gases on a full lifecycle basis than gasoline or diesel, according to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Transportation is responsible for two-thirds of the nation’s oil consumption and nearly 40% of US greenhouse gas emissions on a life cycle basis. To dramatically cut emissions from this sector, a comprehensive solution must include improved vehicle fuel efficiency, smart growth policies that reduce vehicle miles traveled, and clean fuel alternatives, according to the report.

We need to wean ourselves off oil, but we should replace it with the cleanest alternatives possible. Let’s not trade one bad habit for another.

—Patrician Monahan, author of the report and deputy director of UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program

On a lifecycle basis, for example, liquid coal, can release about 80% more greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, the report found. Corn ethanol, conversely, could be either more polluting or less than gasoline, depending on how the corn is grown and the ethanol is produced. On average, corn ethanol can reduce emissions about 20%, though there is uncertainty due to differing land use practices. The cleanest alternative, cellulosic ethanol from grasses or wood chips, could reduce emissions by more than 85%.

The report evaluated two scenarios for alternative fuels, one carbon-intensive—meaning that it would produce significantly more greenhouse gases than burning gasoline—and the other low-carbon—meaning that it would produce significantly less. The analysis assumed that alternative fuels will replace 37 billion gallons of gasoline, about 20% of the fuel UCS projects Americans will consume in 2030.

In both scenarios, conventional biofuels would meet 25% of the demand for alternative fuels. In the carbon-intensive scenario, the remaining demand would be met by liquid coal. The carbon-intensive scenario would increase emissions by 233 million metric tons—equivalent to adding about 34 million cars to the road, the number of new cars and light trucks currently sold nationally over a two-year period.

By contrast, the low-carbon scenario relies on advanced biofuels to meet 75% of the demand. That would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 244 million metric tons, akin to taking 35 million of today’s cars off the road.

The report calls for a national low-carbon fuel standard that accounts for alternative fuels’ global warming emissions over their entire life cycle and requires them to emit less pollution than today’s petroleum-based fuels.

Life cycle analysis for alternative fuels could help farmers and the biofuels industry, according to Gregg Heide of the Iowa Farmers Union.

Congress is now considering an energy bill that includes a renewable fuel standard giving the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to develop life cycle analysis guidelines. To date, the federal government has been promoting both cleaner and dirtier fuels. For instance, Congress has approved funding for research into next-generation ultra-clean biofuels, but it also is subsidizing research into liquid coal processing technology.

In January 2007, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for establishing a state low-carbon fuel standard. (Earlier post.) The California Air Resources Board is currently developing regulations that would require manufacturers of transportation fuel sold in the state to reduce per gallon emissions of global warming pollution by at least 10 percent. Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington State are considering similar policies.

Resources

• Biofuels: An Important Part of a Low-Carbon Diet

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress

The Guardian. The Synthetic Biology group at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) reportedly has successfully built a synthetic chromosome. A full announcement is due shortly.

The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.

The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition.

In June, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) successfully transplanted the genome from one species of bacterium into another. (Earlier post.) Venter said the same technique would work for the new synthetic chromosome.

Dr. Smith also heads the JCVI Biological Energy group, which is developing and using biological pathways and microbial metabolism to produce new fuels with higher energy output. Current projects include the development of better understanding and re-engineering of the photosynthetic pathway to divert the sun’s energy into more hydrogen production as well as re-engineering cellulase pathways in certain bacteria to produce ethanol.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Green Car Congress