Toyota plans greener engines, more hybrids and even an electric car to cut carbon dioxide emissions. The company has unveiled a broad-ranging set of plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It wants to cut atmospheric pollution and reduce the use of fossil fuels, particularly petrol. To achieve this, it is revamping its engine and transmission range, a process which has already started, with a V6 engine it introduced in 2003. Other engines in the pipeline include a new 1.8-litre engine, and there will also be a new continuously variable transmission for small and mid-sized cars. The new 1.8-litre engine will feature ultra-light, friction-reducing components, which give a 5% improvement in fuel economy. It also uses VVT-i technology (variable valve timing – intelligent), which improves low-down pull and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Alongside these developments, Toyota aims to double the number of hybrid models available by the early 2010s. It’s also investing in research into plug-in hybrid cars (cars you charge from an external source), and is developing an all-electric car. Finally, bioethanol will play a part in Toyota’s green plans. Soon, all its petrol engines will be able to run with 10% bioethanol content. […]
Is the United States winning the war on terror? Not according to more than 100 of America’s top foreign-policy hands. They see a national security apparatus in disrepair and a government that is failing to protect the public from the next attack. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans understandably rallied around the flag. Having just suffered the deadliest attack ever on U.S. soil, huge percentages believed another attack was imminent. But Americans also had enormous faith that the Global War on Terror would help keep them safe. Just one month after 9/11, for instance, 94 percent of Americans told an ABC News/Washington Post poll that they approved of how the fight against terrorism was being handled. The United States then quickly went to war in Afghanistan, closing down a terrorist sanctuary and capturing or killing a number of high-level al Qaeda operatives in the process. Since 2001, terrorists have found their targets on almost every continent, with bombings in Bali, London, Madrid, and elsewhere. Five years on, however, America has yet to experience another attack. But Americans appear less convinced that their country is winning the war on terror. In the face of persisting threats, […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Episcopalians at a national assembly began Wednesday to confront the difficult choice before them: whether to preserve unity among Anglicans around the world by temporarily barring gays and lesbians from becoming bishops. Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, speaks at a news conference Wednesday, June 14, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio during the Episcopal General Convention. Robinson says it is unlikely the church’s top policymaking body will create new barriers for homosexual clergy despite turmoil over his 2003 consecration. Joined by national gay rights activists, Robinson urges the convention to reject the moratorium on gay bishops and any discrimination based on sexual orientation. Irate Anglican leaders requested the moratorium on homosexual prelates after the Americans in 2003 consecrated their first openly gay bishop — V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. A key committee drafting the church’s response scheduled a hearing Wednesday night that was expected to draw hundreds of people for an emotional debate. Earlier Wednesday, Robinson joined national gay rights advocates in urging the convention to reject any moratorium. ‘It’s not our job to decide what the Anglican Communion will or will not do in response to our actions,’ […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — The nation’s emergency-medical system is in crisis, with crowded ERs turning away ambulances, patients waiting hours to be treated and a shortage of on-call specialists. A three-volume report published Wednesday found that the system is barely able to meet daily demands let alone the potential onslaught of patients from a disease outbreak or terrorist attack. The Institute of Medicine, which spent two years investigating the problems, found gaping holes in the ‘safety net’ for the critically ill and injured. ‘You may not be caught and saved when your life depends on it,’ said Dr. A. Brent Eastman, a member of the institute’s emergency-medicine committee and chief medical officer for ScrippsHealth in California. Many of the problems are playing out in Central Florida, where hospitals routinely struggle to balance patients and beds, people might wait hours to see an ER doctor and sometimes linger for days in an emergency-room bed until a hospital room becomes available. ‘The system is stressed, there’s no question about it,’ said Dr. Jay Falk with the Florida College of Emergency Physicians and academic chairman of emergency medicine for Orlando Regional Medical Center. ‘We’ve been working on these issues and […]
The American Medical Association (AMA) in an effort to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease, has passed new policies to help change the way Americans think about salt. The AMA is urging the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke the ‘generally recognized as safe’ status of salt with the aim of reducing sodium intake throughout America. AMA Board Member, cardiologist Dr. J. James Rohack, says they hope the recommendations will encourage food manufacturers and restaurants to modify their current practices of adding unhealthy amounts of sodium to their products. Dr. Rohack says cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of Americans and people who reduce their dietary sodium intake are taking an important step in preventing future health problems. Research has shown that most Americans consume two to three times the amount of sodium that is healthy, and an excess of sodium increases the risk of developing hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. Apparently as much as 75 to 80 percent of the daily intake of sodium comes from processed and restaurant foods. Dr. Rohack says one cup of canned soup can contain more than 50 percent of the FDA recommended daily allowance, […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
