Going Green

Natural gas, fuel surcharges and carbon credits

UPS is one company that touts carbon-neutral shipping. Should you?

January 3, 2013

In our series on natural gas last fall, we included some information on determining payback. I got a letter from a reader telling me I left out a critical consideration: fuel surcharges

Tags: Going Green, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Thursday, January 3, 2013 12:00 AM | » Comments(1)

What if natural gas prices go up?

September 21, 2012

The boom in natural gas production in the U.S. has created an oversupply, leading to 10-year lows in natural gas prices. At the same time, some natural gas producers have cut back because of the low prices. If demand for natural gas increases, some wonder, won't prices increase, too

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Friday, September 21, 2012 12:40 PM | » Comments(1)

Is natural gas the fuel of the future?

September 10, 2012

I've been a bit of a natural-gas skeptic ever since I first heard T. Boone Picken

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Monday, September 10, 2012 9:34 AM | » Comments(1)

What's behind TA's decision to get into the natural gas business?

July 23, 2012

A Q&A with Tom O'Brien, president and CEO, TravelCenters of America

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Monday, July 23, 2012 8:27 AM | » Comments(2)

'Driving the green revolution'

July 11, 2012

Exactly what is Cascade Sierra Solutions? It's not as if the name really says anything about trucks, fuel or emissions. Yet that's exactly what this nonprofit organization aims to do: help truckers, especially smaller fleets and owner-operators, save money on fuel and cut emissions of harmful particulates and greenhouse gases

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Wednesday, July 11, 2012 1:16 PM | » Comments(0)

What's up with electric trucks?

Electric trucks have a long history, as you can see from this photo dating to 1912. But is recent interest being eclipsed by natural gas? (Photo courtesy Shorpy.com)

June 28, 2012

It seems every time I turn around the past few weeks, I see something about how the demand for electric and hybrid vehicles is not meeting expectations

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Thursday, June 28, 2012 7:01 AM | » Comments(2)

For greener roads, make them stiffer

When the tires roll over a roadway, the maximum pavement deflection is just behind the path of travel. It's like continually driving up a slope (exaggerated in this illustration).

June 6, 2012

Think about how much more energy it takes you to walk on a sandy beach than on a firm floor. That's essentially what's happening when cars and trucks drive on asphalt roads, say researchers, and if those roads could be made stiffer, the nation could save a lot of fuel and greenhouse gas emissions.

Tags: Going Green, Highways, MPG

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Wednesday, June 6, 2012 12:00 AM | » Comments(0)

LNG as a sales tool

April 4, 2012

Here's a different twist on the question of whether you should go with natural gas: It could be a selling tool to your customers that are tired of the volatility of fuel price surcharges

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Wednesday, April 4, 2012 8:43 AM | » Comments(0)

Fuel choices will make dollar sense, says DOE's Chu

March 6, 2012

Dr. Steven Chu, the thoughtful and studious Secretary of Energy, went from Climate Change to oil supplies to small, powerful engines in his presentation to the Green Truck Summit yesterday, and showed how they're all linked

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Tuesday, March 6, 2012 6:05 AM | » Comments(0)

Fracking continues to generate controversy amidst natural-gas boom

$Tower for hydraulic fracturing of Marcellus Shale Formation for natural gas, Lycoming County, Pa.$

February 29, 2012

Boy, what to think of the world of fracking lately

Tags: Going Green, Natural Gas, Fracking

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Wednesday, February 29, 2012 12:00 AM | » Comments(1)

Clean diesel -- it's not just for trucks

The first 2012 Passat owner, Matt Duchesne, receives his all-new clean-diesel-powered Volkswagen from Mike Gabbani, general sales manager at Stevens Creek Volkswagen, in San Jose, Calif.

November 8, 2011

Who would have thought that you'd find a roundup of 2012 diesel cars on a website called the Practical Environmentalist?

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Tuesday, November 8, 2011 12:58 PM | » Comments(0)

Fans and fuel

Fan operation can significantly affect fuel economy. BorgWarner this year started offering its electronic Visctronic viscous variable-speed fan drives as optional equipment for Freightliner Cascadia trucks.

October 7, 2011

One of the fun things about researching articles is how you can end up in a totally different place than where you started

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Friday, October 7, 2011 12:04 PM | » Comments(1)

A bone to pick with Pickens

October 7, 2011

I recently had an opportunity to hear T. Boone Pickens speak. It was my second time to hear the billionaire-oilman-turned-alternative-energy-crusader, and once again I walked out of the meeting room frustrated

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Friday, October 7, 2011 9:43 AM | » Comments(0)

The True Meaning of "Sustainability"

Walmart is one fleet that works hard on turning sustainability into greenbacks, as with this hybrid-electric Freightliner Cascadia project.

September 6, 2011

We're working on the October issue of HDT, with a cover story focusing on "Sustainability Success Stories," and Senior Editor Tom Berg wants to know: What the heck does this this "sustainability" word mean that has become such a corporate buzzword

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Tuesday, September 6, 2011 11:42 AM | » Comments(1)

Shell betting $19 billion on gas-to-liquid technology

Shell Pearl gas-to-liquid plant in Qatar will turn natural gas into a fuel that can be used in diesel engines.

August 11, 2011

We've been hearing a lot about the use of natural gas in vehicles, either in compressed or liquefied form. But Shell is ramping up production on a plant that turns natural gas directly into a diesel-type fuel and lubricants

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Thursday, August 11, 2011 8:35 AM | » Comments(0)

Port Carriers Find a Loophole

By 2012, Class 8 trucks operating at the LA and Long Beach ports must meet EPA 2007 emissions levels. But the rules don't say anything about Class 7.

October 27, 2010

Seems some carriers at the Southern California ports have found a loophole that allows them to continue operating some older, higher-polluting trucks that supposedly have been banned from the ports as part of their Clean Truck programs

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:49 PM | » Comments(1)

Saving Money, Saving the Planet

Jim Burg is pursuing a number of energy-saving initiatives in his 70-plus-truck fleet.

September 20, 2010

"Going green" isn't just for huge fleets like Schneider or UPS. Just ask Jim Burg, one of Heavy Duty Trucking's 2010 Truck Fleet Innovators. Jim's the owner of James Burg Trucking Co., a regional flatbed carrier based in Warren, Mich. He has about 70 trucks

Tags: Going Green

Author: Deborah Lockridge | Posted @ Monday, September 20, 2010 5:29 PM | » Comments(0)