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Britain’s burgeoning rail network
London Times
Britain now has Europe’s fastest growing railway system, according to figures
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Passengers travelled 25.8 billion miles in 2004, up 40 per cent in ten years. This was the highest rate of growth in Europe, the study by the Association of Train Operating Companies found. The number of passenger journeys has also increased faster in Britain than in other European countries.
In 2004, a total of 1,030 million journeys were undertaken, up 38.1 per cent since 1994 and an increase of 2.8 per cent over the same figure achieved in 2003. Only Germany, with a much larger rail network, carries more people than Britain.
There are now an average of 2.82 million passenger journeys travelled on Britain’s rail network every day — the highest since 1959.
George Muir, director general of the association, said: “Passengers in Britain are clearly recognising that the railways are continuing to change for the better.”
(21 September 2005)
Simple Fixes for Saving Energy
Larry Armstrong, Business Week
Sure, you can put a small fortune into conservation. But some surprisingly modest moves have the quickest returns on investment
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O.K., so you’ve been putting off weatherizing your home or replacing that aging dishwasher with an energy-efficient model. With the impact of Hurricane Katrina promising higher energy costs this winter, is it finally time to get started on all those energy-saving projects?
Well, yes and no.
Yes, if you’re committed to doing your part for a cleaner world — and willing to back that goal with your pocketbook.
No, if you’re simply afraid that energy prices are going to surge, as they have at the gas pump, if you’re looking for a speedy payback for what you spend, or if you expect the Joneses next door to smile approvingly at your concern for the planet. If those are your reasons, you’re better off spending the extra cash to park a hybrid in your driveway.
(20 September 2005)
In China’s clouds of pollution, Washington (state) sees a silver lining
Rob Carson, Tacoma News Tribune
A treatment pond at a Chinese chemical factory overflowed this summer, sending a gray wave of toxic sludge down a hillside and into a nearby village. The flood flattened five houses and killed four people, including two children.
The disaster would have been major news most places, but it rated only three lines in China Daily, the country’s national newspaper. The paper didn’t even bother mentioning the village’s name.
Environmental disasters are not unusual in China. The country’s dramatic leap into the 21st century has been accompanied by horrific pollution. According to the World Bank, China has 16 of the world’s 20 most-polluted cities. Bad air from its industries and coal-fired power plants pollutes the entire planet. An estimated 400,000 Chinese citizens die each year from diseases related to air pollution.
As hundreds of millions of Chinese continue to trade bicycles for cars in the next few years, the situation stands to get far worse.
If there is a bright side, it is this: China’s central government appears highly motivated to clean up its act. That creates a gold-rush opportunity for Washington companies that specialize in environmental technology and conservation systems.
(20 September 2005)
The Week in Green Vehicles (09/18/05)
Mike Millikin, WorldChanging
With the sharp rise in gasoline prices catalyzed by the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina in the background, the biennial Frankfurt International Auto Show (IAA) was the venue for a number of automakers to show some hybrid concepts, and make announcements on future plans.
Unfortunately, the emerging tendency in applying hybrid technology is oriented more toward maintaining or increasing power while delivering smaller gains in fuel efficiency. Gains of that magnitude, while not to be disparaged, are also potentially achievable through a variety of other approaches with combustion engines: spray-guided gasoline direct injection, turbocharging, cylinder deactivation and others.
To put it another, cruder way: the current development activity demonstrated by most automakers with hybrids is akin to piling up a couple of rows of sandbags on top of a Category 3 levee. It’s not going to do much for you when the Cat 5 storm hits.
(18 September 2005)
Speculative Ecodesign for Osaka
Dawn Danby, WorldChanging
Design competitions can be strange things, heavy on presentation and ultra-light on functionality. But at their best, they can become spaces where new concepts get tested out, with designers and students forced to consider elements that they wouldn’t normally address in their work. Recently, there’s been a noticeable shift towards ecodesign in higher-profile competitions.
…The Japan Design Foundation’s new competition, ENERGY: Sustainable and Enjoyable Life is another of the latest indications that the international design community is paying real attention to product sustainability.
(19 September 2005)
Defeat of California solar roofs bill: hope is not dead
David Hochschild, Gristmill presented by Lisa Hymas
Late on the night of Thursday, Sept. 8, California’s Million Solar Roofs bill died when the California legislature ended the 2005 session. Originally proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger with bipartisan support in 2004, the $2.5 billion bill would have created ten years of incentives to help Californians install up to one million rooftop solar energy systems on homes and businesses.
….In the din of America’s sensationalist political culture, it can be easy to lose sight of why state leadership on renewable energy matters so much. This summer, just six months after the Kyoto global warming treaty took effect with the support of 141 nations, President Bush signed into law a 1,700-page federal energy bill chock-full of subsidies for coal and oil. That America has rejected the only international protocol intended to fight global warming and instead adopted an energy policy that accelerates, rather than alleviates, the problem is unacceptable.
But by failing to lead in the development of the clean-energy technologies of tomorrow like solar power, the U.S. is also sacrificing an enormous economic leadership opportunity to countries like Japan.
…That America’s economic counterparts are bringing solar into the mainstream is good news from an environmental perspective. Largely as a result of pro-solar policies implemented in Japan and Germany, the world’s solar industry grew by 62% last year, surpassing wind energy to become the fastest-growing source of energy in the world.
This is encouraging news. But without the meaningful participation of the United States, it is unlikely to be enough to make a dent in climate change.
(21 September 2005)
