[News] from [guardian.co.uk]
[Environment >Greenwash]
Series: Greenwash
Fred Pearce's Greenwash
Exposing false environmental claims
BMW's hybrid X6 accelerates nonsense about fast low-emission carsBMW is launching the 'world's most powerful hybrid' at Frankfurt motor show but its eco-friendly claims are weak
Fred Pearce
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 07.00 BST Article history
It's the holy grail for motorists with a green conscience – a high-performance eco-friendly hybrid car. Well, that is what BMW will have us believe when it unveils its latest model at the Frankfurt motor show in Germany next week.
The show is likely to see a stream of new hybrids, cars that combine a combustion engine with an electric motor for improved fuel efficiency. And pole position is likely to be taken by BMW's ActiveHybrid X6, which it styles the "world's most powerful hybrid".
The new X6 goes from 0-60 mph in under six seconds and has a top speed of 130 mph.
But the company gives equal prominence to its pitch that the new hybrid is "eco-friendly", because its carbon emissions are 20% less than those of a regular X6.
For a few days last month you could read the same claim on the website of the Energy Saving Trust, the "impartial" adviser on energy efficiency set up by the British government.
But is it too good to be true? Of course. As one incredulous reader who spotted the story on the Trust's website pointed out: "The Trust is promoting a car as eco-friendly with emissions TWICE that of my 6 year old Honda Civic hybrid!"
The ActiveHybrid X6's official CO2 emissions rating with the European Union is 231 grams per kilometre. That compares badly with the EU's 2012 target for average emissions from new cars of 120 grams. It is also higher than the emissions from most of the new Lexus hybrid range and more than twice the emissions of a Toyota Prius, for instance.
The fact that it is better than the regular X6's rating of 299 grams per kilometre does not make it eco-friendly, I am afraid. The claim is greenwash.
I suspect we are going to see a rash of these high-performance high-emission hybrids masquerading as green. Back in the lab, BMW is developing a hybrid "supercar" that will reach 155 mph and 0-60 mph in less than five seconds.
Sure, hybrids are more fuel-efficient than the equivalent old models. The key is that the fuel does not have to be burned in inefficient surges as the car accelerates and brakes. It can be burned efficiently in a smooth flow, and the energy transferred to a battery that supplies the electric motor that drives the car itself. The battery can also make use of energy generated during braking.
But to call these high-performance models eco-friendly, or low-emissions as they burn up the autobahn is nonsense. They are, in reality, slightly less polluting gas-guzzlers.
The Energy Saving Trust seems to take a similar view. When my correspondent pointed out the dodgy nature of the car's green credentials, the offending story swiftly disappeared from its site. "Once we noticed it, we removed it straight away," a spokesman told me.
The rise of these new hybrids has important implications for green-minded legislators. For instance, it should increase the pressure on London's mayor to reconsider his blanket exemption from congestion charges for hybrid cars. Surely, only truly low-emitters should qualify.
Interestingly, the BMW PR promotes the idea that the driver of the hybrid X6 can "experience silence without coming to a stop", while the electric motor is running alone.
It sounds fun. But speaking as a pedestrian, I'm a bit scared at the idea of a car that can go from 0 to 60mph in less than six seconds without making any noise. Green or not, it sounds like a stealth killer.
[Environment > Drought]
Kenya's wildlife threatened by droughtSerious threat to elephants as rivers dry up and grasslands shrivel in parched game reserves
Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 13.27 BST Article history
A drought in Kenya has become so bad that the country's famed elephants are dying, as rivers dry up and grasslands shrivel in parched game reserves.
The drought has killed hundreds of cattle and many hectares of crops, threatening the lives of the people who depend on them for food. There is no human death toll for the drought, but the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has said that 3.8 million Kenyans are at risk and in need of emergency food aid.
The zoologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who founded Save the Elephants, said the drought is the worst he has seen in 12 years and poses a serious threat to the animals, whose presence in Kenya's broad savannah help draw a million tourists each year.
"It may be related to climate change, and the effect is elephants, particularly the young and the old, have began to die," he told AP Television News. "When they do not have enough food they also seem to be vulnerable to disease, their immune system weakens and they catch all sorts of diseases."
Elephants, which have no predators, must roam widely to get their daily ration of as much as 52 gallons (200 litres) of water and about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of grass, leaves and twigs. But the water is disappearing and the grass is all but gone.
In the past two months, over 40 elephants have died in Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu districts, the Daily Nation newspaper reported. It was initially thought to be a disease outbreak but laboratory tests failed to detect disease. The only probable reason the animals are dying is drought, Moses Litoloh, a senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service, told the newspaper.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that the elephants have not been getting enough fodder, especially the young ones," he said. "Young elephants are unable to keep up the pace with their mothers while grazing. They are also not able to browse tall trees which are the only source of food left."
The species is hardly at the brink of extinction: there are 23,000 elephants in Kenya and fewer than 100 have died from the drought but wildlife experts say they are concerned.
Making matters worse, herders are driving their livestock into the elephants' domain in search of fresh pasture and competing for forage.
The prime minister, Raila Odinga, last month warned of a "catastrophe" if seasonal rains don't come in October and November. Kenya's grain harvest is expected to be 28% lower. Food prices have jumped by as much as 130%.
The WFP has called for $230m (£138m) in donations to feed hungry Kenyans.
[Environment >Greenwash]
Series: Greenwash
Fred Pearce's Greenwash
Exposing false environmental claims
BMW's hybrid X6 accelerates nonsense about fast low-emission carsBMW is launching the 'world's most powerful hybrid' at Frankfurt motor show but its eco-friendly claims are weak
Fred Pearce
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 07.00 BST Article history
It's the holy grail for motorists with a green conscience – a high-performance eco-friendly hybrid car. Well, that is what BMW will have us believe when it unveils its latest model at the Frankfurt motor show in Germany next week.
The show is likely to see a stream of new hybrids, cars that combine a combustion engine with an electric motor for improved fuel efficiency. And pole position is likely to be taken by BMW's ActiveHybrid X6, which it styles the "world's most powerful hybrid".
The new X6 goes from 0-60 mph in under six seconds and has a top speed of 130 mph.
But the company gives equal prominence to its pitch that the new hybrid is "eco-friendly", because its carbon emissions are 20% less than those of a regular X6.
For a few days last month you could read the same claim on the website of the Energy Saving Trust, the "impartial" adviser on energy efficiency set up by the British government.
But is it too good to be true? Of course. As one incredulous reader who spotted the story on the Trust's website pointed out: "The Trust is promoting a car as eco-friendly with emissions TWICE that of my 6 year old Honda Civic hybrid!"
The ActiveHybrid X6's official CO2 emissions rating with the European Union is 231 grams per kilometre. That compares badly with the EU's 2012 target for average emissions from new cars of 120 grams. It is also higher than the emissions from most of the new Lexus hybrid range and more than twice the emissions of a Toyota Prius, for instance.
The fact that it is better than the regular X6's rating of 299 grams per kilometre does not make it eco-friendly, I am afraid. The claim is greenwash.
I suspect we are going to see a rash of these high-performance high-emission hybrids masquerading as green. Back in the lab, BMW is developing a hybrid "supercar" that will reach 155 mph and 0-60 mph in less than five seconds.
Sure, hybrids are more fuel-efficient than the equivalent old models. The key is that the fuel does not have to be burned in inefficient surges as the car accelerates and brakes. It can be burned efficiently in a smooth flow, and the energy transferred to a battery that supplies the electric motor that drives the car itself. The battery can also make use of energy generated during braking.
But to call these high-performance models eco-friendly, or low-emissions as they burn up the autobahn is nonsense. They are, in reality, slightly less polluting gas-guzzlers.
The Energy Saving Trust seems to take a similar view. When my correspondent pointed out the dodgy nature of the car's green credentials, the offending story swiftly disappeared from its site. "Once we noticed it, we removed it straight away," a spokesman told me.
The rise of these new hybrids has important implications for green-minded legislators. For instance, it should increase the pressure on London's mayor to reconsider his blanket exemption from congestion charges for hybrid cars. Surely, only truly low-emitters should qualify.
Interestingly, the BMW PR promotes the idea that the driver of the hybrid X6 can "experience silence without coming to a stop", while the electric motor is running alone.
It sounds fun. But speaking as a pedestrian, I'm a bit scared at the idea of a car that can go from 0 to 60mph in less than six seconds without making any noise. Green or not, it sounds like a stealth killer.
[Environment > Drought]
Kenya's wildlife threatened by droughtSerious threat to elephants as rivers dry up and grasslands shrivel in parched game reserves
Associated Press guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 13.27 BST Article history
A drought in Kenya has become so bad that the country's famed elephants are dying, as rivers dry up and grasslands shrivel in parched game reserves.
The drought has killed hundreds of cattle and many hectares of crops, threatening the lives of the people who depend on them for food. There is no human death toll for the drought, but the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has said that 3.8 million Kenyans are at risk and in need of emergency food aid.
The zoologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who founded Save the Elephants, said the drought is the worst he has seen in 12 years and poses a serious threat to the animals, whose presence in Kenya's broad savannah help draw a million tourists each year.
"It may be related to climate change, and the effect is elephants, particularly the young and the old, have began to die," he told AP Television News. "When they do not have enough food they also seem to be vulnerable to disease, their immune system weakens and they catch all sorts of diseases."
Elephants, which have no predators, must roam widely to get their daily ration of as much as 52 gallons (200 litres) of water and about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of grass, leaves and twigs. But the water is disappearing and the grass is all but gone.
In the past two months, over 40 elephants have died in Laikipia, Isiolo and Samburu districts, the Daily Nation newspaper reported. It was initially thought to be a disease outbreak but laboratory tests failed to detect disease. The only probable reason the animals are dying is drought, Moses Litoloh, a senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service, told the newspaper.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that the elephants have not been getting enough fodder, especially the young ones," he said. "Young elephants are unable to keep up the pace with their mothers while grazing. They are also not able to browse tall trees which are the only source of food left."
The species is hardly at the brink of extinction: there are 23,000 elephants in Kenya and fewer than 100 have died from the drought but wildlife experts say they are concerned.
Making matters worse, herders are driving their livestock into the elephants' domain in search of fresh pasture and competing for forage.
The prime minister, Raila Odinga, last month warned of a "catastrophe" if seasonal rains don't come in October and November. Kenya's grain harvest is expected to be 28% lower. Food prices have jumped by as much as 130%.
The WFP has called for $230m (£138m) in donations to feed hungry Kenyans.
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