For the people of China, the pollution is an acceptable price to pay for a modern lifestyle

Time magazine reports that the Hong Kong business community loses some $90 million a year in medical costs and lost productivity, largely because of the pollutants that drift in from the mainland.

A record 4,800 runners needed medical treatment, and 22 were sent to hospital. Sproston finished fourth, but she's not sure how much longer she'll run in Hong Kong. "I want to continue doing things outdoors, and I can't see doing it here," she says. "The deterioration has been shocking."

There's far less it can do about the estimated 80% of its air pollution that floats across the border from the mainland factories, power plants and highways of Guangdong province, where environmental regulations and enforcement are more lax.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060515/hk_air.html

National fires, add to global climate warming.

Yellowstone burned for three months in 1988, destroying more than 600,000 hectares of forest. The fire resisted the best efforts of 25,000 firefighters and only flickered out with the first snow in mid-September of that year. This catastrophic wildfire in the western U.S. may have heralded a new era of bigger and more frequent fires thanks to climate change, according to new research.

Researchers compared this fire record to annual snowmelt and temperatures over the 34-year period to determine whether global climate, which has warmed by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beijing May Divert "cancerous" River for Olympics

"State media said last year that vast stretches of the Yellow River, which supplies water to 12 percent of China's 1.3 billion people and 15 percent of its farmland, were so polluted it was unsafe for drinking or swimming.

China's longest river, the Yangtze, was 'cancerous' with pollution, state media said in May."

9 ways YOU can achieve energy independence!

To learn more

For more information about the initiatives profiled here as well as other efforts to build a more sustainable energy future for North Carolina, visit the following Web sites:

Advanced Energy:
www.advancedenergy.org

American Lung Association of North Carolina: www.lungnc.org

Appalachian State University Energy Center:
www.energy.appstate.edu

Canary Coalition:
www.canarycoalition.org

Carolina Electric Vehicle Coalition:
www.evchallenge.org/about/cevc.html

Carolinas Clean Air Coalition:
www.clean-air-coalition.org

Cherokee Investment Partners:
www.cherokeefund.com

Clean Energy Durham:
www.cleanenergydurham.org

Conservation Council of North Carolina:
www.serve.com/ccnc

Energy Star program:
www.energystar.gov

Environmental Defense:
www.environmentaldefense.org

Environment North Carolina:
www.environmentnorthcarolina.org

Innovative Design:
www.innovativedesign.net

Interfaith Power & Light:
www.theregenerationproject.org

National Association of Home Builders' Model Green Home Building Guidelines:
www.nahb.org/gbg

National Council of Churches' Eco-Justice Working Group:
www.nccecojustice.org

N.C. Climate Action Plan Advisory Group:
www.ncclimatechange.us

N.C. Conservation Network:
www.ncconservationnetwork.org

N.C. Division of Air Quality:
www.ncair.org

N.C. GreenPower:
www.ncgreenpower.org

N.C. Healthy Built Homes Program:
healthybuilthomes.org

N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change:
www.ncleg.net/Committees/legislativecomm_/default.htm

N.C. Sierra Club:
www.sierraclub.org/nc

N.C. Solar Center:
www.ncsc.ncsu.edu

N.C. Sustainable Energy Association:
www.ncsustainableenergy.org

N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network:
www.ncwarn.org

Piedmont Biofuels:
www.biofuels.coop

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy:
www.cleanenergy.org

Southern Energy Management:
www.southern-energy.com

Southern Environmental Law Center:
www.selcnc.org

State Energy Office of North Carolina:
www.energync.net

Students United for a Responsible Global Environment:
www.surgenetwork.org

Sustainable Buildings Industry Council:
www.sbicouncil.org

Sustainable North Carolina:
www.sustainnc.org

Triangle Clean Cities Coalition:
www.trianglecleancities.org

UNC Sustainability Office:
sustainability.unc.edu

ENVIRONMENTALLY HEALTHIER COFFEE INCHING TOWARD MAINSTREAM

The world's No. 1 commodity, oil, has been dominating headlines. Coffee, next in line at about $60 billion annually, doesn't have as many international security twists, but it's making news that has ties to the environment and political hotspots.

For several decades, there have been various international efforts to make coffee growing more environmentally friendly. Those efforts have slowly gained ground, with some added motivation during recent periods when variable demand and supply and severe weather added even more volatility to the coffee market. One result has been a focus by growers and producers on the benefits of increasing perceived value so they can charge a higher price.

They have succeeded to some degree, as so-called "sustainably-produced" coffees have captured a small but growing share of the world market, around 3%. Of that share, organic coffee has 0.6% of the market in the major consuming countries, and last year in the US it grew about 50% from 2004 to 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association's Coffee Council: Facts About Organic Coffee and release.

EPA Library Closure Protested by 10,000 Staffers

Some 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists, engineers, and other technical specialists have asked Congress to stop the Bush administration's 80 percent budget cut that would close the agency's network of technical research libraries. The signatories, who represent more than half of the agency's total workforce, sent a letter, released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), saying the cuts would put thousands of scientific studies out of reach and hinder emergency preparedness, anti-pollution enforcement, and long-term research. For example, the letter said that about 50,000 original research documents would become completely unavailable because there is no budget to digitize them. Also, the staffers said that there are no plans to maintain interlibrary loan of documents. "Eliminating library access is an absolutely awful way to run an agency devoted to public and environmental health," PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said. PEER also observed that EPA internal studies estimate that library access actually saves staff time valued at three times the $2.5 million agency library budget.

Dahhh! Wildfires Linked to Global Warming"

"The increase in large wildfires appears to be another part of a chain of reactions to climate warming," said Dan Cayan, a co-author of the paper and director of the climate research division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

He said that while part of the increase may be attributed to natural fluctuations, evidence also links it to the effects of human-induced climate warming.

"I see this as one of the first big indicators of climate change impacts in the continental United States," said research team member Thomas Swetnam, director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona in Tucson. "We're showing warming and earlier springs tying in with large forest fire frequencies. Lots of people think climate change and the ecological responses are 50 to 100 years away. But it's not 50 to 100 years away - it's happening now in forest ecosystems through fire."

The research was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Forest Service and the California Energy Commission.

On the Net:
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

News from The Associated Press

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Fossil Fuels Virtually Unchanged in 2005 as Price Increases Dampen Energy Demand

U.S. carbon dioxide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions per unit of economic output fell by 3.3 percent in 2005. From 1990 to 2005, the carbon dioxide intensity of the economy fell by 24.3 percent. By 2004 (the latest year of data for all greenhouse gases), carbon dioxide intensity had fallen by 21.8 percent and emissions of total greenhouse gases per dollar of GDP had fallen by 23.4 percent. The 3.3-percent drop in carbon dioxide intensity of the economy in 2005 is greater than the average reduction of 1.8 percent per year experienced since 1990.

EIA will continue to refine its estimates of 2005 carbon dioxide emissions as more complete energy data become available. A full inventory of 2005 emissions of all greenhouse gases will be available in November using revised energy data and providing a further analysis of trends.

The preliminary estimates are on EIA's web site at:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/flash.html

Environment Canada researchers have found a dozen different types of toxic drugs and even caffeine in water samples taken from the St. Lawrence River

The study raises many questions about the long-term effects of pharmacological pollution in the country's waterways. "At this point we have detected toxic substances but we don't know what the real toxic effects are," Andre Lajeunesse, one of several researchers involved in the study, said Tuesday. Although the study dealt specifically with the St. Lawrence, drug pollution in waterways is widespread, said Francois Gagne, who authored along with two other researchers the study published earlier this year in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

"When you're near a city, you're going to see it," Gagne said.

Mercury, PCB and metal contamination has decreased, she said.

"We know that the St. Lawrence is doing much better than it has been for the past 30 years," Saulnier said.

Improved technology means researchers can now distinguish between the different types of pollution in the river.

Twenty years ago studies revealed alarming levels of PCBs in water, she said, and in ensuing years much has been done.

A decade ago scientists worried about pesticide pollution and today, she said, controls have been put in place and pesticide levels have dropped.

Rising interest, and fears, over synthetic fuel - Business - International Herald Tribune

Most of the interest is in making diesel using a technology known as Fischer-Tropsch, for the German chemists who demonstrated it in the 1920s.

Daily consumption of diesel and heating oil, which are nearly identical substances, amounts to more than $500 million. The gasoline market is more than twice as large. The process to convert coal to diesel can also be adapted to make gasoline.

The technology was used during World War II in Germany, and in the 1980s by South Africa when the world shunned its apartheid regime. Now Rentech is preparing to use an updated version of the process...

Robert Williams, a senior research scientist at Princeton University, said "it's a step backward" to operate a plant like Rentech's without capturing the carbon. "It almost doubles the emission rate," he said.

The Right to Bear Firecrackers...

He’s not recommending steps for increased fireworks safety, but simply calling for an outright ban.

Moreover, Smith has published numerous reports in just the past year about the dangers inherent to a host of recreational activities including: trampolines (should not be used at home); cheerleading (uniform rules and regulations needed to increase safety); sledding (a program is needed to increase helmet use); water-skiing and wake-boarding (helmets and other protective gear should be worn); and ice skating (children should wear helmets)."


Safety-at-all-costs? Although a fish may never leave the safety of its pond to enter the stream, it will still drown at the end of its journey. The stream may add risk to the fish’s life but it will also give “purpose” to its existence.

Daddy can I just "look" at what fun is on T.V.?????

Construction and Demolition Waste Management and Recycling Training Program: In Wisconsin

WasteCap Wisconsin is offering a fall session of the public training program for accreditation in construction and demolition waste recycling. Registration is required and space if limited to 40 participants. WasteCap's Construction and Demolition Waste Management and Recycling Training Program includes a comprehensive "Toolkit" and full-day workshop where you will learn:

• How to save money by recycling on construction and demolition projects
• How to estimate how much waste and recyclables will be generated
• How to create a construction waste management plan
• How to develop, manage, monitor and document a successful recycling program
• How to meet LEED requirements for construction waste management

Contractors, developers, haulers and owners should attend and will benefit from this training. Upon completion of the training, you will be awarded with three-year accreditation in construction and demolition waste recycling through WasteCap Wisconsin. NEW THIS FALL All attendees will receive WasteCap Wisconsin's training video highlighting important information on material-specific recycling for construction and demolition projects. Additional copies will be available for purchase at the training. For more information on the training program, visit www.wastecapwi.org/training

Manure collected from cows in Wisconsin is used to make electricity.

Tapping the Latent Power in What's Left Around the Barnyard
"We're not taking any risk, the reduction in odors is huge, and we're powering 600 homes with 900 cows," he said. "You've got to admit, that's pretty efficient."

The deals are struck in different ways. In most cases, farmers buy digesters and either use the gas themselves, sell it to a utility, or use it to power a generator that feeds electricity to the utility's grid. In another model, the manufacturer owns the digester and sells the gas. In those cases the farmers provide the manure and the land, and get the fertilizer, bedding and a cut of revenues from sales of gas. Last year, for example, Hunter Haven Farms in Pearl City, Ill., paid $960,000 — half of it subsidized by state and federal grants — for a GHD digester that processes waste from 600 dairy cows. Hunter Haven then pipes its methane into a generator, and sells the resulting electricity to Commonwealth Edison for 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour.

Low water in North America's Great Lakes causes worry | Reuters.com

Water levels declined in 1998 and have remained low, forcing ships to take on lighter loads and sparking concern about shorelines and wetlands in the Great Lakes, the world's largest supply of freshwater and a major commercial shipping route for Canada and the United States. Iron ore and grain are among the biggest cargoes shipped on the lakes.

Full story here

Back to work with freedom in mind

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Urge Canada to Strengthen Regulations of Toxic Chemicals! Petition

A new study just released by Environmental Defence shows that kids are full of these toxic chemicals. This is the first time the level of contamination in youth has been looked at in Canada. In some cases, the concentration of some of the chemicals were higher than their parents. The opportunity exists now to address the shortfalls of this Act during its mandatory five-year review. Environmental Defence wants them to strengthen the regulation of toxic chemicals in Canada by: Setting aggressive timelines for the virtual elimination of toxic chemicals Making industry accountable for its chemicals Regulating toxic chemicals in consumer products and, Reducing pollution in the Great Lakes Basin Sign this petition to urge Minister of the Environment Rona Ambrose to strengthen the regulation of toxic chemicals in Canada by strengthening CEPA. » original news

Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality

"In the late '80s we had lowered formaldehyde by 70 per cent," he says. "In the late '90s, with free trade, formaldehyde was going up again. The reason is we can't tell any other country what to do or how to make products. So we are importing lots of particleboard from Mexico which has lots of formaldehyde."Complicating the increase in formaldehyde levels is the tighter, more energy-efficient homes being built, where pollutants build up and are harder to get rid of, says Morris, who believes the biggest problem is inadequate ventilation.

Source: TheStar.com - Tightly built homes jeopardize air quality

Is ethanol really energy solution? - baltimoresun.com

"are looking to the nation's cornfields these days to solve the United States' energy problems." In 2004, for example, the United States imported 4.9 billion barrels of crude oil, and American motorists used 139 billion gallons of gasoline, not counting diesel fuel consumption. Replacing a quarter of gasoline consumption would equal 35 billion gallons. Because ethanol generates less energy than gasoline, 52 billion gallons of ethanol would seem to be required.

You really need to read this: Is ethanol really energy solution? - baltimoresun.com:

Costs of pollution on children's health

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota spends $1.5 billion a year on childhood diseases related to environmental problems, according to a report scheduled to be released Friday by two environmental groups.

Samuel Yamin of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, which put out the report along with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, said the report shows the cost of ignoring problems - countering arguments that cleaning up the environment is too expensive.

"I think most people would agree we have a moral imperative to protect children from environmental health hazards," Yamin said, "but this report demonstrates that it also makes good economic sense."

The estimate was based on national research on childhood asthma, cancer, lead poisoning, birth defects and neurobehavioral disorders. In some cases, the researchers took national cost estimates and refigured them for Minnesota based on the number of childhood diseases in the state. Researchers also counted only a fraction of childhood diseases, because some children would suffer them even in an ideal environment.

For example, the study estimated total annual costs of childhood asthma at $102 million but then predicted that only 30 percent of the asthma cases were directly related to environmental pollution. That reduced the cost to $30.5 million.

Lead poisoning alone costs the state $1.2 billion per year in lost productivity because of the neurological deficits it causes in children, according to the report.

The report credited the Legislature for acting to reduce mercury emissions from coal plants but also called for more regulation of chemical products, more financial assistance for low-income families with lead contamination and reductions in pesticide exposure.

---

Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com

roots of our throwaway culture

Made to Break reveals the roots of our throwaway culture
"Deliberate obsolescence in all its forms -- technological, psychological, or planned -- is a uniquely American invention. Not only did we invent disposable products, ranging from diapers to cameras to contact lenses, but we invented the very concept of disposability itself," writes Slade, a Canadian cultural historian who has spent years teaching abroad and observes North American consumer culture from his home near Vancouver, B.C...

Weird science from the far right

Sounds like socialism to me.

"STOSSEL: Let me just say that this, at bottom is (SCARBOROUGH) hatred of capitalism and a hatred of industrial production. Yes, it's true, we produce more carbon dioxide, but we are also the cleanest country in the world."

Who said this? Click here to read.

OSHA is seeking proposals for $6.8 million in 1- year health and safety training grant from non-profit organizations.

OSHA is seeking proposals for $6.8 million in 1- year health and safety training grant from non-profit organizations.

The grants will focus on three main areas: constructoin hazards, general industry hazards and "other" areas such as disaster response and recovery; hexavalent chromium; workplace emergency planning, including the healthcare industry; and overview of OSHA safety and health requirements for tribal organizations.

Applications will be available on OSHA's web site at http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/ote/sharwood.html or may be obtained from the OSHA Office of Training and Education, Division of Training and Educational Programs, 2020 South Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Ill., 60005, telephone (847) 297-4810

Environmental researchers estimate that pollution in China causes more than 300,000 premature deaths a year.

"China recently said that pollution problems are costing its government more than $200 billion a year. The Worldwatch Institute in Washington says 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China. Despite the efforts of environmental agencies, China's pollution continues to worsen and spread far beyond the country's borders."

Beijing wants to clean the air in time for the Olympic games two years from now. But as long as rapid economic growth remains the number one priority, China's pollution will continue to soar, while people around the world pay the price.

China complicates efforts to fight global warming - baltimoresun.com

China complicates efforts to fight global warming - baltimoresun.com: "Chinese emissions are making the air in non-urban parts of the Western United States as dirty as ever recorded."

Lead by example?
"The Kyoto agreement was signed in 1997 before U.S. companies began outsourcing millions of jobs to China and India. The pact exempted both and other developing nations from the requirements of curbing emissions. The rationale was that the United States and Western Europe had caused most of the problem, so they should bear the brunt of the sacrifice.

It was a noble but impractical idea. Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose nation signed the accord, acknowledged that "no country will want to sacrifice its economy" in the process. The United States refused to approve the agreement for that reason. Although Western European nations did, some of them have failed to keep the commitments they made."

Click here for ful read

The nation needs more clarity on complicated environmental issues

Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/29/2006 | Editorial | Carbon Dioxide's Double Identity: "The nation needs more clarity on complicated environmental issues"

Green groups said that the statistics served to highlight the damaging ecological impact of bottled water.

29/6/2006--'Environmental insanity' to drink bottled water when it tastes as good from the tap: "Green groups said that the statistics served to highlight the damaging ecological impact of bottled water."

One recent study calculated that the bottled water industry in the UK generated annually about 33,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions through transport - equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 6,000 homes. According to industry figures, Britons consume about 1.5 billion litres of water each year from bottles made out of polyethylene terephthalate or PET - a plastic made out of crude oil extracts.
Despite a reduction of 30 per cent in the amount of PET that goes into each bottle, only about 10 per cent of the bottles are recycled. Most go to landfill, where they take 450 years to break down.

Read full here

Injures to a contractor hired by Miller Brewery

A painting contractor hired by Miller was in stable condition after exposure to ammonia at the Miller Brewing Co. on Wednesday morning when a ammonia safety relief valve that released the gas near at about 10:40 a.m.

Two other men were treated and released at the hospital in relation to the accident, a hospital spokesman said. Miller officials would not identify the three men, nor give details of their injuries.

Miller spokeswoman Julie Kubasa said the gas is commonly used as a refrigerant in brewing. If a tank becomes over-pressurized, a safety valve opens until a safe pressure level is met.

"Those folks were just in that area (near the valve)," Kubasa said.

Immediately after the incident, Miller's safety management team treated the injured man until the ambulance arrived. Crews from the Eden Fire Department also responded.

Efforts Wednesday to locate contractor officials were unsuccessful. The county will not investigate because the accident happened inside the plant, Cardwell said. However, federal officials are expected to visit.

Doug Jones, a compliance supervisor for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration office in Winston-Salem, said his office is not required to get involved based on the extent of the injuries. But the chemical in the event changes that.

"I'm sure we will get involved with an ammonia spill," he said.

To conserve is to be patriotic

By David Horst.. David Horst writes a biweekly column on nature. E-mail him at sandhill@focol.org.
Federal tax incentives for alternative energy are back and utilities are offering rebates to cover some of the costs. They are required, after a long-fought battle, to pay the same rate for excess energy your wind turbine or solar collectors put into the grid as what they charge for energy you buy from them.

Renewable energy can no longer be considered fringe technology. It is a peace movement. The more we develop alternative sources, the less we rely on foreign oil and the less chance we'll have to send more young men and women to countries that have large reserves of oil, but no civil stability. It's not about sticking it to "The Man" anymore, it's downright patriotic.

Please - Click on this link to comment on this story

Water more valuable than oil

The lack of usable water worldwide has made it more valuable than oil. The Bloomberg World Water Index of 11 utilities returned 35 per cent annually since 2003, compared with 29 per cent for oil and gas stocks and 10 per cent for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

The United Nations estimates that by 2050 more than 2 billion people in 48 countries will be short of water.

"There is only one direction for water prices at the moment, and that's up," said Hans Peter Portner, who manages a US$2.9 billion ($4.7 billion) Water Fund at Pictet Asset Management in Geneva.

The fund jumped 26 per cent last year, and Portner forecasts annual returns from water of 8 per cent through 2020.

General Electric chairman Jeffrey Immelt says "scarce" clean water worldwide will more than double the revenue he gets from water purification and treatment to US$5 billion by 2010.

"This will be a big and growing market for a long time," as governments struggle to bring water to 4 billion people who live in areas of profound shortage, Immelt, 50, said at the company's annual meeting in Philadelphia in April.

Time running out to curb effects of deep sea pollution

More than 90% of the world's living organisms are found in the oceans, but a new UN report says that researchers are only now beginning to understand the nature of their ecosystems."Today, these environments are considered to have been the very cradle for life on Earth."

Big Three emit the most greenhouse gas - Automotive - MSNBC.com

Big Three emit the most greenhouse gas - Automotive - MSNBC.com: "With just 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States has 30 percent of the world’s automobiles and produces 45 percent of the world’s automotive carbon dioxide emissions, the report said. U.S. cars are driven more and burn more fuel per mile than the international average."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13591551/

Study says U.S. is responsible for half of the greenhouse gases created by cars: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

American cars and pickup trucks are responsible for nearly half of the greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles globally, even though the nation's vehicles make up just 30% of the nearly 700 million cars in use, according to a new study by Environmental Defense.

The study was designed to show for the first time the huge amount of carbon dioxide released by American cars and to stimulate passage of tougher laws and policies aimed at reducing it. The Senate last year passed a nonbinding resolution to cap emissions, but bipartisan efforts to pass a law have thus far failed.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) last week introduced a version that would freeze allowable levels of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, reduce them by 2% each year through 2020, then reduce them further by 5% annually through 2050.

Motivational Quote

"It's not a 9-5 job. It's an every moment you're awake job because you actually enjoy the work that you're doing."

Robots: Still Skeptical of Climate Change

While climate change threatens the extinction of thousands of plant and
animal species, it seems to have brought
beer-swilling-everyman-robots out of extinction.

It’s nice to know that despite the gloomy message of “An Inconvenient
Truth,” and the science snuffing that continues to stall action, that VP
Gore’s sense of humor is not extinct.

EPA: UPS Vehicle is World’s Most Fuel Efficient

On June 21, 2006, EPA unveiled the world's first hydraulic hybrid delivery truck in Washington D.C. The EPA hybrid features a hydraulic drivetrain that replaces a conventional drivetrain and eliminates the need for a conventional transmission. By achieving 70 percent better fuel efficiency in urban driving and 40 percent lower CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, this vehicle demonstrates the highest-efficiency powertrain known. A fleet owner operating one of these high efficiency hydraulic vehicles would save up to 1,000 gallons of fuel each year. EPA estimates that over the lifespan of the vehicle the net savings based on lowered fuel consumption and lowered brake maintenance cost to be over $50,000