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- Date:
- 2002-11-18
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- 5,086
A study of UPS fleet proves the natural gas (CNG) vehicles produce much less emissions than their diesel counterparts (11.4)
A study comparing trucks fueled by natural gas with others fueled by diesel was conducted using package trucks operated by United Parcel Service(UPS), which operates the largest compressed natural gas (CNG) fleet in the U.S. The study compared the operations, maintenance, performance, and emissions characteristics of CNG and diesel vehicles from 1997 to 2000, as part of the broader U.S. Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL) Truck Evaluation Project.
According to the results, compared with diesel truck emissions, CNG truck carbon monoxide emissions were 75 percent lower, nitrogen oxide 49 percent lower, hydrocarbons and non-methane hydrocarbons 4 percent lower, and carbon dioxide 7 percent lower.
Total operating costs of CNG trucks were 2 percent lower than total operating costs of diesel trucks at one of the study sites and 19 percent higher at the other site.
Indonesian fire disaster has contributed to the acceleration of global warming, as reported in the magazine (11.8)
On Nov. 7th, 2002, scientists in Britain have announced that the 1997 great fire in Indonesia has produced an enormous amount of CO2 gas, and accelerated the global warming process.
Also, the fire has cost a rapid increase in the temperature, which led to the increase of about two times in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, during the years 1997~98.