Panel:                           Is Green in My Future?

Sponsored by: Daimler Chrysler, Texas Instruments and GM

SWE National Conference October 2002 – Cobo Center Detroit, MI

 

Summary:

How our environment is impacted by our decisions. Learn what is “green” from the context of paint, steel, etc. and life cycle management and their impact on the value of property.  Hear how engineering positions are changing and how the laws and regulations influence us.

 

Speakers:

  1. Marilyn J. Dedyne – GM
    1. Program Manager for Acquisitions and Divestitures, North America
    2. Vice President of REALM and ENCORE (GM subsidiaries)
    3. Certified Hazardous Material Manager
    4. Managed international and domestic environmental remediation
  2. Susan Yester – DaimlerChrysler Corporation
    1. Sr. Manager Body Materials Group
    2. Involved with USCAR Advanced Materials Partnership and Auto-Steel Partnership to do pre-competitive research
    3. Has been in materials engineering, program management and vehicle recycling
  3. Doris Puig – Texas Instruments
    1. Manages environmental compliance with local, state and federal regulatory agencies.

 

Regulations:

  1. EPA began in late 1980’s
    1. Since the EPA started there has been an exponential increase in the number of regulations within the number of years it has been in existence. 
  2. Clean Air Act – 1990
  3. Clean Water Act
  4. Toxic Substance Control
  5. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
  6. Community’s Right-to-Know

 

Definition of “Green”:

There is always a piece of green in every decision to be made.  Therefore it is very important to have people in environmental and energy planning.  “Green” is a balance between what we (consumers) want and the environment.  It takes creative thinking to come up with “Green”, cost effective solutions to problems. 

 

Green People/Groups:

In awareness, if not formal training

  1. Product Engineers
  2. Process Engineers
  3. Facility Engineers
  4. Materials Engineers
  5. Aerospace Engineers
  6. Emissions Testing
  7. Environmental Engineers
    1. Life Cycle Analysis
  8. Structures Engineers
  9. Electrical Engineers
  10. Powertrain Engineers

Most of these are concerned with material selection at a minimum.

 

Regulations and Compliance:

Everyone affects compliance and everyone needs to be aware of the regulations. 

  1. Have to be on top of future regulations
  2. Different facilities and communities will have different regulations
  3. Generating group is always liable for the material’s life, even if it is sold to another group.
  4. Generator of waste helps to pay for cleanup even though it isn’t generator’s property anymore. 
  5. Federal Empowerment Zones – These areas used to have businesses on them that closed.  Now the government subsidizes the land so that other businesses will want to develop there. 
  6. Have to be aware of the regulations that global markets will emphasize or require.

 

EU wants cars to be 95% recoverable with a 10% energy directive.  Right now most GM and DaimlerChrysler cars are ~97% recyclable.  This is a better percentage than either pop cans or paper.  First all the metals in the car go to the shredding industry.  Only 20% of the weight of the vehicle goes to a landfill. 

 

Goals of Environmental Vehicles:  

  1. Average Fuel Economy
  2. Emission Management
  3. Recycled Material Content
  4. Vehicle Recycling
  5. Safety – not “green” but impacts all the other goals

 

Car Facts:

  1. Vehicles are good targets for environmental regulations because the industry is big, cars are material intensive, they pollute the environment, and they are easy to target because there aren’t many large car companies.
  2. Last 30 Years:
    1. Fuel efficiency increased

                                                               i.      130 % for cars

                                                             ii.      75 % for trucks

  1. 8 lbs of toxic chemicals are released/vehicle in USA over the vehicle’s lifetime
  2. The number of consumer miles driven is directly proportional to the cost of gas.  As gas goes down in price, consumers drive more.
  3. Consumers continually want bigger cars.  This goes against any environmental goals. 

 

“Green” Technology in Vehicles:

  1. Variable Transmission
  2. Hybrid Propulsion
  3. Alternative Fuels
  4. Hydrogen Fuel Cells
    1. Hydrogen generates electricity and runs the cars
    2. Emissions are pure H20 and heat
    3. Are less expensive than average car on market today
    4. Leasing some in CA next year (Honda)
    5. GM expects to have these on the road within the next 10 years
    6. Need to have an infrastructure where the hydrogen could be acquired.
  5. Displacement on Demand
  6. Powder Paints
    1. Cheaper
    2. Lightweight
    3. Durable
  7. Lost Foam Casting Process
    1. Sand does not absorb any toxins in it and therefore can be reused.

 

Other Facts:

  1. A lot of times there is no “greener” substance for the application needed.  Then it needs to be figured out how to make the substance last longer.
  2. It is possible to sell used toxic chemicals to other companies because the chemical being sold may be cleaner or better than what they are presently buying. 
  3. Need to think beyond terms of product reusability but of things also used or worn in the process of production.
  4. A company can recycle carpet, filters, batteries, packaging, fluorescent lights, foam, bubble wrap, etc
  5. Environmental groups need to let the employees of the company know how they are impacting the environment because a lot of the time people will make environmentally friendly decisions without knowing that they are environmental.
  6. All of the engineering disciplines need to get together and figure out improvement procedures.