On-Road Vehicle Remote Sensing Devices
$250,000 - $1 million

The objective of this project is to reduce the carbon emissions from cars and trucks on Houston roads by educating drivers about vehicular pollution in a manner that may influence their driving, purchasing and vehicle maintenance practices.

Vehicles traverse over 140,000,000 miles in the Houston region each year. This results in an estimated 107,000 tons of CO2 equivalents, according to ICLEI software, which local governments use to measure emissions across sources. Older vehicles and those that are not well-maintained tend to consume more fuel, which means they contribute more pollution per mile driven than newer vehicles. The reduction in miles-per-gallon is costly for drivers / owners. In fact, many vehicle operators are unaware of the kind or volume of emissions from their vehicles, or that the way they maintain their vehicle affects emissions. For low-income owners of older vehicles with excessive emissions, the State of Texas makes available up to $3500 toward the purchase of a newer, lower emission vehicle. Many qualified vehicle owners are, however, unaware of their vehicles' emission profiles, which qualify them for this program, and thus they fail to take advantage of the subsidy.

We propose that Aramco, as the donor, purchase directly from the manufacturer up to four Remote Sensing Devices ("RSDs") to be strategically located along busy Houston area thoroughfares. The RSD's remote sensing technology measures exhaust emissions from vehicles as they are driven on streets and highways. The unit sends infrared and ultraviolet beams across the road and reflects them to a series of detectors. Fuel specific concentrations of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and smoke are measured in vehicle exhaust plumes based on their absorption of IR/UV light. During this process, a camera captures an image of the license plate, while the Speed/Acceleration Sensors (S/A) record the speed of each vehicle. The emissions and other related data are transferred electronically to a roadside monitor that flashes the information to the driver as he passes a solar-powered sign ahead of the sensing device. These systems have been used in a number of states for several years now, and data shows that vehicle owners respond positively to the program. I am enclosing a brochure by a distributor of RSDs. You might also want to read the data at http://www.feat.biochem.du.edu/index.html , which showcases the work of Donald Stedman, the originator of this technology.

Introduction of RSDs would be accompanied by a campaign to educate the public about their presence, purpose and usefulness to Houstonians and the environment. We would emphasize the ability of qualified vehicle owners to obtain the $3500 subsidy from the state for a new vehicle. While some jurisdictions use these devices to enforce emission control and speeding laws; our intent is to implement RSDs as a public service/public education program that will reduce air pollution.