S.O.S.: polluting boat ahead.Over the past decade, new Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and (EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. ) emissions standards for marine engines have encouraged manufacturers to phase out dirty two-stroke engines in favor of the more environmentally friendly four-stroke. Four-stroke marine engines are more efficient, with less raw fuel spilling out of their tailpipes. But with more than 17 million recreational boats trolling U.S. waterways--up more than a million from seven years ago, reports the National Marine Manufacturers Association--should we be worrying about emissions from a variety of boats contributing to global warming and local air pollution? Canadian Monte Gisborne, inventor of the world's first solar-powered recreational pontoon pontoon, one of a number of floats used chiefly to support a bridge, to raise a sunken ship, or to float a hydroplane or a floating dock. Pontoons have been built of wood, of hides stretched over wicker frames, of copper or tin sheet metal sheathed over wooden boat, has a solution. His eight-passenger boat, the Loon loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loons float low in the water and their legs are placed far back. , has a 30-mile range through an onboard lead-acid battery pack and overhead solar array. A diehard advocate of alternative technology, Gisborne has also created zero-emission electric cars, scooters and even snowmobiles. "The exhaust from a four-stroke engine still carries a harmful mix of chemicals and even more greenhouse gases per gallon burned," Gisborne says. "Four-stroke engines aren't much friendlier to the environment." Studies have emphasized the cleanliness of four-strokes when compared to two-strokes, but no studies have been done to examine the effects of four-stroke engines on their own. "Is proliferation of many new four-stroke engines a problem?" asks Glenn Miller, an environmental science professor at the University of Nevada University of Nevada could refer to either of the universities in the Nevada System of Higher Education:
"Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . No one seems to know." Four-stroke boat engines are not as efficient as their land-based cousins, says Miller. And while their airborne emissions are monitored, the impact of toxins on the underwater environment is not factored into EPA assessments which focus almost exclusively on human health issues. This could lead to a variety of problems, says Dr. James T. Oris, a professor at Miami University who has studied the effects of marine emissions on aquatic life. "Each group [of combusted and non-combusted materials] may have their own separate effects," he says. "For example, a large number of boats idling in a small area can emit enough carbon monoxide carbon monoxide, chemical compound, CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, extremely poisonous gas that is less dense than air under ordinary conditions. It is very slightly soluble in water and burns in air with a characteristic blue flame, producing carbon dioxide; to cause oxygen problems in fish and other animals." Alternatives exist. Electric marine engines are available from a number of companies, including Briggs & Stratton and Ray Electric Outboards. "The only viable and sustainable solution is electric propulsion," Gisborne says. CONTACT: Tamarack tamarack: see larch. Electric Boats, (705)484-1559, www.tamarackelectricboats.com. |
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