gas

Honda expands rollout of Civic running on natural gas (video)

Environmentally conscious consumers these days have more choices when it comes to deciding on a greener car. Hybrid? Plug-in hybrid? All-electric?

Well, what about natural gas, says Honda. The automaker has been rolling out its Civic that runs on natural gas to more states. But how common are fueling stations with natural gas? (As with electric vehicles, it's all about the infrastructure.)

In the video above, SmartPlanet's Sumi Das talks to Jay Guzowski, senior product planner with Honda, about the automaker's plans to sell the Civic nationwide.

This video first appeared at SmartPlanet under the headline "… Read more

2012 Honda Civic GX: Unsung green hero

Electric and hybrid cars grab all the headlines, but Honda's natural gas-powered Civic has been quietly running along, reducing CO2 emissions since 1998.

Of Honda's line of 2012 Civics, people are most likely to be unfamiliar with the Natural Gas version. The public in general is not aware that natural gas can power cars, in addition to heating houses and cooking food. Nor is the average man on the street likely to know that a gallon of natural gas is two-thirds (or less) the cost of a gallon of gasoline. That natural gas emits 30 percent less CO2 than gasoline is another little-known fact.

To spread some knowledge, Honda put me behind the wheel of its 2012 Civic Natural Gas for a drive that included city traffic, freeway merging, and some mountain twisties.… Read more

Look out: Fossil fuels may be out-innovating green tech

Scrappy green-tech start-ups aren't the only ones who make big bets on technology.

A spate of articles this week points to the fact that new technologies in the fossil fuel industry are making it harder for alternative clean energy technologies to get a larger foothold.

A New York Times article this week says new techniques allow drillers to tap oil and gas from a variety of "unconventional sources" that were once considered too difficult, a shift that changes the global picture on energy supply.

The most dramatic example in the U.S. is freeing natural gas from … Read more

2012 Green Car of the Year finalists named

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI are all finalists for 2012 Green Car of the Year, Green Car Journal announced today in a press release.

The winner will be announced during a press conference at a Los Angeles Auto Show press day on November 17. This marks the seventh consecutive year the award has been given out.

Green Car Journal editors considered dozens of models that were designed to reduce their environmental impact and be more energy-efficient. According to the press release, the cars … Read more

Solar firm SunPower goes micro

A leading solar manufacturer has decided to offer panels with microinverters for automatically converting electricity from direct current to alternating current.

SunPower, which is partly owned by gas and oil giant Total, announced this week it's adding the E18 and E19 AC Solar Panel series to its line of solar panels. The new solar-panel models will come integrated with SolarBridge Pantheon AC microinverters made by SolarBridge Technologies.

Normally, a solar panel generates electricity in DC (direct current), and needs to be routed to an inverter that converts it to AC (alternating current), the standard used in homes, before it … Read more

Ford looks to reduce carbon footprint in supply chain

Using post-consumer materials and finding more energy-efficient ways to produce vehicles are just part of Ford Motor Co.'s strategy to reduce the company's global carbon footprint.

Ford is looking at the energy use and carbon emissions of 128 global suppliers. These suppliers account for nearly 60 percent of the company's $65 billion in annual purchases.

In 2010, the automaker surveyed 35 top suppliers that make seats, steering systems, tires, and metal components. What Ford discovered was how much the companies varied in their readiness to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the 2010 survey results, … Read more

Chemical suicide detection kit to help first responders

In Japan, it's called "detergent suicide." People take their own lives by inhaling a deadly mixture of chemicals, typically including hydrogen sulfide, in small, enclosed spaces such as cars or closets. At high enough concentrations, one breath can be lethal.

A few years ago, these chemical suicides were extremely rare. But they started occurring more frequently in Japan and began to make headlines there after a 14-year-old girl contaminated 90 of her neighbors when she took her life this way in 2008. Today, by some counts, more than 2,000 people have committed suicide in this fashion, … Read more

Fleet owners push the pedal on alternative fuels

NORWOOD, Mass.--Trucks and other fleet vehicles are the unsung heroes in the move to alternative fuels.

Operators of fleet vehicles are important leading-edge users of everything from electric cars to natural gas-fueled trucks, say auto industry analysts. As more auto technologies come to market, fleet operators expect that each will fill a specific role, rather than have one technology fit every need, fleet operators said yesterday at the AltWheels Annual Fleet Day here.

All-electric delivery trucks used for city routes, for example, are more comfortable to drive and are cheaper to fuel compared to convention diesel trucks. Hybrids, meanwhile, … Read more

2012 Chevrolet Cruze sees 2 mpg better fuel economy

The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze models with the 1.4L turbo and six-speed automatic transmission will get 2 mpg better fuel economy for a 38 mpg rating, the company announced on Wednesday.

The current model is rated at 36 mpg.

According to Chevrolet, a lower axle ratio for the 2012 models enables about a 5 percent increase in highway fuel efficiency for Cruze. The Cruze Eco with an automatic transmission will deliver as much as 39 mpg on the highway compared with 37 mpg for the current model.

Last month CNET reported that the 2011 Cruze Eco boasted a 42-mpg highway … Read more