7 Days of Blog Retribution: UPS Adds 200 Hybrid Trucks

One of my only regular commenters (in fact, my only one recently) sent me a note the other day...

yo update your blog.. wtf man.. how can i learn anything without you??

It occurred to me that it has been over a week since my last update. Not only that, the other blog has gone just as long without crisp, fresh content. I'd make excuses but that wouldn't do anything to mitigate the lack of JoshIsJosh content so I'll just go ahead and make some content. And I'm going to do it every day for 7 days. And it won't even be just 7 links posted.

Here's to you, Bridget ;)

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UPS: lesser of several evils

I spend some of my browsing time on vwvortex.com (not nearly as much as I used to, thankfully) and have noticed a marked increase in well-spoken car nuts who also happen to think what we do to the environment is deplorable. One of these nuts said something very interesting a while ago (I'm paraphrasing):

Want to do something about the environment and the energy crisis? Don't worry about the difference between 30 and 35 MPG on your compact sedan, stop buying things that need to be shipped. You're out-of-season fruit and trendy clothing made in Europe does more damage than you could ever do with your own car.

That quote stuck with me and is one of the reasons I choose local produce when I can (plus it tends to be cheaper). This quote, however, doesn't seem to occur to me when I buy electronics from Newegg or books from Amazon. If it needs electricity, stores data, and/or incorporates wires in any way, it is shipped to my door from Whittier, CA, pretty much no exception.

Like I mentioned in a previous post about career choice and green-ness, caring about the planet and where your next drop of water or electron is coming from is tied into more things than your MPG and how many CFLs your house has in it. Probably the biggest problem we're going to have with this massive social change is getting people to give up important things that don't seem to be contributing greatly to the problem - like imported goods, mail-order, and unsustainable materials.

This is going to lead to an ENORMOUS rant if I don't go ahead and jump straight to the point... which is that some companies (driven probably by monetary concerns) are doing the sustainable thing, lessening the impact that our consumer culture is having on the planet. One of these companies is Brown, aka UPS.

UPS (NYSE: UPS) today announced it has ordered 200 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) - the largest commercial order of such trucks by any company - in addition to another 300 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles for its U.S. delivery fleet.

Awesome, right?


But this goes beyond the drop-in-the-bucket of diesel fuel saved by a few hundred trucks running around the clock. This is MASSIVE and PRICELESS data about how hybrids hold up, what kind of technology can make them better, and how to optimize them for start-stop city driving (of the worst kind). This goes way beyond the typical Prius for the sheer fact that delivery trucks, next to city buses and taxicabs, are probably the most abused vehicles on the planet. On top of that, they're big, they have to be maneuverable (not only turning radius but acceleration), and they shouldn't be breaking down in the middle of a delivery route.

Hybrids are somewhat unproven in the public eye. People are still afraid of the technical complexity, the longevity of the battery, and the amount of computer control that is going on in a hybrid. I think this will go a LONG way towards correcting that bias.

On the subject of UPS and the environment... check out their press section detailing the sustainable work they've done. I'm very impressed!

UPS Expands "Green Fleet" with 306 Alternative Fuel Vehicles

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it was adding 306 alternative fuel vehicles to its "green fleet" by placing an order for 167 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) delivery trucks while taking delivery of 139 new propane delivery trucks in North America. Additionally, the company has launched an initiative to use biodiesel fuel in its ground support vehicles at the UPS Worldport® air hub in Louisville.

Energy Lab to Evaluate Performance of UPS Hybrid-Electric Vans

New delivery trucks expected to save fuel, reduce harmful emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is collecting and analyzing maintenance, fuel economy and other vehicle performance data from 50 UPS hybrid diesel step delivery vans powered by an Eaton Corp. electric hybrid propulsion system.

EPA Unveils Unique Hydraulic Hybrid Diesel Delivery Truck with UPS, International Truck and Engine, Eaton and U.S. Army

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today unveiled the first-ever series hydraulic hybrid diesel urban delivery vehicle, which will provide dramatic improvements in fuel economy and in emission reductions. The development of the hydraulic hybrid is the result of a partnership between the EPA, U.S. Army, UPS, International Truck and Engine Corporation and Eaton Corporation.

Go Brown!

Obama Voices Biofuel Doubts

That's the headline over at the Wired Science blog.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that stays up on this topic that biofuels are looking less and less like what we need and more and more like the same problem that we have now just waiting to re-happen. It's the classic push-pull scenario where addressing one problem causes another serious one to appear. Biofuels are a very interesting sector of technology, it's a great lesson in thermodynamics to see machines (mechanical) powered by the same thing that powers other machines (biological), and 60+ MPG is a great thing but you can't mess with a necessity (food supply) to power a non-essential (sorry, but in the grand scheme of things, planes, trains, and automobiles are non-essential).

In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, the Democratic presidential candidate said "there's no doubt that biofuels may be contributing" to falling food supplies and rising prices.

That's a terrible quote ("no doubt that [it] may be contributing") but a serious implication.

"We've got a serious food problem around the world. We've got rising food prices here in the United States. In other countries we're seeing riots because of the lack of food supplies. So this is something that we're going to have to deal with," said Obama.

Ya rly.

I try to be as careful as I can be with respect to jumping on the media bandwagon with ANYTHING, green or otherwise. I want the reason why we're supposed to be thinking/acting a certain way or the concrete reason to be scared of something. I don't need abject, out-of-proportion fear based on specious evidence (if you're laughing at me because you think global warming falls under that category, please stop reading this blog).

That being said, this food thing is getting a lot of attention. Just a few links for you:

Food riots in Haiti (CNN) ["Food prices, which have risen 40 percent on average globally since mid-2007, are causing unrest around the world."]

Potential rice riots in the Far East? (Times Online) ["Analysts give warning of governments across the region resorting to a “starve-your-neighbour” policy in an effort to becalm rioting domestic populations, and the UN International Fund for Agriculture has previously said that food riots will become commonplace."]


Food Crisis > Climate Change (Guardian)

Strikes, Protest in Egypt (BBC)

A UN task force for the global food crisis (AP)

I've seen a steady increase in stories like this from all over the web but that's only really been in April. I read about the corn shortage starting last year (connected to ethanol production) but that was the only big news. Now it's a generic "food crisis" as opposed to just one particular export (though rice is getting a large portion of the attention).

The point being that if we MIGHT BE (or are) facing a food crisis then we MIGHT (or do) want to look at something OTHER than food to be powering our nation/world. Diesel from used cooking oil is one thing but ethanol from edible, now expensive corn is not a good idea.

Anyways, the cherry on top of this story (the Wired one) is this quote:

Corn growers are especially powerful in Obama's home state of Illinois, and the candidate has long been a biofuel booster -- which makes his comments on Meet the Press all the more welcome.

It's not very often that a politician will just change their mind on something, especially if it is "close to their hearts." The fact that Obama will change is mind is a very good thing, especially about something like this. All too often it seems like families, companies, countries get stuck in an endless loop in certain respects because people are too scared to say "I was wrong and now I think I'm right."

Obama in 2008, baby!

This is my Google Analytics data for 2/10/08 through today. I pulled it the other day and was very surprised to see such an international following.

I'm posting this, partly because I think it's fascinating how small the world has become but also because this is a very symbolic image (and only coincidental that the color is green). This tells me that people care, people want to know, people want to learn. All over the globe, human beings are re-thinking what they considered to be the truth and reconsidering their ideas of "the good life" and "success" and "happiness." Consciousness is spreading...

Thank you to my subscribers, thank you to my friends, and thank you to anyone who learned something important on my little (very, very little) slice of the web.

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Just a few quick ones today because I'm dead sick of the keyboard and mouse today.

First, post number two about a possible re-make of the BMW Isetta in EV form. Caught my attention on Ecogeek, they got it from AutoBlogGreen who got it from EDTA who got it from Lexis Nexis. Long line to get it here... thankfully SOMEONE is doing the dirty work.

Ecogeek:

A few bits of information have been leaking out here and there about BMW's plans to create an all-electric, lithium-ion two-seater for the European and American market. It seems to be possible that it will be a re-incarnation of BMW's tiny Isetta...but there are also indications that it will be co-branded with Smart.

Such a neat looking little thing... these are from omolody on Flickr:



Proud to be a green car rumor spreader!

And, again from Ecogeek, a hybrid kit... this is excellent:

A UK company has revealed a retro-fit hybrid conversion kit that has the potential to cut exhaust emissions in existing cars by nearly 40%, and improve fuel economy by 60%. The system, developed by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA), features a removable battery pack, arranged into three portable 30kW cassettes, which upgrade existing "conventional" vehicles into hybrids.

According to MIRA, the test model achieves an average of 64mpg (up from 39mpg), while top speed and acceleration remain similar to a standard Fabia.

I'd love to be an importer for this.... hrmmm.

San Diego Earth Day 2008... meh

Like any good green-type would do, I attended the San Diego Earth Day 2008 event on the 20th of this month (4/20, get it?). It was held in Balboa Park along the museum walk, a beautiful place to have any type of outdoor event. I heard about it from a friend who described it as a popular San Diego event that was not to be missed (not those exact words). The girl and I decided to spend a bit of our minimal free time mingling with the locals and seeing what this whole E-Day thing was about. By the end of it, we were glad to get out of the house but the whole thing was basically a let-down.


We got there right about when it started so, thankfully, we missed the bulk of the crowds (and the parking nightmare). There was a parade gearing up with all sorts of things ranging from cute little kids dressed in random, unrelated costumes to the stilt-walker above (a early-teens girl who appeared to have unnaturally long legs to begin with). We made our way down the promenade and saw booth after booth with everything ranging from organic lotion to investment options to window coverings. I was immediately struck by how unrelated to the earth and the green movement that these booths were. To give you an idea, check out this list of Earth Day exhibitors that were at the Park that day. Just a few generally non-green-related groups were:

AIG AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE & ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY
AIG Financial Advisor
Animal Protection & Rescue League
Animals Asia Foundation
Atheist Coalition
B "N" B Kettle Corn
Back Country Land Trust
Baha'i Faith

Listen, I like atheists and kettle corn just as much as the next guy but they really have little to do with Earth Day.

... but I digress...

We made our way down the promenade and ended up in front of the MoMA. We paused for a moment, just long enough to be accosted by the "are you registered to vote" crew. I gave my rote "..mumble, mumble..." and moved on.

EDCO waste management had a neat eye-catcher...


After chatting with a nice woman about some premium acai juice (bottled deceptively but creatively in wine bottles), we decided to make our way toward the west end of the park, hoping to run into the friends we were supposed to be meeting. On the way, a big, colorful sign caught my eye. No surprise that this happened because it was the same old "shock and awe" anti-choice assholes with that tired picture of the mutilated baby's head held with tongs (I tried to find the image but then I realized that I didn't really want to link to their site). Truth be told, this was the second ridiculous display of poor taste we had seen that day in just 30 minutes.

With no booth and no tact but an equal right to be there, a group of anti-choice sign-holders had invaded the Earth Day event. Holding giant images of late-term aborted fetuses in an attempt to sicken everyone into making a social and political choice is a boring, asinine way to make an unnecessary point. I'm really going to fly off-topic here so I'll say this: they were not harming anyone and they were not screaming and shouting but there should have been some kind of exhibitor restriction. If they want to spread their message they need to do so with their own booth, not upstaging the efforts of the people around them who are working towards a different cause. Maybe we could have a "Ban Legal Medical Procedures Day" and they can show up and wave their silly signs at like-minded people.

ANYways...

Right after that, we stumbled upon the San Diego recycling department who had this hilarious recycling bin costume on display (but no one to wear it... Anna said no):

I had a few questions about residential recycling and talked to a very helpful guy who explained the process and how it's going to be mandatory in 2010 for all housing units in San Diego to have recycle bins. What I didn't know is that landlords have to pay to have recycling picked up. I thought the materials that get picked up were finally as valuable as the cost required to pick them up. It shines a light on the reason why we don't have recycling bins (our landlord said that before we moved in, our apartment complex [of 12 units] had "lost the privilege of having recycling bins because people were throwing away the wrong things." hrmmmm). I guess that's yet another bill to look forward to when we have a house.

After that we made our way past a few more anti-choicers and security guards who were trying their damnedest to thwart their plans; the whole scene was ridiculous.

We signed a petition to raise diesel truck efficiency (relating to interstate transport), saw a neat both on green remodeling, and then made our way to the Aircraft/Automobile museum section. I was expecting a really great display of eco-vehicles, both home-made and manufactured. After our experience that day and my disappointing volunteer experience previously (at the Automobile Museum), I'm not sure why I had my hopes so high.

There were things to see, no doubt, but it was maybe 9 or 10 vehicles, most of which did not have their owners/builders nearby. There was nothing from Zap/Zebra (one of which attended the previously mentioned event), no Smart car dealers (there is one in San Diego) and no plug-in hybrid exhibits (like the one at SDSU and the Santa Monica event I went to).

I liked the blue Toyota converted to all-electric...



... and the German-built "Twike" was very interesting...





...and I had to have love for an EV rabbit convertable ("Da Lectric Spidey")...


...but the others were just unremarkable. A "bamboo van" (powered by bamboo somehow, I guess)...


... an electric-converted relic...

... and this:


Phoenix showed up with a little utility truck that was neat:

... but it was really a let-down.

Events like this are a perfect way to get the attention of a big group of people. Not just any people, though, people who might be open to changing their lifestyle a little (or a lot) to make the right choices for our planet. This is a VERY important opportunity, one that shouldn't be taken lightly. The event was set in a great location and the turn-out was really big, even in the morning. But, in the case of sustainable transportation, people were left empty-handed. There is no action to be taken, nothing to do about it, nowhere to go. There were a million and one products to buy but nothing you could do to change your MPG or method of transportation (that's not entirely true... there was an MTS booth as well).

It's hard to say who to blame for this - if that's what needs to be done. Maybe EarthWorks busted their butts trying to get people out there with no response. Maybe they trusted someone else would do it. Maybe they did nothing. Whatever happened, this was a lost opportunity. At the very least I would hope a few green-conscious car dealers in the area would be available to ask questions and hawk their hybrids or sub-compacts. Instead, there were a few tinkerers and their projects drowning in a sea of exhibitors that may or may not have anything to do with saving the environments.

All I know is that I came there for the green cars and left with a few fliers, a sample of Sun Chips, and a nice tan.

Oh, and a picture of a Rolls Royce parked on Park Ave with a bottle of Grey Poupon in the console. Bravo!

Do this please

After you're done reading the very informative interview below, please take the time to fill this little guy out.

This IS the scientific community (episode 2)

Hey, look! I talked another professor into doing work for me! I guess it's only appropriate since I'm doing work for him, right?

Dr. Laurance G. Beauvais, Assistant Professor of Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Materials Chemistry

Dr. Beauvais is my research adviser at San Diego State and I've been in his group for almost a year and a half. The research is concentrated on creating crystalline solids that will, hopefully, assist in gas storage (particularly hydrogen).

The (virtual) interview:

What is your honest opinion regarding the state of our environment and the existence of global warming? Do you believe that this is a serious issue to address or a misinterpretation of data?

Wow, that is a very broad question. Regarding the state of our environment, I would say that we (meaning the United States) have made great strides in some areas but we have a long way to go. For example, recycling programs are ubiquitous and we do a good job on metals and paper, but too many plastics are not being recycled. Combine the poor recycling of plastics with the use of plastics in packaging, and that generates a large amount of waste. We need to either re-use more plastics, most of which are produced from fossil fuels, or move to renewable plastics made other sources. I think that we have done a good job reducing sulfur and nitrogen oxides but we have not done enough to reduce mercury emissions.

Regarding the existence of global warming, I would have to say that all of the reports I have seen from credible scientists and scientific organizations has supported global warming. I am not a climatologist, so I am not ready to argue the minute details of global warming. However, I can do a quick calculation of the amount of CO2 released from gas combustion in this country per year and the number is staggering. The US consumes 400 million gallons of gas per day which results in the release of 884 gigagrams of CO2. Consider that CO2 cannot be removed from the atmosphere rapidly and that the carbon obtained from petroleum sources has been sequestered underground for millions of years. Thus, we will increase the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere by burning oil. CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Add these facts up, and global warming does not seem so far-fetched. Therefore, I consider global warming a serious issue.

What is the most important thing that the average earth inhabitant can do to improve or avoid any current or future environmental impacts? Is there anything you do personally?

Are you considering wild animals, pets, and other living organisms as inhabitants or only humans? For now, let’s focus on humans.

Of course, there are many things that people can do to reduce their environmental footprint. I recycle as much as possible, I purchase locally produced items/foods whenever possible, I have a 10 minute commute, I carpool, etc. Consider the 400 million gallons of gasoline that are used everyday in the US. A good portion of that must be devoted to transporting manufactured goods, food, commodities, etc, and a good portion is probably transported by trucks. The more efficient means of moving goods is by rail, but the rail system in this county has deteriorated. If people purchased locally sourced items, we could reduce fuel consumption while at the same time improving local economies. Why do people want to live an hour away from work? Sure, I understand the desire for more space and bigger homes, but do you really enjoy sitting in traffic and paying $20 a day for gas? In most of the county, we do not even offer commuter trains that parallel major highways.

I would love to install photovoltaic cells on my house, but the prices are too high and the efficiency too low. I believe that we should see improvements on both of those factors in the next few years as alternatives to silicon-based systems are commercialized. If a large portion of the country generated their own power, it would go a long way to reducing one of our major sources of various emissions and fuel consumption–power generation.

How important is a move toward sustainable transportation, in your opinion? Do you think it is worth the effort that it will take? Is it a waste of time or an absolute necessity?

It would be great to retrofit our sprawling cities with mass transit systems. However, I do not think that works. You really need to have the transit in place at the same time you are developing a city. As an alternative, I think it worth the effort to produce cars that are as fuel efficient as possible and to target cleaner fuels such as hydrogen. Ignoring the environmental issues, we need to find an alternative transportation fuel to replace gasoline for reasons of national security. Our dependence on gasoline means the continued support of repressive totalitarian societies, such as Saudi Arabia. In addition, as people in China and India seek a lifestyle similar to that of the developed world, the demand for oil can only increase.

In terms of research, where do you think the most money and time should be spent? Are there any important global problems that you believe should be addressed immediately?

We need to determine how we want to address the future energy needs of our country and the world. We can estimate how much energy we will need, and we need to have a plan for supplying that energy. We will have to revisit nuclear energy because it has zero emissions, as long as we have the correct regulations and a permanent waste storage facility, but there is a limited supply of uranium. Ultimately, we need to improve photovoltaic cells so that we can generate power at the point of use and reduce the need for large power plants. We need to couple the power generation from solar cells to a power storage mechanism because solar power is limited to specific times and places. For example, use solar energy to pump water uphill during the day and recover the power at night by using hydroelectric generators. Or, use solar power to split water to generate hydrogen and then use internal combustion or fuel cells to generate electricity.

If you had the power to do so, regardless of your opinion on the state of the environment or petroleum, what technology would you pick to power our society? Why?

Solar power. It’s clean and renewable. Power can be generated where it is needed or converted to a storage medium. But, we need to develop solar cells with better efficiencies and costs. It would be nice to not need silicon because of the energy required to generate pure material. The solar cells will need to be flexible and easy to integrate into building materials.

If you could do one thing to improve the state of transportation in America, what would you do?

Get rid of the upper speed limit on highways and apply a well-enforced minimum speed limit.

Or, increase the average fuel efficiency by 10 mpg.

Do you think that public transportation development is important for major cities? What do you think about the system in San Diego?

Public transportation is important but I think it is nearly futile to build systems in cities like San Diego, LA, Houston, etc. The cities are spread out, land is expensive, and the resulting transit systems take too long for most uses.

Thank you for your time, Dr. Beauvais!