Pope Mobile to get Ecological Upgrade

(December 24, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI's pope-mobile is to get an ecological upgrade. Young car designers participating in an annual auto style competition are being asked to design a low-emission pope-mobile that meets the Vatican's high security standards. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano announced details of the competition Friday, saying the green pope mobile will be one of the proposed projects of the 2012 edition of Auto style International Design Competition. Italian auto parts maker Berman organizes the competition each year, selecting 12 students from universities and auto design schools from around the world to submit designs for particular projects. The best eco-pope-mobile designs will be compiled in a book published by the Vatican publishing house. Pope Benedict, is known as something of a “green'' pope because of his environmental concerns; Under his watch, the Vatican installed photovoltaic cells on its main auditorium to convert sunlight into electricity as well as a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria. It has joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its carbon dioxide emissions. For the pontiff, it's a moral issue: Church teaching holds that man must respect creation because it's destined for the benefit of humanity's future. Pope Benedict usually rides in a modified white Mercedes outfitted with bulletproof windows; it has room for two passengers in addition to the pope, who sits on an elevated chair to wave to crowds.