This one, shall we say... floated my boat!

Church grapples with hi-tech dilemma
from BBC. com

The Archbishop of the Italian city of Salerno, Gerrardo Pierro, is asking his congregation to abstain from text messaging on Good Friday and concentrate on meditation instead. It could be no easy task as text messaging becomes ever more popular.

In February in the UK alone, 1.2 million text messages were sent according to figures from the Mobile Data Association.
Youngsters are particularly keen, with 91% admitting in a recent survey conducted by mobile phone operator Orange to texting someone in another part of the house rather than speak to them in person.

In the UK city of Manchester, a 24-hour church has recognised the importance of texting to young people and is calling for them to contact the church via text messages if, for example, they are in a club with a friend who has taken too many drugs.

As technology becomes ever more prevalent among the young, churches of all denominations are being forced to look at new ways of maintaining and growing its flock.

The Pope himself has recognised the power of the internet and will pontificate on the value of the web in a speech to be made in May. He sees the net as a new forum for proclaiming the gospel.

"The internet can offer magnificent opportunities for evangelisation if used with competence and a clear awareness of its strengths and weaknesses," the speech reads. "It is important that the Christian community think of very practical ways of helping those who first make contact through the internet to move from the virtual world of cyberspace to the real world of Christian community," it goes on.

However he also notes that the ephemeral and factual nature of much of the content on the net could also be attacking spirituality in the new millennium.

"The internet offers extensive knowledge, but it does not teach values; and when values are disregarded, our very humanity is demeaned," he said.

The Church of England has some sympathy with members of the clergy who want to keep holy days technology-free. "The issue is to do with celebrating the day of rest as a time to set apart for the worship of God and as a day of recuperation for mankind," said a Church of England spokesman.

Like the Catholic Church, it has a pragmatic approach to technology, recognising it can work for good as well as for bad. "The Church of England has a website and it gets about a quarter of a million hits each week. That shows that people within the church are happy to use technology and find it useful," said the spokesman.

In Spain, one priest has become so fed up with mobile phones ringing during mass that he has installed a jammer in his church in Moraira.

Chrysler Turns Garbage Into Car Parts
Source: GreenBiz.com

The Chrysler Group has announced a new recycling technology, demonstrated in its CARE Car II program, that will allow the company to increase the amount of recycled-content parts in its vehicles. The company says the technology has the potential to save the automobile industry $320 million per year.

Chrysler Group worked with 26 production suppliers and Salt Lake City-based Recovery Plastics International, to retrofit two Jeep Grand Cherokees with 54 recycled plastic parts. The shredder residue used to make the recycled plastic came from a variety of sources, including automobiles, refrigerators, dishwashers, and discarded frisbees. Polyester gloves, cloth wipes, and powder paint residue from the company’s manufacturing facilities were also used in the production of components in the cars. Chrysler Group estimates that the recycled plastic can save $10 - $20 per vehicle.

Singapore Bus Tracking System Aims to Guard Children
Mon Mar 18, Reuters

A Canadian firm Monday launched a wireless tracking system in a Singapore that will link school buses to schools and parents, thereby boosting safety for schoolchildren.

The system, which is called the School Bus Tracking and Monitoring System, was developed by the firm Unity Integration. A Singapore primary school has been testing the system since January in a pilot project that will run until June.

"It's a system that facilitates (solutions to) any security problems that might happen along the way," Peter Tan, principal of the Anglo Chinese Junior School, told reporters at the launch ceremony.

The firm's Chief Executive Officer Siavash Vojdani said his company hoped to commercialize the system by July 2003 and the major market targeted was North America.

The major portion of the system -- about 70 percent -- was developed in Singapore, with the city state's Infocomm Development Authority contributing S$180,000 of the total cost of $296,000. ($1US=1.821 Singapore Dollar)

VW to Unveil Super-Efficient Two-Seater
from EV World

New two seater from VW could get 250 miles per gallon of diesel fuel.

Volkswagen has confirmed a press report that Volkswagen CEO, Ferdinand Piëch will personallypresent unveil the prototype of a new one liter vehicle on April 16th for the general meeting in Hamburg.

Last year Piëch had a new luxury VW Phaeton driven up for the annual press conference.

The Berliner Zeitung speculated in its Wednesday edition the ultra efficient tandem, two-seater will cost about 20,000 euros. Its body is constructed out of super-light and strong carbon-fiber. The entire car is estimated to weigh just 500 kilograms. Fuel consumption in the diesel-powered vehicle is estimated at just 0.99 liters fuel per 100 kilometers. (Approx. 250mi/gallon US).

Chrysler Chief Says Company Will Work on Fuel Efficiency
March 15 2002 Reuters

Claims consumers don't want small, high mileage cars.

The head of the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG said on Friday that the U.S. Senate's decision this week to not tighten fuel economy standards meant greater responsibility for the auto industry to work on improving vehicle efficiency.

"To me, a viable domestic automotive industry and environmentally friendly actions are not mutually exclusive," Zetsche said at a luncheon speech. But he said the best approach would be for manufacturers and the U.S. government to work together.

"We definitely will further improve the fuel efficiency of all our vehicles, while not forgetting about the other areas like safety, customer preferences, technology and others," said Zetsche, adding that his company had already spent $1.4 billion on developing environmentally friendly policies.

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposal requiring a steep boost in federal fuel economy requirements for cars and trucks. Instead, it voted to give the Transportation Department two years to develop its own targets.

Lawmakers also agreed to exempt pickup trucks, which account for 19 percent of automaker's sales, from any future increase in fuel standard requirements.

Current federal requirements for vehicle fuel efficiency call for an average of 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 20.7 mpg for trucks. The Senate rejected a plan that would have forced automakers to increase fuel efficiency to 36 mpg for all vehicles by 2015.

However, it is uncertain whether the Senate's fuel economy provision would become law because it is part of an underlying energy bill that faces a tough fight. And if passed, the legislation would have to be reconciled with a very different bill passed last year by the House of Representatives.

Automakers and unions lobbied heavily against the fuel efficiency tightening, claiming it would curb sales and cut jobs. Chrysler urged workers to write their lawmakers, and at one plant it staged rallies against the plan.

"We cannot go for 20, 30, 40 percent increases in a decade," Zetsche said. "In six-year increments we can make improvements."

The industry contends it has made small cars with high fuel mileages available, but that consumers do not want them.

The Turkish-born, German Zetsche, who spoke about the passionate relationship between Americans and their cars, said he thought it was against the country's basic principles to "force" consumers to accept products they did not want.

"I do believe it's good that we are not forced, and the customer is not forced to use products which do not serve his needs. We will give him a better choice over time," said Zetsche.

He added that Chrysler plans to roll out 11 new models by the end of 2004, part of a five-year, $30 billion spending plan for new vehicles. Earlier this month, Chrysler executives said they were growing more certain they could meet their goal of breakeven profits this year.

Japan in race to commercialise new fuel by 2006
March 14, 2002 Reuters

TOKYO - Japan is racing to commercialise a new generation of fuel by 2006 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to rely less on Middle East energy imports.

Two separate Japanese joint ventures - one led by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Inc and another by Japanese steel maker NKK Corp - are aiming to begin mass production of dimethyl-ether (DME), which is commonly found in hair sprays.

DME, made from natural gas, emits no sulphur oxide or particle matter and only small amounts of carbon dioxide. Currently, Japan produces about 10,000 tonnes of DME a year, mostly for use in hair sprays. Backers of DME say it could eventually replace liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or gas oil as the main fuel for some vehicles and power generators.

Mitsubishi Gas plans to build a $500-$600 million plant in Western Australia by the end of 2003 with annual capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of DME by 2006. NKK is considering building a DME plant in gas producing countries such as Indonesia, Australia or the Middle East.

"In the near-term, the most likely user for DME is the LPG industry in Japan," said Yotaro Ohno, NKK's general manager of environmental solutions. He said about 20 percent of Japan's imported LPG - enough to meet demand in the industrial sector - could be initially replaced by DME.

"I can easily see DME replacing about 20 percent of Japan's imports of LPG when DME imports begin in 2006. If that takes place, LPG buyers could have a bargaining-power to LPG producers," Ohno told Reuters in a recent interview.

LPG is used to heat Japanese homes in winter or to run power-hungry machinery at factories - for example, melting steels at metalworks companies. DME is of a similar quality to LPG, allowing it to replace LPG without too many adjustments to infrastructure.

Japan imports about 15 million tonnes of LPG a year, the bulk from the Middle East.

Japan's government said in a recent report that it expects initially to import between 1.4 million and 2.4 million tonnes of DME a year from offshore Japanese plants from 2006.

The search for cleaner fuels has been a part of Japanese government policy since 1997 when industrialised nations agreed in the Japanese city of Kyoto to cut carbon dioxide emissions by an average 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012.

Greenhouse gases, which come mainly from burning fossil fuels, are thought to cause rising global temperatures. U.S. President George W. Bush has rejected the Kyoto pact and instead outlined a voluntary plan to slow the growth of global-warming gases.

REDUCE PRICES

Yet some industry sources say several hurdles need to be overcome before DME can be widely used, including cutting its cost and getting regulatory approval in the auto industry. "We have the necessary technology to produce DME," Norio Konishi, general manager at Mitsubishi Gas Chemical's planning development division, told Reuters. "We are confident that if we start mass production, we could offer DME at much lower prices than that of LPG," he said.

Japanese prices for LPG are set by producer Saudi Arabia, often making them less competitive than other fuels. Rising demand for LPG in Asia is also expected to push up prices over the longer-term, causing many companies to hunt out alternatives.

NKK and Mitsubishi Gas both targeting DME production costs similar to those for production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), also a clean fuel which currently costs about two yen per megacalorie to produce. About 129 yen equals one U.S. dollar.

Although DME is expected to gain widespread use, sources say it will take some time before taking root in the automobile industry because of costs and regulatory issues. Yuji Morita, senior analyst at Japan's Institute of Energy Economics, said DME makers must prove to automakers that DME has high fuel efficiency and is cost-effective. They must also overcome regulatory hurdles and convince the government to promote and mass-produce DME-power cars, engines and batteries.

What a debacle this new fuel efficiency bill is becoming, fired mostly on ignorance of course.

Fuel Efficiency Bill Faces Opposition
Associated Press

A proposed huge increase in vehicle fuel economy, which prompted predictions that people would have to do without SUVs, is facing stiff opposition. The proposal to raise automobile fuel efficiency by 50 percent, to an average of 36 mpg, has become so sensitive that some senators say it probably will be stripped from a broad energy bill...

Opponents of the proposal to reach the 36 mpg level by 2015 argued it would force automakers to make smaller cars, which would lead to more traffic deaths and threaten SUVs and minivans. "American women love their SUVs and minivans ... because of their safety," proclaimed Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a co-sponsor of the less stringent proposal.

If proposal became law "about the only way we could get there is to put everybody into glorified golf carts," added Christopher Bond, R-Mo.

Both sides repeatedly cited the National Academy of Sciences report that concluded that fuel economy improvements, including gains of as much as 42 percent on SUVs and minivans, are achievable without sacrificing size or horsepower, using technologies already available.

But the study also warned that without adequate lead time, automakers could be forced to resort to smaller, lighter vehicles, reducing safety. The scientists said that was the case in the late 1970s and 80s.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the sponsor of the bill, countered that the 13-year lead time in the legislation is plenty for automakers to comply using current and emerging technologies, including hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles now appearing in showrooms.

Supporters of the tougher measures argued it's impossible to address the broader issue of energy conservation without reducing gasoline consumption. Passenger vehicles use about 40 percent of all the oil used today, or nearly 8 million barrels a day.

While fuel efficiency increased dramatically in the late 1970s and early '80s, there has been no progress since 1988, when the motor fleet reached a peak of just under 26 mpg. The average for all vehicles was 24 mpg in 2000, about what it was 22 years ago.

The primary reason has been the huge popularity of SUVs and minivans, which are subject to less stringent fuel economy requirements and average about 20 mpg, as opposed to 28 mpg for passenger cars, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These vehicles, along with pickups, account for nearly half of all vehicles sold.

India's Hydrodrive

Catalytic converters fitted to cars' tail pipes try to scrub dirty exhaust. While at that,they also bring down the mileage you get. And they are no good on diesel vehicles. Indian scientist S.Gopalakrishnan's approach is more fundamental. His invention --the Hydrodrive Electronic Converter-- prevents the creation of dirty exhaust in the first place. It promotes fuller use of the fuel to increase your mileage. And, it works on both petrol and diesel vehicles.

The technology essentially uses microwaves to crack aromatics. The microwaves can act at the molecular level on hydrocarbons to render waxes and sulphur as 'burnable' fuel. Instead of these generating noxious pollutants, they would now participate in adding to engine power. Read the rest...

GM To End `World Car' Program
from Silicon Valley.com

GENEVA -General Motors Corp. will no longer try to satisfy the vastly different tastes of American and European consumers with cars that are largely identical under the skin.

A decadelong effort to build so-called world cars that would appeal to both required too many compromises that customers didn't like, GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner told reporters at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday.

Even as GM's Europe-designed Opel Vectra made its critical debut Tuesday at the Geneva Auto Show, he said the Vectra would be GM's last attempt to build different models using the same basic structure for consumers in the United States and Europe.

The Vectra will spawn U.S. versions of the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac Grand Am next year, with a Saturn version perhaps to follow. The Saab 9-3 arriving this year will also share the new GM midsize vehicle platform, code-named Epsilon. Platforms are basic building blocks of vehicles, including their chassis and suspension.

Instead of sharing the same underlying structure in the future, Wagoner said, European and U.S. models will share parts such as engines, transmissions and air conditioners.

"As long as Europeans price their gasoline at $3 or $4 or $5 a gallon and the U.S. does it at a dollar or two a gallon, there's no reason to suspect that the products will converge," Wagoner said of the move. More...

Here is one for all you caffeine addicts out there... You know who you are!

Coffee May Help Prevent Cavities
from EurekAlert

A new research study indicates that coffee might help prevent cavities. The finding is reported in the Feb. 27 print issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

Coffee made from roasted coffee beans has antibacterial activities against certain microorganisms, including Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), a major cause of dental caries. Probing deeper into this peculiar property of java, scientists at two Italian universities conducted laboratory tests that showed some coffee molecules prevent adhesion of S. mutans on tooth enamel.

“All coffee solutions have high antiadhesive properties due to both naturally occurring and roasting-induced molecules,” says the study’s lead author, Gabriella Gazzani, Ph.D., of the University of Pavia. She and researchers at the University of Ancona analyzed samples of green and roasted arabica and robusta coffee from different countries.

“All of the tested samples inhibited S. mutans adsorption and showed inhibitory activity ranging from 40.5 percent to 98.1 percent,” according to the research article. However, the article adds, “all green [unroasted beans] coffee samples were significantly less active than the corresponding roasted coffees.”

The researchers examined caffeine and non-caffeine samples of ground and instant coffee. Instant coffee had a somewhat higher level of inhibitory activity against S. mutans. As for caffeine and decaf, the results seem to indicate that “caffeine is not involved in the antiadhesive properties of coffee solutions,” according to the article.

The data from the study suggest that trigonelline, a water-soluble compound in coffee that contributes to the aroma and flavor of the beverage, “may have the major responsibility for coffee’s anti-adhesive activity.”

While the study findings appear encouraging, Gazzani and her colleagues are circumspect. “In the absence of animal model data, caution is advised in the interpretation of the in vivo significance of our present results.”

“Nevertheless,” the researchers conclude, “we can hypothesize that due to both antibacterial and anti-adhesive activity, coffee might reduce S. mutans colonization of [the] tooth surface and might be effective in preventing S. mutans-induced tooth decay."