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M II A II R II K Apr 29, 2014 3:10 PM
http://www.flaviogortana.com/isoscope/

Quote:
As we think about traffic in cities as somewhat like the pulse of the city, Isoscope is an approach to capture this rhythm with its up and downs. It's an interactive tool that creates aesthetic visuals about locations that are reachable by car in a chosen time from a chosen location. The boundaries of the reachability is shown by 24 layered organic shapes, while one layer represents one hour of the day. The output reveals many information like the traffic infrastructure, connectivity of regions and natural boundaries. Since the location to choose is not exclusive, places all over the world can be explored and compared.

-----

Isoscope is not a service one would use to get from point A to B. It's more of a way to explore mobility in areas where travel conditions change hour by hour. First, set the map to zoom in on any place in the world and click it to site your imaginary traveler. A ghostly, translucent presence will then form, all splotches and tendrils. This cerulean shape is actually 24 different layers representing all the hours of the day. Track the mouse over the hours at the map's bottom, and the shape's outline will expand and contract to show how far you can get in a preselected two-to-ten minute car trip.


http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img..._1/largest.JPG

wong21fr Apr 29, 2014 4:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wizened Variations (Post 6554763)
The issue is not whether it has been addressed, the issue is the cost. For example: must a trucker have to park his truck during the cold at a place that charges for a plug in? Must all truckers have to use the more expensive winter grade diesel just in case their block heater does not work properly? (ever tried to reseat fuel injectors to remove bubbles?) Should trucks have small diesel or gas motors that enable the diesel to be turned off and be started without wear? How does this affect design? How quick should a fleet be replaced to reflect this technological changes?

This in an industry where the owner operator (granted is going extinct) and small trucking companies are running on paper thin margins?

The issue is not technological, but, dollars and cents.
It's frustrating that you are incapable of articulating this point in your earlier post. Your statements are too disjointed and rambling to properly express your viewpoint in a concise, understandable manner.

amor de cosmos Apr 30, 2014 1:53 AM
Quote:
Tesla Plans at Least Two Battery Sites as Musk Emphasizes Speed
By Alan Ohnsman Apr 29, 2014 1:41 PM PT

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)’s Elon Musk is close to naming sites in at least two U.S. states for a planned battery “gigafactory” and will break ground at each to ensure one is ready to supply lithium-ion packs when needed.

Tesla, planning to add a mass-market electric car in about three years, said in February that it would build the world’s largest battery plant and is assessing sites in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Lower-cost battery packs are needed to ensure Tesla’s proposed less-expensive model gets to market on time, Musk said. Tesla’s home state of California isn’t a candidate due to timing issues for regulatory reviews.

“What we’re going to do is move forward with more than one state, at least two, all the way to breaking ground, just in case there’s last-minute issues,” Musk, Tesla’s chief executive officer, said in an interview yesterday. “The No. 1 thing is we want to minimize the risk timing for the gigafactory to get up and running.”

The new plant, requiring as much as $5 billion to build and ultimately employing as many as 6,500 people, is part of Musk’s vision of turning Palo Alto, California-based Tesla into the world’s dominant electric-car maker. Along with making batteries that are 30 percent cheaper than are currently available, the plant would supply packs to Musk’s SolarCity Corp. (SCTY), letting homes and buildings with solar panels store energy they generate.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...zes-speed.html

amor de cosmos Apr 30, 2014 4:45 PM
Quote:
Ultra low carbon cars given £500m funding boost
30 April 2014

Affordability and reliability are at the centre of a £500m government investment to encourage the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs).

The investment, taking place between 2015 and 2020, will focus on four initiatives designed to increase the uptake of ULEVs, encourage innovation and create jobs.

Local authorities are being encouraged to compete for a share of £35m aimed at projects to make ULEV ownership more attractive in towns and cities. Another £50m will also be available for local areas to invest in cleaner taxis and buses.

A further £32m is being invested into charging infrastructure, including plans to install rapid chargepoints across the ‘M’ and ‘A’ road network by 2020.

Car grants of £5,000 off the upfront cost of ULEVs will be extended, and £100m is earmarked for further research and development in low carbon technologies for the automotive industry.

In a statement Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, said: ‘This major investment is there to make driving an electric car affordable, convenient, and free from anxiety about the battery running out. But it’s also about creating a culture change in our towns and cities so that driving a greener vehicle is a no-brainer for most drivers.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/automot...018478.article

M II A II R II K May 1, 2014 7:13 PM
A Mapping Tool That Demystifies the Link Between Transportation and Jobs in NYC

http://fragile-success.rpa.org/maps/jobs.html

Quote:
Just how much does where you live affect the number of jobs available to you? This complex question is now much easier to visualize, thanks to a new interactive map from the Regional Planning Association, an urban advocacy group focused on the New York metropolitan area.

M II A II R II K May 2, 2014 10:22 PM
The Next Century of Sustainable Communities Will Be Organized Around Transportation

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...portation/8980

Quote:
The Great Recession has fundamentally changed the trajectory of both real estate and transportation in the United States. For the past century, our nation's economy revolved around the production of vehicles, highways, sprawl, and more vehicles. Transportation policy emphasized a supply-side approach of building highways to increase the speed and mobility of our nation's vehicular-based mobility system. However, in the 21st century, transportation's focus will shift to a sustainable transport paradigm of managing existing infrastructure (as opposed to building new roads) and improving accessibility. This will be enhanced through transit-oriented development and "networked livable communities."

As their name suggests, networked livable communities are networked into both the Internet and multi-modal transportation systems. They're also also networked into the professional economy: they are hubs and corridors of cafes, boutiques, restaurants, bars, and shared-office settings. They include art, live music, and animated street life. These communities are emerging in former warehouse and industrial districts, downtowns, historic districts, inner-suburbs, TODs, college-towns, and artistic communities that have bucked national trends over the past five years of decline and eroding land values. As the saying goes, "being in the right place at the right time" is important to source opportunities. Networked livable communities are the post-recession "right places." Residents there network for jobs, business financing, new partnerships, and overall professional connectivity.

Several interrelated events have set the stage for sustainable transport and the rise of networked livable communities over the next several decades. During the first decade of the 21st century, America's total vehicle miles traveled peaked. Since our transportation system is funded from the gas tax, the peaking of VMT means that we no longer have a growing source of federal funds to expand highways. The Great Recession also reduced suburban sprawl, which has lost favor with many Americans now looking to live, work, and play in denser, mixed-use areas. A recent study reported that close proximity to shopping and transit was important to the majority of Americans.

There is a pent-up demand for TOD, which is an important element for the success of networked livable communities. As a nation, we have built more than 4,500 fixed transit stations, most of which are rail. However, only 38 percent of these station areas achieve a minimum gross density of eight residential units per acre within a half-mile of the station — the level of density identified by researchers as needed to support transit usage. Density is also vital for business establishments to survive.

A study that I authored last year with Reid Ewing reveals that TOD station areas have outperformed low-density transit adjacent developments (TADs) significantly in terms of sustainable commuting. TADs are the opposite of TODs; they are low-density, auto-oriented communities around rail stations which do not facilitate walking or transit ridership other than via car access. In 2010, nearly 53 percent of commuters in TODs traveled by transit, walking, or bicycling as compared to less than 16 percent living in low-density TAD station areas.

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http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img..._z/largest.jpg

M II A II R II K May 5, 2014 6:57 PM
Is 'The Jetsons' flying car finally here?

Read More: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/07/tech/a...ity/index.html

Quote:
.....

Before you dash to the door and sprint to your nearest pilot school to sign up for flight lessons, take a moment to meet Carl Dietrich, the chief executive and co-founder of aerospace company Terrafugia.

- Dietrich and his team are working to bring consumers closer to the prospect of a practical flying car, envisioning a vehicle that does not require its operator to be a trained pilot. Thus, Boston -based Terrafugia announced last May it had started working on the concept of TF-X, a four-seat, plug-in hybrid electric car that can do vertical take-offs and landings.

- Although not driverless, Dietrich says the TF-X could increase the level of so-called "human directed local autonomy," a term he describes as a "big fancy phrase" that essentially means that the vehicle's operator won't need to have the knowledge or skills of a pilot. --- "They don't need to know those things because the computer is plugged in to a data network that automatically helps them plan the flight path, avoid other air traffic and air space restrictions, things of that nature," says Dietrich.

- Yet, if you have the vision that the semi-autonomous vehicle would help you escape annoying traffic jams by simply taking off the ground, you'd better think again. --- "That's science fiction and that will always be science fiction," says Dietrich, explaining that vertical liftoffs require a lot of air to be blown down which is not practical and can cause damages to neighboring vehicles. Instead, TF-X would be able to take off in airports and helipads, as well as specially designed spaces -- the size of a tennis court -- that would be devoid of street lights, road signs and power lines.

- So, how far away are we from our first ever TF-X air cruise? "It's hard to say exactly, but we estimate eight to twelve years," says Dietrich, who admits that even if Terrafugia had all the capital required to develop TF-X -- which it doesn't -- the realization of the project depends on technological developments as well as regulators changing the way aircraft are currently certified.

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http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg




http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg




http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...al-gallery.jpg




Valveless Engine: The Future of the Internal Combustion Engine?


• Video Link

M II A II R II K May 5, 2014 9:12 PM
Advanced Signaling Makes the Most Out of Old Subways, But Can New York Handle It?

Read More: http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/new-...gnaling-subway

Quote:
In the German-speaking world, there’s an old saying about transit planning: Organisation vor Elektronik vor Beton, or organization before electronics or concrete. With limited resources — and resources are always limited — transit agencies should exhaust all of the cheapest fixes before heading toward the more expensive “concrete” options like digging new tunnels and laying more track.

- New York City and many large cities around the world have nearly hit their limit on the cheapest sort of organizational fixes like lengthening trains and rejiggering schedules. They’re building a few new lines, but these are very expensive (nowhere more so than in New York). So in the meantime, cities such as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo are relying on electronics as the primary way to up rail capacity.

- Electronics nowadays means advanced signaling technologies — communications-based train control, or CBTC, is the latest generation — that allow for more frequent and smoother operations of trains. So-called “moving block signaling” allows trains to travel more closely together while still maintaining enough distance to safely brake, in turn allowing lines to host more trains per hour.

- Trains and the computerized dispatching system communicate directly by radio, eliminating maintenance requirements for unreliable signaling equipment alongside the tracks. Rerouting trains and managing trains — “single-tracking” around accidents, or slowing down or speeding up to make up for changes in the schedule — is easier and can be done more precisely by computers, eliminating many signal-related delays (which in New York are the most common kind). Trains are driven automatically, with much smoother rides.

- London, Paris, Madrid and other cities in Western Europe are making great strides in equipping their generations-old lines with CBTC, while Japan has systems that achieve similar results. New York City, as always, is the laggard. The Regional Plan Association (RPA), an independent New York-area transportation and planning group, has released a report on the state of CBTC in New York, with recommendations for how to speed its implementation. --- Unlike most small cities in the U.S., which have significant unused transit capacity, many of New York City’s subways are at or near their limits. Most lines cannot handle any more trains per hour during the busiest time of the day, or are a train or two away from maxing out.

- In London, the simple CBTC conversions have gone well. The Victoria sees 22 percent more trains during rush hour than before, the Jubilee Line got a 22 percent reduction in travel time and both lines saw delays drop 40 percent. --- But unmentioned in the RPA report is the experience on London’s more complex lines — the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan sub-surface (rather than deep tube) lines, which have more junctions and connections between each other and the national rail network. They have so far stymied the vendors who have tried to outfit them with CBTC, with two different signaling contracts canceled, likely owing mostly to the complexity of the job.

- On transit, London generally lags behind Paris and Madrid, which have taken signaling to its logical conclusion and started phasing out staff on board trains entirely. But the British capital is light years ahead of New York in transit technology and prowess. If London can’t manage to do it now, how long will it take before New York City can manage? Up until now, the MTA has averaged only four track-miles of CBTC upgrades per year. Their target for the next 20 years of 16 track-miles annually is ambitious enough given the complexity of the task, never mind RPA’s recommended 21. The real test will come during the next line, on Queens Boulevard, which hosts four different services, and whose CBTC upgrade will be significantly more complex than the MTA has done before.

- The second major complication is one of labor. New York City’s subways are some of the most labor-intensive on earth, with both a driver and a conductor in the middle of the train who operates the doors. The vast majority of rapid-transit lines in the developed world are driven without conductors, lowering operating costs and allowing agencies to run trains off-peak more cheaply. One argument for conductors in New York City is that the trains are longer — in some cases much longer — than in subways around the world. But with CBTC, trains drive themselves once the doors are closed, freeing the driver to pay more attention to the doors.

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http://d2srwfcq9qlp1g.cloudfront.net...920_655_80.jpg




Irish Rail puts €2bn DART plan back on track

Read More: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news...-30234613.html

Quote:
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Irish Rail has begun issuing letters to 5,000 home and business owners in Dublin city centre about acquiring land under compulsory purchase orders for the project.A recent High Court decision has given the green light for the plan, which had been shelved along with the Metro North line in 2011. The affected homes and businesses are positioned above the proposed underground works from Inchicore to the Docklands.

- Irish Rail said that the 7.6km underground DART line will run from Docklands to Inchicore, trebling the rail service from a capacity for 33 million passengers a year to 100 million annually. A spokesman from Irish Rail said: "DART Underground will be the single most important piece of infrastructure in the State" and the "benefits will be inarguable". --- Last night, the Department of Transport said that DART Underground is being assessed to see if there will be enough money to fund it in next year's Budget. --- "Dart Underground will be reviewed in advance of the next capital plan in 2015, but remains a key integration project," stated the spokesman. But he also said that the "delivery of this project remains subject to sufficient Exchequer finances being available".

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http://cdn2.independent.ie/incoming/...rain+x+app.jpg

amor de cosmos May 6, 2014 1:58 AM
Quote:
Braking Trains Coupling with Energy Storage for Big Electricity Savings
Regenerative braking technology mixed with the burgeoning field of batteries, flywheels, and other storage ideas highlights some huge potential.
May 5, 2014 |By Dave Levitan

Philadelphia’s transit system SEPTA used more than 500,000 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2011, equivalent to the consumption of around 46,000 average U.S. homes. A lot of that went into the city’s two subway lines, but SEPTA is now taking some innovative steps to try and conserve some of that energy. They have combined a technology called regenerative braking with electricity storage, and other cities are starting to follow suit.

Transport as a whole accounts for about 20 percent of all the world’s energy use, and urban transport makes up about 40 percent of that. All those subways, trolleys, light rail, and regional rail systems represent a huge opportunity when it comes to regenerative braking. The technology, which also helps power batteries in hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, works like this: when a train slows as it enters a station, it brakes using its motor rather than simple friction on the wheels. The motor can essentially act as a generator, turning the kinetic energy of a moving train back into electrical energy.

The problem is that in general that electricity needs to be reused right away. Subway systems can send it out onto the third rail, and if another train is nearby it can use the energy to help it accelerate. But if no other train is ready to tap into that power, it is essentially lost. Other systems dump the regenerative braking energy into banks of resistors on the trains, letting it dissipate as heat.

“That excess energy was being wasted,” says Andrew Gillespie, SEPTA’s chief engineer. To address that waste issue, he helped install a 1.5-megawatt bank of lithium-ion batteries at the Letterly substation in Philadelphia, among the first attempts in the world to marry regenerative braking with grid-ready energy storage.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...icity-savings/

amor de cosmos May 10, 2014 11:05 PM
Quote:
Spending on Infrastructure Now Generates Long-Term Jobs Later
By Rob Garver, The Fiscal Times
May 9, 2014

During the Great Recession, there was a push by the Obama administration to use economic stimulus funds to pay for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects. The construction industry had lost more jobs that any other sector of the economy, and infrastructure spending became almost synonymous with immediate – albeit temporary – job creation.

There is no shortage of advocates for more significant infrastructure spending. President Obama has cited the country’s deteriorating roads and airports as a major national concern, and his worries are backed up by the American Society of Civil Engineers and other professional organizations. But the money involved has made a Congress that has regularly ground to a halt over fiscal matters in recent years, reluctant to undertake serious investment in it.

A new study released Friday by the Brookings Institution, however, takes a rigorous look at the relationship between U.S. infrastructure and employment, and finds that a large majority of the jobs created or preserved by infrastructure projects tend to be long-term, well-paid positions, many of which are available to workers with little formal education.

Authors Joseph Kane and Robert Puentes write, “As policymakers continue to direct attention to infrastructure, they do not always identify the exact types of jobs supported by these investments. By limiting infrastructure employment to construction alone, and viewing it largely in terms of stimulus spending, policymakers have not considered the breadth of infrastructure jobs found across the U.S. economy.”

By classifying infrastructure into seven major categories (intra-metro transportation, inter-metro transportation, trade and logistics, energy, water, telecommunications, and public works) the authors identified 95 different lines of work closely associated with infrastructure, most of them non-construction positions.

“Contrary to popular belief, most workers employed in infrastructure jobs tend to operate physical assets, rather than constructing or installing them,” they write. “Across all infrastructure occupations, 77 percent of workers are primarily concerned with operation versus 15 percent with construction, 6 percent with design, and fewer than 2 percent with governance.”
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articl...erm-Jobs-Later

amor de cosmos May 11, 2014 9:44 PM
Quote:
Australia to invest $77 billion in roads as part of 'contribute and build' budget
By Morag MacKinnon
PERTH Sun May 11, 2014 12:59am EDT

(Reuters) - The Australian government will co-fund an A$82 billion ($77 billion) road infrastructure plan to help stimulate investment and create jobs as the impact of the country's mining boom fades, Treasurer Joe Hockey said on Sunday.

In a television interview ahead of his government's first annual budget, to be delivered next week, Hockey announced the plan to spend more than A$40 billion on roads over the next six years, to be topped up by some A$42 billion from state governments and private investors.

"We are laying a plan for the biggest increase in road expenditure in Australian history," Hockey told the Channel Nine Network.

"That is tens of thousands of new jobs, but most importantly, it is going to address the significant drop-off in investment in construction in Australia associated with mining investment coming off."

He dubbed the economic blueprint his government will deliver on May 13 a "contribute and build" budget.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A4A01520140511

M II A II R II K May 12, 2014 11:22 PM
China to build railway linking East Africa

Read More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...352242135.html

Quote:
China has signed a deal to build a $3.8bn railway link between Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi, the first stage of a line that will eventually link neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

The agreement was signed in Nairobi on Sunday by visiting Chinese premier Li Keqiang and witnessed by the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, Under the terms of the deal, Exim Bank of China will provide 90 percent of the cost to replace the crumbling British colonial-era line with a 609km standard-gauge link, and Kenya the remaining 10 percent.

Construction is due to start in October and will take three-and-a-half years to complete, with China Communications Construction as the main contractor, the AFP news agency reported. Once the Mombasa-Nairobi line is completed, construction would begin to link east Africa's largest economy with Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura and Juba - capitals of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. --- "This project demonstrates that there is equal cooperation and mutual benefit between China and the East African countries, and the railway is a very important part of transport infrastructure development," Li, who is on a four-nation tour of African countries, said.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Ima...3847734_20.jpg

amor de cosmos May 14, 2014 5:21 PM
Quote:
Electric Bus Breaks World Record by Traveling 700 Miles in One Day
by Kristine Lofgren, 05/13/14

Electric busses are a great alternative to the diesel spewing mass transit vehicles of yesteryear, but they suffer from one major limitation: range. South Carolina-based Proterra is changing all that, as one of their electric buses just broke the world record for most miles traveled in a day! During a round of standard pre-delivery testing, a Proterra bus went over 700 miles in just 24 hours.

The bus averaged 29 miles per hour, a speed meant to mimic average city driving, with the HVAC running as it would with passengers aboard. The bus stopped to charge periodically using Proterra’s fast charging system, which can juice up a bus in less time than it takes to charge your cell phone. At 27 mpg, the bus schooled other forms of transportation, accomplishing 6-times what diesel buses average and a whopping 7-times what a CNG bus manages.
http://inhabitat.com/electric-bus-br...es-in-one-day/

amor de cosmos May 15, 2014 8:44 PM
Quote:
Electric Car Sales are Stronger Than They Might Seem
Category: Automotive, Country & Industry Forecasting Media, Design & Supply Chain
Thursday, May 15, 2014 9:00 am EDT

Southfield, Mich. (May 15, 2014)—Despite falling short of previous expectations, global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) actually are progressing at a much faster pace than hybrid cars did during the same stage of their deployment, paving the way for higher demand as more EV options arrive on the market this year and beyond.

During the fourth year after its introduction in 2000, the original hybrid—Toyota’s Prius—attained cumulative sales of more than 52,000, according to IHS Automotive, part of IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS). In the fourth year after its introduction, in 2013, cumulative sales of the Nissan Leaf EV approached 100,000. For the Chevrolet Volt/Ampera plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), cumulative sales during the same period were almost 70,000.

Altogether, the Leaf and Volt/Ampera saw more than three times the cumulative sales total for the Prius in the fourth year after introduction, as presented in the attached figure.

“We’re still in the early stages of the EV market,” said Ben Scott, analyst for IHS Automotive. “Most EV drivers still own their first-generation electric vehicles. Furthermore, there have been insufficient product offerings to effectively legitimize the market and show to consumers that EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) represent the way of the future. However, with EV adoption exceeding the historical precedent of hybrids, this means that the trend toward EVs is still progressing, although at a slower rate than many had expected.”
http://press.ihs.com/press-release/a...hey-might-seem

amor de cosmos May 18, 2014 12:50 AM
Quote:
Chinese State Firm Clinches $13-Billion Rail Project in Nigeria
05/16/2014
By Shem Oirere

China Railway Construction Corp. has, through its subsidiary China Civil Engineering Group Co. Ltd., signed an agreement with Nigeria’s transport ministry to build a 1,385-kilometer-long, single-track high-speed railway line with an estimated $13.1 billion price tag.

The project is expected to connect 10 Nigerian states with the capital of Lagos, but its exact route has not been disclosed because of concerns of sabotage by rebels, particularly in the oil-rich Niger delta.

Also unclear is when construction will start and the mix of workers that will build the line.

With at least 22 stations along the line, the railway has been designed to allow passenger trains to cruise at 120 km per hour.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said during his tour of Africa in early May that the line also will open up the delta, which has been the scene of violence by gangs claiming to be ignored by the government and oil multinationals operating in the area.

China Railway Construction reported $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2014, 21.15% higher than in the same period the previous year.

“Nigeria emphasizes development of railway lines and other infrastructure, while China possesses technical strength and rich experience in this regard,” said Li.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan backed the rail deal with China, saying his government aims to develop a mass-transit system that can move people and freight more efficiently.
http://enr.construction.com/infrastr...in-nigeria.asp

• Video Link

• Video Link

http://www.treehugger.com/cars/now-f...kilowatts.html

amor de cosmos May 18, 2014 6:24 PM
Quote:
Unassuming rampant polluters on two wheels
Energy and Environment Environment

In some towns small mopeds cause more air pollution than cars

Not cars or trucks, but mopeds with their two-stroke engines are the main source of fine particles and other air contaminants in many towns in Asia, Africa and southern Europe. This is revealed by the study of an international research team headed up by researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI. The reasons for the high emissions are the combustion properties in two-stroke engines and the overly lenient emission requirements for small two-wheelers. The study findings are to be published on 13 May 2014 in the journal Nature Communications.

They are small, low in consumption and city-friendly but they are by no means ecologically harmless. Mopeds with two-stroke engines are at the top of the list of air polluters in some towns, mainly in Asia, Africa and southern Europe. This despite the fact that they account for only a fraction of total traffic volume. The suspicion that the two-wheelers, that are spared strict emission requirements, are the main contributors to air pollution in many cities has been around for a few years. Now an international research team headed up by the Paul Scherrer Institute has confirmed this suspicion with innovative measurement techniques.

The scientists used a smog chamber developed at PSI to measure the emission of organic aerosols and aromatic hydrocarbons from mopeds in the laboratory and in standard driving cycles. Organic aerosols are small particles which are suspended in air. They account for a major share of fine particles from traffic. By contrast, after being emitted as gaseous substances aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes) can be converted through chemical reactions in the atmosphere in part into secondary organic aerosols and, by extension, into fine particles. In fact, these secondary organic aerosols often account for the main proportion of fine particles. In their original gaseous form some arenes are harmful, too. Benzene, for instance, which is added to petrol is carcinogenic. The new study shows that during the conversion of exhaust gas from two-stroke mopeds other worrying products are formed. Using chemical analyses the scientists discovered that during the conversion of arenes from moped exhaust gases into aerosols, harmful reactive oxygen species are also formed which can reach the lungs.
http://www.psi.ch/media/unassuming-r...-on-two-wheels
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0513113302.htm

kilbride102 May 18, 2014 7:26 PM
Reminds me of the joke about mopeds and fat girls

M II A II R II K May 19, 2014 3:35 PM
Partially Banning Cars for a Day in Paris Actually Worked

Read More: http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/201...worked/371086/

Quote:
Back in March, air quality in Paris got so awful that the city took some drastic measures. With weather patterns keeping noxious particulate pollution close to the ground, the city made all public transportation free of charge. The next day, they went one step further, banning all cars with odd-numbered number plates from driving within the city proper. This unprecedented move is now back in the news for a compelling reason: Apparently, it worked.

According to Paris air quality monitor Airparif, keeping odd-numbered cars out of central Paris for a single day made a substantial difference. Within Paris proper, road traffic dropped by 18 percent that day, with drops of 13 percent in the Petite Couronne area that surrounds inner Paris. In the suburbs further beyond, traffic dropped by 10 percent. When compared to the seven days before, all this reduced levels of pollution by PM-10 within the city by 6 percent, with levels 10 percent lower than normal at rush hour on the Beltway. Nitrogen dioxide levels, meanwhile, dropped by 10 percent overall, and by 30 percent on the Beltway at rush hour.

A 6 percent drop may not sound massive, but bear in mind the circumstances in which it happened. This is just a single day of driving restrictions we're talking about. It took place under weather conditions when (thanks to a combination of very cold air by night and rainless, largely windless sunshine by day) particulates were flurrying around Paris’ lower atmosphere like white flecks around a snow globe, unable to escape. The drop thus happened under conditions when natural dispersion of pollution was especially difficult. Given that conditions had worsened over the preceding week, it’s also likely that the pollution drop from the days immediately before that Monday, March 17, was yet higher than the 6 percent contrast with Monday, March 10. All told, the drop shows the clear benefits to be had from a situation that prioritizes public over private transport.

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http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/cit...lead_large.jpg

amor de cosmos May 20, 2014 6:57 PM
Quote:
Hybrid Vehicles More Fuel Efficient In India, China Than in U.S.
Berkeley Lab researchers find hybrids use less fuel and mitigate emissions more effectively in India, China than in U.S.
March 31, 2014
Julie Chao

What makes cities in India and China so frustrating to drive in—heavy traffic, aggressive driving style, few freeways—makes them ideal for saving fuel with hybrid vehicles, according to new research by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). In a pair of studies using real-world driving conditions, they found that hybrid cars are significantly more fuel-efficient in India and China than they are in the United States.

These findings could have an important impact in countries that are on the brink of experiencing an explosion in the sales of personal vehicles; the government of India has already taken note of the findings. “Currently greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in India and China are a smaller piece of the pie compared with other sectors,” said lead researcher Anand Gopal. “But vehicle ownership is going to skyrocket in these countries. That is why we decided to focus on this area. Hybrid and electric vehicles can significantly reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants.”

What’s more, hybrids in India are also more fuel-efficient than they are officially rated for. “With the official fuel economy test procedure currently used in India, fuel savings for hybrids are fairly grossly underestimated, showing only a 29 percent savings over conventional vehicles,” Gopal said. “The test cycle is not representative of driving conditions in India, so that’s sending the wrong signal to the consumer.”

Their results were reported in two papers, “Understanding the fuel savings potential from deploying hybrid cars in China,” published in Applied Energy, and “Understanding fuel savings mechanisms from hybrid vehicles to guide optimal battery sizing for India,” accepted for publication in the International Journal of Powertrains, also co-authored by Berkeley Lab battery scientist Venkat Srinivasan. The studies are believed to be the first of their kind.
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-relea...n-india-china/

M II A II R II K May 23, 2014 5:09 PM
Manhattan's and D.C.'s Populations Nearly Double Every Day With Commuters

Read More: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/...muters/371451/

Quote:
For most American cities, the difference in the number of people who live there and the people who only work there is small. People tend to work where they live.

But that's not the case for some of the leading economic hubs in the country, where employment and commerce are high. For places like Manhattan and Washington, D.C., commuters can nearly double the population during the daytime.

A 2013 study from the U.S. Census Bureau outlines which major counties in the U.S. have the biggest gap between the residence population and the commuter-adjusted population, which is calculated by adding the total area population with the total workers in the area, and then subtracting the total workers living in the area. The study uses census data from 2006 to 2010.

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http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/.../e29da1400.jpg




A New Parking App That's Virtually Guaranteed to Stir Up Controversy

Read More: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/...oversy/371268/

Quote:
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With MonkeyParking, an audacious new mobile app from Italy, you can bid for a parking spot already occupied by somebody else.

- To find parking options, you first drop a pin on the map to broadcast your request for spots nearby and then select how much you’re willing to pay — currently the options start at $5 and go up to $20. People who’ve listed their parked cars on the app will get a notification that someone wants their spot. At that point, they can either accept the bid right away, wait a bit to see if there are higher bids, or ignore it completely if they’re not ready to leave.

- In San Francisco last month, MonkeyParking co-founder and CEO Paolo Dobrowolny rented a car to personally test out the service. He put out a request for parking in the SOMA district and offered $5. His bid was promptly accepted by someone who'd been getting ready to leave work. From this sample scenario, you can imagine, say, people listing their parked cars as they prepare to leave a restaurant or the gym.

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http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/.../ede995481.jpg


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