EPA

  • Gas pump

    Automakers appear to have united behind a surprising position: reviews of emission rules should not involve scrapping the current standards. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents automakers building cars in the U.S., has suggested the Trump administration should back a deal that keeps existing EPA vehicle emission limits, but stretches out the timeline. Lower emission limits correspond to higher fuel-economy standards; the regulations are set by the EPA and NHTSA, respectively, but must correspond. DON'T MISS: NHTSA to review gas-mileage rules: could...

  • 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
    For pickup trucks, more than half all fuel savings come in 2022-2025 CAFE rules

    Sometimes, when science and technology issues have economic or political consequences, incorrect or misleading information and analyses can be propagated through the media, leading both decision makers and the public astray. A piece published in April by Forbes, covering the effects of the 2022...

  • International Paper Company mill, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]
    Climate change worse, faster than projected, scientists tell Trump in leaked report

    It is abundantly clear that the Trump Administration does not believe in science. In its six months to date, it chose a climate-science denier to lead the Environmental Protection agency; rolled back two dozen regulations limiting air, water, and land pollution; and announced a U.S. withdrawal from...

  • International Paper Company mill, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]
    EPA museum may axe climate-change display, add one on coal

    The museum at the Environmental Protection Agency may soon be in for an overhaul to reflect the agenda of the Trump administration. It's no secret Scott Pruitt, current EPA administrator and climate-science denier, has worked to deregulate many of the agency's regulatory efforts to promote fossil...

  • Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencap
    Modifications to oldest, dirtiest VW, Audi TDI diesels approved by EPA

    VW Group of North America now owns hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen and Audi TDI diesel vehicles it has bought back from owners under the terms of various diesel emission scandal settlements. Yesterday, it got some very good news: the EPA has approved a modification that will it allow it to...

  • Freightliner Inspiration Truck self-driving truck concept
    Several states want far cleaner diesel trucks; EPA to start rulemaking?

    Almost one-third of the heavy trucks on U.S. roads now use the most stringent emission-control systems, which radically reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides, soot, and other pollutants. Commercial trucks log much higher annual mileage than passenger cars, especially the semi tractors that haul...

  • Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)

    The best analog to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's latest action might be for the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake a "scientific critique" of theories that the world is round. After all, numerous authoritative sources over the years have raised doubts that the Earth is not flat. Surely their views deserve to be aired. Late last week, it emerged that Trump Administration appointee Pruitt—a denier of accepted climate science—has already begun a formal program to "critique" accepted climate science. DON'T MISS: EPA website removes climate-change pages, because science contradicts...

  • Gas pump
    States have battle plan if Trump rolls back fuel-economy, emission rules

    The Trump Administration has had a challenging start on numerous fronts, but its work to slash emission rules and eliminate regulations continues. The EPA administrator, climate-science denier Scott Pruitt, has said he isn't "currently" planning to target California's ability to set its own...

  • Golden Gate Bridge, connecting San Francisco and Marin County, California
    Trump EPA backs away from attacking California emission waiver

    Sometime between March 1 and 7, a specific page vanished from the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Amidst coverage of the removal of the word "science" from the mission statement of the EPA's Science and Technology Office, it went largely unnoticed. First posted in December...

  • 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production vehicles at Orion Township Assembly Plant, March 2016
    Fuel-efficiency rules create jobs too, contrary to industry plaints

    Fuel economy and emission standards have been a contentious issue in recent months as the auto industry and government officials clash over regulations and their potential benefits. Earlier this year, one of the largest pieces of evidence against more stringent fuel economy regulations came from...

  • President Donald Trump (Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)
    Two words the Trump Administration can't say: climate change

    During President Donald J. Trump's half-hour meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday, the pope gave the president a copy of his 2015 encyclical calling for urgent, drastic cuts in fossil-fuel emissions. It is unclear whether the U.S. president will peruse the document. Back at home...

  • 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014
    Justice Department sues Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions (update)

    The U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles yesterday over allegations that diesel engines in its light-duty trucks included equipment to defeat Environmental Protection Agency emissions tests. First reported as impending last week, the suit alleges that FCA fitted up to eight...

  • 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road Test

    Another small portion of Volkswagen's diesel scandal has been put to rest: the EPA announced its approval of modifications for 2012 through 2014 Passat TDI sedans. In total, 84,391 Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel vehicles are eligible to be modified and deemed compliant, should the existing owner choose to keep the car rather than sell it back to VW. These Passat TDIs are fitted with the earlier EA189 2.0-liter diesel engine and feature a urea tank for Selective Catalytic Reduction exhaust treatment. DON'T MISS: Brand-new 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels back on sale after modifications Despite...

  • Smog obscures George Washington Bridge, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]
    EPA gets 29,000 comments on proposed elimination of environmental rules

    Much of the news out of Washington, D.C., these days has to do with the possibility of political scandal. But the wheels of government keep turning, and significant changes are happening at numerous agencies charged with missions as diverse as collecting intelligence, supporting education, and...

  • Freightliner Inspiration Truck self-driving truck concept
    Real-world diesel emission study shows latest standards must be applied to heavy trucks

    When a major lobbying group issues a statement replying to an academic study the same day that study first hits the media, you know it's major. On Monday, the Diesel Technology Forum responded to an article in Nature with a statement that supported "improved real-world testing" of diesel emissions...

  • 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid debuts at 2017 New York auto show
    Would weaker EPA rules kill advanced start-stop hybrid systems for U.S.?

    Today's political climate has made for fluid motion in regulations, and corporate average fuel economy targets haven't been left out. Suppliers and automakers have already begun investing heavily into vehicles to be sold in 2022 through 2025, which will include various fuel-saving and...

  • The White House, Washington, D.C.  [Creative Commons license by dcjohn]
    EPA's Ann Arbor test lab threatened; emission tests in the balance

    The 436 scientists who spend their days testing new vehicles and enforcing environmental rules at the National Fuel Emissions Lab in Ann Arbor, Michigan, face a very uncertain future. The lab sits in the crosshairs of President Trump's proposed budget, which eliminates 99 percent of its funding, as...

  • Golden Gate Bridge, connecting San Francisco and Marin County, California
    Will Trump EPA target CA electric-car, emissions rules? Not yet, maybe; here's why

    California began regulating vehicle emissions within its boundaries before the Environmental Protection Agency was even a gleam in President Richard Nixon's eye. Since that agency was founded in 1971 with an executive order by Nixon, the state has retained the right to set its own—more...

  • Chrome exhaust pipe

    Anniversaries often provide an opportunity to reflect on important past events, review what has happened since, and reflect upon the future. April 2 of this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts vs EPA in which the EPA was forced to regulate carbon emissions. The passing of this anniversary was marked by an April 21 presentation by lawyer James Milkey at the University Of Connecticut School Of Law conference on Climate, Carbon & Cars. DON'T MISS: EPA website axes climate-change pages, because science contradicts Pruitt policy goals Milkey argued the...

  • Natural gas flaring from oil well [licensed under Creative Commons from Flickr user Sirdle]
    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...

  • Gas pump
    Extra fuel used if 2022-2025 CAFE rules delayed would be low: here's the math

    Barbie never said "Math is hard!" The talking doll did, notoriously, say "Math class is tough!" in 1989, sparking a media firestorm over gender roles in childrens' toys and then a voluntary recall by Mattel for offended parents. Reworded, however, the point remains accurate: many people don't...

  • EPA website redirect page replaces scientific information on climate change, April 30, 2017
    EPA website removes climate-change pages, because science contradicts Pruitt policy goals

    On Saturday, tens of thousands of people joined a Science March in Washington, D.C., to support use of data-based science to set government policy on climate change. The day before, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removed detailed climate data and scientific information because it appeared...

  • Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)
    Did EPA head ask coal lobby to fight Paris climate pact? Claim disputed

    The Trump administration is either having a robust internal debate on its climate positions or floundering incoherently as various interests vie for the president's attention. Its intentions for the Paris Climate Agreement that the U.S. signed last year remain entirely unclear. On Monday, Trump's...

  • EPA administrator Scott Pruitt  [photo from 2014]
    Pruitt won't kill EPA 'endangerment' finding on climate change

    The current EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt, does not accept the scientific consensus on human contribution to climate change, though he has given some contradictory statements on that matter. His views correspond closely to those of his boss, President Donald Trump, who notoriously compared the...

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