Miles to go...

does a marginal improvement in fuel economy make a vehicle green? This is the controversy surrounding a recent proposal of the Bush administration. The proposal aims to increase the fuel economy -- distance covered by a vehicle per unit of fuel -- of sports utility vehicles (suvs), minivans and light trucks by around seven per cent.

Principals...

TRANSPORT MINISTRY

The cse panel of experts after completing their investigation concluded, "In an international perspective, we consider the safety level of the buses to be acceptable. However, there are still items or manufacturing operations that could be further improved in order to minimise the risk of unwanted incidents." Based on their suggestions, cse has written to the mrth proposed several changes in the notification:

Games people play

Powerful lobbies with vested interests often make interesting games, though often at the cost of public health. The way in which the moves to scuttle the Supreme Court (sc) orders have unfolded gradually at different levels is amazing.

Zeroing in

What is often missed is that ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) with 10 parts per million (ppm) sulphur is not clean fuel per se . But that the low sulphur content at that level allows manufacturers to instal particulate trap to control emissions of tiny and deadly particulates. If the sulphur level is higher, the efficiency of the particulate trap is very low, and it has to be regularly cleaned, at great cost to the bus operator and the regulator. There is little evidence that traps work with more than 50 ppm sulphur.

WHO WANTS WHAT ?

WHO   WANTS   WHAT ? AGENCY/PERSON RECOMMENDATION Ministry of Petroleum and natural gas(MPNG)

Zero Intellectuals

The Supreme Court had specifically asked Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (epca) to examine if "low sulphur diesel can be regarded as clean fuel" ... "as also to indicate as to which fuel can be regarded as a clean fuel, which does not cause pollution or is otherwise injurious to health." The court in its order explained, "it was submitted to us that in some other countries ultra low sulphur diesel which has sulphur content of not more than 0.001 per cent is now available." Is this an option available to us?

What Is a Clean Fuel ?

Epca 's report on Clean Fuels, which it submitted to the Supreme Court in early July 2001, argues that no hydrocarbon fuel can be specified as a "clean fuel" which does not cause pollution or is not otherwise injurious to health. But instead, it defined a category of fuels called environmentally acceptable fuels, which could be promoted in heavily polluted areas like Delhi.

Changing commitments

    April 2001 May 2001 June 2001

Saboteurs Unlimited

Ram Naik's Ram Rajya