22 Dec 06
2006 has been a year of incremental developments, rather than wholesale revolutions, on the eco-scene. There's been no one gob-smacking new invention, influential media event nor any single piece of legislation, but instead, step-by-step progress has been made in a number of areas.
General public support for green issues has been building, and there is evidence to suggest that many car buyers are down-sizing, turning away from huge thirsty gas-guzzlers and looking for alternatives to their traditional modes of transport in a bid to cut their fuel consumption and emissions. Hell, even a certain George W Bush made a speech this year in which he told America's carmakers to start building more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The first bioethanol pumps opened this year
It's been a good year for biofuels. The first bioethanol (E85) pump opened in the UK in Norwich in March, with others following, and the number of suppliers of biodiesel is growing steadily. Both of these organically-derived fuels are more readily available in the US, too, and ethanol is increasingly popular in switched-on European countries such as Sweden, where the ethanol/petrol-compatible BioPower Saabs and the Ford Focus FFV (Flexible Fuel Vehicle) are selling well. They're still not viable prospects for most British drivers, though, at least until the supply infrastructure improves.
