CARB steps up shadow-EPA role with new building, vehicle testing lab

Site of new California Air Resources Board headquarters, Riverside, CA, Oct 2017For 45 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has been charged with protecting the U.S. from pollution in its air, water, and land. Under the Trump Administration, its administrator Scott Pruitt is aggressively muzzling and removing scientists, eradicating climate-science from its activities, and eliminating dozens of regulations. That makes...

Modifications to oldest, dirtiest VW, Audi TDI diesels approved by EPA

Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencapVW 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 resell the oldest and dirtiest of those vehicles...

CARB reaffirms state emission, electric-car rules for 2025

California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols (via Twitter)The California Air Resources Board voted Friday to confirm its stricter emissions standards for 2025, setting up a potential clash with the Trump Administration. The CARB vote reaffirms a decision by the EPA in the waning days of the Obama Administration to lock in emissions standards for vehicles in model years 2022 through 2025. Under Trump, the...