Photo by Kevindooley. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

If your child rides the bus to school in New York City, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) would like you to know that he or she is being exposed to "harmful pollution levels" during the daily ride. The EDF issued a report yesterday that calls on the NYC Department of Education to cut diesel soot pollution by 90 percent and suggests using diesel retrofit technologies to do so. On top of that, EDF recommends retiring the buses three years sooner than is now standard. And, if the Department does so, EDF says, it "could be using the largest, cleanest school bus fleet in the country within just a few years." It certainly will take a while to do so, because there are more than 7,000 public school buses in the city. A few other options from the ABG archives:

• Plug-in hybrid school bus
• Biofuel-powered school bus
• Using a diesel particulate filter

[Source: Environmental Defense Fund]

I don't know about you, but the idea of diesel particulates (soot) lodging themselves on my brain doesn't sit well with me. While scientists and researchers have known for some time that diesel soot clings to our grey matter, just recently Dutch scientists were able to convince 10 people to sit in a room filled with diesel exhaust so that they could monitor their brain waves. Not surprisingly, their brains showed signs of "stress" just thirty minutes into this operation. We're not going to argue with these results... in fact we thought it was just common knowledge that breathing exhaust fumes, whether from either gas or diesel burning cars, was a bad idea. Ah well, at least we now have scientific data on the topic.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

Back before the age of emissions regulations or the technology to do anything about them anyway, new factories and power plants sprung up and dumped huge amounts of black soot into the air on a daily basis. Then, prevailing winds swept the soot away and dumped it off elsewhere. Where? Apparently, in the arctic for one. Ice samples reveal that huge amounts of pollution and black soot were deposited in Greenland, and researchers believe that the soot is from North America. The data shows that the soot started piling up between 1880 and the 1950's, which makes sense as this is when the first Industrial Revolution was merging into the second, and was in full swing in America.

The soot found in the ice is mostly carbon and absorbs heat from the sun, causing the ice to melt at a higher rate. It is good to reflect on the fact that not all the soot comes from burning fossil-fuels, some of it is from forest fires. But, the fact is that a seven-fold increase was detected starting around 1880, and forest fires are almost certainly not to blame for that. This might be another reminder that humans can indeed have a huge impact on their environment.

[Source: NSF via Physorg]

General Motors has announced its Medium Duty Truck lineup for the 2007i (the i stands for interim) and 2008 model years feature increased performance, increased driver comfort and reduced diesel emissions. Included are an all-new Chevrolet and GMC W-Series, as well as revised diesel engines and exhaust systems to ensure GM medium-duty trucks meet new, more stringent federal and state of California diesel as emissions standards.

All models featuring diesel engines meet the new, 2007 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 90 percent over the previous (2004) diesel engine standards. NOx emissions have been reduced in the 5.2L, 6.6L and 7.8L diesel engines via an advanced exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and a variable geometry turbocharger.

Particulate matter has been reduced via a ceramic honeycomb channel diesel particulate filter (DPF) which captures sulfate particles and soot. Exhaust gases are directed through the channels and a porous material that traps the particulates. To clear the particulates and prevent clogging, a regeneration process occurs to burn off the trapped particulates and clean the filter using high exhaust gas temperatures.

To meet the EPA regulation for lower diesel fuel sulfur emissions, GM-designed emissions systems work efficiently with the new fuels and lubricants. The 2007 emission regulations also require all crankcase gas emissions to be reduced. To comply, a closed crankcase system was added to reroute ventilation gases back into the engine for combustion.

Analysis: A lot of work has gone into meeting the 2007 EPA diesel engine requirements by GM and all the diesel engine manufacturers. Their costs to comply with the clean air rules is our benefit as every new diesel vehicle that retires an old diesel vehicle will see the air become cleaner and cleaner. With the work done now to meet 2007 regs, GM and others can turn their research and development over to even more advanced green technology such as diesel-electric hybrids.

Read the complete press release after the jump.

Related:

• "EnviroFuels offers the first ever EPA-verified, patented technology that drastically reduces fuel costs and emissions with minimal capital costs"
• Wal-Mart orders diesel-electric hybrid truck prototype from ArvinMeritor
• First 2007 Caterpillar Engine with ACERT Technology begins production

[Source: GM]

For months you've been hearing us talk about the impending introduction of the new low-sulfur diesel fuel throughout the country on October 15, though, mostly in regards to ushering in Mercedes' BlueTec engine. Keep in mind that the new fuel will also have a major impact on the 8 million diesel-powered trucks that move 94 percent of the nation's goods and the 500,000 diesel commuter buses.

In a press release, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) say that the new fuel will immediately cut soot emissions from any diesel engine by about 10 percent while drivers of new diesel trucks with advanced emissions controls will realize tailpipe pollution reductions of up to 95 percent. Owners of existing diesel vehicles will have the option to install add-on components that can reduce soot emissions by more than 90 percent. Richard Kassel, head of NRDC's Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project, says that in many ways the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is similar to the removal of lead from gasoline a generation ago as sulfur hampers exhaust-control devices in much the same way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters.

[Source: Natural Resources Defense Council and Diesel Technology Forum]

The busiest ports in the nation, Los Angeles and Long Beach, announced an aggressive air pollution control plan, which would make them the cleanest in the world. The $2-billion, five-year plan expects to reduce sooty diesel pollution from cargo ships, trains and trucks by more than 50%, which might result in some loss of business. The plan aims at reducing health risks to dockworkers and communities around the docks and loading facilities, and the region's congested freeways and railroads. The spokesman for the Port of Long Beach expects to lose some business to Mexico, but stated the port was no longer interested in companies which are not interested in cleaning up their pollution. The two ports hope to set the example for all the ports in the Pacific Rim. While 40% of all retail goods imported to the U.S. are shipped through the two ports, together they are also the single largest contributor to smog from diesel engines in the Los Angeles Basin. The plan calls for replacement of the aging short-haul diesel trucks, and will demand international cargo ships to run on low-sulfur fuel within 20 nautical miles of the harbor. Docks will be retrofitted with electrical power for unloading, instead of burning diesel fuel.

[Source: Los Angeles Times]