Report: EPA model will count fewer deaths to help favor coal plants

Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-bussThe EPA is following through on plans to reduce the number of deaths it counts as attributable to air pollution, reportedly in an effort to support the Trump Administration's plans to shore up the coal industry. The plans were first discussed at a meeting of a key EPA air-quality standards board in the end of March. Now a report in the New York...

“What kinds of EV incentives are most effective?” Take our Twitter poll

Carpool lanes I-5, Seattle, Washington [Credit: SounderBruce-Wikimedia Commons]On Monday, we took a look at how electric cars have become the new norm in Norway. There, they've moved beyond early adopters and die-hards to the early mass market. In Norway, 31.2 percent of new-car buyers chose an electric car. It's like this not just because of new incentives for electric-car buyers, including as exemptions from sales...

Seawater could bring breakthrough for hydrogen cars

2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, 2016 Toyota Mirai at hydrogen fueling station, Fountain Valley, CAThe biggest problem for hydrogen fuel-cell cars has been where to get a plentiful, affordable supply of hydrogen that doesn't contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Now scientists may have come up with what some have called the holy grail of clean transportation: a way to create hydrogen affordably from seawater. READ THIS: 2019 Hyundai Nexo...

GM builds new electric architecture for EVs, self-driving cars

General Motors next-generation electrical platformAs future cars go electric, self-driving, and more connected with the outside world, they're going to faster connectivity inside the vehicle. To that end, General Motors just introduced a new electronic platform for its vehicles that it says can carry 4.5 terabytes of processing power per hour, five times what the current system can carry. It will...

Big investment not enough for long term at Tesla, Musk says: report

2017 Tesla Model 3, in photo tweeted by Elon Musk on July 9, 2017Tesla may have only enough money to survive another 10 months, CEO Elon Musk told employees in an email on Thursday. The email was first reported by Reuters, which was shown a copy. In response, Musk told employees he will review "all expenses of any kind anywhere in the word, including parts, salary, travel expenses, rent, literally every payment...

Renewable energy growth falters as carbon dioxide hits record levels

Offshore wind farmThe past couple of weeks have seen the convergence of two troubling trends. Perhaps most troubling, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography released data last week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere have reached record levels unseen not just in human history, but in the scientific...

Volkswagen says EV batteries to last “the life of the car”

Volkswagen ID Buzz ConceptIn an announcement last month, Volkswagen joined Nissan and Tesla as the only automakers to explicitly warranty not just the batteries in its cars but specifically how much life it expects them to retain. Frank Blome, the head of VW's Center of Excellence in Battery Cells, said in an outward facing internal marketing interview that the company...

Mercedes-Benz lays out plan for carbon-neutral future

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC Edition 1886Mercedes-Benz's CEO-apparent Ola Källenius laid out a plan Monday, just after the Norway launch of its EQC electric SUV, that outlines the development of an entire "carbon-neutral" passenger-car fleet. Källenius, currently the head of product development at Mercedes, has been named future Chairman of the Board of management of Daimler...

Volvo announces battery suppliers for upcoming EV lineup, including Polestar

Polestar 2Volvo, one of the first automakers to announce it would add electric power to its whole lineup, on Wednesday took the unusual step of formally announcing who will supply the batteries for all those electric cars. The company stated that it will source $1 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries from two suppliers, LG Chem and Contemporary Amex...