Prometheus Fuels is a California startup aiming to scale up a process that can sound remarkably simple that several have tried before: “We remove CO2 from the air and turn it into gasoline.” The process, which recently has been either a holy grail or a red herring for the oil and gas industry, isn't new. But it’s been waylaid...
The California startup Prometheus Fuels is one of many efforts aiming to scale up a process that can sound remarkably simple: “We remove CO2 from the air and turn it into gasoline.” The process, which has in recent years seemed alternately like a Holy Grail or a red herring for the oil and gas industry, has already been achieved. But...
Hybrid technology isn’t just for cars or trucks. Anywhere there’s waste heat or kinetic energy that can be recaptured—which means virtually every mode of transportation—there’s an opportunity for hybrid tech to make the entire mission more fuel-efficient. Such is also the case for big passenger jets. According to the...
![Electric-car wells-to-wheels emission equivalencies in MPG, Mar 2018 [Union of Concerned Scientists]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/electric-car-wells-to-wheels-emission-equivalencies-in-mpg-mar-2018-union-of-concerned-scientists_100646029_t.gif)
More good news about electric cars in the U.S.: the emissions associated with the electricity used to charge them have fallen. Again. Based on the latest data on powerplant emissions from the EPA, an electric car on the road in the U.S. now has average emissions as low as an 80-mpg car. DON'T MISS: Electric cars cleaner than any gas-only car for...
![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...
Mazda is a tiny carmaker on a global scale, producing just 1.6 million vehicles a year. It competes with four companies (GM, Nissan-Renault, Toyota, and VW Group) that each sell around 10 million a year, as well as numerous other smaller makers still larger than Mazda. In a world where reducing the carbon emissions from road vehicles is...
Although electric cars do not emit exhaust, it's widely recognized that the electricity to charge their batteries often still comes from fossil fuels. This has led to the scrutiny of electric cars to determine whether their overall "wells-to-wheels" carbon footprints exceed those of regular vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines. For most...
Electric vehicles shouldn't be considered all-out carbon footprint saviors, but they can legitimately be viewed as the great minimizers. The benefits of electric vehicles over those with internal-combustion engines are vast, but a strange new study is making rounds that claims electric cars are worse for climate-change emissions. The study...
![Electric-car wells-to-wheels emission equivalencies in MPG, May 2017 [Union of Concerned Scientists]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/electric-car-wells-to-wheels-emission-equivalencies-in-mpg-may-2017-union-of-concerned-scientists_100608699_t.gif)
Electric cars have no tailpipe emissions when running. But unless they're charged entirely on renewable energy—still statistically unlikely today—there are emissions associated with generating the electricity used to charge their batteries. For several years now, rigorous "wells-to-wheels" analyses of the carbon-dioxide emissions...
![Electric cars dominate U.S. climate-friendly vehicles [data: U.S. EIA; map: Climate Central]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/electric-cars-dominate-u-s-climate-friendly-vehicles-data-u-s-eia-map-climate-central_100608171_t.gif)
The question is a reasonable one: electric cars may be zero-emission, but what about the electricity to recharge them? While renewable energy is growing globally, burning fossil fuels is still the source of most electric power today. The good news is that in most areas of the U.S., the "wells to wheels" carbon-dioxide emissions associated with...
In the wake of its diesel emission scandal, Volkswagen has done its best to portray itself as a cleaner, more thoughtful automaker. Part of the damage control plot includes a slew of new electric vehicles to round out the German automaker's portfolio in the coming years. But, what about the environmental impact and carbon-emission burden of the...
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...
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 the lowest wells-to-wheels carbon footprint, and...
The Industrial Revolution that started around 1750 in England was powered largely by coal. With Watt's invention of the steam engine and the emergence of railways in the mid-nineteenth century, the carbon-dense fuel was central to the change from an agricultural economy to an industrial one. Last Friday, however, marked a watershed moment for...
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 reductions set forth in the Paris climate treaty...
Measuring the energy efficiency of a new vehicle is one thing, but ascertaining its overall environmental impact can be more complex. A debate still rages over the overall carbon footprint of electric cars compared to those powered by fossil fuels. But for the past 20 years, the the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has tried to...
Electric cars are simply nicer and calmer to drive than conventional cars, and as their prices fall, that may be what will lure mass-market buyers over time. But they have undeniable benefit of lowering wells-to-wheels carbon emissions per mile driven, and they can also be powered entirely on renewable energy. Which makes them good for drivers and...
Transitions into new technologies always generate confusion and misinformation, and certainly that has been the case with modern electric cars. Buyers, automakers, and analysts debate their cost, suitability, real-world range, wells-to-wheels carbon footprint, and recyclability, among other issues. Six years after the first modern electric cars...
Cars that run entirely or partly on electricity from a battery pack have no tailpipe emissions, but to judge their overall impact, you have to look at lifetime wells-to-wheels emissions. That includes emissions associated with extracting, refining, and burning the fuel used to make the electricity that recharges them, as well as the same for any...
You have to do more than buy a Toyota Prius, if you want to reverse global warming.
