last updated 24th November 05
by 4ecotips.com

Emits smallest level of greenhouse gas

Twelve ethanol-based General Motors cars are on their way to shuttle delegates around the United Nations convention on climate change in Montreal, writes Carly Foster of Oshawa, Ontario's, Durham News.

The Oshawa-designed and built flex fuel Chevrolet Impalas run on a blend of up to 85% cellulose ethanol and 15% regular gas (E-85). The result is the smallest level of greenhouse gas emission of any car driving in North America, said Bryan Swift, director of environmental activities for GM.

Iogen Corporation, based in Ottawa, is providing 4,000 litres of the cellulose ethanol for the Impalas during the U.N. conference. The smallest hybrid car still produces around 2,000 kg of emissions, while the Impala produces 1,300 kg.

"Just because we're trying to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions ... doesn't mean downsizing or crawling into a smaller car," Swift said. "There are other options."

The Impalas are available with the flex fuel option at no charge, as are the GM Silverado and Sierra. But with few ethanol fueling stations in Ontario, the technology is "a little bit of the cart before the horse," according to Swift.

More than a million E-85 GM cars are currently on the road, but mostly in the U.S. where a strong corn lobby group means more ethanol fueling stations.The cellulose ethanol used in the Impalas is actually not food-based, but made from left-over cereal straws and corn stover - material that would normally be ground into fields or used as bedding.

This "full life-cycle approach" means what little gas emissions produced by the ethanol cars would then be absorbed by growing the crops themselves.

"E-85 is a stepping stone" says Swift. "It's an effective way to reduce the CO2 footprint in the meantime as the car industry works towards hydrogen electric vehicles using fuel cell technology over the next 20 years."