Green Options

It has been awhile since we talked about hydrogen cars. In fact, auto manufacturers the world over seem to have pushed hydrogen vehicles to the side of their plate (next to the spinach and garbanzo beans). There are of course exceptions, such as Mazda and Mercedes, but electric cars are all the rage right now, and hydrogen arguably has more infrastructure issues to overcome. The biggest issue; where does one get hydrogen?

A Connecticut company called SunHydro wants to deploy 11 solar-powered hydrogen fueling stations (SunHydro, get it?) along the East Coast, creating the area’s first hydrogen highway.

I’m going to answer my own question and say both.

It’s true. According to Kelley Blue Book’s list of most searched cars, perennial favorites the Honda Civic and Accord topped the list. The Prius came in at #8, within spitting distance of the Camaro which came in at #12. In fact, if you look at the different lists from websites across the web, muscle cars are pretty consistently high on the search lists, as are hybrids and fuel efficient models like the Smart ForTwo.

So can America have its cake and eat it too?

Pretty much everything in America, at some point (and often multiple points) hitches a ride on a tractor trailer of some sort. It doesn’t matter if it is locally grown organic produce or the latest and greatest Chinese-built computer. By the time it has arrived at your home, it’s probably been on one of these big, smelly beasts.

Improving the fuel efficiency of tractor trailers would be a big deal not just for the environment, but for our wallets as well. So we can all celebrate the latest round of funding from the Department of Energy that is going towards improving the efficiency of Class 8 trucks by 50%.

Why new toilets that separate liquids from solids might just be in your future.

I’ll admit upfront, I’m a Ford fanboy. I bleed Ford blue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a car fanboy in general, but Ford is numero uno in my book… and now I have another reason to love the Blue Oval.

According to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency, Ford has improved its average fleet fuel economy by 20% over the last five years, twice the improvement of any of its competitors.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) just released a comprehensive global report, and the first country by country ranking, of clean energy technology sales.

The clean energy sector is on the verge of becoming the third largest sector in the world now. The report — Clean Economy, Living Planet - Building Strong Clean Energy Technology Industries — finds that Denmark is currently the leading country in clean energy sales (relative to GDP), Brazil is second and Germany is third (the top three in absolute terms are Germany, the US and Japan).

With the sector booming, there is much opportunity for growth in these countries and others now. The report delves into how the countries currently leading the world got to the top and makes a short list of best practices.

Clean energy technology sales were about $921 billion in 2007 (€630 billion), but are expected to become about $2339 billion per year (€1600 billion) in 2020. At that volume, the sector is expected to only be behind automobiles and electronics in global sales. This is even without a strong, binding deal in Copenhagen.

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF’s global climate initiative, says: “This is the clean economy growth happening now with only a partial Kyoto protocol international framework supporting clean energy development, patchy national support for green energy and huge subsidies to fossil fuel use.”

I think the growth in the future is liable to skyrocket with more and more countries getting serious about stopping human-induced catastrophic climate change. Plus, clean energy is an economic benefit for countries as it creates more jobs for the countries’ citizens.

Donald Pols, Head of the Climate Programme at WWF-Netherlands, says: “Clearly, from a national perspective there is much to gain and nothing to lose from investing in clean energy.”

Where do the US and the UK fit into this matter? And what are their and other countries’ best chances for becoming industry leaders?

There is so much complexity in the politics of climate change right now, but as the Copenhagen climate negotiations heat up, I think there are a few simple childhood lessons to review or keep in mind.

Of course, action to stop climate change is not only about the politicians and international treaties. It is also largely about the individual actions, needs and demands of each person these politicians represent.

So, given that you are not likely to be directly involved in the discussions in Copenhagen, these are also for you on an individual level, in all of your individual decisions and purchases. Of course, you can send messages to your politicians asking them to stop climate change, too!

Hudson Clean Energy Partners (HCEP) set a $1 billion target for its first fund, a new clean energy investment fund, and just announced this week that it has reached its target despite the difficult economic conditions worldwide.

Led by two industry veterans with much individual success, HCEP is looking to help spur and capitalize on a great global push for clean tech and clean energy (including renewable power, alternative fuels, energy efficiency and storage). The firm seems to show a lot of faith in solar power technology, in particular.

Scientists from Sandia National Labs have successfully field-tested a machine that uses solar energy to convert CO₂ waste from power plants into fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Cylindrical in shape, the device has both a hot and cold chamber with 14 Frisbee-like rings in the middle. The rings’ outer edges–made of iron oxide–are solar heated to 2,700 degrees which forces the composite to lose oxygen atoms.

As the rings rotate (one revolution a minute), they move in towards the cool chamber. There, carbon dioxide is added and the iron oxide composite takes back its missing oxygen atoms. The resulting carbon monoxide would be used in creating a synthesized liquid combustible fuel.

Puff (a car exhaust monitoring device) is attached near the exhaust pipe of your vehicle. Its color changes dynamically, visualizing the amount of pollution your car is producing. Green indicates the lowest rate of pollution, red the highest. Karolina Sobecka, the artist/designer of Puff, explains: In this project, design is used as a strategy to explore the overlap between the material and immaterial worlds and spur discussion on the hidden social and psychological mechanisms behind the cultural use of accessories [...]

The City of Copenhagen has announced the establishment of its first hydrogen fueling station, alongside a mini-fleet of fuel cell vehicles, and hopes that the move will help it towards the ambitious goal of becoming the first carbon-neutral capital city in the world by 2025.

Following the recent news of a growing hydrogen fueling system in Germany, the new facility also opens up the intriguing proposition of a cross-border European hydrogen infrastructure.

According to grandly titled Technology and Environment Mayor Klaus Bondam, “Today we are putting Copenhagen on the map as a champion of clean transport. Together with [fuel cell vehicle integrator] H2 Logic, Copenhagen is setting in motion the development of hydrogen transport in Denmark and in northern Europe, because the hydrogen filling station in Copenhagen will help provide future hydrogen-powered vehicles from Scandinavia and Germany with hydrogen.”