December 30, 2010

Chevrolet Volt Components Created from Gulf of Mexico Oil-Soaked Boom Material

December 30, 2010 No Comments

Oil-soaked plastic boom material used to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico is finding new life as auto parts in the Chevrolet Volt.
General Motors converted an estimated 100 miles of the material off the Alabama and Louisiana coasts and kept it out of the nation’s landfills.
The ongoing project is expected to create enough plastic under hood parts to supply the first year production of the extended-range GM Volt.
“Creative recycling is one extension of GM’s overall strategy to reduce its environmental impact,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety policy. “We reuse and recycle material by-products at our 76 landfill-free facilities every day. This is a good example of using this expertise and applying it to a greater magnitude.”

Two Smith Electric Vehicles parked side by side under daylight, showcasing their boxy delivery-style design with zero-emission branding.

Smith Electric Vehicles and Its U.K. Acquisition

December 30, 2010 No Comments

Deal would create global leader in emerging electric commercial vehicle industry
Kansas City, MO – March 10, 2010 – Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation (“Smith U.S.”) announced today that it has made a conditional offer to buy the Smith Electric Vehicles business based in the U.K. (“Smith UK Division”) from Tanfield Group Plc. (“Tanfield”). The offer is conditional upon successful financing by Smith U.S. and shareholder approvals on the part of Tanfield. The board of Tanfield has granted Smith U.S. a four month period of exclusivity.
In connection with the purchase of the Smith UK Division, the transaction includes the purchase of all of the Smith U.S. common stock currently held by Tanfield, as well as the License Agreement by and between Tanfield and Smith U.S., and the intellectual property necessary to allow the combined businesses to operate globally. Smith U.S. has retained Jefferies & Company, Inc. as its advisor on the
transaction.

Close-up of a Ford vehicle dashboard showing the illuminated Auto Start-Stop indicator with gear selector and speedometer in view.

Ford’s Auto Start-Stop system will be available for North American cars and utilities in 2012

December 30, 2010 No Comments

Ford’s popular fuel-saving technology that automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop – a feature found today on the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Escape Hybrid and some Ford cars in Europe – will soon be added to conventional cars, crossovers and SUVs in North America.

Government’s Effort to Derail EPA Rulemaking Is Based on Numbers that Do Not Add Up

December 30, 2010 No Comments

WASHINGTON, D.C.///December 29, 2010/// Earthjustice (http://www.earthjustice.org)
Two years after the Kingston, TN coal ash spill, federal action to regulate coal ash dumps is being held up by concerns that stricter standards would depress markets for coal-ash recycling. “Cost-benefit” analysis estimates prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claim that coal ash recycling is worth more than $23 billion a year, based on the annual life-cycle benefits of avoiding pollution and reducing energy costs. But there’s just one problem: That estimate is more than 20 times higher than the $1.15 billion that the U.S. government’s own data shows is the correct bottom-line number, according to a review conducted by the independent and nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Earthjustice, and the Stockholm Environment Institute’s U.S. Center (based at Tufts University).