A company beekeeping initiative, energy efficiency savings, and a new fuel cell were among the items promoted by automakers recently.

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[naviga:li]Ford has added two beehives with about 80,000 honeybees to the Ford Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan. The automaker says this addition came about after someone suggested that the bees could be helpful in pollinating crabapple trees which were brought to the plant in the early 2000s as part of an environmental initiative. Mary Mason, a Ford employee, has started tending to the bees during her lunch breaks and on weekends. The company hopes the beehives will help fight a decline in honeybee population brought about by problems such as colony collapse disorder, parasites, pathogens, and poor nutrition.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]General Motors expects that it will save $73 million this year as a result of energy efficiency efforts. The company's efforts have included the installation of LED light bulbs, new doors to isolate airflow in paint shops, variable frequency drives to help cooling systems operate more efficiently, and high efficiency burner controls for melting furnaces at an aluminum die casting facility. GM also says that 12 of its manufacturing facilities met the goal of reducing energy intensity by 10 percent within five years. The company hopes to meet all of its electricity needs through renewable energy resources by 2050.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Honda says it will launch a five-passenger sedan with the highest range rating of any zero-emission vehicle later this year. The Clarity Fuel Cell model uses a compact fuel cell stack and integrated powertrain which the automaker says is comparable to a V-6 engine. The model has received a driving range rating of 366 miles from the Environmental Protection Agency, and can be refueled in three to five minutes. Honda says it will begin leasing the Clarity Fuel Cell through 12 approved fuel cell dealerships in California, and plans to increase this network as more hydrogen fueling stations become available.[/naviga:li]

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