The Canadian government has announced its plans to spend C$500 million (US$333 million) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The investment will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 65 megatonnes per year when the plan is fully implemented in 2008. The investment will focus on a number of areas including transportation, energy production, agriculture and forestry, government operations and marketing of Canadian technologies abroad.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, a United Nations treaty negotiated in Japan, developed countries undertook to reduce emissions by an average of 5.2 % below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The Canadian government will promote the use of new fuels such as ethanol, and start the "shift of consumer behaviour".

A total of 174 Italian cities will ban cars and motorcycles on a particular Sunday in the third effort this year to reduce air pollution.

The ban, mostly in central city areas, will apply between 10 am to 6 pm as part of the 'Cities for Children' initiative. In addition to the car ban, public transportation will be free in most cities and the culture minister, Giovanna Melandri, has ordered 16 state museums to grant free access to adults accompanied by anyone under the age of 14.

Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate, commonly known as CCA, contains arsenic and chromium, which are known carcinogens. Used in everything from decks and porches to playground equipment, it has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as scientists have raised concerns about the release of arsenic into the environment.

A University of Florida research team has developed a technique to reduce toxic pollution from incinerating pesticide-treated wood, an advancement that comes amid growing national debate over how to safely dispose of this waste. The amount of discarded treated wood in Florida is expected to grow from 5 million cubic feet per year to 35 million cubic feet in 2015.

The Australian division of GM, Holden, and CSIRO has unveiled a concept vehicle that uses 50% less fuel than a conventional family car. The hybrid-electric ECOmmodore uses a 50 kW electric motor working in parallel with a lightweight 95 kW four-cylinder aluminum alloy engine.

The ECOmmodore differs from other parallel hybrids in its use of CSIRO-developed supercapacitors that absorb energy efficiently, delivering power to the electric motor very quickly. Under acceleration both motor and engine combine to provide motive power, though when cruising or idling the electric motor takes over.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a device for capturing and recovering dilute volatile organic compounds and other hazardous air pollutants.

The new vapor-recovery system is fast, convenient and can achieve new levels of air quality control. The device uses activated-carbon-fiber cloth and electrical energy to collect and efficiently recover air pollutants that are emitted to the atmosphere from the use of materials such as paint solvents and cleaning solutions.

The activated-carbon-fiber cloth has nearly twice the adsorption capacity of activated-carbon granules at low concentrations and has a woven structure that allows the adsorbent to be pliable and electrically conductive for electrothermal desorption.

The USEPA is committed to issuing regulations that would sharply reduce sulphur levels in diesel to reduce air pollution.

Under the rule, sulphur levels, currently at 500 parts per million (ppm), would be set between 15 and 50ppm. This will result in 90% cut in nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from the 30 million US buses and trucks.

Critics say the rule probably will be issued late this year, after the presidential election, with the cleaner fuels to be in use in mid 2006.

While environmentalists support the rule, the oil industry, some engine makers and fuel distributors say the government is rushing the rule into effect. Also some critics say that the stricter rule might result in refiners curtailing output or deciding to export fuel rather than go through the expense to reduce sulphur levels.

A garbage company serving the heart of Silicon Valley runs all its trucks on "biodiesel" - a fuel made from french fry oils, sewage plant grease screenings and other vegetable oils.

Biodiesel, often made from soybean oil or reclaimed cooking oil, has been gaining in popularity as a relatively low-emission alternative to petroleum-based fuel.

U.S. production of biodiesel is about 30 million gallons a year, compared with about 1.6 billion gallons a year for ethanol, another popular alternative fuel.