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For more information about this issue, please
see the resource links at the bottom of this page, or visit the
links below:
Interfaith
Climate Change Network http://www.protectingcreation.org/
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life http://www.coejl.org/
National Council
of Churches of Christ in the US http://www.ncccusa.org/
US Department of Energy
http://www.ott.doe.gov/hev/
Evangelical Environmental
Network http://www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org/
As auto makers are announcing more hybrids and electric vehicles, it is important for the Christian community to show the demand continues for more environmentally friendly vechicles. If these cars are made available, but sales of these vehicles are less than stellar, the integrity of creation would again suffer because the industry has made it very clear that if there is no demand there will be no supply.
As American cars continue to get fewer miles per gallon, a delegation of American religious leaders - carrying an open letter from over 100 heads of denominations and senior religious leaders from 21 states to automobile executives - traveled to Detroit on November 20, 2002 to launch a major national effort to get Ford, GM, and Chrysler to build cleaner, more efficient cars. This corresponded with evangelical Christian groups who have announced a new, "What Would Jesus Drive?" advertising and outreach campaign. The delegation met with auto executives and leadership at the United Auto Workers.
The interfaith campaign, which began in pews in twenty states
on November 10th 2002, represents an unprecedented effort in the
religious community to push automakers to manufacture cleaner
cars and members of tens of thousands of congregations
to buy them. The campaign and open letter argue that polluting
cars are "warming the planet, contributing to causes of war,
and increasing the burden on the poor…Because automobiles
are having such extraordinary global impact, choices about what
cars to build raise fundamental moral issues."
The campaign seeks to get members to take a pledge to "organize
my life so that it is easier and more desirable to walk, bike,
car pool, and use public transportation." The plege furthers
sates, "If I need to purchase a vehicle, I will choose the
most fuel efficient and least polluting vehicle available that
truly fits my needs. I will discuss with others the moral concerns
and solutions associated with transportation. I will encourage
automobile manufacturers to produce the most fuel-efficient and
least polluting vehicles possible that truly fit the needs of
the American people. I will urge government leaders to support
public transportation, a significant increase in fuel economy
standards, and research and development for promising new transportation
technologies that reduce pollution and increase fuel efficiency."
Speakers at the November 20 event in Detroit included Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches; David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Ron Sider, Evangelical Environmental Network; Paul Gorman, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, and Sister Nancy Sylvester, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Speakers arrived in front of General Motors headquarters in
downtown Detroit riding in a convoy of fuel-efficient vehicles
owned and driven by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary from Monroe, Michigan. Written on the hood, back, top
and sides of each of the electric-hybrid cars was one word in
the phrase, "What Would Jesus Drive?" publicizing the
Evangelical campaign.
Www.protectingcreation.org
has a feature on their website that will help you to send a letter
to the CEO's of GM, Ford, and Chrysler to ask them to produce
cars that are less harmful for the environment and more beneficial
to the economy. Www.ott.doe.gov/hev
contains information about tax incentives to purchase hybrid vehicles.
The Internal Revenue Service allows a $2,000 deduction for vehicles
that use alternative fuels or some form of electric power, and
Congress has been considering further incentives. Www.cleancarcampaign.org/
is a good source of information and allows you to take a clean
car pledge to buy the greenest car that meets your needs and budget.
Totally Electric Vehicles (commonly called EVs) are hard to
find in the US. The www.evfinder.com
website has been set up to help people locate an Electric Vehicle.
Full sized electric vehicle options are delineated here. Three wheeled electric vehicles are
documented here.
You can learn more about free-way capapble smaller EVs here. You can buy and sell many forms of used
EVs here
and here.
A Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) is a vehicle that is capable
of traveling at a maximum speed of 25mph. They come with safety
features like headlights, turn signals and seat belts. In most
US States (KY not presently being one of them) and in Canada they
can be operated on the roads where the posted speed limit is 35mph
or less. There is a good map
of states that have approved NEVs at the Feelgood Motors web
site. NEVs are often frequently referred to as Low Speed Vehicles
or LSVs. Many low-speed Neighborhood Electric Vehicle options
are described here.
There are a number of hybrid electric
vehicles (HEVs) on the U.S. market to date. Honda and Toyota both
have production-ready vehicles that are being manufactured and
sold today—and they qualify for federal tax incentives
(PDF
690 KB). In the near future, there will be more HEVs from
General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler on the way. (You might
need to download
Acrobat Reader to access some of the following data.)
Hot off the assembly line is the new 2003 Civic hybrid electric vehicle. Like other HEVs, it combines a small internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Built off the current Civic sedan, the hybrid features an improved version of Honda's integrated motor assist (IMA) system. The IMA system works with the continuously variable automatic or manual transmission to provide a combination of excellent drivability and gas mileage (projected at about 50 miles per gallon). The hybrid is expected to be certified nationwide as an "Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle," with about an 80% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions compared to a conventional car.
The five-passenger Civic hybrid can be purchased (or ordered) from any local Honda Dealership.
Honda
Civic Web site
Honda's
Dealer Locator
The Honda Insight was the first HEV to be available for public purchase. The two-seat sporty car has been a hot item since it was introduced across the country in late 1999.
The Insight earns the best EPA mileage ratings in history, rated at 61-mpg city/70-mpg highway. At the heart of the Insight is Honda's revolutionary Integrated Motor Assist (IMATM) system, which combines the world's lightest 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder gasoline automobile engine with an ultra-thin electric motor.
The Insight is available from any local Honda Dealership. If they don't have the vehicle on the showroom floor, it can be ordered.
Technology Snapshot - Featuring the Honda Insight (PDF
741 KB) Download
Acrobat Reader
Honda's
Dealer Locator
Honda
Insight Web site
The Toyota Prius is available for sale in the U.S. The five-passenger vehicle has been sold successfully in Japan since late 1998.
The Prius has a 1.5-liter, 16-valve, EFI 4-cylinder with Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i). The engine produces 70 hp @ 4500 rpm and 82 ft/lbs of torque @ 4200 rpm. The Prius also has a three-phase AC permanent magnet electric motor that produces 33kW/44 hp @ 1040-5600 rpm and 258 ft/lbs of torque @ 0-500 rpm. The Prius' compact light-weight battery pack is comprised of sealed nickel-metal hydride modules that produces 274 volts. The Prius gets about 52 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway (which is about 48 mpg combined).
Technology Snapshot - Featuring the Toyota Prius (PDF
495 KB) Download
Acrobat Reader
Toyota's
Dealer Locator
Toyota
Prius Web site
On January 6, 2003
General Motors Corp. announced that it will offer optional hybrid
powertrains on several of its most popular models including trucks,
SUVs and mid-size sedans starting in late 2003. The models start
with the previously announced production of the GMC Sierra and
Chevy Silverado hybrid pickup trucks in 2003. The hybrid Saturn
VUE is drawing praise, but in 2004, GM will offer a less ambitious
version of hybrid technology, for the 2005 models of the GMC Sierra
and Chevrolet Silverado. They will use small electric motors that
allow the trucks' engines to shut off at stoplights and restart
when a foot touches the accelerator. The modified pickups are
to raise fuel economy about 12 percent. In 2006, GM will offer
similar technology on the Chevrolet Equinox and the 2007 Chevrolet
Malibu. The addition of hybrid and other technologies is expected
to increase gas mileage on these models 15 percent. All told,
the technologies will be used on three chief manufacturing platforms,
meaning GM could use it in as many as 1 million vehicles and a
dozen models by 2007 if the demand materializes.
Environmentalists expressed a mixture of encouragement and disappointment at the news. They said the Vue, as described, would be a significant improvement. ``GM's hybrid plans are a mixed bag,'' said David Friedman, an engineer and analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists. ``The full hybrid Saturn Vue appears to be a move toward good hybrid technology. The other vehicles are an example of using good conventional technology,'' he said. ``Labeling them as hybrids is an attempt to ride the `green' image of hybrids.'' Russell Long, executive director of the Bluewater Network in San Francisco, another environmental group, said it was ``tremendously disappointing that they would take such a weak approach.''
The new programs include:
Http://www.hybridford.com/index.asp
announced that a hybrid-electric powered Ford Escape is being
designed to be the cleanest, most fuel-efficient sport utility
on the planet when it debuts to consumers in 2004 (for fleets
in 2003). The Ford Escape HEV will feature an electric drivetrain
to augment its fuel-efficient four-cylinder gasoline engine. (It
will also be sold in Europe as the Maverick HEV.) With regenerative
braking and nearly instantaneous start-stop capability, the Escape
HEV will be especially fuel efficient in the city, delivering
about 40 mpg in urban driving. Yet the Escape HEV will deliver
acceleration performance similar to an Escape equipped with V-6
engine. The hybrid Escape will be capable of being driven more
than 500 miles on a single tank of gasoline and will be certified
as a super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV) under California
emissions standards and meet Stage IV requirements in Europe before
they become mandatory in 2005.
Click here to learn more about some concept HEVs that may be available in the
next few years.
Click here to learn about other totally electric vehicles that
are currently being developed.
Toyota has said it plans to sell 300,000 hybrids a year worldwide,
many of them in the United States, within five years. Ford Motor
Co. plans to sell a hybrid version of its Escape sport utility
vehicle a year from now. DaimlerChrysler has said it will sell
a hybrid version of the Dodge Ram pickup next year. GM is presenting
several versions of the technology. The most advanced, and most
like the Prius, will come in 2005, when the company will offer
a hybrid version of the 2006 Saturn Vue with average gas mileage
of nearly 40 miles per gallon of gas, compared with average mileage
as high as 25 for the nonhybrid versions.
Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced
a plan that would raise federal fuel economy standards 7 percent
by the 2007 model year. Though environmental groups derided the
plan as a baby step, it is the largest increase in more than a
decade and considerable pressure is coming from California. Because
the state's clean-air laws predate federal laws, it has retained
authority to set its own air standards. Other states may opt to
use California's tougher standards. The Kentucky Legislature is
not currently considering such action. The Kentucky Legislature
is not currently considering Legislation to approve Low
Speed Neighborhood Electric Vehicles for use on roads with a speed
limit of 35 or less. The Kentucky Legislature is not currently
considering any legislation like New York, Georgia, Colorado,
California and other states have in place that would give additional
tax credits to make the purchase of electric or hybrid vehicles
eaiser for Kentucky residents. If you are interested in participating
in a campaign to address the KY State Legislature to draft legislation
that would require KY to comply with strcter air standards, allow
low-speed NEVs to be used as commuter cars, or provide a tax credit
for the purchase of environmentally friendlier transportation,
please e-mail wcbs@kycouncilofchurches.org.
|
For over five
decades, the Kentucky Council of Churches has served churches
in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as the instrument of its members
to nurture the unity of the body of Christ and to anticipate
that unity, however partially, through common witness and service.
Since 1947, Kentucky Christians have heeded not only the calling
of their hearts, but the prayer of Jesus "that they all
may be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they
also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
me." (John 17:21, NRSV) 2549 Richmond Road, Suite 302, Lexington, Kentucky 40509 / Phone (859) 269-7715 / Fax (859) 269-1240 Your comments and suggestions are invited: WebSteward@kycouncilofchurches.org. |