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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dr. Godless who wrote (3655)	1/10/1999 1:16:00 PM
From: Hawkeye	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5827

Here's something from the Union of Concerned Scientists website. December 29, 1998 Detroit Auto Show 1999: What's Green and What's Not Behind the Hype of Automakers' "Environmental" Vehicles The North American International Auto Show opens in Detroit on January 4, 1999. Building on last year's clean car buzz, automakers will showcase more technologies--like fuel cells, hybrids, and diesels--as they vie for the environmental mantle. But are all these vehicles as green as automakers would have you think? Many of the automakers' green promises revolve around higher-efficiency diesel engines, which have been revived by an industry struggling to meet fuel economy standards. Fuel efficiency gains also cut emissions of heat-trapping gases, allowing automakers to promote diesel as an environmentally friendly technology as public concern over global warming grows. But such claims ignore the substantial air quality, cost, and infrastructure hurdles that make diesel an unlikely near-term solution to global warming. DaimlerChrysler's new Power Wagon truck, to be displayed at the Detroit Auto Show, is an attempt to prove that dirty diesel can come clean. Like many strategies to remedy diesel's pollution problem, however, the Power Wagon gives up a large portion of its global warming benefits. The automaker lowers pollution by using a new fuel that, when manufactured, generates two times more global warming gases than refining today's diesel fuel. As a result, the truck reduces heat-trapping gas emissions by a modest 10-15 percent. In contrast, Honda's new hybrid, also to be unveiled at the auto show, cuts emissions of global warming gases by more than 50 percent. The vehicle, code named the "V V," combines gasoline and electric technology in a 70 mpg, ultra-low-emission vehicle. Through large global warming gains and moderate air quality progress, this technology provides an early step in the right direction. Still, the greatest environmental potential resides in fuel cells and pure electric vehicles, which can help curb global warming while zeroing out air pollution. Electric vehicles are available today, and high efficiency, zero-emitting fuel-cell vehicles are fast approaching as every major automaker pursues this technology. A General Motors fuel-cell van, which appeared at this fall's Paris auto show and may be shown in Detroit, is the latest vehicle using this clean technology. If you have any questions, please contact Senior Transportation Analyst Jason Mark or Transportation Analyst Candace Morey at (510) 843-1872. Union of Concerned Scientists 2 Brattle Square, Cambridge, MA 02238-9105 617-547-5552, ucs@ucsusa.org