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U.N. Kills Any Plans to Use Mercury as a Rocket Propellant

Cars That Think

A recent United Nations provision has banned the use of mercury in spacecraft propellant. Although no private company has actually used mercury propellant in a launched spacecraft, the possibility was alarming enough—and the dangers extreme enough—that the ban was enacted just a few years after one U.S.-based Mercury is a neurotoxin.

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Final session on international mercury convention this week expected to culminate in agreement; UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 finds industrial source Hg emissions may be rising

Green Car Congress

The fifth and final session of negotiations on the establishment of an international mercury convention—International Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC5)—is taking place this coming week in Geneva. UNEP produced its first Global Mercury Assessment in 2002 and a subsequent study in 2007.

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BrightDrop: GM’s silent push into electric commercial vehicles

Charged EVs

Upcoming electric passenger vehicles and light trucks from GM get most of the attention, but its new commercial EV brand is a quiet and very serious push too. Just like, say, Ford—which was then in the process of killing Mercury, to leave it with only Ford and Lincoln. GM didn’t really have the option of adapting an existing model.

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Generating Power on Earth From the Coldness of Deep Space

Cars That Think

On the rooftop of a quiet building, a set of panels cools the rooms within and keeps the lights on, removing heat and generating electricity using the coldness of the sky. So far, SkyCool has installed panels at a number of grocery stores across the United States. It’s a summer night.

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Science Fiction Short: Hijack

Cars That Think

So IEEE Spectrum is making one of its occasional forays into science fiction, with a short story by Karl Schroeder about the unexpected outcomes from building a computer out of planet Mercury. They did not orbit, instead floating over a particular spot by light pressure alone. Mercury receives between 6.2

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National Academies Report Examines Hidden Cost of Energy Production and Use in US; Estimates $120B in 2005

Green Car Congress

Health and other non-climate damages by life-cycle component for different combinations of fuels and light-duty automobiles in 2005 (top) and 2030 (bottom). GHG emissions (grams CO 2 -eq)/VMT by life-cycle component for different combinations of fuels and light-duty automobiles in 2005 (top) and 2030 (bottom). Click to enlarge.

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Top 5 Upcoming Electric Scooters and Features

Electric Vehicles India

It features full LED lighting, 30 liters of under-seat storage, replaceable batteries, a combined braking system, fast charging, and a 7-inch TFT instrument cluster. The TFT display provides OTA updates, geofencing, a tire pressure monitoring system, and vehicle tracking and can also store documents. inch TFT cluster.

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