http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20030511a4.htm The Japan Times Online Sunday, May 11, 2003
CARBON DIOXIDE OUTPUT FALLS Eco-Drive alerts cut car emissions A personalized electronic system developed by the Environment Ministry that alerts drivers of their vehicle's fuel consumption, the amount of time spent idling and other driving habits may help reduce carbon dioxide emission from motor vehicles. The program, known as the Eco-Drive Diagnosis System, involves collecting driving data such as engine revolutions and speeds, and automatically transmitting the information to a diagnosis center to be processed and analyzed. The center in turn will send -- by e-mail or via the Internet -- a daily report on the analysis to the driver. After a one-month experiment, Environment Ministry officials say there has been a noticeable decline among drivers involved in the program in such gas-wasting habits as keeping the engine running or pumping the engine while the vehicle is idle. As a result, officials say, output of carbon dioxide has fallen by an average of 6 percent among drivers involved in the experiment. The Environment Ministry said the experiment was conducted in February in five regions -- Asahikawa, Sapporo, Sendai, Joetsu and Higashi-Osaka -- with about 110 drivers participating, ranging in age from people in their 20s to drivers in their 60s. Officials say the effect of the Eco-Drive alerts has been more pronounced among older drivers. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions, particularly from passenger vehicles, is a major item on the agenda in the fight against global warming. Environment Ministry officials say they will conduct another round of experiments during the summer before deciding whether to put the system into wider use. "While we still need to examine the long-term effectiveness of the system, it apparently works better than pamphlets and other one-way methods in raising drivers' awareness," an official said. The Japan Times: May 11, 2003 (C) All rights reserved ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Rent DVDs Online - Over 14,500 titles. No Late Fees & Free Shipping. Try Netflix for FREE! http://us.click.yahoo.com/YoVfrB/XP.FAA/uetFAA/9bTolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
