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By The Associated Press

MI researchers work to turn car's exhaust into power

Aug 11 00:06

By MARGARET HARDING

Associated Press Writer

WARREN, Mich. (AP) -- The stinky, steaming air that escapes from a car's tailpipe could help us use less gas.

Researchers are competing to meet a challenge from the U.S. Department of Energy: Improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power the vehicle.

General Motors Corp. is close to reaching the goal, as is a BMW AG supplier working with Ohio State University. Their research into thermoelectrics -- the science of using temperature differences to create electricity -- couldn't come at a better time as high gas prices accelerate efforts to make vehicles as efficient as possible.

GM researcher Jihui Yang said a metal-plated device that surrounds an exhaust pipe could increase fuel economy in a Chevrolet Suburban by about 5 percent, a 1-mile-per-gallon improvement that would be even greater in a smaller vehicle.

Reaching the goal of a 10 percent improvement would save more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles in the U.S. alone.

"The take-home message here is: It's a big deal," Yang said.

The DOE, which is partially funding the auto industry research, helped develop a thermoelectric generator for a heavy duty diesel truck and tested it for the equivalent of 550,000 miles about 12 years ago.

John Fairbanks, the department's thermoelectrics technology development manager, said the success of that generator justified the competitive search in 2004 for a device that could augment or replace a vehicle's alternator. Three teams were selected to participate in the program, with GM and thermoelectrics manufacturer BSST separately working on cars and a team from Michigan State University focusing on heavy-duty trucks.

Fairbanks said thermoelectric generators should be on the verge of production in about three years.

"It's probably the biggest impact in the shortest time that I can think of," he said.

The technology is similar to what NASA uses to power deep space probes, a perk being it doesn't seem to be susceptible to wear. Probes have used a thermoelectric setup for about 30 years.

Thermoelectric devices can work in two ways -- using electricity to provide heating or cooling, or using temperature differences to create electricity.

The second method is Yang's focus, and for good reason.

In an internal combustion engine, only about a quarter of the total energy from gasoline is used to actually turn the wheels, while 40 percent is lost in exhaust heat and 30 percent is lost through cooling the engine. That means about 70 percent of the available energy is wasted, according to GM.

"If I can use some of that heat energy and convert it to electricity, you can improve the overall efficiency," Yang said.

A Suburban produces 15 kilowatts of exhaust heat energy during city driving, which is enough to power three or four air conditioners simultaneously.

But it's not possible to harness all the exhaust heat a vehicle produces, so when the Suburban is cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, Yang said. That electricity could go to accessories such as a GPS device, DVD player, radio and possibly the vehicle's water pumps.

Yang's prototype device is to be tested in a Suburban next year. A similar prototype created by Ohio State scientists and BSST should be tested in a BMW in 2009.

The thermoelectric generator works when one side of its metallic material is heated, and excited electrons move to the cold side. The movement creates a current, which electrodes collect and convert to electricity.

While it's not clear how much the device would add to the price of a vehicle, the whole point of the research is to make it cost-effective, Yang said.

"There are several other steps that are required to commercialize the material, but we're cautiously optimistic that these steps can be carried out successfully," said Lon Bell, president of BSST, a subsidiary of Northville-based thermoelectrics supplier Amerigon Inc.

BSST also is working with Ford Motor Co. to develop climate control systems based on thermoelectrics.

Ford wants a system that would target a person's extremities when it's cold or the back of the neck in summer heat, rather than blow out a lot of air to change the temperature of the entire vehicle.

"We think we can make people feel cooler more quickly, feel comfortable more quickly, and that will translate into less power in the central AC system," said Clay Maranville, a Ford senior research scientist.

Honda Motor Co. also has supported university research into thermoelectrics, but a spokesman said the automaker doesn't have its own research program.

NC doctor returns to Philippines roots

Aug 11 00:14

By KAITLIN UGOLIK

The Herald-Sun of Durham

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Dr. Arturo de Leon, a former family physician in Raleigh, began his medical career as a missionary doctor and, after retiring 10 years ago at the age of 60, has gone back to his roots -- quite literally.

In January 2009, he and dozens of other medical professionals and volunteers from area hospitals, as well as from around the country, will travel to Davao City in the southern Philippines to provide free medical care and surgery to the impoverished indigenous population for several days.

Many volunteers are Filipino doctors practicing in the U.S. who are familiar with the culture and customs.

The Herald-Sun of Durham reported that this annual trip to the Southeast Asian nation is part of the Carolina Medical Mission, a nonprofit organization born from the Philippine American Association of North Carolina, or PAANC, in 1994.

De Leon was born, raised and educated in the Philippines. He came to the United States in 1964 to continue his medical training and kept being reminded of what he had seen and experienced at home.

"It's a shame for us Filipinos that we could not take care of our own people," he said. The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country, with about 90 million people.

So, when he heard that a former Raleigh policeman, Doug Hinton, was leading a group of doctors and dentists to Bohol in 1993, de Leon gathered a few of his family and friends and went along.

On that first trip, they saw about 500 patients. Since then, the team has continued to grow and has seen about 90,000.

"I look at it as providence," de Leon said. "After looking back, it looks like God is with CMM."

Each year the team goes to a different province -- the archipelago nation of more than 7,100 islands has 81 provinces in all -- and works with a partner team of native medical professionals.

"They give their time free so that we can give them some target money and take care of their transportation," de Leon said. "We become friends. Every year, it's just like a family reunion."

The partner team starts working a year ahead of time while the U.S. team plans and raises funds for its trip -- members pay for their own travel and lodging expenses.

The U.S. coordinator for the Davao City mission, Jesse Pasion, is an intensive care nurse at the VA Medical Center in Durham. He is in charge of raising funds for next January, but he's having a hard time because of the recession. Still, several events are in the works, and many churches have contributed. He's heartened by the fact that people from different faiths are coming together to help mankind.

This collaboration of faiths is also present in Davao City, he said, in a way that many could learn from.

"It's a microcosm of what the world should be," he said. "Christians and Muslims get along, and we're serving both. We'll see that our faiths are no different -- we serve the same God."

He admitted that he didn't fully appreciate the program when he was president of PAANC. After he went to Dumaguete in 2007, he called his trip a life-altering experience.

Also on that mission were Tim McGloin, retired assistant director for Tobacco Prevention at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at UNC, and his wife, Linda, both longtime members of PAANC. They decided to join the mission in 2007 because Dumaguete is Linda's hometown.

De Leon said there are different medical needs in different provinces, but that the main problem is respiratory complications because of the lack of sanitary conditions.

The clinic at Dumaguete opened at 7:30 a.m. and McGloin said hundreds of people would line up outside the door all day.

"In the daily clinics you'll see an average of 1,000 a day. In five days we served about 5,000 people, so we got a good look at what the health issues and living conditions are."

Pasion expects the Davao City mission to be a successful one, and he hopes that CMM can interest younger people in joining because they'll be the ones "taking over" in a couple of years.

"It's a life commitment," he said. "For me, it defines my legacy. Obviously, all of us have one to leave in this world, and service to mankind I think would be one of the best ones we could leave," he said.

Carolina Medical Mission trips are not restricted to medical professionals. De Leon said this is a common misconception.

His granddaughter was 14 when she first went, and it was her idea to try to take the mission to countries other than the Philippines. Soon after, Pasion was approached by someone suggesting the group go to China, which they have done for the past four years. There is also talk of sending a team to India in the future, depending on funds.

Big Island Mayor Kim suffers heart attack

Aug 11 15:53

HILO, Hawaii (AP) -- Big Island Mayor Harry Kim was recovering Monday from a heart attack he suffered at his Hilo home this weekend.

Kim, 69, was flown by air ambulance to the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu for treatment after the heart attack Sunday.

The heart attack does not appear to be life-threatening, said Janet Snyder, Kim's spokeswoman.

The mayor looks fine, and he wants to get back to work immediately, Snyder said.

Kim will undergo testing to see if further treatment is necessary before returning to the Big Island.

This is Kim's second heart attack in about three years. He also suffered a heart attack in May 2005 and returned to work a week later.

He also was hospitalized for four nights in March with a dangerously high fever immediately after returning on a flight from Indonesia, where he was attending in a disaster-preparedness workshop at the request of the Indonesian government.

The straight-talking, jeans-wearing Kim was first elected mayor in 2000 with a campaign built on $10 donations and a slogan declaring himself an "applicant for mayor."

Before taking office, he had served as the high-profile head of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency for 24 years where he gained notoriety during Kilauea's destructive eruptions in the 1980s.

Eight people are running this fall to succeed Kim, who is unable to seek re-election because of term limits. The field includes council members Angel Pilago and Stacy Higa, former mayor Sen. Lorraine Inouye and former Kim executive assistant Billy Kenoi.

Hawaii County managing director Dixie Kaetsu will act as the mayor while Kim is recuperating.

On Kauai, Mayor Bryan Baptiste died June 22 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Wailua while recovering from heart bypass surgery.

Texas Vietnamese congregation honors bus victims

Aug 10 15:41

By ANDRE COE and ANA LEY

Associated Press Writers

HOUSTON (AP) -- The pastor of a Vietnamese congregation that lost parishioners in a deadly charter bus crash told churchgoers Sunday that they must accept the tragedy as a "door that God has opened."

"Do not fight the will of God," the Rev. Vu Thanh said at the Vietnamese Martyr Church. "(People must) live in faith of God."

The unlicensed bus carrying 55 members of the Catholic group from Houston to Missouri for an annual religious festival smashed into a guardrail and skidded off a highway early Friday near Sherman. Twelve people died at the scene and five more have died at hospitals. At least eight passengers remained in critical condition Sunday.

During Sunday's service, portraits of five victims who were regular attendees at that church were surrounded by flowers at the foot of the pulpit.

The church is holding prayer services for friends and relatives of the crash victims and raising money for costs associated with the crash. Investigators were still at the accident site Sunday near the Texas-Oklahoma state line.

Also there was Peter Tran, a close friend of Thuong Tath, who suffered a cracked neck bone and lost his wife in the wreck. He said he was saddened to find remnants of the crash, including packets of longan, a traditional Vietnamese fruit.

"It's been really, really sad," Tran said. "It's a terrible time. I cried, but everyone cries."

The bus was operated by Iguala BusMex Inc., which applied in June for a federal license to operate as a charter but was still awaiting approval, according to online records. The company recently filed incorporation papers, listing the same owner and address as Angel Tours Inc., which was forced by federal regulators to take its vehicles out of interstate service June 23 after an unsatisfactory review.

Neither entity is authorized to operate as a carrier in interstate commerce, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

There was no comment Sunday from Angel Tours. Its voicemail system was full Sunday and not accepting new messages.

Inspectors were also looking at the mechanical systems of the wrecked bus and examining its interior damage, said Robert Accetta, the National Transportation Safety Board member leading the investigation.

Authorities said the vehicle's right front tire, which blew out, had been retreaded in violation of safety standards. The bus skidded about 130 feet and struck the guardrail, then traveled nearly 120 feet before coming to rest down an embankment.

One of those in critical condition was the driver, 52-year-old Barrett Wayne Broussard. Authorities said that he had a commercial license but that his medical certification expired in May. Authorities took blood samples from Broussard on Friday.

Sherman police Lt. Bob Fair declined to comment Sunday on whether any criminal charges would be filed.

------

Andre Coe reported from Sherman. Associated Press writer Jeff Carlton in Dallas contributed to this report.

Obama to Hawaii: Nation can learn from you

Aug 09 00:49

By AUDREY McAVOY

Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii-born presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama hailed the aloha spirit and diversity of his native state, telling several thousand cheering supporters the nation as a whole is hungry for it.

Obama, who was born and raised in Honolulu, said Friday at a rally that the aloha spirit meant helping those in need, taking care of one's elders and treating people with respect. He said it also meant working with people of different backgrounds, whether they are black, white, Japanese-American, Filipino-American or any ethnicity.

"When you come from Hawaii you start understanding that what's on the surface, that doesn't determine who they are," Obama said at Keehi Lagoon Beach Park. "It's that spirit that I'm absolutely convinced is what America is looking for right now. Because we've been divided for so long."

Jill Abbott and two friends waited for five hours in the hot midday sun to hear Obama speak for about 15 minutes. But they said it was worth it.

The community college English teacher said Obama understands the need for people to overcome their differences.

"We are divided but he wants us not to be. He wants to be a force in changing that, in making that happen," she said. "If anyone could do it, he could do it."

Obama, who wore a black polo shirt and khakis, spoke about a new energy policy, early childhood education, paying teachers more, and honoring military veterans. He got some of his biggest cheers when he said the billions of dollars the U.S. is spending in Iraq could be spent back in the U.S.

The Punahou School graduate explained he was in Hawaii on vacation and would be spending most of his time with his grandmother and the rest of his family. But he said he would be bodyboarding and may venture to some of Honolulu's favorite haunts, including a Zippy's restaurant and Rainbow Drive-In.

Phyllis Fujiwara, an accountant from Aiea, said Hawaii is proud to have one of its own in the running for president.

"He grew up with the ideals that we did, knows the mix of people, and how we can work together," Fujiwara said while standing in a long security line to get into the grassy area next to Honolulu International Airport.

"Hopefully, he can bring that to the whole nation," she said.

Security was tight. Guards scanned all attendees with electric hand wands. Police surveyed the crowd as a Coast Guard boat patrolled the lagoon off the park.

Obama last visited Hawaii in December 2006, about one month before he launched his candidacy for president.

It was a much more staid trip. He didn't hold any public events or give interviews. He went to the beach, played golf and basketball with old friends, and spent time with his grandmother and sister.

He generally managed to escape the media spotlight, though paparazzi captured a photo, which later appeared in People magazine, of him wearing swim trunks at the beach. A television station filmed him driving a golf cart at Olomana Golf Links.

In December 2004, after winning his Senate race in Illinois, he spoke at a $100-per plate Democratic party fundraiser in Waikiki.

Dinner with Obama is commanding considerably more four years later.

A ticket to a fundraiser at the posh Kahala Resort on Tuesday will cost $2,300. A $10,000 donation will buy admission to a private reception with Obama.

Organizers expect about 500 people to attend the fundraiser.

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