Volume 15 Number 4 FALL 2013
earthwise
N ews
Bringing Science to the
Fracking Debate
As the use of hydraulic fracturing, or
“fracking,” to obtain oil and natural gas
expands throughout the country, deci-
sions on whether to allow or ban it are
outpacing reliable scientific information
about its impacts on air and water qual-
ity, community health, and local econo-
mies. To help inform public discussions
and decision making, the Center for
Science and Democracy at UCS, in part-
nership with the UCLA School of Law,
devoted our latest Lewis M. Branscomb
Forum to this topic in July.
The forum brought together leading
experts from academia, government,
social justice, and journalism for working
group sessions and public conversa-
tions on the state of the science,
government policy, and public access
to information on fracking. The ideas
and opinions shared at the forum will
shape two publications: an informational
toolkit designed to empower citizens
and policy makers to make decisions
based on the best available science,
and a report identifying the biggest
barriers faced by citizens attempting to
access credible scientific information.
Both will be available this fall.
View the forum webcast at the
UCS website (www.ucsusa.org/
scienceanddemocracyforum).
U n i o n o f C o n c e r n e d S c i e n t i s t s ­• S c i e n c e f o r a H e a l t h y P l a n e t a n d S a f e r W o r l d
phone: 617.547.5552
a n d I d ea s fo r U CS M e m b e rs a n d Ac t i v i sts
close to home
Cleaner Cars for All Consumers
As federal fuel efficiency and
global warming pollution
standards continue to im-
prove, cleaner cars and trucks
are rolling onto showroom
floors every day. Conscientious
consumers can choose from
hybrid and electric vehicles as
© iStockphoto.com/alubalish
well as conventional gasoline-
powered vehicles equipped
with new technologies that
reduce operating costs and
global warming pollution. A
Fuel-saving technologies that were pioneered in hybrid and
few of these innovations are
electric vehicles are now available in conventional gasoline-
described below. powered models from Ford and General Motors.
Putting the Brakes on Wasted Energy
Two technologies pioneered in hybrid and electric vehicles eliminate an idling en-
gine’s emissions and waste of fuel: stop/start and regenerative braking. Stop/start
technology, which shuts off the engine automatically when the vehicle is idling
and uses a starter motor to seamlessly re-engage the engine when you lift your foot
off the brake, improves fuel economy by about 5 percent. Combining this with
regenerative braking, which uses small electric motors to capture the energy from
braking that would otherwise be lost as heat (and then uses that energy to help
propel the car when you put your foot back on the gas), can improve fuel economy
by an additional 4 to 8 percent. These technologies are also available as options or
standard features on several conventional vehicles including the Buick Lacrosse,
Buick Regal, Chevy Malibu, and Ford Fusion.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Keeping your tires properly inflated is one of the easiest (and most easily over-
looked) tricks for maintaining optimal fuel economy. By reducing the amount of
drag your engine must overcome to propel the vehicle, proper tire maintenance
may improve your fuel economy by up to 2 percent. Nissan has made it even
(continued on back page )
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earthwise FALL 2013

Cleaner Cars for All Consumers (continued from front page )

dialogue
easier to keep the perfect amount of air in your tires with its tire monitoring Engineered genes were recently
system called Easy-Fill Tire Alert, which identifies tires with low pressure; as discovered in wheat. Is that a problem?
you fill the tire, the system blows the vehicle’s horn when the proper pressure
is reached. Green Car Journal named Nissan’s system one of the top 10 green In May, unapproved wheat bearing genes
technologies of 2013. engineered by Monsanto for resistance
to its herbicide Roundup was discovered
High Tech under the Hood growing in an Oregon field. How this
Some of the most significant fuel efficiency improvements derive from technolo- wheat emerged eight years after its field
gies that are all but invisible to drivers: engine and transmission modifications trials ended is a mystery—the most likely
that increase efficiency without sacrificing power or performance. For example, explanation is contamination of the seed
cylinder deactivation turns engine cylinders off when their power is not needed supply during those trials—but the discovery
(as when cruising on a highway), boosting fuel economy by about 5 to 7 per- underscores how Monsanto’s technology is
cent. Turbocharged direct injection can boost fuel economy another 14 to causing problems for farmers while failing
25 percent by injecting fuel directly into the engine’s combustion chambers at to solve agricultural challenges.
high pressure rather than through the intake manifold, enabling a smaller, more Contaminated wheat is unlikely to
efficient engine with similar performance. Continuously variable transmis- cause health problems if eaten. But farmers
sion offers an essentially infinite number of gears, allowing the engine to operate and the food industry opposed its develop-
near its optimal speed at all times; this improves fuel economy by 4 to 14 per- ment because of fears including the risk that
cent compared with a typical six-speed automatic transmission. These technolo- other varieties of wheat could be contami-
gies are being used in various combinations by Ford, General Motors, Honda, nated and rendered unsellable to key import-
Mazda, and others in vehicle classes ranging from compacts to pickup trucks. ers such as Japan and South Korea that
By purchasing vehicles with these technologies, consumers create an reject unapproved products. That is exactly
incentive for automakers to offer even more fuel-efficient options in more what has happened. In addition, organic
vehicle classes. This is just one step we can take to cut our oil use in half farmers and food manufacturers worry about
over the next 20 years, and achieve a safer and more secure energy future in losing customers opposed to genetic engi-
the process. neering if their products are contaminated.
Monsanto’s products are also causing
problems for corn, soybean, and cot-
UCS on the web ton farmers who use approved Roundup
Exposing the clean energy disinformation playbook. Front groups are Ready varieties. Though these crops were
trying to confuse the public about renewable energy and global warming, supposed to decrease herbicide use (and
adopting the same tactics Big Tobacco used to mislead the public about did, for a while), two dozen weed species

smoking’s health impacts. Peek inside Big Carbon’s playbook—and learn
how you can fight back—by visiting the UCS website at www.ucsusa.org/
disinformationplaybook.
earthwise
A quarterly publication of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
© 2013 Union of Concerned Scientists.
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The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent
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Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical
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have developed resistance to Roundup. As
a result, farmers now use more herbicide
than they would have without Roundup
Ready crops.
Complex crop rotations, cover crops,
and mulches could slash herbicide use while
maintaining or increasing yields and profits.
A farm policy that prioritizes such ecologically
friendly methods would give farmers options
beyond Monsanto’s false solutions.

U n i o n o f C o n c e r n e d S c i e n t i s t s ­• S c i e n c e f o r a H e a l t h y P l a n e t a n d S a f e r W o r l d
phone: 617.547.5552 fax: 617.864.9405 email: ucs@ucsusa.org w e b : w w w. u c s u s a . o r g
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