Nobody likes to be labeled, unless they truly embody everything that a specific group stands for. For instance, many people who try and live their lives in an eco-friendly manner would not label themselves as "tree huggers", but for some, the label fits perfectly and they have no problem with it at all. Car guys, though, generally readily admit to their fascination with all things automotive. Perhaps it's because being a "car guy" doesn't often carry along a negative stigma. Regardless, an interesting debate has sprung up on the Karl on Cars blog, where Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief of Edmunds.com, happily accepts the "car guy" label while rejecting the "environmentalist" tag, despite his admitted provocation to conserve resources whenever possible, including with the automobile.

The debate of whether or not someone could be both an environmentalist and a car guy is an interesting one. Perhaps one could claim to be a "green car guy" in lieu of actually being labeled as a tree-hugging environmentalist. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but it might make sense to have a category for those who want to drive clean for reasons other than saving the planet.

[Source: Karl on Cars]

Seems like AutoblogGreen's been on to something these last couple of years as it relates to the greening of the automotive industry. For the first time in fourteen years, the annual DuPont Automotive/SAE survey of OEM and supplier designers and engineers, conducted by Consumer Insights, Inc, found that environmental concerns topped cost as the biggest hurdle automakers must overcome.

Other highlights:

• Fifty-four percent of respondents say that fuel efficient vehicles with reduced environmental impact are important to consumers -- that number seems a bit low to us.
• For the fifth consecutive year, alternatively powered vehicles are predicted to have the greatest impact on the industry.
• Fifty percent of respondents see diesel engine technology as a key focus to help achieve 2020 efficiency regulations, compared with forty-six percent for hybrids
  
• In 10 years, most people predict the majority of vehicles will run on bio-based diesel fuel (27 percent); petroleum-based diesel (20 percent) and E85 (20 percent). Only 18 percent predict gasoline will dominate.

Diesels look to make a strong impact on the American market, according to this survey. We see no real mention of electric cars here, which we believe could makea a big impact in the coming years.

France's flag is no longer red, white and blue, it's green. President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a set of measures to make the country advance towards sustainable development. The initiatives were announced after the conclusion of the Grenelle de l'environment negotiations. The Grenelle (a word that comes from the students' revolution in Paris in May '68) was a set of conversations among government, industry, environmental groups and unions.

In a few words: France is going to tax fossil fuels and will promote energy saving, increased railway transport, a halt in the construction of new highways, the development of renewable energies (without stopping nuclear power, something that will become "transparent") and changes in the Penal Code to punish harder for all kinds of environmental crimes and products.

All fossil fuels will have a new "carbon tax." In order to ease the burden for companies, other taxes will in some cases be reduced.

During the official announcement, Sarkozy was supported by Al Gore and José Durao Barrosso (the EU Comission President).

[Source: Le Monde (Read link is in French)]

As yet another country clamoring for the lofty goal of being the alternative/renewable fuel leader, India is making some advances. And the goal seems achievable: one million plus hydrogen-powered vehicles on their roads in the next thirteen years. The hardest part is obviously getting a hydrogen infrastructure in place, but the difficulty of the task doesn't seem to faze them.

Vilas Muttenvar, the New and Renewable Energy Union Minister, says he looks forward to working with the European Union to meet their bio-fuel targets. Those targets involve the use of waste and crop-grown cellulosic materials. While not much emphasis was put on the point, it was at least a little gladdening to see that one of their focuses will be "reducing the environmental impact of bio-fuel usage." After all, if we're just changing the way we ruin the Earth, we haven't really made any progress, have we?

[Source: Daily India]

Zap! is currently parading its current models up and down the runway in China. This is somewhat convenient, as all of them (cars, trucks, ATVs, scooters, etc.) are built there. The China International Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference (CEIPEC) is organized and sponsored by the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry (CAEPI), and it is 30,000 square meters of exhibits from over 200 international companies from 22 countries. So, yeah, that's pretty good publicity for Zap!.

We all know the auto industry is changing to a greener shade of exhaust, but how much and how fast is the big unknown. Frost & Sullivan, a 46-year-old global analysis and consulting company, has attempted to calculate these rates of change, and today released some of that information. The takeaway number for me is that F&S thinks that 69 percent of all vehicles globally will continue to run on gasoline in 2015. Another 26 percent will use diesel. So that's 95 percent right there still sucking on dinojuice. About another six percent (which gives 101 percent, but I'm guessing that's due to rounding) will be gas-electric hybrids. 2015 is only eight years away, but there doesn't seem to be that much of a change from today, except for an increase in the number of hybrids. Thanks to emissions regulations in some countries, these cars will burn cleaner, but they'll still need crude oil to operate, which isn't good.

Here are a few numbers (see F&S's full press release after the jump for more):

• Diesel engines will increase their market share in India from 29 percent in 2005 to 50 percent by 2015.
• "Alternative fuel vehicles" will increase to three million worldwide by 2015, with ethanol and natural gas vehicles expected to be the most prominent among them (obviously, F&S is not counting flex-fuel vehicles the way the Auto Alliance does).

[Source: Frost & Sullivan]

A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report has been published that identifies transport as a major stumbling block for the European Union in trying to reach its Kyoto climate change targets. The report, 'Transport and Environment: on the way to a new common transport policy', calls for policy changes to address the massive increase in transport usage over the last twenty years. Passenger transport volumes have grown 20 percent in the EU between 1990 and 2003, and air transport volumes have virtually doubled in the same period. While other major economic sectors such as agriculture actually managed to reduce their emissions from 1990 to 2004, transport's emissions contribution has moved further into the red.

Emissions are not the only adverse effect of the surge in transport - noise pollution and air pollution related illness has also risen with the number of vehicles on European roads. In fact the report points out that almost four million life-years are lost each year due to high pollution levels.

Analysis: Extraordinary subsidies of over €100 billion per annum (US$131 billion) are paid to the road transport industry in Europe, leading to increased use of trucks and cars in favour of more efficient transport options. If such subsidies are phased, out the economic balance of efficiency should be restored which will also help the environment.

Related:

• Geneva Motor Show: Ford promises to expand ethanol/flexifuel lineup in Europe
• EU Commissioner for Science and Research likes the HyICE project's hydrogen ICE
• New European CO2 standards may force Porsche production out of the EU

[Source: Copenhagen EnviroNews]

Trendspotters around the world, take note of the 70 "in" products, services and trends that will define 2007 according to JWT, the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Says Marian Salsman, ececutive vice president and chielf maketing officer for JWT, "Trends are illustrated by the products and services that exemplify them. By examining what resonates with consumers, we can identify the larger patterns that will shape our lives in the years to come."

Not all of the top trends identified here matter to our readers, but I have extrapolated the following from the list, just 'cause I'm cool like that.

1. Sustainable construction\green buildings
2. hydrogen fuel cells
3. veggie buses (school buses that run on biodesiel)
4. environmental causes
5. companies "going green"
6. microgeneration (generating one's own energy)
7. energy saving light bulbs
8. Al Gore, the environmentalist (as opposed to the politician, I surmise)
9. RSS Feeds -- not green, but appropriate to our readers nonetheless

So, there you go. Now I can tell everyone that I know that I am indeed "trendy", and so can you.

Related:

• Edmunds.com's green automotive trends and forecasts
• 15 events make Renewable Fuels Association notable in 2006 list
• alphaDictionary: "hybrid" is one of the top 10 words of the year

[Source: redorbit.com]

Currently Amanda Congdon and her compatriots Mario Librandi, Rob Librandi and Emily Golub are nearing the end of their second week of a five-week journey across America in a Ford Escape Hybrid. AutoBlogGreen had a chance to talk to Amanda as they meandered from Greensboro, North Carolina into Tennessee.

AutoblogGreen: What was the goal of this trip and what prompted you to do this project?

Amanda Congdon: We knew that we wanted to videoblog across country, and we're very environmentally conscious, so it seemed perfect to partner with an environmental organization like the Natural Resources Defence Council and EnvironmentalCountdown. The goals of the trip are to raise awareness about the environment and about "citizens" or as Jeff Jarvis was saying "network journalism". Those are the two things we're focusing on when we meet with people along the way.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

Honda Motor Company, ever the environmental trailblazer, has developed an earth-friendly fabric made from plants for its vehicle interiors. The fabric accomplishes two things that previously made such technologies flawed -- it's both durable and resistant to sunlight. The material is appropriate for seats, door coverings, headliners, floor mats and other fabric-covered surfaces.

The new fabric has the potential to cut energy consumption during production by 10 to 15 percent over processes for petroleum-based polyester fabrics, lessening CO2 emissions. It will first be used in Honda's fuel cell vehicles, set to go into production within the next three years or so.

[Source: peopleandplanet.net]

Brazil is one of the poster children for the alternative fuel movement and the country has more than once stated its desire to be the major supplier of sugarcane-based ethanol.

But the country's environmental and human rights policies may hinder its goal. Norbert Kreuger, manager of Corporate Citizenship at Ford in Europe, says that Brazil needs to work on preserving its rain forests while improving conditions and rights for its sugarcane workers. Roberto Rodrigues, the Brazilian Agriculture Minister who resigned last month, countered Kreuger's accusations, stating that there are no sugarcane plantations in the Amazon due to the poor soil conditions. As for the laborers, he points to Kreuger's examples as isolated incidents. The government, he states, is working hard to fight such condition with salaries for even part-time laborers higher than the national average.

[Source: easybourse]

Thanks for visiting AutoblogGreen on our opening day, which happens to be the 36th anniversary of the very first Earth Day. Twenty million Americans came together on this day back in 1970 to celebrate the possibility of a healthier planet, and while we, the citizens of Earth, still have a long way to go, we've traveled a great distance in 36 years.

The automotive industry and car culture in general has arguably played one of the largest parts in this planet's environmental decline. Whether you're a conflicted auto enthusiast or someone who begrudgingly accepts the automobile's role in your eco-friendly life, you'll find AutoblogGreen offers you an up-to-the-minute account of the auto industry's efforts to clean up its act.

Hybrids, diesels and vehicles running on ethanol, compressed natural gas and vegetable oil are all on our radar, as well as the promise of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles emitting nothing but that elixer of life - water. What's more, we'll cover the green car culture that has blossomed around the world's ever growing fleet of green vehicles.

So sit down, buckle up and get ready to accelerate gently and maximize your mileage with AutoblogGreen.

The National Parks System is protecting the environment in some farsighted ways. Turns out almost 700 pieces of equipment being used by our National Parks employ alternative fuels. The Green Energy Parks Program was started at Yellowstone in 1995 and currently is in effect at 23 parks, including Mammoth Cave. Mammoth Cave uses biofuels in all of its vehicles (everything from tour busses to lawn mowers!) and refuels on-site from two 3,000 gallon biofuel tanks. No word on where the parks get the fuel.

[Source: National Parks System]