And the Winner Is…
Sometimes even I get tired of ranting about how and why the country’s (and the world’s)fuel problems have gotten so completely out of control, and when I do, it’s nice to happen upon some good news. Yes, it’s nice to be reminded that there are an awful lot of very smart people out there who are working on solutions to our problems.
Today, I got such a reminder. Today, I received a press release from CALSTART, a group that bills itself as “North America’s leading advanced transportation technologies consortium,” announcing the winners of their 2008 “Blue Sky Awards,” and it made my day. You see, there’s not just one award; there are serveral, and the winners are a pretty impressive lot.
First up is Eaton Corporation, of Cleveland, Ohio, winners of the Blue Sky Award™ for “being the world’s first in developing and bringing to market both hybrid electric and hybrid hydraulic systems for medium and heavy commercial vehicles.” Next up, Business Region Göteborg of Sweden won the Charles R. Imbrecht Blue Sky Innovation Award™ for “catalyzing Sweden’s use of biomethane as a renewable transportation fuel now powering 4,500 natural gas cars, trucks and buses and a commuter train.” Southern Counties Express, Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for “buying a fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) port trucks and operating an LNG fueling station that is publicly available to the port trucking community.” Union Pacific Railroad Co. (NYSE:UPN), of Omaha, Neb., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for “the development, procurement and deployment of more than 150 ultra-low emitting ‘Genset’ multi-engine diesel switching locomotives.” And last but not least, ZipCar, of San Francisco, Calif., won a Blue Sky Merit Award™ for its car-sharing program and “its impact on the environment, reduction of parking demands, lessening of traffic congestion and greenhouse emissions.”
We here at Fuel Advantage magazine congratulate these winners, and we thank them for the positive contributions they have made to the world. If they keep this up, we may not need this magazine much longer!