昨日は車の飲酒運転防止装置の話でした。本日は、車の燃料にも新しい動きが出始めていると言う話です。
In a move to push Japanese auto indusyry to the front line of the alternativefuel revolution, the government will launch a major policy drive to promote flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on(機械などが~を原料として動く)a mixture of gasoline and ethanol.
As one of the measures, the government will develop technological guidelines (guidelinesは慣用的に複数形!) for cars that can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, specifying safety standards and other such requirements.
Another idea under consideration is a special bioethanol deregulation zone in Okinawa Prefecture that would offer various policy incentives for the production of ethnol-based fuel.
The biofuel initiative will be a package of measures designed to ensure steady growth of the domestic market for flex-fuel cars, which is virtually non-existent at present.
The initiative is aimed at marketing the nation less dependent on expensive oil imports over time by diversifing energy sources.
昔は酒代わりにエチルアルコールかメチルアルコールを飲んだと言う話ですが、今やラム酒(砂糖黍)やバーボン(とうもろこし)がガソリンの取って替わろうという時代になったのですね。変われば変わるもんですねえ。
Biofuel, a renewable energy source deriving from plant constituents (構成物質), is drawing attention as an alternative to petroleum fuels whose prices have kept soaring. An example is bioethanol, which is produced by the fermentation of sugar cane or corn and is considered to emit no carbone dioxide.
Despite all the attention paid to bio-fuels, there are many hurdles to overcome before realizing the widespread use of the new energy source.
単に石油の値段が高騰していると言うだけでなく、ガソリンと違って二酸化炭素を排出しないということが、時代の流れに沿っています。
Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty aimed at curbing emissions of greenhouse gases to cope with global warning, Japan has pledged to cut its annual average CO2 emissions from 2008 to 20012 by 6% from the 1990 level. But actual CO2 emissions in Japan increased 8% in 2004 over 1990. In the transport sector such as the use of automobiles, emissions expanded as much as 20%.
Biofuel therefore is drawing keen attention as an ace in the hole for the reduction of CO2 emissions.