Politics
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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 stringent—emission rules. Now, under President Donald Trump and climate-science denier Scott Pruitt, who runs the EPA, there's widespread fear that the agency will attack the "waiver" it granted to California that permits its zero-emission vehicle sales requirements. DON'T MISS: Ruling that EPA must...
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Russia falls further behind in renewable energy as oil keeps Putin in power
It's difficult to invest in renewable, alternative sources of energy when state-run oil pays the bills. And it's even harder for renewable energy when gasoline is all but free, courtesy of the same state. Now The Financial Times has taken a look at Russia's growing lag in embracing renewable energy...
Sean Szymkowski -
Advocacy group takes electric cars to Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers
The best way to change perceptions about electric cars is to put novices in the driver's seat—quite literally in this sense. The advocacy group Plug In America went to Capitol Hill recently, with a barrage of plug-in electric and pure battery electric vehicles, in an effort to educate...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla faces battle over direct sales to buyers in Connecticut
Another month, another Tesla battle with auto-dealer lobbyists in another state—or so it seems in the company's ongoing battle to sell electric cars online directly to buyers. This time, the action is in Connecticut, where on Monday the legislature's finance committee approved a bill letting...
John Voelcker -
Buyers in Trump-voting states reject green cars, which surge in Western states
If you're a journalist, it's almost impossible to ignore political news these days. So if readers can resolutely avoid national and local coverage of politics, consider yourselves lucky. That said, sometimes a new political angle can make a dry story on car-buyer data more interesting than...
John Voelcker -
Ruling that EPA must regulate carbon emissions: now 10 years old
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...
John Briggs -
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 with a radical plan to restructure—critics suggest "dismantle" might be a better word—the agency charged with protecting U.S. air, water, and land from pollution. DON'T MISS: Bill making it harder for scientists to sit on EPA Science Board advances (Mar 2017) Within six weeks of Trump's...
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Which carmakers show CA 2025 zero-emission vehicle rules already within reach? (updated)
The sales growth of electric cars has made strides in recent years, and California's Zero-Emission Vehicle mandate has much to do with that. The program adopted by the California Air Resources Board 20 years ago, and much modified since, requires carmakers to earn a certain number of zero-emission...
Green Car Reports -
Oregon mulls bonuses for salespeople who sell electric cars
The Beaver State, otherwise known as Oregon, may implement an intriguing solution to spur higher sales of electric vehicles. A new piece of legislation introduced in the state senate calls for a $1 million fund to provide $250 bonuses to salespeople each time they sell an electric vehicle...
Sean Szymkowski -
Lighter, more fuel-efficient cars are safer, study says, ignoring safety rules
It was one of several common tropes used 10 years ago against proposed regulations to boost average fuel economy. "More efficient cars will have to be lighter-weight, and they'll be unsafe because in accidents, they'll crumple up like Kleenex." Logical conclusion: if you require higher fuel economy...
John Voelcker -
Solar panels, EV chargers required in new homes in Fremont, CA
Half a century ago, the General Motors assembly plant was the largest employer in Fremont, California, and the town was known for its dragstrip. Today, that plant makes Tesla electric cars and Fremont is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley, creating advanced technology for the...
Green Car Reports -
Energy use for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles: higher than electrics, even hybrids (analysis)
It's now clear that the zero-emission vehicles of the future will be powered by electric motors. The electricity to power those motors, however, will come from one of two competing technologies: high-capacity batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The debate over which technology is superior, which has...
John Voelcker -
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 understand math. DON'T MISS: Costs to meet fuel-economy standards even lower than EPA says: analysis That includes fuel economy, which is how the U.S. and some other countries measure a car's energy efficiency. In Europe, the measurement is fuel consumption, or how much gasoline it takes to go a specific...
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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...
John Voelcker -
Newest, cleanest diesels in Europe can still be very dirty: analysis
It has become increasingly more evident that carmakers must take aggressive steps to ensure that diesel cars and light trucks meet current environmental regulations. Tests done by Emissions Analytics found that the majority of new diesel-powered cars sold in Europe do not meet the Euro 6 emission...
Green Car Reports -
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...
John Voelcker -
How likely is it China will outpace the U.S. in electric-car adoption? Poll results
China is the biggest new-car market in the world, and has been since 2010. The world's largest country also has some of the smoggiest cities on the planet, and that's a source of increasing public agitation. So at national, state, and local levels, a variety of Chinese government entities are using...
John Voelcker -
U.S. exit from Paris Climate Agreement unclear; Trump team clashes on policy
As the Trump Administration nears its 100th day, it seems fair to say that it is still emitting mixed messages on multiple issues, from foreign policy to climate change. On that latter, it's important to reiterate that the president and many of his appointed agency and department heads deny the...
John Voelcker -
The electric-car market may be in for a serious downturn when current federal tax incentives end, assuming the Trump administration declines to extend them, according to a new analysis. In 2010, the government began offering tax credits of $2,500 to $7,500 to the first 200,000 U.S. buyers of plug-in electric vehicles from each automaker. Those credits are on their way to drying up, with companies like General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla likely to run out during 2018 or 2019. DON’T MISS: Georgia Electric-Car Sales Plummet After Incentive Replaced By Tax As Edmunds points out in its...
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Trump DoE to critique renewables against coal for grid reliability
It is widely accepted in the energy industry that U.S. coal production will fall as a percentage of the total electric grid mix. That has little to do with its high carbon footprint per kilowatt-hour generated; it is largely due to far greater supplies of much cheaper fracked natural gas. It is...
John Voelcker -
Automakers seek deal to delay EPA's 2022-2025 emission rules
Despite some alarmist reporting, President Donald Trump hasn't abolished the EPA's vehicle emission limits. Nor has he wiped out corporate average fuel-economy rules, set by the NHTSA. So far, he's done two things: signed an executive order reopening the comment period for 2022-2025 EPA emission...
John Voelcker -
Clean Power Plan carbon cuts may survive, even if Trump EPA kills rule
The Clean Power Plan’s future looks uncertain at best under President Donald Trump. The commander-in-chief appears to be urging American utility companies to pivot back towards burning coal to produce electricity. Ending the so-called “war on coal” is intended to create jobs in...
Green Car Reports -
Trump can't affect global climate-change progress, says Mayor Bloomberg
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has gone on record saying publicly what most analysts have discussed privately: the notion that Washington can direct the energy market back towards coal is wrong. In fact, Bloomberg is willing to go further: he believes that the U.S. can still meet the...
Green Car Reports -
Even California imposes new fee on electric cars in lieu of gas taxes
Last week, the California state legislature approved a $52 billion transportation-funding package. Unlike the practice in previous years, this one is to be used only for improvements to the transportation infrastructure, to begin cutting into an estimated $ 130 billion backlog of repairs and...
Green Car Reports