SACRAMENTO, California, January 25, 2008 (ENS) – Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, and South Seas Cycle Exchange of Honolulu will pay $2 million to the state of California to settle a 2005 lawsuit over the importation of motorcycles that failed to meet California emissions standards.

A portion of this penalty will be used to test emissions from ethanol-burning off-road engines.

The Air Resources Board’s long-running investigation, which began in 2002, found that Yamaha USA, headquartered in Cypress, California, imported more than 400 illegal motorcycles, registered them to Yamaha, USA in California, obtained state license plates, and then eventually sold some of them to state residents.

In most cases, these were popular 1999 – 2002 models that were in great demand and difficult to purchase in California. One dealer imported more than 200 bikes and sold all of them to California residents.

“This settlement should send a powerful message to those who try and make an end run around our air quality regulations,” said Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols.

“We have the nation’s toughest emissions standards for a reason – because too many parts of California still fail to meet federal health levels for air quality. These motorcycles could well have contributed to Southern California’s already fouled air.”

An extreme case of motorcycle
emissions. (Photo credit
unknown)

While other dealers involved in the case settled earlier with the Air Resources Board, both Yamaha USA and South Seas Cycle Exchange refused to settle until recently.

Under the terms of the agreement, Yamaha USA will pay $1.2 million to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which supports pollution-related research.

The company will also pay $500,000 to fund a project to test the impact of ethanol fuel blends on emissions from off-road gasoline engines, and $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General for attorneys’ fees.

In addition to the financial penalties, Yamaha and South Seas Cycle Exchange started a vehicle purchase program in December to buy back and destroy or remove any motorcycles that have been identified as not having been certified for use or registration in California.

Motorcycles that do not meet California’s stringent emission requirements create higher amounts of smog-forming pollutants, which can then exacerbate respiratory ailments and negatively affect other health conditions, said Nichols.

California motorcycle owners can tell if theirs is an illegal bike if the emissions label does not include the word California. If the bike does not meet California requirements, the word California will not be on the label and the label will say that it meets only federal requirements.

View This Story On Eco-mmunity Map.

The propagation and increased use of ethanol has been a very contentious subject in green circles here in the US; on the one hand, it’s a domestically-produced alternative to oil, but on the other hand, you need engine modifications to use a high concentration of it, burning it results in lower gas mileage, and using corn is an inefficient has huge agro-political implications. Hmm…so what should we think about ethanol? Take a look at some of the numbers and decide for yourself.

90 percent — the amount of the world’s ethanol production that the US and Brazil combine to account for.
4.6 billion — US gallons of ethanol the US produced last year, making it the largest producer in the world.
35 liters — one bushel of corn.
10 liters — the fuel (2.8 gallons) netted from one bushel of corn.
330 – 420 — gallons of ethanol produced per acre of corn.
570 – 700 — gallons of ethanol produced per acre of sugar cane, Brazil’s feedstock of choice.
10 – 20 percent — the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions produced from burning corn-based ethanol, when compared to gasoline.
87 – 96 percent — the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions produced from burning sugar cane-based ethanol, when compared to gasoline.
34 percent — the amount of less energy per volume contained in ethanol, resulting in a similar reduction in gas mileage, if you’re burning 100% ethanol.
50 percent — the amount that the price of corn has risen in Mexico since last year, thanks in part to the increased demand for ethanol.

Proponents of the fuel argue that it’s an important step away from petroleum, and offers to help increase national security because it can be produced locally. Ethanol’s detractors point to blends above E10’s incompatibility with many gasoline engines, and some signs of increased wear and tear on some internal parts, especially rubber hoses and gaskets. Further, whether the energy balance of ethanol — whether the fuel contains more energy than was used to produce it — is positive or negative is debatable, as is whether or not the land used to grow the crop was obtained by, say, chopping down a rainforest, in which case the ethanol produced is just as unenvironmentally-friendly as fossil fuel due to the carbon released by the dead plants.

Moving forward, cellulosic ethanol has the potential to make ethanol a much more energy-efficient fuel, with yields that about double what the starch-based processes yield today. Because every plant contains cellulose, a huge variety of feedstocks — some that would otherwise be wasted, like corncobs, straw or sawdust — could be used. Switchgrass is one such feedstock, and was thrust into the energy spotlight when it was mentioned in President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address. It grows eight or nine feet tall and is native to the US. Generally, it’s very hearty and will grow in nearly any climatic variation, from the Gulf Coast into Canada. As a crop, it has a very high yield per acre (five to tens tons) with little use of pesticides, and a low production cost, which are two keys for economical production of alternative fuels. However, until very recently, the cost for producing cellulosic ethanol has been prohibitive, and the process has yet to hit mainstream ethanol production.