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Cash for Clunkers greenlighted; rev up the car buying frenzy
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Congress has approved what will be a big bonanza for car buyers — not to mention car dealers — with the “Cash for Clunkers” bill that cleared the Senate on Thursday.
Once signed by President Obama, who pushed for the law, car buyers will be able to get up to $4,500 toward more efficient new vehicles when they trade in their aging gas guzzlers (or even just their aging cars that get so-so mileage). Cars must pre-date 2002 but not be older than 1984 models.
Ironically, this generous program would not be available had it not been for the short-sighted American car manufacturers who made so many gas gulpers, their heedless American customers and also the torpid economy. None of those players gets chastened or overhauled or even pinched in this deal.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, car dealers, Cash for Clunkers, Gas-Guzzlers, gasoline, Greenhouse Gases, high mileage cars, low mileage cars, lower emissions
On the road again? Maybe not
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
It’s settled. The loneliest salesperson in the frontier is not the Hummer dealer, but the guy selling Fleetwoods.
The recreational vehicle maker filed for bankruptcy today, saying that the rugged economic climate was proving too tough to weather, especially coming as it does after a protracted slump in sales already underway. [...]
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Fleetwood bankruptcy, gasoline, recession, recreational vehicles
Anti-idling campaign targets schools, children’s health
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The Earth Day Network, the Clean Air Campaign and UPS have launched a campaign that challenges an American tradition – idling your car outside the neighborhood school while waiting to scoop up the munchkins.
The groups are targeting active idlers because the practice needlessly pollutes the air, contributing to global warming and aggravating kids’ respiratory health issues.
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Tags: · Asthma, Clean Air Campaign, Earth Day Network, gasoline, Idling, UPS
Change your idle ways
By Barbara KesslerGreen Right Now
With winter weather at its most aggressive about now, it’s hard not to notice all the idlers in our midst. They’re idling at fast food restaurants, outside offices and schools. You find a business, there’s a car idling outside. Some people take their right to idle pretty seriously. Police cruisers idling while they lie in wait will get no argument from me. Ditto crossing guards, for different reasons.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Consumer Energy Center, gasoline, Idling
Garbage to gasoline, Texas plant gears up to make fuel from waste
By Barbara Kessler
Biomass technology promises what few other alternative fuel schemes can: energy from waste. Given the controversial use of corn (and other food crops) for biofuel, which is turning out to be less of a greenhouse gas saver than once thought, waste is looking pretty attractive.
A new plant in Central Texas, dedicated last week, promises to take sewage waste, organic garbage, grass clippings and manure, and convert them into gasoline.
Initially the plant, designed as a large-scale demonstration project, will use forage sorghum as its base material. Forage sorghum, unlike other varieties grown to produce sorghum seed for food products, does not steal directly from the human food chain. It is used as feed for cattle, but even so, it’s more renewable than corn because about twice as much (5-7 tons) can be grown per acre.
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Tags: · Biofuel, biomass, corn, gasoline, Green jobs, Mark Holtzapple, sorghum, Texas A & M University
Leaf blowers: just blow them off
Aahhhh. Another beautiful fall day. Another leaf blower. BZZZZZZZZ!
Solution? Rake.
Suggested New Thought Bubble: Wait a minute, what am I doing with this silly, ineffectual, dirty-emissions gadget? I’m an American, I should be conserving gasoline*, not squandering it. We’re at war in the Middle East! What was I thinking? My parents would have known better during WWII.
(* or electricity for plug-in leaf blower owners.)
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, conservation, gasoline, leaf blowers
California Leads in Fighting Oil Addiction
By John DeFore
California leads the nation in efforts to curb its addiction to oil, according to a report issued this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The group’s second annual report is mainly intended to measure each state’s relative vulnerability to rising oil prices, suggesting that while “the federal government has a responsibility to take [...]
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Tags: · California, gasoline, Natural Resources Defense Council, oil
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