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And 79 percent of Californians, including 69 percent of sport-utility vehicle owners, said they support changing federal law to require SUVs to meet the same gas mileage standards as passenger cars.

With an election next year, where California is the nation's biggest prize, Democratic challengers, as well as President Bush, could boost their chances by emphasizing energy efficiency and cleaner vehicles, the poll shows.

The message here for politicians is not to underestimate the importance of the environment even in these troubled economic times,'' said Baldassare.

When asked what was the most important environmental issue facing California, 30 percent of respondents said air pollution.

Following were: water pollution (10 percent), sprawl (7 percent), water supply (7 percent), pollution in general (6 percent), traffic (4 percent), energy (3 percent) and toxic waste (2 percent).

Ironically, even as California's air is getting cleaner, many residents don't know it.

While 28 percent of residents say the state has made a great deal of progress in dealing with air pollution over the past 20 years, 68 percent say only some or no progress has occurred.

In fact, air pollution has been one of the great eco-success stories in California.

There is no question that the air is markedly improved in the last 20 years,'' said Jerry Martin, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, in Sacramento.

The main reason is the improvement in auto emissions.''

A 2003 car emits less than 5 percent of the emissions of a 1970s car, Martin said, because of catalytic converters, on-board computers, and cleaner-burning fuels.

In the Bay Area, for example, there were 21 days in 1983 where the air quality violated federal health standards. By 2000, there were just three days. Over the same time period, Los Angeles went from 153 days over federal smog limits to 33. And the Central Valley went from 41 days to 30.

Why doesn't the public realize the progress?

I think it is the fault of government, the media and environmental groups,'' said Wayne Nastri, regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in San Francisco.

We haven't had a consistent message based on fact rather than rhetoric,'' Nastri said.

When you look at the data, it's clear and compelling there has been remarkable progress. But it is hard to sell good news.''

When asked

How concerned are you that the vehicle you drive pollutes too much?'' fewer than half of Californians said they are somewhat concerned (31 percent) or very concerned (13 percent). Another 54 percent said they are

not too concerned'' or

not at all concerned.''

Scientifically, many of them are right.

While SUVs emit more smog than new cars, just 10 percent of the passenger vehicles on the road spew out two-thirds of the pollution from passenger vehicles, said Professor Thomas Cahill, director of air pollution studies at the University of California-Davis. Those vehicles are older or poorly maintained, he said.

You know that car,'' he said.

It's the one that is smoking. We've got to get after that small percentage of cars that are killing us.''

Cahill recommends new state laws that would allow police to pull over smoking vehicles and issue

fix it'' tickets on the spot.

The poll also found that by 54-39 percent, Californians oppose offshore oil drilling off California; and by 65-26 percent, they support a $10 billion bond act on the 2004 ballot to build a statewide high speed rail system.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED

To see the complete poll, go to www.ppic.org

Contact Paul Rogers at progers@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5045.
http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=441

PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Californians and the Environment, July 2003

Mark Baldassare
July 2003, 36 pp.
This is the 37 th PPIC Statewide Survey and the fifth in a series of eight surveys that will focus on population growth, land use, and the environment. This survey focuses in particular on public perceptions, individual actions, and policy preferences relating to air quality issues.
Some findings of the current survey

Residents in the Central Valley (42%) are now as likely as Los Angeles residents (43%) to consider air pollution a big problem in their region of the state. In 2000, only 28% of Central Valley residents saw air quality as a big problem.

68% of Californians believe that increased carbon dioxide and other gases released into the atmosphere will, if unchecked, lead to global warming.

Most employed residents in the state report that they commute to work by driving alone (73%); many fewer commute by carpool (13%) or public transit (5%).

President and governor receive very low approval ratings for their handling of environmental issues: Davis, 30%; Bush, 37%.

86% of Californians say that the presidential candidates' positions in 2004 on environmental issues will be a very important (41%) or somewhat important (45%) factor in determining their vote.

Performance: Hybrid's Next Gear

American carmakers figure they can't sell improved fuel economy of hybrids, so they will focus on improved performance.

Source: Forbes

[Jul 28, 2003]
Buying a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle doesn't get you much beyond a little piece of mind. It doesn't save you money. It doesn't get you a bigger car. It doesn't let you go fast, or corner better, or listen to music at earsplitting volumes.

All it does is get you 50 miles to the gallon.

Which is fantastic, of course. But there are precious few car buyers willing to pay $20,000 for a Toyota Prius or Honda Civic Hybrid, subcompacts that would cost thousands less with a normal gasoline engine (though a $2,000 federal tax credit for hybrids helps close the gap a bit). The environment isn't enough of a concern to most Americans, and gas is so cheap in the U.S. that it would take years to recoup the extra cost at the pump.

So in order to get buyers to pay up for hybrids in any kind of serious volume, the vehicles coming out in the next couple of years will be sold with a different twist: They will be trumpeted as the high-tech way to get more performance out of a vehicle, not just a way to get better gas mileage.

"It's all the dessert you want, with no calories," says James Press , who runs Toyota's U.S. sales operations. "And it's the best dessert you've ever had."

Press was speaking about a Lexus SUV hybrid due out next year. Toyota says the car will get V-8 power out of a V-6 engine, fantastic acceleration and close to 40 miles per gallon. The vehicle will be more expensive than the RX330 it is based on, but the automaker is hoping people will pay for the performance. Toyota's new Prius, slated to hit showrooms this fall, is a whole class bigger than the current Prius, plus it is faster--and, by the way, it gets 55 miles to the gallon, better than the current, smaller version.

The first hybrid from Ford Motor   is a version of the Escape small SUV; predictably, Ford is billing it as a "no compromise" SUV. The company says the hybrid's 4-cylinder engine will accelerate like the current 201-horsepower V6, and it will have the same cargo space, off-road capability and towing ability. It also will get 35 to 40 miles to the gallon. "The fuel economy is a bonus," says Ford spokesman Said Deep .

General Motors '  first hybrids, versions of its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups, will be billed as "generators on wheels" when they arrive early next year. They will have two 110-volt AC outlets on board and enough juice to run power tools, camping equipment or, if you lose electricity, a TV set.

DaimlerChrysler   will build a similar hybrid truck, a heavy-duty Dodge Ram "contractor special," set to arrive in the fall of 2004.

These hybrids are not as elaborate as Toyota's and Ford's, so it will cost less and improve fuel economy by just 10% to 12%, or about 2 miles per gallon. In late 2005, GM will offer a more intense hybrid on its Saturn Vue. The pitch: The hybrid system will add 50 horsepower to the vehicle.

"It's very difficult to sell any fuel economy technology," says Robert Purcell , who runs GM's hybrid program. "So you've got to offer some kind of value proposition."

Hybrid vehicles have two motors--that's why they're so expensive. A traditional gasoline engine and an electric motor are used together to power the car. If you're thinking of those plug-in electric car experiments of the 1980s, think again; this is something different. There is no plugging in: The car uses the energy expended by braking and slowing down to automatically recharge the battery that powers the electric motor, so operating a hybrid is the same as operating a traditional car.

All hybrids are designed differently, but the idea is that the vehicles save gas by using the electric motor to run the car by itself, or to assist the gasoline engine when the gasoline engine is at its least efficient--accelerating and slowing down. At idle, the gas engine shuts off, but it instantly reawakens when the driver steps on the pedal.

With two engines on board, engineers are faced with a choice, explains GM's Purcell. "You have all this additional torque and horsepower, so the question becomes: How much do you want to use for efficiency, and how much you want to use for performance?"

No matter what the engineers decide, marketers have the same choice, and they've made up their minds: They'll push performance.
http://www.evworld.com/databases/shownews.cfm?pageid=news250703-07

Drivers Find Outlet for Grief Over EV1s
GM is reclaiming its electric cars, so fans conduct a mock funeral.
Source: Los Angeles Times

[Jul 25, 2003]

Their drivers gathered to mourn the demise of the EV1, the futuristic, battery-powered General Motors automobile that was hailed in the late 1990s as the answer to smog alerts and gas shortages.

GM produced about 1,100 of the wedge-shaped two-seaters from 1996 to 1999 in what seemed to be the first wave of electric cars designed to meet tough air-quality rules. Because the EV1's technology was considered experimental, the company leased the cars to drivers instead of selling them.

But the California Air Resources Board relaxed automobile-emissions requirements. GM, claiming efforts to market the car were a dismal and costly failure, last fall pulled the plug on the EV1 and began reclaiming the cars.

Although drivers have remained enthusiastic about their electric cars, GM has refused to extend the $300-per-month leases or sell the vehicles v Drivers offered eulogies to the peppy, clean-running car during a sometimes-emotional mock service attended by more than 100 others at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. v Behind them were parked 15 sleek-looking EV1s, one shrouded in black crepe and covered with a funeral bouquet and others bearing personalized license plates such as NOT OPEC and REVOLTS. Nine electric-powered Toyota RAV 4s were also in the procession.

"We are gathered here to say goodbye," solemnly intoned Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer of Van Nuys. "We are here to say goodbye to a special friend, goodbye to an idea - to an ideal, to a dream."

Santa Monica filmmaker Chris Paine organized the unusual memorial. He has been ordered to turn in his EV1 on Aug. 13. It will be scrapped by GM.

"She died before her time, in perfect health, and perhaps when she was most needed," he said. "Unfortunately, very few Americans had a chance to drive an electric car before it was canceled."

The EV1 was only offered to motorists in California and Arizona. Enthusiasts say that most of them where snapped up by Southern California drivers. GM has reclaimed many of them, leaving only about 100 on Los Angeles streets, according to Paine.

Hollywood-area City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who has had an EV1 for five years, got a laugh from the crowd when he said he will continue driving his "until December, when GM will have to pry it out of my charger's dead, cold hands."

Actor Ed Begley Jr. said he has driven electric cars since 1990. He drew applause when he wryly observed that "the detractors of electric vehicles" are correct when they claim battery-powered cars aren't for everyone. "Given their limited range, they can only meet the needs of 90% of the population," said the Studio City resident.

Several designers and engineers who helped create the EV1 were among the mourners. One of them, Wally Rippel of Altadena, suggested that the electric car is not dead. "It will go on, perhaps with a different body," he said.

"Really, it's a time for rejoicing," added another, famed aeronautical and solar inventor Paul MacCready of Pasadena. "Technology makes it inevitable there will be more electric vehicles in the future. And it's all because of the EV1."

The crowd lingered after the service ended. Actress Alexandra Paul, an EV1 driver, took a test ride on a battery-powered Segway scooter ridden in the procession by Joseph Chiu, a computer engineer from Pasadena.

There were hugs among the environmentalists, engineers and EV1 enthusiasts and a bagpiper mournfully played a dirge.

Then they piled into their electric cars and - very quietly - faded away.

AUGUST 11, 2003

Practically every day, more than 70,000 boxy brown UPS delivery trucks rumble to life across the country. They travel more than 1.3 billion miles annually to deliver some 4.7 billion packages, combusting tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel along the way. No wonder United Parcel Service ( UPS ) Inc. will try just about anything to save a few pennies for each of those miles. The Atlanta-based shipper once developed a motor that could burn cheap corn oil.

The engine never made it out of the lab. But that hasn't kept UPS from hunting for cheaper, cleaner replacements for the old, smoke-belching diesels that power most of its trucks. "We're driven to cut costs in finding cleaner fuels," says Thomas H. Weidemeyer, UPS's COO and president of its air unit. Today, UPS's green fleet includes around 2,000 vans running on everything from compressed natural gas to electricity. Compared with standard diesel engines, the CNG vans shave 15% in fuel costs and emit 35% less pollution.

That's just a fraction of what's to come. UPS and its big rival FedEx ( FDX ) Corp. are beginning to swap out the old diesels from their combined armada of 100,000-plus delivery vehicles. In their place, they're testing a variety of cleaner technologies, including diesel-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. In part, they're doing this to satisfy Washington's push to cut emissions, given that trucks produce more than 30% of urban smog.

The biggest motivation is cost savings, though. The delivery giants are finding that green machines, while pricey to buy, are cheaper to maintain and operate. Hybrid electric vehicles, for example, can cut fuel costs by half, while lowering emissions by 90%. Of course, such big cuts in pollution also make great PR for a historically dirty industry. Still, "the driving motivation here is the bottom line," says Donald Broughton, a transportation analyst at A.G. Edwards ( AGE ) & Sons Inc. "[These CEOs] haven't suddenly joined Greenpeace."

Where FedEx and UPS lead, the rest of the nation's 5-million strong delivery fleet will follow. Over the coming decade, the price of hybrid trucks will likely fall as a result of FedEx' 30,000-unit order for hybrid electric vans. If so, others are ready to make a commitment. The U.S. Postal Service plans to mix hybrids into its fleet of 142,300 trucks once the price is right. "These technologies provide a huge potential for the transportation sector as a whole," says Margo T. Oge, director of the office of transportation and air quality at the Environmental Protection Agency.

This movement started with small steps. In the late '80s, UPS invested heavily in CNG-powered trucks. Even after Washington reversed its backing -- and funding -- for CNG a few years into the trial, UPS continued to build the necessary infrastructure. Since 1998, it has been testing a hybrid electric van. And UPS is also expanding its fleet of ultralow-emission diesel trucks to 5,000 from 3,200. Next year, UPS will work with the EPA and DaimlerChrysler ( DCX ) to test the first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell delivery truck in the U.S.

FedEx is tinkering with its fleet, too. In May, the Memphis-based company announced it had bought 20 hybrid delivery trucks, the vanguard in a program that will eventually replace its entire fleet of 30,000 express delivery vans. "FedEx really raised everybody's eyebrows," says Fred Silver, director of business initiatives at WestStart, a nonprofit transportation technologies think tank in Pasadena, Calif.

Hybrids are nothing new, to be sure. Toyota ( TM ) Motor Corp. and Honda ( HMC ) Motor Co. sell passenger cars powered by mixed gas-electric motors. But FedEx is the first in this country to try to adapt the technology for diesel delivery vehicles on such a large scale. Mitchell Jackson, FedEx' managing director of corporate and international environmental programs, boasts: "We've got the most innovative project on the ground in the industry today. This is not a demo. It's a commercial vehicle."

Indeed, most experts -- even those at UPS -- believe hybrids offer the best near-term promise. Hybrids combine a high-efficiency diesel or gas engine with an electric motor. A computer orchestrates how to channel energy around the engine, the electric motor, and the wheels most efficiently. Hybrids require less maintenance because they run cleaner. Plus, the braking systems last longer because the motor itself helps slow the vehicle down -- in a process that recaptures much of the energy used in decelerating. Between fuel savings and lower maintenance costs, FedEx claims it will break even on the hybrid vans in about a decade.

The scale of FedEx' commitment is likely to transform the economics of hybrid commercial vehicles. What are now exotic custom-builds could soon become mass-produced and less expensive. Smaller players could then consider hybrid trucks. "FedEx is taking a big gamble," says Andrew J. Hoffman, a Boston University professor who specializes in corporate environmental strategies. "But it's a gamble that should jump-start the commercialization of this technology."

Cleveland-based Eaton ( ETN ) Corp., which makes the key electro-mechanical power systems for FedEx' hybrids, says it expects to sell up to 30,000 such units within the next five years -- and not just to FedEx. "This should be a substantial new business for us," says Tim J. Morscheck, Eaton's vice-president of technology in the trucking division. Morscheck believes the hybrids will get cheaper as sales volume grows.

The numbers are beginning to add up. In a recent report, consumer consultant J.D. Power & Associates Inc. estimated there will be more than 500,000 hybrid vehicles on the road by 2008 -- 40% of them trucks. After years of experimentation, UPS and FedEx are now ready to deploy green vans in a big way -- possibly heralding the end of the smoke-belching delivery van.

By Charles Haddad in Atlanta, with Christine Tierney in Detroit
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7213317p-8141441c.html

California Central Valley Seen As Ideal Renewable Energy Proving Grounds

Reports see renewable energy technologies boosting state's economy.

Source: Modesto Bee

[Jul 31, 2003]

The movie and entertainment business is headquartered in Los Angeles. Textiles are at home in the Midwest and South. The technology industry is clustered in Silicon Valley.

Renewable energy has not found a home -- yet.

The Modesto-based Great Valley Center thinks the Central Valley, with its sunshine and vast stretches of farmland, is the ideal place for such a hub.

The opportunity for renewable en- ergy here is "unparalleled in the nation," J.P. Batmale said Tuesday, his second day on the job as the center's renewable energy program manager.

Originally from Northern California, the 33-year-old relocated from Los Angeles to Modesto this week to take on the center's latest mission: Free up barriers and otherwise find ways to make renewable energy projects economically feasible.

The valley and renewable energy are a good fit for several reasons, Batmale said.

For starters, the valley has a tremendous amount of renewable resources, from crops that could become fuel for ethanol or biodiesel to wood chips, straw and other waste that could be converted to energy.

"The valley also has a small and light manufacturing industrial sector that could begin making the machines and technologies that could be exported to other regions," he said. "That's not there in LA."

Environmental awareness also is a factor, he said.

"I won't say that Californians are more environmentally aware than anyone else in the nation, but there's an understanding that there are limited resources and that as a society we are putting stresses on the environment," he said.

Solar panels make sense here, too, since they work most efficiently in places where the sun is incredibly strong, he said.

A report released last spring by the Great Valley Center said factors such as these make the valley a potential leader in the development of new energy sources including wind, bio-mass, hydroelectric, solar, hydrogen and geothermal.

According to a report released Tuesday by the Environment California Research and Policy Center, renewable energy technologies have the potential to boost California's economy and provide thousands of high-tech, high-paying jobs.

There are plenty of examples of renewable energy in the region, said Great Valley Center Director Carol Whiteside.

Even so, she added, "It's never been organized as a cluster."

There's a fuel-cell manufacturing plant in Sacramento, a waste-to-energy plant in Modesto, and dairies in the valley working on biomass projects.

"Our goal is to facilitate the use of renewable energy throughout the region for three benefits," Whiteside said. "First, because it's a source of energy. Second, it helps clean up the air, and third and most important, we think there's a huge opportunity to create jobs around renewable energy."

Batmale spent about six years in Los Angeles, where he worked on a graduate degree in public policy, helped the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power develop the nation's largest green-power program, as well as worked for a start-up distributed-generation firm.

Under the green-power program, people in Los Angeles can elect to pay a premium to know that their power comes from renewable sources. Money that's generated pays for new renewable energy plants, he said.

When he left the department 2 1/2 years ago, more than 100,000 customers had signed on, he said.

Maree Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Modesto Irrigation District, said the MID always is interested in new technology.

"The surveys that we do with our customers show that they are interested in renewable en-ergy, but they also indicate that they are unwilling, or perhaps unable, to pay for them," she said. "That's very real in this area."

Most recently, Batmale worked for RealEnergy, a com- pany that employs distributed- generation technologies that put energy at the site where it is needed, he said. On-site solar or natural gas sources are cleaner and cheaper than energy from power plants, he said.

"People pay less for their electric bill, it's better for the environment and there's no nasty power lines," he said.

Toyota Launches Alphard Hybrid

Alphard Hybrid qualifies as an ultra-low emission vehicle

Source: Toyota

[Jul 30, 2003]
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today the nationwide launch of the Alphard Hybrid, the hybrid version of the dynamic Alphard minivan, through "Toyopet" dealers ("Osaka Toyota" dealers in the Osaka region) and through "Toyota Vista" dealers, which will have hybrid vehicles in their product line-ups for the first time.

The Alphard Hybrid features the Toyota Hybrid System-CVT (continuously variable transmission) (THS-C), which employs a hybrid battery with greater output than previous hybrid batteries and boasts better energy management. The system comprises a 2.4-liter high-efficiency gasoline engine, front motor and Super CVT and works in unison with an E-Four electric 4WD system that regulates a rear-mounted, rear-wheel-propelling electric motor and coordinates electric power distribution to all four wheels. An ECB (Electrically Controlled Brake system) provides efficient wheel-by-wheel brake control. Together, these features allow the Alphard Hybrid to simultaneously achieve groundbreaking high fuel efficiency, low emission levels and outstanding maneuverability and cruising stability.

The Alphard Hybrid can generate large amounts of electricity, which allows the use of a variety of home appliances, thus reaching new horizons in minivan enjoyment.

The advanced THS-C hybrid system efficiently uses engine and motor drive power, while the E-Four electric 4WD system recovers energy from each wheel, to achieve roughly twice the fuel efficiency called for by Japanese 2010 fuel efficiency standards (at 17.2km/liter in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle, as certified by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) and greatly reduce CO2 emissions, despite the fact that the Alphard Hybrid is a 2-ton class 4WD vehicle. The Alphard Hybrid also qualifies as an ultra-low emission vehicle achieving emission levels 75% lower than 2000 standards under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Approval System for Low-emission Vehicles.

The high-efficiency 2.4-liter gasoline engine, front motor and Super CVT transmission combine to ensure a smooth and dynamic performance. The 4WD system provides better driving performance by using power from the rear-wheel drive motor when accelerating from start or on slippery road surfaces.

At the same time, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution) and Brake Assist, along with VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), TRC (Traction Control System), ECB and the hybrid system integrate control of the electric 4WD system to coordinate electric power distribution and braking force to all four wheels for superior handling and driving stability by controlling the vehicle before it breeches the limits of normal controllable movement.

Taking advantage of its innovative hybrid system, the Alphard Hybrid can generate up to 1,500 watts of power while it is stationary or moving. It has standard household 100-volt AC power outlets that can be used to power a variety of home appliances, adding a new dimension to outdoor and business activities.

Sales Channels

Sales outlets: "Toyopet" dealers ("Osaka Toyota" dealers in the Osaka region) and "Toyota Vista" dealers

Monthly sales target: 600 units