Fuel economy standards have been the primary way in which the US has sought to control greenhouse gas emissions for cars and light trucks, which along with other parts of the transportation sector account for about one-third of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
In August 2012, the Obama administration issued new rules that require auto manufacturers to increase the average efficiency of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.That means cars and trucks that Americans buy in 13 years will be smaller and have turbocharged engines and more assisted-driving features that cut back on trips to the gas pump.
The new technology that’s behind such efficiency gains does cost extra money, fueling another concern about the tougher mileage rules: They’ll force car buyers to pay more out of pocket, whether they want higher mileage or not.
Automakers have been rolling out new technology and other innovations that boost mileage, such as advanced power trains and transmissions and lighter components. Since 2007, the average fuel economy of cars purchased has risen from 20.1 miles per gallon to 23.6 mpg.
The biggest efficiency gains typically occur when automakers retool a model—which typically happens every five years or so—and outfit it with the latest technology. So more big mileage gains will be coming as more models turn over.
Do to this, these new rules, will reduce fuel consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, it will increase pressure on automakers to develop more alternative-fuel vehicles, such as electric and plug-in hybrid cars, as well as improve the mileage of their mass-market models by developing better engines and using lighter materials.
Currently, auto companies are working toward achieving a 35.5 miles-per-gallon average by 2016. Therefore, the new mileage rules could still end up costing buyers money, as the targets get tougher and automakers end up with little choice but to push customers into expensive high-mileage technology.
Works Cited:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/fuel_efficiency/index.html
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Auto-industry-revs-up-for-race-to-meet-fuel-3890528.php
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/08/27/tough-government-gas-mileage-rules-good-for-drivers-auto-industry
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February 8, 2013
Robotics Experience
In this team exercise, we used the same cars (robots) that we had built last week. Here we measure the distance of how the wheels travel and the speed of the car.
We measured the diameter of the wheel and computed the circumference of the wheel in meters.
Such as (pie* diameter), and this will equal the circumference.
Circumference
3.14 (wheel diameter ) (m)
3.14 ( 5.5) (.01) = 0.172
Trial #1
Power level of 75
In this first trial, we used a 75 power level with a time of 3 seconds.
The wheel rotation in degrees came out as 1789 and the # of wheels turn was 4.96. The degrees that the wheel rotated is related to the number of turns of the wheel since it used that force to move at that speed.
The time it took for the wheels to turn was 3 seconds, and since there are 1,000 milliseconds in one second therefore it took 3,000 milliseconds for this trial. The distance the car moved was .90 cm.
We then measured the distance with a ruler and it was .85 and compared the actual result of the VI with our measurement and used this formula to get a % error amount.
%Error= Distance (ruler) – Distance (computer) / Average = * 100%
90-85/ 87.5= 5 = 0.05* 100%= 0.057
Trial 2
Power level 100
Time:1 sec
# of wheels turn: 2.177
Rotation: 784
Rotation 2 : 792
Distance: 0.39
Estimated distance= 0.37
In this trial we changed the power level so here we used 100 as a power level, and 1 second. The # of wheels turned was 2.177 and the first rotation was 784 and rotation 2= 792. The amount of velocity it used was 0.374. In that case the distance it actually traveled was 0.39 but with the ruler we measured 0.37 so it was close.
37-39= 2/ 38 = 0.05
Trial 3
Time: 1 sec
Power level: 25
Rotation: 349
Rotation 2: 340
Wheel turn: .9694
Distance: 0.16
*Estimated Distance=0.19
In this trial we used a power level of 25 in 2 seconds. It rotated at 349 and the # of wheels turn was .9694. Its distance was 0.16 but the distance we had measured was 0.19.
% error= 19- 16= 3/ 17.5= 0.171
Trial 4
Power level 75
Time 1 sec
Rotation:552
Rotation2= 559
Overall, this was a interesting hands on project since we experienced how speed and distance are related to each other and how it can impact its results and its speed.
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February 8, 2013
The devastating tragedy of Hurricane Sandy that occurred during October 2012, in the Caribbean, the Mid Atlantic and the Northeastern United States, left 252 people killed in 7 countries. In the US Sandy became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record; as measured by diameter, with winds spanning, 1,100 miles (1,800 km). Sandy affected 24 states, leaving some people killed, injured, homeless or with no power.
Due to it’s impact in the US, its losses in damage are estimated to be around $65.6 billion. Scientists believe that it is clear, that climate change very likely made Sandy’s impacts worse than they otherwise would have been.
Here are the facts; there are three different ways scientists believe climate change influences Sandy: through the effects of sea levee rise; through abnormally warm sea surface temperatures; and possibly through an unusual weather pattern that some scientists think bore the fingerprint of rapidly disappearing Arctic sea ice.
Scientists said about 1F out of the 5 F East Coast water temperature may have been due to manmade global warming. Unfortunately, since warmer seas provide more water vapor for storms to tap into; this water vapor can later be wrung out as heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding.
In lower Manhattan the water rice impact was the highest ever recorded at that location. It surpassed even the most pessimistic forecasts, with the maximum water level reaching 13.88 feet above the average of the daily lowest low tide of the month.
It is said that the warmer the seas are and the warmer the atmosphere, global warming is also expected to alter hurricane frequency and strength making North Atlantic hurricanes more powerful, while reducing the overall number of storms during coming decades.
Hurricane Sandy, just like other awful natural disasters should help us all recognize and help the environment to prevent the increase of global warming since it is the main cause.
Works Cited:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/climate-change-hurricane-sandy-global-warming_n_2050516.html#slide=1715798
http://www.livescience.com/24566-hurricane-sandy-climate-change.html
http://www.livescience.com/24380-hurricane-sandy-status-data.html
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January 30, 2013
The rapid expansion of renewable energies is widely seen as the main driver of rising energy prices in Germany. Germany already produces more than 25% of its electricity from renewables such as wind and solar power, but is planning a complete exit from another low-carbon energy source, nuclearpower, over the next 10 years because of safety concerns. But the urgently needed expansion of the grid, as well as the development of replacement power plants and renewable energy sources is progressing very slowly.
A growing number of economic experts, business executives and union leaders are putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of Merkel’s coalition, However, do to the huge radical transformation of Germany’s energy supply toward renewable sources, it will require billions of euros of investment in new power plants, renewable technology and grid infrastructure over the next decade alone.
Also, many in the governing coalition, as well as the big energy and industrial companies, argue that a decentralized system powered by renewable energy would be extremely expensive and insecure to replace the current centralized one, which is based on a few large coal, gas and nuclear plants. However, in that case, these main industrial companies had no option but to accept Germany’s new direction. The energy supply is now “the top risk for Germany as a location for business,” says Hans Heinrich Driftmann, president of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
Consumers in Germany are facing the biggest electricity price increase in a decade and those price increases will continue. It is estimated that by 2030, Germany will have spent more than 300 billion Euros on green electricity. And consumer groups are complaining that about 800,000 German households can no longer pay for their energy bills.Because renewable technologies are not economic compared to traditional fossil fuel technologies, Germans have had and will continue to pay an additional increasing premium for their use. Because of this premium, electricity prices are expected to increase by over 10 percent next year—the largest increase in a decade.
Works Cited
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323751104578149144050909144.html
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/08/28/germanys-new-renewable-energy-policy/
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January 24, 2013
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January 16, 2013