air pollution
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The first major emission controls on motor vehicles were introduced in 1975 with the advent of the catalytic converter. Today's cars emit less than 1 percent of the three "criteria" pollutants that came out of their tailpipes half a century ago. They emit relatively so little carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons that the collective effect of vehicle emission in the U.S. may now be outweighed by ... household products? DON'T MISS: Fossil fuels only part of human carbon emissions; land use, deforestation matter too That's the startling conclusion of a new study issued in...
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Rome joins European ban-diesel bandwagon after German court ruling
First Paris, then a pair of German cities, and now the Eternal City. Two weeks ago, the mayor of Rome announced on her Facebook page that the city would ban diesel cars altogether by 2024. It's not clear whether the ban applies solely to the older, most-polluting diesels as it does already in...
John Voelcker -
German court rules cities may ban older diesel vehicles to cut air pollution
That huge intake of breath you may have heard from across the Atlantic Ocean was the sound of German carmakers gasping at a court decision handed down on Tuesday. After a week's delay in issuing its ruling, a German court decided that individual cities in the country may ban vehicles with diesel...
John Voelcker -
Fake science: University disavows study EPA cited to approve old dirty diesels in "glider" trucks
Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would rescind a rule that banned companies from fitting outdated, older, and dirtier diesel engines into brand-new "glider" chassis-cab trucks. Among the many regulations to limit emissions and other forms of pollution that EPA...
John Voelcker -
California OKs more than half a billion dollars to clean up freight trucks, trains, buses
California is using the growing sums of money it receives from its emission cap-and-trade auction for good, including to tackle up some of the state's most egregious transportation polluters. In mid-December, California announced it would invest $663 million in a plan to clean up particularly dirty...
Mark Stevenson -
China is serious on fuel economy: 500-plus models to go out of production
China has taken a major step toward cleaning up the new cars sold in the country beginning January 1. As numerous countries debate plans to end sales of fossil-fuel vehicles completely at points in the future, China has now forced the end of production for some 553 models, starting Monday. The...
Mark Stevenson -
The most important green-car story of 2017 came on September 10, in a report by the Associated Press that covered articles in two Chinese state media outlets on a statement by a deputy industry minister. Speaking at "an auto industry forum," the AP wrote, Xin Guobin said his ministry has begun "research on formulating a timetable to stop production and sales of traditional energy vehicles," as he noted "some countries" have already done. The statements were published by the state Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, meaning they represented official government...
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Trump EPA: less enforcement of laws, more leeway for polluters
In grade school, students commonly ran through the halls when teachers or other school staff weren't looking. Signs forbidding the act of sprinting past lockers did little to deter the practice, since there was no incentive not to run unless someone present was enforcing the rule. The same can be...
Mark Stevenson -
EPA to axe rule banning older, dirtier diesel engines in new trucks: report
The EPA recently announced it will roll back the Clean Power Plan, one of former President Obama's milestone efforts to fight climate change, and now the agency plans to axe another rule limiting emissions. Next on the chopping block is a regulation that limits emissions from large trucks and their...
Sean Szymkowski -
China wants all electric cars: will it work? Reasons and reactions
It was quaint and adorable when Norway did it, saying it would end sales of cars with internal-combustion engines by 2025. The Netherlands followed suit, with little fanfare. More recently, France and the U.K. have enacted various forms of bans on non-electrified vehicles, on varying schedules. Now...
John Voelcker -
EPA science advisers axed; execs from regulated industries to replace them (updated)
While much of the nation's capital is preoccupied with the unpredictable Trump administration and its possible ties to Russia, the fate of the Environmental Protection Agency generates less news coverage. That's not to say there hasn't been news. Administrator Scott Pruitt is proceeding swiftly...
John Voelcker -
London's $27 entry charge for pre-2016 diesel cars to start April 2019
For more than 13 years, London has collected a stiff charge from motor vehicles entering the congested core of the city during weekday business hours. Known as the congestion charge, the fee of £11.50 a day, or $14.50 (£10 with automatic payment, or $12.50) is levied from 6 am to 7 pm...
John Voelcker -
Even with a new leader apparently at odds with its mission, the Environmental Protection Agency continues to function on some level. On Thursday, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said carbon dioxide released by human activity is not a major cause of climate change, directly contradicting the scientific consensus. The day before that, however, the EPA's internal watchdog announced plans to confirm the agency's ability to do the job it's charged with. DON'T MISS: Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statement The EPA Office of the Inspector General will look at whether the...
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Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statement
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is emerging as one of the government entities most targeted by the new Trump Administration for change. In this case, if reports of the administration's draft budget proposal are accurate, change means wholesale elimination of staff, funding, and programs...
John Voelcker -
VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT study
In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving...
Stephen Edelstein -
Photos reveal how polluted the U.S. was before EPA was founded
It can be argued that the current presidential administration appears to lack interest in the traditional mission of the Environmental Protection Agency. As a candidate, Donald Trump advocated wholesale repeal of environmental regulations and increased production of fossil fuels. He has also called...
Stephen Edelstein -
Coal industry hopes to don disguise as clean-power player via carbon capture
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to "bring back coal" as part of a larger program to encourage greater production of fossil fuels. But the coal industry believes it needs more than an ostensibly friendly administration in Washington to survive. With coal production down and electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
China axes 103 coal-fired power plants, citing smog, overcapacity
During negotiations for the Paris Climate Treaty signed last fall, a major concern among critics was whether the carbon emissions of China's sprawling and inefficient energy sector could be reined in. With China, the U.S., and dozens of other countries signing the agreement, the world's most...
John Voelcker -
A new study estimates global carbon emissions did not increase dramatically in 2016.
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5 African nations push for cleaner diesel fuel from European suppliers
West African nations are pushing back against European traders importing dirty diesel fuel.
Stephen Edelstein -
Mayors of 4 capital cities to ban all diesel vehicles by 2025
The mayors of Athens, Madrid, Mexico City, and Paris pledged to ban all diesel vehicles in their jurisdictions by 2025.
Stephen Edelstein -
How China's horrific air quality magically turns cleaner: cotton
Staff at a Chinese air-monitoring station stuffed cotton into equipment to produce false readings.
Stephen Edelstein -
Coal in China: huge problem for clean power, climate efforts
Chinese coal demand will continue to rise despite efforts to promote renewable energy, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Could an EU switch to on-road emission tests allow more pollution?
Leaked European emissions-testing rules give generous leeway to carmakers.
Stephen Edelstein