Month: April 2016

Things started to click in my group right from the start. We were all on the same page in regard to what we wanted our experiment to be about and what we wanted to focus on. We decided to do an experiment based on sustainability since it was a topic we all liked very much and we wanted to do something with solar heating since it seemed like the most fun in the moment.

 

Right then, we started our research for interesting looking experiments that were based on what we had decided previously. We came across a bunch of them but none seemed like the right one until we saw the solar heating experiment. It had all the requirements we were looking for: it used solar heating, required lab view and lego mind-storm.

Like I said, we all agreed from the very first beginning, we didn’t take that much time brainstorming as we did planning our next steps and organizing ourselves for the tasks that were coming ahead. We had nothing more to discuss on the subject of the experiment since we all loved it. It appealed to us because it is the first step of many to explain ways in which we can save energy and reduce pollution. Solar heating can reduce the amount of electricity we use which is one of the if not the biggest sources of pollution in the world.

          

The auto industry is becoming more and more concerned with manufacturing their automobiles in a way that’s more fuel-efficient. Automakers used to focus mostly on making smaller cars since they take up less gasoline, but volatile gas prices and tighter federal standards for fuel economy has them working on fuel-efficient vehicles that show a wider range of weights and sizes.

Under the new federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, the auto industry has agreed to produce fleets of vehicles that average 35.5 miles a gallon by 2016 and 54.5 miles a gallon by 2025 (Laiser, St. Louis Post). The EPA expects that by 2025 fuel economy standards will have increased significantly and greenhouse gas emissions will have been reduced by half. This is also good news for vehicle owners since it is expected they could save an average of $8,000 and oil consumption will be reduced by more than 2 million barrels a day by 2025.

Some of the approach automakers are taking into making vehicles more energy efficient include making lighter cars by cutting down on steel and other heavy materials. According to the Department of Energy, reducing a vehicle’s weight by 10 percent can improve fuel economy by 6 to 8 percent. Alternatives for steel, which makes up about 60 percent of a vehicle’s total weight, include aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber. Aluminum is the second-most common material in cars on the roads today after steel. But auto manufacturers have said they intend to double their use of aluminum by 2025, Lowrey said. Alternatives like aluminum itself appear to be as safe as steel, the safety car crash test remained unchanged.

There are changes being made right now that show promise for the future and helps reduce the print the auto industry leaves on Earth. “Today’s new vehicles are cleaner and more fuel efficient than ever, saving American families money at the gas pump and helping to keep the air that we breathe cleaner,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

References:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-boost-gas-mileage-automakers-explore-lighter-cars/

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/auto-industry-makes-strides-toward-improving-fuel-economy/article_2d050408-95db-561b-97fc-b84c708829d4.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry