Getting past GREEN as a buzzword. Specifics about pollutio

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Get in the Green Tips to Reduce Fuel
and Energy Costs Western Snow and Ice
Conference Thursday, September 25, 2008
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Alternative Fuels Overview - REPLACEMENT

• Getting past GREEN as a buzzword
• Specifics about pollution reduction
• Life cycle of alternative fuels
• Water
• Land use

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Alternative Fuels Overview

• Biodiesel
• Made from soybean oil, animal fats and vegetable
  oil
• Can be blended with petroleum
• American Society for Testing and Engineering will
  be publishing blending specifications for B6-B20
  in mid-October
• Less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as
  fast as sugar
• Biodiesel in diesel engines results in
  substantial reductions of unburned hydrocarbons,
  carbon monoxide, and particulate matter

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Alternative Fuels Overview

• Natural Gas
• It is non-toxic, non-corrosive, and
  non-carcinogenic
• It presents no threat to soil, surface water, or
  groundwater
• Vast majority of natural gas is produced
  domestically
• Reductions in nitrogen oxides, particulate
  matter, and toxic and carcinogenic pollutants, as
  well as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
• Honda Civic GX runs on natural gas and has been
  certified as the worlds greenest automobile
  U.S. EPA

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Alternative Fuels Overview

• Electric Vehicles
• Vehicles that run on electricity have no
  tailpipe emissions
• Hybrids are most beneficial for city driving to
  maximize fuel economy and minimize emissions
• Energy-use equivalent of two large refrigerators
  to fully charge a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
  (PHEV)
• GM to release Chevy Volt and examine impact of
  PHEVs on the power grid

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Alternative Fuels Overview

• E85
• Derived from starch crops such as corn- future
  will be cellulosic
• Blend of 85 ethanol and 15 petroleum
• More than 100 stations will supply E85 in CO by
  Jan 09
• May only be used in flex fuel vehicles (FFVs)
• FFVs can use both E85 and unleaded gasoline
• Flex-Box Smart Kit is approved for the most
  popular Dodge vehicles the Dodge Charger, Dodge
  Magnum, Chrysler 300 2wd and AWD 5.7L Hemi.
• DO NOT use any non-EPA certified conversion kits!

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The Great Ethanol Debate

• Myths about Ethanol Food Vs. Fuel
• MYTH Ethanol cannot be produced from corn
  without disrupting food and feed supplies.
• FACT Ethanol today is produced from field corn,
  primarily fed to livestock and it cannot be
  digested by humans in its raw form. The ethanol
  production process produces fuel while retaining
  protein rich livestock feed products. 8 years 8
  tracks.

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The Great Ethanol Debate

• Myths about Ethanol Land use issues
• MYTH Growing corn used to produce ethanol is a
  poor use of Americas farmland.
• FACT Future ethanol will be produced
  increasingly from cellulose found in crop
  residues (e.g., stalks, hulls), forestry residues
  (e.g., forest thinning, wood byproducts), energy
  crops (e.g., switchgrass), and sorted municipal
  wastes. Some promising energy crops grow on
  marginal soils not suited for traditional
  agriculture.

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The Great Ethanol Debate

• Myths about Ethanol Water is scarce
• MYTH Ethanol production is the picture of
  water-use inefficiency.
• FACT It takes three gallons of water in the
  life-cycle of ethanol production, beginning when
  the crop is planted and concluding at the use of
  the fuel. In contrast, it takes 44 gallons of
  water to distill one gallon of unleaded gasoline.
  

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The Great Ethanol Debate

• Myths about Ethanol Fuel efficiency
• MYTH Ethanol and biofuels do not reduce
  greenhouse gas emissions.
• FACT

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The Great Ethanol Debate

• Final Thoughts on Ethanol
• Todays ethanol is a bridge technology to
• Improved farming techniques
• More efficient/reduced use of pesticides and
  fertilizers
• Higher yielding crops
• More efficient energy-conversion
• techniques
• Greater harnessing of energy

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Behavior and Efficiencies Overview - REDUCTION

• Raising awareness
• Encouraging behavioral changes
• As a professional driver, you have the
  opportunity to be a role model
• Appealing to values of stakeholders
• Budget and money
• Air quality
• Environment
• Health
• Safety

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Behavior and Habit Changes

• CHANGE
• Fill up after dusk and stop at the click.
• WHY
• Each extra click at the gas pump releases vapors
  into the air
• VOCs NOx sunshine ozone
• Ozone good up high, bad nearby
• Denver metro area and north front range are in
  non-attainment with EPA ozone standards

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Behavior and Habit Changes

• CHANGE
• Friendly driving practices are earth-friendly,
  too.
• WHY
• Reducing aggressive acceleration improves engine
  efficiency
• Smooth, even driving can improve fuel efficiency
  by 30
• Acceleration in city driving accounts for 50 of
  fuel use
• Anticipate red lights and coast slowly-
  accelerating from 5mph uses 20 less fuel than
  starting from a complete stand-still

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Behavior and Habit Changes

• CHANGE
• Always drive the speed limit.
• WHY
• Engines are most efficient from 55 60 mph
• Every 5 mph over 60 mph reduces engine
  efficiency 7-10
• Diesel engine sweet spot is approximately 1450
  rpm, and 1600 rpm for older diesels

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Behavior and Habit Changes

• CHANGE
• Reduce the amount of time you spend idling.
• WHY
• Excessive idling causes unnecessary wear and
  tear on engine
• Park in the shade on a warm day, park in the sun
  on a cold day
• Less than 30 seconds need to warm up on hot day
• Waste of fuel can your budget afford it?
• Opportunities curb-side pick-up and at the
  drive thru - 10 seconds, max!

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Improve efficiency

• CHANGE
• Keep tires well-inflated
• Keep engine well-tuned Obamas energy policy?
• WHY
• Tuning engine can improve efficiency by 4
• Changing an air filter can improve mileage by as
  much as 10
• Properly inflated tires can improve mileage by
  as much as 3
• Use of recommended motor oil adds another 1-2
• Just these four measures alone add up to 19

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Improve efficiency

• CHANGE
• Use electric lawn equipment, or maintain lawn in
  late afternoon
• WHY
• Using a gas-powered lawnmower for one hour is
  the equivalent of an average car driving
  round-trip from Denver to Ft. Collins
• Harmful vapors are emitted from gas-powered lawn
  equipment, which react with other gases and
  create ozone in the hot summer sun

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Vehicle Miles Traveled Reduction - ELIMINATION

• Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction programs
• Getting people out of their cars
• Making sustainable choices

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VMT Reduction

• Utilization of public transit
• Encourage and track use in RTD Eco Pass program
• Promote guaranteed ride home option
• Utilize carpool and vanpool options from Denver
  Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG)
  RideArrangers program
• American Lung Association of Colorado is the
  Bike to Work Day Champions for past two years
  in Arapahoe County Class A

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Living Streets Initiative

• Make the city accessible for all ages and
  abilities
• Improve community health and the built
  environment
• Enhance the people trip-carrying capacity of our
  corridors
• Encourage better utilization of urban land near
  transit
• Increase the return on investment in
  infrastructure improvements
• Make investments that incorporate sustainable,
  best management practices

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Final thoughts

• Our approach to creating cleaner air and being
  more GREEN must include alternative fuels and
  vehicles
• Changes in behaviors and habits
• Most important thing that all citizens can
  participate in
• Most options have minimal impact on budget
• Most options maximize citizens amount of control
• Foresight and planning is essential to
  development of sustainable communities in the
  future

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Questions?

• Natalia Swalnick
• Air Quality/Clean Cities Manager
• American Lung Association of Colorado
• nswalnick_at_lungcolorado.org
• 303-847-0271
• THANK YOU!