Hummer bummer splits suburban America

With the sun going down on Brandywine St and the lawn sprinklers hissing gently in the background, worried groups of neighbours are talking quietly about a shocking act of domestic terrorism on their doorsteps.

Some have just returned from the nearby Whole Foods organic store, one worried-looking family pulls up in a Prius. Children pour out carrying musical instruments from their Suzuki lesson.

But, despite its seeming like a Norman Rockwell poster, Brandywine St, in the suburbs of Washington DC is now on the frontline of America's fractious debate about climate change.

In the early hours of Monday morning, two masked men arrived there wielding baseball bats and a machete. They then set about attacking the enormous Hummer that had been parked there less than a week.

As owner Gareth Groves slept, they smashed every window, battered the panels, slashed the oversized tires and scrawled "for the environ" on the side of the 2m-high behemoth. The attackers caused more than US$12,000 ($15,000) worth of damage before running into the night.

As an act of eco-vandalism, it was not as spectacular as previous episodes. A couple of years ago three environmental activists firebombed several Hummer and 4x4 dealerships in California. One of them is now serving an eight-year jail term in a federal penitentiary and two others are on the run from the FBI.

The argument over Hummers and vehicles like them goes all the way to the White House. For 20 years car manufacturers have successfully blocked attempts to force them to become more efficient.

Opinion polls reveal that, given an option, three-quarters of Americans want dramatic increases in fuel-efficient cars, but they prefer to buy gas-guzzling Hummers, Cadillacs and behemoth-sized pickup trucks.

Thirty years ago "light trucks", as 4x4 vehicles are classified , were only a fifth of all sales. Today they account for more than half. And in June, according to the latest figures from General Motors, the world's largest car manufacturer, Hummer sales were up 11 per cent.


As the New Yorker magazine put it: "We buy gas guzzlers, but we vote for gas sipping."

Last month the US Senate passed an energy bill that for the first time in nearly 20 years would have forced an improvement in the fuel efficiency of cars and 4x4s.

However, it became dead in the water because of the intervention of Michigan Congressman John Dingell, who could fairly be described as friendly to the car lobby. He wanted fuel economy improvements that were condemned as being even weaker than the toothless measures proposed by President George W. Bush.

Now given how fractious the debate has become, both over Hummers on suburban roads and the fuel efficiency of American cars, it is unclear whether any fuel requirements will make it into the bill before Congress, or even when the House will get around to debating it.

Brown to lobby EU on greener VAT

Gordon Brown has said he will push for lower taxes on environmentally friendly products across the European Union.
Mr Brown said the UK and France would seek to persuade other nations of the need for an EU-wide cut on VAT levied on less polluting goods.

The British Prime Minister made the pledge during his first meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The European Commission welcomed the initiative but said it would require agreement from all 27 member states.

'New incentives'

Speaking in Paris, Mr Brown said market mechanisms were needed to encourage consumers to buy greener products such as low-energy fridges and insulation materials.

"It is now time that we give new incentives to people who are wanting to buy environmentally friendly products," Mr Brown said.

"The plans would involve reducing rates of VAT on energy-efficient products and energy-saving materials as an incentive for consumers to make more sustainable decisions."

Mr Sarkozy added that it was "unfair that a polluting car costs less than a car that does not pollute".

Any changes to EU-wide tax laws would require the approval of all 27 members, something that is likely to be far from straightforward.

The scope of goods which could enjoy tax benefits could become a major sticking point.

The BBC's Alex Ritson in Brussels said the plans may also meet with opposition from countries worried about the prospect of reduced tax revenues.

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China simplifies method for turning coal to gas

Chinese researchers have demonstrated a cheap, simple way to convert underground coal into gas. The new method could make it more economical to exploit coal seams that are otherwise difficult to reach, but also raises environmental concerns.

Coal gas was commonly used in the 19th century to light cities, and is still manufactured today in some plants above ground. Coal is heated in the presence of oxygen and steam, producing methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

The process would be cheaper, however, if the coal did not have to be mined and transported first.
"The Chinese been working on this process, and they're quite keen on it, for 20 years now," says Michael Green, Director of UCG Engineering in the UK, which consults on underground coal gasification. "They're trying to [create] a very cheap process, without high technology."

But Green says more efficient methods are also being developed in the West that use directional drilling to create combustion chambers, and which feed fires with pure oxygen instead of air.

However, environmentalists worry that coal gasification will release too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change.

Green says that underground coal gasification could be combined with carbon sequestration. But he notes that the Chinese experiment was conducted on a relatively shallow coal seam, which could also risk contaminating groundwater. Proposed Western projects would occur much deeper, he says.
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Summer sun can provide winter heat

RELYING on solar heating might sound like a bad idea if you live in a country that sees little daylight for much of the winter. Yet that's exactly what 50 households in Anneburg, Sweden, have been doing for the past two years.

During the summer, water is pumped through rooftop solar heaters to warm it, before being stored in pipes embedded in granite 65 metres below ground. The water is kept hot by the rock, and can then be pumped back up to heat homes in winter.

So far the system has reduced reliance on conventional heating by nearly 25 per cent. This could rise to 70 per cent over the next few years as the storage rocks get hotter, according to an evaluation by a team at Uppsala University. "During the winter season there isn't that much sun, but we can still use solar," says team member Magdalena Lundh.
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