Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide. The standards will slash emissions of these dangerous pollutants by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants.

EPA estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

“Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health,” said Albert A. Rizzo, MD, national volunteer chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware. “The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants.”

Source: U.S. EPA Press Release

Chicago proposes taxi safety reform

Chicago cabbies would drive newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles, get the hook more quickly for dangerous driving and spend no more than 12 hours on the road, under sweeping reforms proposed Monday with one glaring exception: a fare increase.

Instead of raising fares for the first time since 2005, Mayor Emanuel wants to put more money in drivers’ pockets indirectly — by raising lease rates on more fuel-efficient vehicles. The “tiered lease system” is designed to give cab companies a financial incentive to upgrade their fleets and lower fuel costs.

Source: Chicago Sun Times

Oil will remain the most widely used fuel in 2040

New Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040 released by Exxon Mobil Corporation last week projects that global energy demand in 2040 will be about 30% higher than it was in 2010 as population grows to 9 billion and global GDP doubles. The growth is led by developing regions such as China, India, Africa and other emerging economies.

The Outlook states that oil will remain the most widely used fuel. However, the overall energy demand will be reshaped by a continued shift toward less-carbon-intensive energy sources, as well as steep improvements in energy efficiency in areas such as transportation, where the expanded use of advanced and hybrid vehicles will help push average new-car fuel economy to 48 mpg (4.9 L/100 km).

ExxonMobil expects that by 2040, hybrids and other advanced vehicles will account for nearly 50 percent of light duty vehicles on the road, compared to only about 1 percent today. The vast majority will be hybrids that use mainly gasoline plus a small amount of battery power; these will make up more than 40 percent of the global fleet by 2040.

Globally, ExxonMobil expects to see growth in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, along with compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) powered vehicles. However, these will account for only about 5 percent of the global fleet in 2040, their growth limited by cost and functionality considerations. ExxonMobil expects the average new car to get 48 miles per gallon (MPG) in 2040, compared to 27 MPG in 2010.

Because of that, demand for energy for personal vehicles will remain essentially flat through 2040 even as the number of personal vehicles in the world doubles to about 1.6 billion units. ExxonMobil projects that of all advanced-vehicle technologies, hybrids will offer the best value for consumers. By 2030, ExxonMobil expects that, on average, hybrid vehicles will cost about $1,500 more than a similar-sized conventional vehicle, whereas a compressed-natural-gas (CNG) vehicle will be nearly $4,000 more, and an electric vehicle will be $12,000 more.

Top fuel burners, such as diesel locomotives, heavy-duty trucks, off-road and construction machinery, maritime vessels, and stationary power units will remain using diesel fuel. The Outlook projects that demand for energy for commercial transportation—trucks, airplanes, ships and trains—will rise by more than 70%, driven by economic growth, particularly in Non OECD nations.

Source: Green Car Congress