If a marketer talked enthusiastically about "healthy delicious cyanide," what would you think? You may wish to apply those judgments to mentions of "beautiful clean coal" by President Donald Trump, who used the phrase in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Trump claimed his administration had "ended the war" on "beautiful clean coal," while... Trump to slash clean-energy funding 72 percent, lauds “beautiful clean coal”
If a marketer talked enthusiastically about "healthy delicious cyanide," what would you think? You may wish to apply those judgments to mentions of "beautiful clean coal" by President Donald Trump, who used the phrase in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Trump claimed his administration had "ended the war" on "beautiful clean coal," while... 
The subject of carbon dioxide emissions is hardly a simple one, especially when it comes to electric cars. They may not have tailpipes, but the electricity generated in order to keep them going has to come from somewhere. Electric utilities, it turns out, are doing their bit to reduce carbon emissions—and that makes it even more important... 
Last month, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian officials to research "carbon capture" technology for fossil fuels, the Department of Energy announced. Perry and Khalid Al Falih, the Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, signed a memorandum of understanding to "establish a framework for... ![ExxonMobil oil refinery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by WClarke [CC BY-SA 4.0]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/exxonmobil-oil-refinery-baton-rouge-louisiana-by-wclarke-cc-by-sa-4-0_100641388_t.gif)
One of the world's largest oil producers is about to enter a tit-for-tat battle over climate change with government officials from multiple states. New York, Massachusetts, New York City, and a slew of cities in California have brought multiple lawsuits against oil producers for a lack of disclosure of potential liabilities they may face. Those... 
Mother Nature doesn't pay attention to politics. As a pair of articles in The Washington Post last week highlighted, climate change proceeds apace regardless of the daily news cycle. In other words, unless the U.S. and the world ramp up the pace of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions from all sources, the effects of a warming planet will continue... 
As nations, automakers, and utilities contemplate how to tackle climate change in real terms, a perfect storm of competition is brewing that will—ideally—produce positive change for the rest of us. Automakers and electric utilities have been incentivized to build electric vehicles and install vast numbers of public charging stations to... 
One year ago at the Detroit auto show, a company called Achates Power unveiled models of a new kind of internal-combustion engine. With opposed pistons in the middle and crankshafts at either end, it was sufficiently different to startle most visitors who paid attention. That engine came with some audacious claims, too: How about an EPA combined... 
It's been hanging out there in limbo for more than six months: the answer to the question of what happens to gas-mileage rules under Trump. Given the daily political turmoil emanating from Washington, D.C., the fate of corporate average fuel economy rules may have gotten lost in the noise. But for automakers and consumers, the fate of current CAFE... 
As children, we're all taught to turn off the lights behind us as we leave an empty room. But it seems Norwegians have taken that lesson one step further. Along a 5.5-mile stretch of road in Hole, Norway, smart streetlights automatically dim when nobody's around—then come back to full power when a car, pedestrian, or other object approaches... 
Ten years ago, energy security may have been as much a driving force behind electric cars for U.S. policymakers as climate change. Now, with continuous growth in domestic oil and gas production over that period, you just don't hear energy security discussed as much. Scientists agree that the effects of manmade climate change, on the other hand... 
We often speak of methods and technologies we can employ as a society to curb climate change, either by reducing carbon emissions or through other means. But less frequently do we talk about them in real terms, including how much excess carbon these methods and technologies can pratically remove from the atmosphere. That's where Drawdown, a... 
Here’s some not-good news: After three years of minimal growth, global emissions of carbon dioxide are on the rise. So much so that we’re looking at new record highs, according to the Global Carbon Project. It's due largely to China burning more coal than it has in previous years. CHECK OUT: Global carbon emissions have been flat for... ![Estimated U.S. energy consumption in 2016 [graphic: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/estimated-u-s-energy-consumption-in-2016-graphic-lawrence-livermore-national-laboratory_100634001_t.gif)
One of the interesting side effects of plug-in electric cars turns out to be a greater awareness of energy sources and uses. A 2012 California study, for instance, showed roughly four out of 10 electric-car drivers either had or were considering solar panels to provide electricity to their home. And because electric cars everywhere in the U.S... 
Europe already has tough standards for reducing carbon-dioxide emissions in current and future vehicles. Now they're going to get significantly tougher between 2021 and 2030. At its weekly cabinet meeting, held Wednesday, the European Union formally adopted far more stringent requirements for reductions in vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide... ![Greenhouse-gas emissions of battery-electric vehicles globally in MPG equivalent [U of Michigan TRI]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-battery-electric-vehicles-globally-in-mpg-equivalent-u-of-michigan-tri_100631743_t.gif)
When electric cars first arrived in 2011, it was a reasonable question: Aren't you just shifting emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack? The answer is yes, but the carbon emissions per mile of an electric car—properly measured on a wells-to-wheels basis—are virtually always lower than those of a gasoline or diesel car. It's not... 
When the Environmental Protection Agency quietly issued its new four-year plan in mid-October, the phrase "climate change" did not appear anywhere in the 38-page document. It is now clear the Trump Administration intends to delay, halt, or erase government efforts to limit U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the global-warming gas that is the main... 
Donald Trump's White House appears to be readying another of its next big climate change overhauls, and like many of the administration's plans, it will weaken or eliminate regulations on industry. Specifically, President Trump touted the undoing of the Clean Power Plan at a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, which foreshadowed a formal announcement... 
The prospect of bans on gasoline and diesel new-car sales have become a much greater threat not only to automakers but to oil companies as well, now that China has said it is studying such a move. The world's largest car market has not announced any timetables for such a ban, which will likely be implemented to give domestic automakers the maximum...