Recently accusations came to light that Nissan and GM to inflate their MPG claims by combining gas and electric mileage so their green rating appeared higher, and in order to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency  won’t follow in their alleged footsteps, The Society for Automotive Engineers and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are recommending two different rating systems for electric vehicles that plug-in and also run on gas.

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By most accounts, the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program is a resounding success. You’ve heard the sound bytes: “good for consumers, good for dealers/the auto industry/the economy, good for the environment.” There was some embarrassing attention focused on the program during its second week as consumer response overwhelmed everything from the dealer interface system to the rebate financing that the government initially allocated.

As the program’s future hung in the balance, some dealers were left holding clunkers without a guarantee that the rebates would ever be paid, and as administration officials promised a hollow-sounding “good faith effort” to pay off all the deals already made, those dealers began to call customers to claw back the new cars or request cash payments to offset the rebate.

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Barnacles, algae and other marine biofilm can reduce a ship’s fuel efficiency by up to 40%, and the U.S. Navy is working on a way to keep its hulls clean without using expensive chemicals.  Up to now, the Navy has been relying on biocides to keep the pesky hitchhikers at bay.  On top of harming marine life, the chemical regime is not ideal for keeping high-performance warships operating at peak efficiency.  The Navy estimates that it spends an extra one billion dollars yearly on chemical biocides and extra fuel, so in addition to pure environmental altruism there are significant tactical and bottom-line incentive to find a better way to prevent biofouling.  In what can only be described as poetic justice, naval researchers are turning to the marine environment itself to find safe, effective solutions to the problem.

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With the fluctuating price of oil, a finite resource, and concerns over CO2 emissions, many energy companies and developers have turned to utilizing biomass as alternative fuel (biofuel). This trend is actually taking two pathways: using biomass to convert to ethanol to power automobiles (which has been around for awhile now), and, converting biomass to electricity to power electric (or hybrid) vehicles (a more recent alternative). The question of which path is most efficient, sustainable, and less carbon-intensive is a vitally important one in terms of this nation’s “energy future”.

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Since its humble beginnings in the 19th century, the sparkplug has been a mainstay of the combustion engine.

Some engineers at Ford, in collaboration with Liverpool University researchers have decided to modernize spark plug technology. Since we’re in the 21st century, that replacement is going to be lasers.

Yes, I said lasers.

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Those of us who don’t live in developing countries might not always remember that the majority of the world still uses biomass-fired cookstoves that produce smoke and other toxins. It’s a serious problem–indoor air pollution kills 1.6 million people yearly. Enter the SCORE (Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration, and Electricity), a $33 cookstove developed by researchers at the University of Nottingham that doubles as an electrical generator.

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Oregon State University Researcher Kaichang Li is already well-known in the research world for developing a non-toxic, soy-based adhesive to make greener plywood for cabinets, so it’s almost no surprise that his next research discovery is along the same lines.

Turning his attention to the materials commonly used as reinforcing fillers in tires — carbon black and silica — Li has figured out a way to use plant products to substitute for these toxic and energy intensive conventional materials.

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More money was distributed today by the Department of Energy. 141 million dollars to be more precise. This time Hawaii, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands and Texas will play beneficiaries of the Recovery Act.

As a part of the Department’s State Energy Program, which has been apportioned $3.1 billion, states and territories propose plans to prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And that’s where this $141 million will be going. Each state receives funding according to its needs (population based), with Texas receiving more than half of the allotted $141 million dollars. They will receive $87.5 million.

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First we had electric trains. Then electric cars. Now, airplanes.

Sonex, a national leader in providing affordable high performance kit aircraft, is developing a concept Waiex E-Flight Electric-Powered plane.

I caught up with Mark Schaible, Marketing Director for Sonex, at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture last year, the largest aircraft event on the planet. The EAA AirVenture is held in July and early August every year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Wittman Regional Airport.

“That’s our goal,” says Schaible, surrounded by the entire family of kit aircraft, including the Sonex Sport Trainer, Sonex Sport Acro and Xenos Sport Motorglider.  “Keep ahead of the marketplace with an electric airplane.  Someone is going to do it, so it might as well be us. We have made a lot of progress and are working very hard toward first flight [with our Waiex E-Flight Electric Powered aircraft].”

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Listening to NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday, there was a segment in which some environmentalists lamented Obama’s new fuel economy standards as being a small drop in the bucket for what needs to be done to solve our climate problems.

While this is true, two comments made by Harvard University Professor, Robert Stavins, during that segment struck me as weird and based in something less than reality — a kind of academic fantasy if you will. At the time, I was driving and the comments slid out of my mind. But last night an old friend from college brought it up again in a Facebook thread and it got me thinking more in depth about it.

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For American car buyers, though, the landmark agreement will mean an average $1,300 increase in the price of a new car by 2016. And to a car-buying public that hasn’t yet latched onto the idea of a hybrid vehicle, that price increase might be a tough one to swallow.

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1. Cycle:
a.motor b.bi c.water

2. Take:
a.more b.a seat c.action

3. Vehicle:
a.SUV b.C-A-R c.B-U-S

4. Media:
a.TV b.radio c.book/mags

5. Bikes:
a.for kids b.for exercise c.for most trips

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The New York Times reported last week that President Obama embraces “cash for clunkers” a government sponsored incentive program that would offer Americans cash for trading in their old, inefficient vehicles for new fuel efficient cars. The program would help both the environment and the ailing auto industry.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of the reasons that we bought our Prius was because my husband’s company was offering a $5000 bonus to anyone who bought a vehicle that got 35 miles a gallon or better at the time. There was also a tax rebate - I believe it was $1800, don’t quote me on that figure, but we didn’t know about that when we made the decision.

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By now we’ve all heard about the new four door, seven seater (5 adults + 2 kids), all electric eco monster from Tesla — the Model S. We’ve seen the pictures of the gorgeous beast and we’ve had our chance to let the lust settle.

But the thing that’s been bothering me, and surely many of you, is that it still feels like Tesla is making cars with a decidedly un-populist bent. Tesla has been claiming for a long time now that their business plan is to start with the high end market, make some money, learn some lessons, and subsequently release cars that the rest of us can afford — using that money and those lessons to get there.

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Volkswagen’s launched a new brand: BlueMotionTechnologies.

It houses all of Volkswagen’s best eco-friendly tech. It currently includes a new start-stop system, regenerative braking, SCR catalytic converter and the NO_x storage catalytic converter.

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For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Hmmm–pork (barrel spending) by definition, is spending for projects that will benefit a certain group of constituents.

This article in Grist highlights all who will benefit from the “green pork” in the package.

Regarding increased fuel efficiency Obama shares:

This is what they call pork. You know the truth. It will not only save the government significant money over time, it will not only create manufacturing jobs for folks who are making these cars, it will set a standard for private industry to match. And so when you hear these attacks deriding something of such obvious importance as this, you have to ask yourself — are these folks serious? Is it any wonder that we haven’t had a real energy policy in this country?

Regarding clean energy:

After decades of dragging our feet, this plan will finally spark the creation of a clean energy industry that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next few years, manufacturing wind turbines and solar cells, for example — millions more after that. These jobs and these investments will double our capacity to generate renewable energy over the next few years.

And regarding energy efficiency:

This will save consumers money, this will spur innovation, and this will conserve tremendous amounts of energy. We’ll save through these simple steps over the next 30 years the amount of energy produced over a two-year period by all the coal-fired power plants in America.

Americans with lungs, and a heating bill sure does cover a large group of constituents. Sorry folks, but spending that will do wonders to clean up the earth and positively affect all earthlings is not “pork”.

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For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.