air pollution
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French officials want drivers to swap the dirtiest diesels for electric cars.
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Latest Diesel Engines As Clean As Expected Under EPA Rules, Study Shows
A new study shows expected reductions in adverse health effects from new diesel engine exhaust emissions.
Stephen Edelstein -
China Extends Electric-Car Incentives As Shenzhen Caps Registrations
China continues to push for more electric cars as it fights rampant pollution and congestion.
Stephen Edelstein -
Do Auto Emissions Kill As Many People As Car Crashes?
Researchers compare emissions-related deaths to car crashes, with ambiguous results.
Stephen Edelstein -
Diesel Pollution In London Makes Air Worse Than Beijing For Nitrous Oxides
There's a lot of talk about so-called clean diesel, which in North America means any diesel that meets tailpipe emissions standards that went into effect seven years ago. Those standards, known as Tier II, Bin 5, are among the strictest in the world--and considerably tougher than the European...
John Voelcker -
Could 'Rolling Coal' Become Illegal In NJ? The Downside Of (Some) Diesel Drivers
Bullies. We all knew one at school--usually bigger than you, typically loud, obnoxious, and cruel, and often pretty dumb. Often they acted that way to make up for deficiencies in their own lives; today you may meet one who tormented you as a kid pushing shopping carts at your local mall. Karma can...
Antony Ingram -
You've probably heard it at some point: A friend claims his older vehicle is far greener than the new car with much higher fuel economy you just bought That's because, he says, the old car didn't require all the energy and natural resources your car consumed as it was built. But is that older car really greener? The short answer: No. The longer answer is also 'no', but it may help educate your friend on why that beloved 20-year-old rattletrap isn't as green as he likes to think. The environmental cost of manufacturing It's easy to see why many people think that running an old car would be...
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London To Levy Additional Charge On Older, Higher-Emitting Cars By 2020
Plans are afoot to hit diesel drivers in London with an extra fee to drive on the city's streets. Drivers already pay a £11.50 ($19.50) fee to enter the city, known as the 'Congestion Charge', but diesel drivers could pay an extra £10 ($17) if the plans go ahead. The diesel surcharge is...
Antony Ingram -
Gas-Guzzlers Now Pay More To Park In Madrid
European cities aren't always that easy to navigate when you're in a car. They twist and turn through narrow, busy streets constrained by the topography and architecture, designed long before powered vehicles were prevalent. If that's not enough, one European city--the Spanish capital Madrid--is...
Antony Ingram -
Will Your Car One Day Capture All Its Carbon Emissions?
Producing carbon dioxide is an unavoidable part of burning fuel in cars. The problem with this of course is that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. And the more cars there are on the road, the more sources of this greenhouse gas there are. The concept of carbon dioxide capturing has been theorized...
Antony Ingram -
How Do You Cut City Traffic, Pollution? Move Cars Underground
Figures vary year-by-year, but London constantly hovers near the top of Europe's most polluted cities. Like many of its European counterparts, it sprang up long before the car was invented, leaving little space for roads and the growing number of cars owned by its 8.3 million inhabitants. Pollution...
Antony Ingram -
China To Ban 6 Million Gross Polluters From Roads In Smog Fight
China will step up enforcement of emissions standards, removing 6 million of the worst-polluting vehicles from its roads.
Stephen Edelstein -
A United Nations paper claims cars and trucks account for just a small percentage of particulate-matter emissions.
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China Pollution Restrictions On New-Car Registrations Spur Scramble
If China's plans to limit license plate availability were designed to cut car buying, they're not exactly working so far. Anticipating further restrictions to cut car use--in the midst of choking pollution in many of China's cities--car sales rose a full 13 percent last month. According to...
Antony Ingram -
Diesel Car Emissions Still Killing Thousands, Latest Research Says
The popularity of diesel vehicles has risen in recent years, as consumers acquaint themselves with the latest generation of cleaner-burning, quieter, smoother and faster diesel cars. All is not well with diesel cars, however--as Researchers at King's College in London suggest diesels are having a...
Antony Ingram -
Atmospheric Carbon Is Higher, Faster, This Year Than Last
Atmospheric CO2 levels have already exceeded last year's annual peak.
Stephen Edelstein -
What Are The 10 Most Polluted U.S. Cities?
California dominates the list of most-polluted U.S. cities, justifying its stricter environmental regulations.
Stephen Edelstein -
China's Electric-Car Future: Government Subsidies, Buyer Resistance
Over the last few years, China has experienced some of the highest city pollution concentrations anywhere on earth--with concentrations of pollutants climbing far past dangerous levels on official scales. Roughly a quarter of that is due to heavy traffic, and it's prompted legislation to clean up...
Antony Ingram -
The modern car is just about unrecognizable against its counterpart of a few decades ago. Not in terms of shape or performance, but emissions. The whole industry, pushed hard by legislation, has drastically reduced exhaust pollutants. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars do their bit to reduce emissions further, operating some or all of the time with no tailpipe emissions at all. But according to Bloomberg, electric cars actually increase pollution in places like China, which produces the largest proportion of the world's lithium-ion battery cells--and, more importantly, their precursor...
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Half Of All Cars Banned From Paris Roads Over Smog; Electric Cars Exempt
Hazardous levels of pollution have caused authorities in Paris to enact its first car ban since 1997. The French capital will ban all vehicles on alternate odd and even license plates today and tomorrow in an effort to reduce the output of polluting particles in the air, following a run of warm...
Antony Ingram -
Does 'Peak Car' Mean 100 Million Vehicles A Year, Forever?
Analysts believe "Peak Car" may arrive in the next decade, permanently capping sales at 100 million per year.
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda Film: Controlling Air Pollution A 'Never-Ending Race'
The latest film in Honda's Environmental Short Film series focuses on the company's response to 1970s California air pollution.
Stephen Edelstein -
Car Emissions Hurt You More Than Electricity Generating: Here's Why
As an electric car owner, you're probably used to the accusatory look people give you when they inquire as to where your electricity comes from. The answer they're looking for is power stations, of course--before launching into a tirade about plug-in vehicles being just as dirty as regular...
Antony Ingram -
Chinese Vehicle Sales Soar Past 20 Million, Smog Worse Than Ever
China surpassed 20 million new-car sales in 2013, but analysts believe those numbers will decline as air pollution becomes unbearable.
Stephen Edelstein