Archive for category: Petroleum Reduction Techniques

VW Settlement Fund Progress

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Background 

In 2016, the United States, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a complainant against Volkswagen due to violations of the Clean Air Act. The allegations were that certain Volkswagen vehicles made between 2009 and 2016 were producing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions significantly greater then the act allows. The United States and California entered into three partial settlements with Volkswagen to correct this issue. The first partial settlement required Volkswagen to buy back or modify the emission systems of 85% of their violating vehicles. As well as, be held accountable for the excess Nox emissions by providing a $2.7 billion environmental mitigation trust. Also, Volkswagen was required to invest in and encourage usage of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, with a $2 billion ZEV investment program. The second settlement required Volkswagen to add another $225 million to the mitigation trust fund. Lastly, the third partial settlement addressed how to prevent future violations by the company. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) finalized the Volkswagen Mitigation Plan in 2018. In Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities’ Coalition the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have access to this funding.

Please find the links to each state’s plan for VW funding here:

IDAHO

MONTANA

WYOMING

Idaho

Idaho was accepting project applications through January 31st. The Idaho DEQ accepted applications to replace older, higher emission diesel vehicles with new, cleaner diesel, electric, or alternative fuel vehicles.

Montana

Montana is currently accepting applications for funding for clean transit bus replacement. The first round of applications are due by March 27th at 5:00 PM and results will be announced on April 17th. There is potential for a second round of funding to open up, and that will be announced at a later date.

Please find the link to the application, HERE.

Wyoming

Wyoming is currently accepting project proposals that will mitigate NOx emissions. These applications are due March 31st.

Please find the link to the application, HERE.

WY DEQ Seeks Public Input On How To Spend $8 million in VW Settlement Funds

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Please consider submitting a comment to WY DEQ through their comment link below. Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities agrees with WY DEQ’s goals and objectives but recommends including alternative fuels, particularly compressed natural gas and electric. Please reach out to YTCC if you would like to discuss project or goal and objectives ideas prior to your comment submission. If you would simply like to fill out a form, please find our Project Form below 

. 

Wyoming will focus on the following project types:

  • Class 8 local freight trucks.
  • Class 4 – 8 School buses, shuttle buses, or transit buses.
  • Pre-tier 4 diesel switcher locomotives.
  • Class 4 – 7 local freight trucks.
  • Airport Ground Support Equipment.

The State Of Wyoming has developed the following program goals and objectives to form the basis and selection criteria for the mitigation plan.

  • Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
  • Achieving higher cost-effectiveness (more emissions reduced per amount spent).
  • Impact on non-attainment areas.
  • Affecting areas of greater population density.
  • Affecting sensitive populations (such as children and the elderly).

The Department is reaching out to the public as it plans how best to utilize the approximately $8 million dollars gained from the settlement.

For more information related to this settlement CLICK HERE to visit the EPA’s website dedicated to this topic.

Members of the public with thoughts or suggestions on the Mitigation Trust funds should utilize the submit comments link below.

Public comments will be accepted for 30 days and will end on May 24, 2017.

Click Here to submit comments

Teton Raptor Center Discourages Idling

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Each year, cars, trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles in the US waste an enormous amount of fuel running their engines while their vehicles are stationary. Also known as idling, this act effectively reduces vehicle fuel efficiency to 0 mpg and nationwide, wastes 6 billion gallons of gasoline equivalent annually (Alternative Fuels Data Center). That’s enough gas to fill 9,000 Olympic sized swimming pools, or if you were to use it to fuel a 2014 Honda Civic, you could drive it to the moon and back half a million times. More pragmatically, however, 6 billion gallons of fuel can also be represented monetarily as $21 billion.

The Teton Raptor Center is passionate about anti-idling, as it has a direct impact on the raptors that they are aiming to protect.  TRC answered some questions for us about why they feel so strongly about idling.

Raptor Center

What is the mission of the Teton Raptor Center?

Advancing Raptor Conservation through education, research, and rehabilitation.

Why is it important that people do not idle while visiting the raptor center? 

Healthy living conditions for TRC’s raptors is our highest priority. This includes high quality food, fresh water, a clean space and fresh air.  By keeping the fumes in our parking lot to a minimum, we are ensuring that our birds have fresh air to breath.  Plus, birds have the most efficient respiration system of any other animal.  It’s critical that all the air they use is clean!

Have you noticed a decrease in idling vehicles since putting the signs up?

Yes, we believe that the “please no idling” signs are an important reminder to our visitors, especially while they visit our nature center.

If your business is interested in supporting the anti-idling initiative, contact us to get your free sign!

Winter Fuel Economy Tips

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Six Tips to Cut Fuel Costs and Unnecessary Idling When Winter Hits

Photo of vehicles on the highway in a snowstorm.

How can I improve my gas mileage while driving this winter?

Whether taking that long-awaited ski trip or just commuting to work in the frigid weather, there are several things you can do to improve your fuel economy and save money in the wintertime.

Why You Get Worse Gas Mileage When It’s Cold

Cold weather and winter driving conditions can reduce your fuel economy significantly. On particularly chilly days, when temperatures drop to 20°F or lower, you can expect to see up to a 12% hit on your fuel economy for short city trips. During very quick trips—traveling only three to four miles—your fuel economy could dip even lower (as much as 22%)! This reduction in fuel economy is due to several factors. First of all, cold temperatures increase the time it takes your vehicle to warm the cabin, engine, drive-line fluids, and other components up to fuel-efficient operating temperatures. Cold fluids increase the friction on your engine and transmission, which can reduce fuel economy.

Let’s take a moment to address one of the main myths about driving in cold weather:

  • Myth: To warm up your engine and vehicle cabin in the wintertime, you should let the engine run for several minutes before driving.
  • Truth: Most manufacturers recommend driving off gently after about 30 seconds of idling. In fact, the engine will warm up faster when driving. Idling can use a quarter to half a gallon of fuel per hour, and even more fuel if the engine is cold or accessories like seat heaters are on.

Also keep in mind that winter gasoline blends in cold climates have slightly less energy per gallon than summer blends. This is because refineries alter the chemical makeup of gasoline to allow it to evaporate more easily in low temperatures, ensuring proper engine operation.

Aerodynamic drag is another consideration. In simple terms, cold air is denser than warm air, so when temperatures drop, wind resistance increases slightly. This requires a little more power from your engine to drive at a given speed. The effects of aerodynamic drag on fuel economy are most significant at highway speeds.

Winter Fuel-Saving Tips

The following tips can help you warm your car (and fingers!) more efficiently and improve your fuel economy in the winter:

  • Park in a warmer place like a garage that traps heat to keep the initial temperature of your engine and cabin higher than it would be outside in the elements.
  • Avoid idling to warm up the engine and cabin. See more information above.
  • Avoid using seat warmers more than necessary, as they require additional power.
  • Plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) owners: Pre-heat your vehicle while still plugged in. Since PEVs use battery power to provide heat to the cabin, cabin and seat heaters can drain the vehicle’s battery and reduce the overall range. If you need to warm up quickly, warm the vehicle while it’s still charging.
  • PEV owners: Use seat heaters instead of the cabin heater when able. Using seat heaters instead of the cabin heater can save energy. Seat heaters use less energy than cabin heaters and can often be more efficient at warming you up quickly in the winter.
  • Read the owner’s manual for detailed information on how your vehicle’s cabin and seat heaters work and how to use them efficiently.

Do you live in a place where snow and ice isn’t an issue? Check out the May Question of the Month blog for year-round warm weather driving tips.

More Information

For more information on how to improve your fuel economy, please refer to the following FuelEconomy.gov tips:

blog post written by

May Question of the Month

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Question of the Month: How can I improve my gas mileage while driving this summer?

Answer: Whether you are taking a summer road trip or just running errands around town, there are things you can do to improve your fuel economy and save money on fuel in the summertime.

You may notice an increase in your fuel economy as the weather gets warmer. This is because vehicle engines, transmissions and other components take less time to warm up and summer gasoline blends can have slightly more energy per gallon than winter blends. However, if you use your air conditioning (AC) a lot or drive with the windows down, you might actually see your fuel economy drop.

AC is the main contributor to reduced fuel economy in the summertime. In fact, using the AC can reduce a conventional vehicle’s fuel economy by as much as 25%, or even more if you are driving a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV). Driving with the windows down can also reduce fuel economy due to greater aerodynamic drag (wind resistance) on the vehicle. Though this has a small effect on fuel economy, aerodynamic drag is more apparent when driving at the highway speeds typical for road trips.

The following tips can help you use the AC more efficiently and therefore improve fuel economy in the summer:

  • Read the owner’s manual for detailed information on how your vehicle’s AC system works and how to use it efficiently.
  • Park your vehicle in shady areas or use a sunshade to keep the interior from getting too hot.
  • Do not use the AC more than needed. If you need to use the AC, avoid using the “max” setting for extended periods.
  • If you are driving at high speeds, use the AC instead of rolling down the windows. If the vehicle is too hot, you may lower the car windows to expel hot air for the first few minutes. Once the hot air has left the vehicle, switch to using the AC.
  • Avoid excessive idling. Idling can use a quarter to half a gallon of fuel per hour, and more if the AC is on. Do not idle the vehicle to cool it down before a trip; most AC systems actually cool the vehicle faster while driving.
  • PEV owners, pre-cool your vehicle with the AC while still plugged in. Since PEVs use battery power to provide AC, it can drain the vehicle’s batteries and reduce the vehicle’s overall range. If you need to use the AC to cool down your PEV, try to do so while the vehicle is still charging.

 The following tips should be used year-round to improve fuel economy:

  • Use cruise control while driving on highways to maintain a consistent speed and conserve fuel.
  • Remove any unnecessary weight from the vehicle. Vehicles with heavier loads tend to have reduced fuel economy. An additional 100 pounds in your vehicle can reduce fuel economy by 1%.
  • Avoid transporting cargo on the rooftop of the vehicle. Traveling with cargo on the roof increases wind resistance and can significantly lower your fuel economy. Rear-mounted cargo has a much smaller effect on fuel economy than rooftop cargo.
  • Avoid aggressive driving. Aggressive driving (speeding, quick acceleration and heavy braking) can reduce fuel economy by as much as 33% at highway speeds and 5% at city speeds. This informational video shows real-world effects of aggressive driving on fuel economy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zWXwqqqHm0.
  • Ensure your tires are properly inflated. Tires that are not inflated to the proper pressure can reduce fuel economy by 0.3% for every one pound per square inch (PSI) drop in pressure in all of the tires. Having your tires inflated to the proper pressure is also safer and can help tires last longer.
  • Pay attention to the speed limit. Not only is this a safe practice, but gas mileage tends to decrease when driving at speeds above 50 miles per hour.

For more information on how to improve your fuel economy, please refer to the following FuelEconomy.gov websites:

Questions? Contact:

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team

technicalresponse@icfi.com

800-254-6735

Transition Streets

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transition_streetsWant to learn simple, practical changes to your home and habits to live more sustainably? Ready to begin a journey to a lifestyle that uses less energy? Check out Transition Streets!

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Idling Revealed

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Written by Billy Karis

Each year, cars, trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles in the US waste an enormous amount of fuel running their engines while their vehicles are stationary. Also known as idling, this act effectively reduces vehicle fuel efficiency to 0 mpg and nationwide, wastes 6 billion gallons of gasoline equivalent annually (Alternative Fuels Data Center). That’s enough gas to fill 9,000 Olympic sized swimming pools, or if you were to use it to fuel a 2014 Honda Civic, you could drive it to the moon and back half a million times. More pragmatically, however, 6 billion gallons of fuel can also be represented monetarily as $21 billion.

But who is to blame for wasting all that fuel? Buses and tractor-trailers certainly contribute, but of those 6 billion gallons of wasted fuel, passenger vehicles, that you and I drive, are responsible for roughly half. Collectively, owners of passenger vehicles are throwing away more than $10 billion each year, not to mention, needlessly emitting harmful NOX, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide that lead to air quality concerns and increased incidences of smog, respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer. With regard to human health, the CO2 emissions are more benign, but in terms of global health, they have larger implications through the propagation of climate change.

To combat this wasteful action, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase energy security and sustainability, the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program has been working hard to reduce idling. In 2012, Clean Cities saved roughly 30.5 million gallons of gasoline equivalent. At $3.50/gal, that’s about $107 million and enough energy to drive a 2014 Honda Civic across the US more than 417,000 times.

While this seems like, and is in fact, an improvement, it is humbling to note that 30.5 million gallons represents only 0.5% of all the fuel wasted in the previous year. That’s a sad slice of pie.

 wasted_saved_fuel

So, what more can be done? Recent research at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, determined that idling for more than 10 seconds consumes more gasoline and emits more exhaust than turning off your engine and restarting it. Also, the DOE Clean Cities program reassures us that turning on and off your vehicle more frequently won’t wear out your starter. Many of these misconceptions are relics of older vehicles with finicky engines and carburetors that had to be warmed and were easily subject to flooding, but today’s high tech vehicles will undoubtedly restart. So, tap into that unused $10 billion and turn your vehicle off as you wait to pick up a friend or run in to grab your coffee.

 

What is zero waste?

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Guest blogger, Tanya Anderson, is a Coalition partner through the Sustainability Series.

What is zero waste? Fifteen years ago you might not have found an answer to that question. Today, a Google search will yield more than 40 millions results. On February 21, a crowd gathered in Jackson’s Home Ranch Exhibit Hall to learn more about how to reach zero waste. Eric Lombardi, the Executive Director of Eco-Cycle since 1989, traveled from Boulder, Colorado to present.

ZeroWaste-Ecocycle-Recycle

Zero waste means that 90 percent of waste is recovered through recycling and composting. The remaining 10 percent is processed and stabilized before heading to a landfill. Lombardi was quick to point out that zero waste is not zero landfill. Waste to energy plants can greatly reduce landfill waste, but they produce emissions worse than those from coal burning power plants. Furthermore, they actually encourage production of waste, their feedstock, to justify the high cost of the facilities.

Lombardi defines zero waste as “a social issue first, and a market issue second”.

From a market standpoint, zero waste is a way to cash in on the $11 billion worth of resources that are buried annually. Zero waste is good business sense!

The social issues of waste stem from impacts to our environment, such as the leaching of toxic chemicals from landfills into water supplies and the impacts of climate change. These are externalities that are not included in the current cost of waste disposal, but that our children will have to pay for later. Lombardi believes zero waste is “an ethical and moral responsibility to our children”.

Lombardi outlined how communities can reach 50 percent waste diversion in four years, through increased access to services, organics collection (composting), pay as you throw pricing for trash, and education. Paying for the amount of trash disposed of, rather than having a set fee per month, encourages consumers to make better choices and rewards those who work to reduce their waste.

To move beyond 50 percent recovery requires policy changes such as construction and demolition recovery mandates, product fees, disposal bans, and extended producer responsibility laws.  Boulder, Colo. now charges a 10-cent fee for plastic bags in stores, and Fort Collins is looking at banning cardboard from its landfills.  In Europe, extended producer responsibility laws put the responsibility for recycling on manufacturers, not individuals.  New European Union laws require that 80 percent of the materials used in products that have a plug are recyclable.

As San Francisco recently reached 80 percent waste diversion and other communities are close behind, the dream of zero waste is becoming a reality.  With a 15 percent diversion rate in 2012, Teton Valley is still a long way from zero waste. However, Fresno, California was able to move from a 29 percent diversion rate to 57 percent in just two years (calrecycle.ca.gov). With a little work, couldn’t we do the same in Teton Valley? To start, we need both increased participation in our current programs and a plan for the future. Contact tetonrecycling@gmail.com to find out how you can help.

Tanya Anderson is the executive director of Teton Valley Community Recycling. For more information, visit www.tetonrecycling.org. Information for this article came from Eric Lombardi of ecocycle, www.ecocyle.org.

To Idle or Not to Idle – There’s No Question About it

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In this day of high fuel costs, a tight economy, population growth, and climate change, it is imperative that we are all armed with the current facts about engine idling.

Idling is defined as running a vehicle engine when the vehicle is standing still. It sounds downright silly, really. Who would want to do that? We don’t go to work each day so that we can pay for our car to get zero miles per gallon. And we all need clean air to breathe – why would we needlessly spew exhaust into it?

Well, the majority of us in Bozeman do idle needlessly, most commonly when we’re warming up the engine, “running inside for just a minute,” using the drive-thru, staying comfortable while waiting inside a vehicle when it’s cold or hot outside, picking someone up, dropping someone off, or talking on a cell phone. While there are times when we are legally obligated to idle our vehicles, such as at a stop light, the above reasons for idling are typically unnecessary.

Many of our beliefs about idling are out of date, from the 1970s and earlier, and don’t apply to newer vehicles. Following are two of the most common myths about idling:

Myth: On a cold day, it is best for the health of a vehicle to warm up the engine by idling until the engine is warm.

Truth: For temperatures above 32 degrees, there is no need to warm up most vehicles. From 0 to 32 degrees, you should warm up most vehicles for 30 seconds. For temperatures under zero, you should warm up the vehicle for 1-3 minutes. In all cases, it’s best to idle for the recommended time, then drive slowly for the first minute or two. (Excessive idling can actually damage engine components.)

Myth: It uses more fuel and costs more to restart an engine than it does to let it idle for a few minutes.

Truth: If you’re going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds (except in traffic) turn off the engine. (Actually, idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than it takes to restart the engine, but in order to offset potential incremental maintenance costs, the breakeven time is 30 seconds.)

There are important reasons to change our idling behavior, perhaps the most compelling being our health. Idling releases hazardous chemicals into the air including carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter. These idling byproducts are related to ill health effects ranging from asthma to cancer, and no one is immune when it is in the air that we breathe. Ironically, some of the most common idlers are parents running their engines and spewing these toxins outside of schools and activity venues while waiting for their children.

Environmental concerns are also paramount. Emissions from idling contribute to smog, haze, greenhouse gas emissions, and ground level ozone. Has anyone looked out the window towards the north from Bozeman on a clear day? You may have noticed that the air is not so clear.

Saving money and fuel is another reason to stop idling. The average annual fuel cost for a vehicle that idles ten minutes each day is 20 gallons/$75 for a small car, 40 gallons/$150 for an 8-cylinder engine, and 15 gallons/$67.50 for a diesel engine. Remember, these savings could be yours by doing nothing more than turning off your engine when it is unnecessarily running. A no brainer!

We’ve all become familiar with the slogan “Hang Up and Drive.” Now it’s time to consider another – “Idling Gets You Nowhere.”

Elin Hert lives in Bozeman and is a volunteer member of the City of Bozeman’s Idle Free Bozeman working group. 

This article was first published as a guest column in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and can be found HERE.

Thoughts on Car Sharing

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Have you heard of ride share, car share or peer-to-peer car sharing programs? Does Zipcar ring a bell, or even our local backcountryride.com?  These types of programs are prevalent in large cities and at universities; they boast an astounding 15 million car sharing members in North America.  Though there seems to be a niche they could fill in our small town as well.  CarSharing-ReduceEmissions-ZipCarHave you ever had a job at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort while living in Victor?  If you have a weekend shift you are out of luck for public transportation, the START bus only runs Monday-Friday.  Or have you ever had a shift ending in Teton Village at 11:00pm, just missing the 10:45pm bus but still 40 minutes away from the last one?  Wouldn’t it be nice to connect with others who happen to be going over Teton Pass at the same time?

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