WHEN I visited my brother in congested and dirty Tokyo while he attended university there, he told me that I had to neatly divide and separate all my garbage into glass, paper and plastic items. : . David Chao ees OVERDRIVE The newspapers were ali kept in a separate pile, too, and then were “traded” in for toilet paper when the recycling truck came around to our neighborhood every few days. If you think this sounds like a@ recent green trend in Tokyo, you’re not even close. My raemory of recycling car magazines and car parts | no longer warced dates back to over 10 years ago.” Perhaps because of my early experience with Japan’s attempt at reducing waste and conserving resources, listening to. Masaaki Qhashi’s talk at the Globe °92 conference seemed more than just another speech. Ohashi is a senior managing director at the .world’s third largest automaker, Toyota. He gave us a glimpse at what Toyota is doing to achieve a more balanced relationship between the environment and automobiles. ‘*] am well aware that automobiles affect the environ- ment in many ways. And | believe that automakers have a responsi- bility to minimize the environmen- tal impact of their products. That responsibility applies especially in Japan and at Toyota,’’ said Ohashi to about 50 delegates who came to listen to his talk on Op- timizing the Automobile — An Environmental Perspective. Ohashi emphasized that max- imizing the automotive contribu- tion to society will require op- timization of the technologies that underlie that contribution. He believes that the negative impact of automobiles on the environ- ment will continue to diminish, with ‘efficient transport and a sound environment (having) com- patible goals.’” Toyota, however, undersiands that achieving this goal is not going to be an easy task, requiring a huge commit- ment by the automakers. “Consumers are as concerned as we are about the ozone. Automakers need to offer cars that do not use chlorofluorocar- bons (CFCs) in their air condi- tioners ... Toyota will phase out all CFCs in air-conditioners by the end of 1994,” added Ohashi. This probably means that other automakers will follow with the same philosophy of eliminating CFCs by the end of 1994 — about a year or sO earlier than expected. Actually, many automakers are already offering at least one model with the new HFC-134a refrigerants, which do not eat up ozone like CFCs. Toyota will also stop using CFCs in their produc- tion plants by the end of this year. Ce Friday, April 3, 1992 - North Shore News - 33 Toyeta reveals environmental strategies Masaaki Ohashi outlines company research during Globe ’92 Toyota even developed a new set of guidelines, called ‘‘Earth Charter,’’ that forms the basic framework for shaping en- vironmental policy at Toyota operations worldwide. According to Ohashi, the charter ‘‘provides for making the most of existing technologies and for developing new technologies to reduce the environmental impact of our pro- ducts and operations.”’ More specifically, Ohashi com- mented that exhaust emissions will become cleaner through new engine technologies such as lean- burn combustion, utilization of components vith low friction and mass, and a more accurate valve timing control. Since cars emit the most emissions when cold, technologies that will quickly warm up or even electrically heat the catalysts, are also under con- sideration. Alternative energies merit significant attention as well. As Ohashi commented, ‘‘That work begins with new fuels like methanol, natural gas, and even hydrogen. It includes work on electric vehicles, gas turbines, Sterling engines, and solar cars.”* Knowing that the race for the first electric mass-produced vehi- cle for use in North America is on, i asked Haruyuki Miyadai, assistant manager of the Com- munication Planning Group, where Toyota stood with respect 44 Toyota will phase out all CFCs in air-conditioners by the end of 1994.99 —- Masaaki Ohashi, Toyota senior managing director to electric cars. ‘‘We delivered the first on-road electric vehicles bas- ed on our Townace van to the Chubu Electric company in Japan in January of last year,’’ he said quickly. ‘‘But it’s hard to: say when we will introduce electric cars for public use in North | WE DO ALL THE SERVICE | AND SUPPLY . ALLTHE America. 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