Tony James

How to ...... cut traffic jams

Traffic congestion is the bane of modern motorists, but mobile communications may soon be supplying the answer for the beleaguered commuter. This articles discusses some strategies of managing traffic during jam situation.

The wonder of wood

There is more to wood than meets the eye as researchers looks to its components for next-generation materials. SINCE THE dawn of recorded time, wood has been at the heart of mans endeavours primarily as a fuel and construction material. Wood is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibres held in a matrix of Lignin. cellulose, a crystalline polymer derived from glucose, is its largest constituent, followed by hemicellulose, a linking of five carbon sugars, all embedded in Lignin, a complex chemical compound.

Put your hands up for Detroit

The Detroit Motor show continues to reign supreme and not just because of its early-year slot. The big three US car makers Ford, GM and Chrysler are back in the ascendancy after several years in the doldrums. They continue to re-establish their credentials in the face of continuing pressure from their European rivals. Like most shows these days, most companies were talking green, but there is still a heavy reliance on the internal combustion engine on this side of the Atlantic. Petrol is still considerably cheaper than in the UK, but reduced mileage per gallon and CO2, is at the forefront for all the carmakers with 40mpg the Holy Grail. The paper presents the review of the effeciency of some of the cars of the show namely - Lexus Hybrid, Bentley Continental GT and Ford Fusion.

Ready for prime time

Subsidies are always contentious. Demanded by manufacturers and consumers, they are handed out somewhat grudgingly by governments. The purpose of subsidies is not always transparent, frequently serving several policy goals, often well devolved from the apparent market. The subsidy granted to purchasers of electric vehicles (EVs) is currently £5,000 in the UK and euro5,000 in France. But is this handout justified? And how does it serve policy targets of reducing oil dependence, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution? A recent paper from the International Transport Forum at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) looked at the French EV market to answer just those questions. Whilst its conclusions came as no surprise, they offer a vital benchmark for future policy decisions. There is always a question when it comes to industry-based subsidies as to whether they represent good value for money and what it is that requires the state to inject money into a sector that does not usually require state aid.

Turning over a new leaf

If the national media is correct, then UK manufacturing is struggling to be competitive and shedding jobs at an alarming rate. But the Nissan factory at Sunderland is not following the plot of any scare stories. Over the past year the plant has secured four new models the all-electric Leaf, the new Qashqai and two brand new vehicles. These will boost the number of employees at the plant and it will be operating at full capacity for the first time.

Keeping the olympics moving

IT DOES not carry the glamour that surrounds much of the Olympic Games but the logistics, getting the right things in the right place at the right time, are vital to the success of the event. Concession stands without food and drink, athletes without kit and equipment and even medal ceremonies without the medals; thats the scenario officials would be facing without a logistics strategy that can deliver the vast volume of goods.

No sugar rush [Power Biofuels]

The success of biofuels depends on creating a non-food feedstock that produces the right sugar for conversion into fuel. The basic feedstocks for the production of first-generation biofuels are products that would normally enter the animal or human food-chain such as seeds, or grains such as wheat. These crops yield starch that is fermented into bioethanol. The drive is therefore to develop second and third-generation biofuels. Second generation biofuels present the short term solution, and are made up of biofuels derived from feedstock outside the food chain. In the UK the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) collaborates to carry out a variety of research to speed up the adoption of second-generation biofuels along the biofuels supply chain.

Energy from the deep

The current focus on extracting energy from the oceans has been on wave or tidal devices. There is huge potential in energy derived from the thermal extremes in oceans.

Power hydropower - when size matters

This paper presents the feasibility of hydroelectric power generation in the world. Small hyropower (SHP) has huge potential, to allow the EU SHP industry to increase its activities by developing new plants and refurbishing old ones.