Environmental Defense, a New York non-profit organization, says the nation's autos emit the most pollution, although they comprise only 30 percent of the world's nearly 700 million cars, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
Environmental Defense said U.S. cars are driven more miles, provide less fuel economy and use fuel with more carbon than many automobiles driven in other countries.
As far as mileage, the Environmental Defense report said U.S. cars and light trucks were driven 2.6 trillion miles during 2004, equal to driving to Pluto and back more than 470 times, the Times said.
The report also noted U.S. small cars emit more carbon dioxide than do SUVs -- 25 percent of the total compared with 21 percent. That, said the report's lead author, John DeCicco, is because there are more older small vehicles with higher emissions still in service.
Environmental Defense said it hopes its findings will lead to laws requiring higher fuel economy standards for vehicles and a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases from all sources.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
MIT recommends steps to slash gasoline use by 2035
(PhysOrg.com) -- How much gasoline would the nation save in the year 2035 if lightweight hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles dominated the marketplace? More than 68 billion gallons, or about half the fuel currently used each year by today's vehicles.
Closing the hydrogen economic loop
The inventor of the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) technology used for building batteries for countless portable electronic gadgets and now hybrid gas-electric cars believes the hydrogen economy is already upon us.
Carbon capture strategy could lead to emission-free cars
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a strategy to capture, store and eventually recycle carbon from vehicles to prevent the pollutant from finding its way from a car tailpipe into the atmosphere. Georgia Tech researchers envision a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels.
EPA mandates ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel
The Environmental Agency has quietly issued a rule requiring U.S. oil refineries to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel to substantially reduce emissions.
India's humble rickshaw goes solar
A state-of-the-art, solar powered version of the humble cycle-rickshaw promises to offer a solution to urban India's traffic woes, chronic pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil.
New knowledge about thermoelectric materials could give better energy efficiency
Thermoelectric materials can be assembled into units, which can transform the thermal difference to electrical energy or vice versa – electrical current to cooling. An effective utilization requires however that the material supplies a high voltage and has good electrical, but low thermal conductivity.
Scientists explore putting electric cars on a two-way power street
Think of it as the end of cars' slacker days: No more sitting idle for hours in parking lots or garages racking up payments, but instead earning their keep by providing power to the electricity grid.
First atomic–scale compositional images of fuel-cell nanoparticles
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a step toward developing better fuel cells for electric cars and more, engineers at MIT and two other institutions have taken the first images of individual atoms on and near the surface of nanoparticles key to the eco-friendly energy storage devices.
