greenhouse gas
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Some of the first emissions regulations in the world came about because of the way the Los Angeles Basin is shaped. Reports of smog in southern California started with the Conquistadors, and by the Sixties, LA was notorious for its foul air. California began regulating auto emissions before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency even existed, and motor vehicles have been a focus of emissions laws ever since. So-called criteria pollutants (carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrous oxides) have been reduced by more than 90 percent since 1970. Vehicle emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily...
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Paris To Test Banning Gas-Guzzlers (Yes, SUVs!) In City CoreWhy are many European carmakers now planning to build electric vehicles? Because many European cities are widely expected to ban high-emissions vehicles from their city cores over the next decade--perhaps even vehicles with any emissions at all. Now, Paris may be the first city to experiment with...
John Voelcker -
On Heels of SF Giants Win, CA Prop 23 Notches Another Victory Over Texas
Proposition 23 was defeated last night, putting an end to a much ballyhooed piece of cleantech-stopping legislation that was also causing some qualms in the venture capital community. The proposal would have halted California’s AB 32 law, which requires the state to roll back greenhouse...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
EPA Proposes 10-to-20-Percent Gas Mileage Rise for Big Trucks
Well, now we know the numbers. And there are a lot of them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation jointly proposed cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from medium and heavy duty trucks by 10 to 20 percent, starting in 2014 and extending through 2018. (The actual...
John Voelcker -
Car-Crazy CA No More: Air Resources Board Wants to Cut Miles Traveled
Think California is the land of fast-flowing freeways and drop-top driving under the endless sun? Think again. The California Air Resources Board is now writing rules to implement a law passed two years ago that will require regional reductions in vehicle miles traveled. In other words, the state...
John Voelcker -
Report: Electric Cars Best Way To Reduce U.S. Oil Dependancy
We like it when a study confirms a common-held belief. And for hundreds of would-be electric car owners across the U.S. a recent study has done just that. Years into the Military Conflict in the Middle East, and just months after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill a team at Rice University have...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Want to know the fuel economy ratings of a new car you're considering? You probably already know to look at the gas-mileage window sticker. Now, for the first time in 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are planning a comprehensive redesign of that window sticker. And they want you to help. Two proposed designs The agencies have issued a pair of proposed designs for new stickers that will provide new information that encompasses not only gasoline and diesel vehicles, along with hybrids, but also pure electric cars and...
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Oil-Backed Prop. 23 Could Suspend CA Emissions Reductions, Hurt Green Startups
Come November, California voters could have a major impact on the state’s environment. The ballot will include Proposition 23, a measure that would suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act that passed in 2006 (otherwise known as Assembly Bill 32), which called for reductions in greenhouse gas...
John Voelcker -
Cities Want High-Mileage Hybrid Taxis; Judge Says It's Illegal
If you've been to New York City lately, you may have noticed an increasing number of hybrid taxis on the roads: mostly Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs, but also Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima Hybrid sedans, and a scattering of others too. It's part of a long-term plan to green the fleet of 14,000...
John Voelcker -
GM Greens Its Auto ACs With Greenhouse-Gas-Friendly Coolant
Among the many substances emitted by autos back in the "good old days" were the refrigerant gases that would leak from older auto air conditioners. Freon, also known as R-12, was replaced starting in the early 1990s with R-134a, which did less damage to the ozone layer. Now concern has expanded to...
John Voelcker -
Saturday Selection: Stuff Sort-of-Relevant To Green Cars
We read a lot of stuff here to cover the world of green cars. No surprise there. But there's a lot we see that doesn't lend itself to a full article, though we hate to let it pass by altogether. So this is a new type of piece, one that brings together stuff that's sort-of-relevant to green cars...
John Voelcker -
Small Engines Get Even Smaller: Fiat's Turbocharged Twin
As we keep saying, one of the ways that automakers will meet more stringent fuel economy regulations is by making smaller engines that work harder. Now Fiat has one-upped its European competition by announcing it will offer a 900cc turbocharged twin in European models of its Fiat 500 mini-car. That...
John Voelcker -
The dirty little secrets of Top 10 lists are in the methodology, as Forbes found out with its weirdly inaccurate "10 Dirtiest Cars" list. (It's the end of the year, so it's time for a lot of Top 10s.) But we see no such problems in the EPA Green Vehicle Guide, which rates vehicles not only on tailpipe emissions but also their carbon-dioxide emissions. CO2 ~ fuel usage Fuel consumption is almost directly proportional to CO2 emissions, so it's not surprising that the best cars for the climate--ranked by their carbon dioxide output--turn out to be the highest-mileage models sold in the U.S. The...
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Forbes Calls Jeep Grand Cherokee Dirtiest Car, Readers Slam Methods
That old capitalist tool, Forbes magazine, has issued a list of the 10 dirtiest cars sold in the U.S. At the very top, in first place for filth, is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. But it turns out there are some problems with their list. There's history behind this. A decade ago, the website for Forbes...
John Voelcker
