Automaker GM is planning to make half of its 181 manufacturing plants worldwide "landfill-free" by 2011 through initiatives to reuse or recycle some 90 percent of its waste, according to USA Today. The not-reused, not-recycled portion of the waste would potentially be incinerated to produce energy. GM has yet to formally announce the program, but USA Today reports that the company already has 10 "landfill-free" plants in operation and a spokesperson told the paper that another 80 plants will likely meet the no-landfill-waste goal sometime in 2010. GM, along with other U.S. automakers, has been struggling financially lately as high gasoline prices have substantially curtailed SUV sales that had been a central part of its business model. Automakers that have focused on offering greener vehicles, such as Honda and Toyota, have lately fared much better than GM whose green-car offerings are still quite slim. However, GM has focused its efforts on developing one green car, the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid slated for release sometime in the next few years when battery technology catches up to GM's design.
source: USA Today
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Delay And Deny Posted 1:47 am
05 Sep 2008
The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b40990 ...
Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
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racc Posted 3:56 am
05 Sep 2008
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starsky Posted 9:10 am
05 Sep 2008
http://sattlerclothing.com/blog/2008/02/25/gm%e2%80%99s-v ...
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:47 am
07 Sep 2008
Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens Hydrogen Education Challenge, Week 6 summary
(All of the articles on the Hydrogen Discoveries blog are a must read!)
Here is a list of hydrogen facts that were posted in week 6 of the Hydrogen Education Challenge:
(Note: The seven items from day 26 to day 32 cover plug-in battery technology which is a competitor of hydrogen fuel cells.)
Day 26
Honda CEO Takeo Fukui blasted plug-in battery technology in a Wall Street Journal interview in June by saying:
"Wall Street Journal: Other auto makers, including Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., are planning to launch electric vehicles, but Honda isn't offering this alternative. Why not?
...
Day 27
...
"There is a group of `EV Zealots' who are constantly criticizing all hydrogen related work based on flawed arguments and without examining all the costs of a plug-in system."
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Pangolin Posted 3:52 am
07 Sep 2008
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Delay And Deny Posted 11:32 am
07 Sep 2008
I compete by providing data, links to articles in the general press and rebuttals to data-driven arguments.
You compete by calling me names, by starting every post with "Sheesh" or "Whew".
There's no competition.
You lose.
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Pangolin Posted 12:22 pm
08 Sep 2008
It's not a link to a journal or even a news report that would indicate that the extensive resource needs of a conversion to hydrogen fuel would trump battery technology using existing infrastructure.
New infrastructure needed for plug-in hybrids: Extension cords and charging stations in parking lots. A Prius with a battery upgrade kit and a plug counts.
New infrastructure needs for hydrogen: Untold billions in generation, compression, pipeline, storage and transfer facilities in addition to the vehicles (currently unavailable at actual cost vs. massively subsidized prices)
Your postings re: hydrogen are dishonest spam IMHO.
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