A one-size-fits-all phone charger could cut down on the electronic waste generated by cell phones (Photo by Shawn Allee)
That search for the right cell
phone charger should soon become
a thing of the past. Cell phone
makers have agreed to come up with
a universal adaptor. Julie Grant
reports that that could save tons
of landfill space:
Transcript
That search for the right cell phone charger should soon become a thing of the past. Cell phone makers have agreed to come up with a universal adaptor. Julie Grant reports that that could save tons of landfill space:
Top cell phone makers – including Nokia, Samsung and Apple – have struck a deal to standardize handset chargers for European consumers by next year.
And the U.S. wireless industry association says Americans will likely see a universal charger before 2012.
That means when you buy a new phone, you won’t need to buy a new charger. You’ll be able keep using the one-size-fits-all charger.
Ted Scardamalia is with the technology analysis firm Portelligent. He says this is good for consumers – and the environment.
“If I have a charger that lasts for two or three or four phones, that’s two or three or four chargers I don’t have to recycle or put into a landfill.”
Last year, an estimated 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide, according to University of Southern Queensland data reported by industry umbrella group GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association), generating up to 82,000 tonnes of chargers.
With concerns over the level of waste generated by redundant or outmoded chargers, European legislators had, prior to Monday’s agreement, considered forcing manufacturers to adopt universal technology.
Ted Bohn, a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the Chicago
suburbs, shows off a modified Saturn Vue with a lithium-ion battery in the rear (Photo by Gabriel Spitzer)
One of the great hopes for a green
car is the plug-in hybrid. It’s like a regular
gas-electric hybrid, only you can plug in at
night. That charge is supposed to let most
people make a typical commute without the gas engine. Carmakers and the government are throwing a lot of money at the technology – GM and Chrysler both hope to release models in the next few years. But the cars might not deliver what boosters promise. In the first part of our series on saving gas, Gabriel Spitzer
reports on what new research says about plug-in hybrids in the real world:
Transcript
One of the great hopes for a green
car is the plug-in hybrid. It’s like a regular
gas-electric hybrid, only you can plug in at
night. That charge is supposed to let most
people make a typical commute without the gas
engine. Carmakers and the government are
throwing a lot of money at the technology – GM
and Chrysler both hope to release models in the
next few years. But the cars might not deliver
what boosters promise. In the first part of
our series on saving gas, Gabriel Spitzer
reports on what new research says about plug-in
hybrids in the real world:
Ted Bohn is a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the Chicago
suburbs and he’s showing off his ride.
“So this a prototype, plug-in hybrid vehicle. The rear half is a 10
kilowatt-hour battery.”
It’s a modified Saturn Vue, with a big old lithium-ion battery in the rear.
That battery is like what runs your iPod – only it weighs as much as a
linebacker.
Ted Bohn: “If you actually had to drive less than 40 miles on a typical
day, you could drive the whole day without starting the engine.”
Gabriel Spitzer: “Could you drive this very vehicle 40 miles round-trip
without starting the engine?”
Ted Bohn: “Close. If you drive slowly. To be honest, 25 to 30 is what
you’ll really do – driving on a nice day downhill with a tailwind is 40,
more realistically, 25 to 30.”
The thing is, you don’t hear those little caveats from some people, like, say,
General Motors.
“You plug it in. And they expect you’ll get up to 40 miles without a drop
of gas. Wow. The Chevy Volt. I’ve heard the future, and it hums.”
That 40-mile range is based on EPA tests.
Argonne scientist Aymeric Rousseau, with backing from the government,
compared those measures to how people drive in the real world.
Based on more than 100 drivers in Kansas City, he found that 40 mile range
shrinks to about 30.
Flip on your AC, and it’s more like 20.
“People now think about, you know, your mileage may vary. Now we
have to think about, your electrical distance may vary, depending on
how you drive, and what accessories you’re using.”
Rousseau says factors like aggressive driving sap the all-electric range.
And don’t forget – we’re talking Kansas City, here.
“When we talk to people from the EPA they actually say that people in
California drive more aggressively than people in Kansas City.”
General Motors concedes the point.
Rob Peterson is a spokesman for GM.
He says driver behavior can have some affect on the all-electric range.
Though …
“I wouldn’t go as low as 28 to 32.”
He says for a reasonable driver, the Volt can still get about 40.
And how about those pedal-to-the-metal Californians? Well, he says GM
studied exactly those people.
“For 64% of the people that we tested, they would be able to finish their
day with a petroleum-free and a tailpipe-emission-free commute.”
That’s not exactly what Argonne found.
Granted, the batteries they looked at were a little smaller than the Volt’s.
Size matters when it comes to batteries.
Said Al-Hallaj teaches at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He says carmakers could build a battery that would boost up the all-electric
range – the problem is money.
“If you’re talking about a 25% increase, you know, from 30 to 40 miles,
that could mean thousands of dollars. So that could take it out of the
price range that will make it actually practical for the industry to make
it.”
Al-Hallaj says as the technology improves, so will drivers.
People are already getting better at squeezing fuel efficiency out of their
cars.
“For the first time I see people even worried about closing the window
versus opening the window because of drag. And we’re talking about
common people here, just trying to pay attention to, if your tires are not
properly inflated, the you have prob — so people start adapt and
probably get the best out of your battery.”
So it’s not that a plug-in hybrid can’t get 40, it’s just that you need to drive
like a grandmother to do it.
But if gas prices continue to climb, we may be seeing a lot more grannies
behind the wheel.
Some people get a little concerned about more electrics and electric-hybrid cars. That’s
because 50% of electric power in the U.S. comes from coal-burning power plants. And,
just about every state wants to build more power plants to meet peak demand. (Photo by Ed Edahl, courtesy of FEMA)
The big automakers are working on
coming up with plug in hybrids. By the
end of 2010, G-M and Toyota plan to have
cars you can plug in to charge up batteries,
backed up with small gas powered engines.
Lester Graham reports there are concerns
about whether pollution from power plants
will be any better than pollution from tailpipes:
Transcript
The big automakers are working on
coming up with plug in hybrids. By the
end of 2010, G-M and Toyota plan to have
cars you can plug in to charge up batteries,
backed up with small gas powered engines.
Lester Graham reports there are concerns
about whether pollution from power plants
will be any better than pollution from tailpipes:
I was out the other day with a guy who converted his Saturn four-door into an all electric
vehicle. Did it all himself.
His name’s Bob Gurk. He’s one of a lot of people who think there’s a better way, and
they want you to see for yourself.
Bob Gurk: “Here are the keys.”
Lester Graham: “I’m drivin’?”
Guys like Bob Gurk think the big automakers should have come up with electrics and
plug-in hybrids a long time ago.
Lester Graham: “Unplug here?”
Bob Gurk: “Yeah.”
(sounds of driving)
Bob Gurk says, sure, he spent a lot converting his car to electric. And there are some
sacrifices: no air conditioning, he can only go just a little over 50 miles without a charge,
but then, he’s not paying close to four-bucks a gallon for gasoline now.
Bob Gurk: “I figure it’s about three cents a mile.”
Lester Graham: “Three cents a mile?”
Bob Gurk: “Yeah.”
Lester Graham: “As opposed to gasoline, which is?”
Bob Gurk: “Ten cents a mile, I’d say. At least.”
Some people get a little concerned about more electrics and electric-hybrids. That’s
because 50% of electric power in the U.S. comes from coal-burning power plants. And,
just about every state wants to build more power plants to meet peak demand.
A guy who’s supposed to know something about electric cars is Andy Frank. He’s at
the University of California Davis. Some call him the father of the plug-in-hybrid. Andy
Frank says we don’t use all the power that’s available right now.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the grid actually has excess capacity. The
reason why is there has to be enough capacity to satisfy the peak draw in the middle of
the day. But, at night everybody turns off their lights and that draw goes down to about
anywhere between a half and two-thirds of what is required during the peak of the day.”
So, the idea is you could plug in your plug-in hybrid overnight.
“And then the question is how many cars could you charge with that idle capacity on our
existing grid? About 75 to 80% of cars in our entire fleet in the U.S. could be charged
with that excess capacity that we currently have.”
That’s assuming most people would only plug in at night, during the off-peak hours. If
most of them did, that would be a lot of cars that would not be emitting pollution from the
tailpipes.
But that also means some power plants will be burning more coal at night, billowing out
pollution, including greenhouse gasses.
Dustin Dwyer reports on automotive issues for Michigan Radio and he’s covered this
issue.
“One of the benefits, the power companies will tell you, is that if you have millions of
tailpipes out there spewing emissions, it’s much more difficult to capture those emissions
or manage those emissions than it is to manage coming out of one smokestack at the
power plant.”
But, you do end up shifting some pollution upstream to the power plants. And that
would pollute rural areas more, because that’s where they build the power plants.
The experts say that’s why we ought to start building parking lots with car ports covered
in solar panels, put up more wind turbines, and find other ways to use energy better – to
power all those electric and plug-in hybrids that are coming.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
Wheels are turning both in young minds and innovative transportation. Both could
help revive the Rust Belt. (Photo by Max Eggeling)
The loss of traditional manufacturing jobs has hit Great Lakes states hard in recent years. But some business owners believe they are on the cusp of creating a new type of manufacturing base. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Grant spent some time in one community that’s discussing how new businesses can provide a foundation for the future:
Transcript
The loss of traditional manufacturing jobs has hit Great Lakes states hard in recent
years. But some business owners believe they are on the cusp of creating a new type of
manufacturing base. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Grant spent some time in
one community that’s discussing how new businesses can provide a foundation for the
future:
Not long ago, there were lots of good-paying factory jobs in northeast Ohio. But the state
has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs in the past four years. Some business people and
academics are trying to shape a new economy for the region. Their efforts could be
symbolized by a little bird…
“I need a Sparrow, I need it…”
A sparrow is an electrically charged three-wheel motorcycle that’s fully covered in steel.
It looks like a tear drop… or maybe a gym shoe. David Ackerman isn’t sure if he’d pick
one in bright orange…
“…but look, there it goes, look at it go! Is that the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen? I
love it! It’s like something out of “sleeper.” But it’s very sleek and cool and futuristic…
Does it really go 70? Yeah, it goes 70….”
While Ohio and other Midwestern states might have a tough time competing globally in
the steel market, some economists believe innovative transportation is one way Ohio
could build a foundation for a new economy. The state has put millions of dollars into
fuel cell research, Honda is building hybrid cars in central Ohio, and newer companies
are working to make auto engines cleaner and more efficient.
Some of those business owners gathered with people from the community to discuss how
transportation technology could be part of the region’s future. Bob Chalfant of a
company called Comsense spoke on the panel. He says the technology they’re
developing could have a huge impact…
“…the benefits to Cleveland are jobs. We figure the total market for pressure sensors for
combustion applications is about 2.2 billion dollars.”
Chalfant’s company expects to create 2,000 jobs in Cleveland. But if businesses like
Comsense are going to girder the area’s new economy, they’re going to need educated
employees for their high tech manufacturing jobs. The problem is, many young educated
folks are leaving the Midwest.
Meredith Matthews is a public school teacher in inner city Cleveland. She says they’re
trying to train students for these kinds of jobs, but they need direction from these new
companies…
“I teach in the third world known as the Cleveland Public Schools. I’m introducing
myself, so that if anybody needs kids, we got ’em. If you want to stop by and talk to me,
I’ll show you how to get kids, I’ll show you how to get in the door.”
Local universities and community colleges already have some research and training in
fuel cell technology. But mechanic Phil Lane looks at Cleveland’s poverty rate, the
highest among all big cities in the nation, and wants these companies to start training kids
even younger…
“We need to grab kids in the second and third grade, particularly in the very bad
neighborhoods, before the neighborhood can get to the kid. That’s what we really need to
do.”
Lane says training poor children early would provide a real foundation for a new
economy in Cleveland. Many communities that have lost their job base are starting
similar conversations and searching for ways to fit in to the global marketplace.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Julie Grant.
A one-size-fits-all phone charger could cut down on the electronic waste generated by cell phones (Photo by Shawn Allee)
