Our Green Streets Blog

From Environmental Leader

Auto farm graveyard in Nebraska Photo: GR Meyers

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have unveiled the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. The new proposed standards are for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles.

“The EPA and DOT sent draft rules to the White House in August.

“The program, proposed by EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is projected to reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.

“For combination tractors, the agencies propose engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.

“For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the proposal calls for separate gasoline and diesel truck standards, which phase in starting with 2014 model year and cut emissions and fuel consumption 10 percent for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage).

“For vocational vehicles, the agencies propose engine and vehicle standards starting in 2014 model year, which would reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption 10 percent by 2018 model year.

“Overall, the heavy-duty national program would provide $41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, together with the potential for fuel efficiency gains, ranging from seven to 20 percent.”

Not too surprising for those who made it through last year, Environmental Leader & The New York Times report  clean tech investing fell by 33 percent in 2009.

Source: Cleantech Group

“Venture capital investments in green technology companies declined by 33 percent from $8.5 billion in 2008 to $5.6 billion in 2009, despite a flurry of government subsidies for renewable energy, according to a preliminary report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte,” the Environmental Leader post stated.

As to the numbers, investments in green technology companies declined from $8.5 billion in 2008 to $5.6 billion in 2009. The decline would have been worse except for a flurry of government subsidies that were made for renewable energy.

For more detail on this report, visit either Fort Collins, CO – based Environmental Leader or The New York Times’ Green Inc. blog.

It's about time for compostable food packaging! Source: Environmental Leader & Stalk Markets

For those of us who get sick of opening plastic packaging that has no hope for recycling or composting, or for the anything even remotely related to being biodegradable, good news is arriving on the news wire, according to Environmental Leader.

“StalkMarket Products, a provider of compostable tableware and food packaging, has unveiled what it calls the world’s first Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified compostable Ingeo hot cup and lid system. BPI certification is based on standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

“Replacing petroleum-based products with renewable materials, the containers are 100% compostable and are manufactured from Ingeo plant-based plastics from NatureWorks LLC.

“The containers meet the requirements of ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868. The Planet+ line of compostable products withstand more than 200 degrees F of wet heat and compost in 60 to 90 days in commercial composting facilities, according to the Portland, Oregon company. Read more of this >>