The Senate on Thursday confirmed acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler to head the agency. Since Wheeler became the acting administrator last July, he has released plans to unwind rising emissions and attendant fuel economy standards enacted under President Obama, and to rescind California's half-century-old authority to set tighter emissions... Senate confirms coal lobbyist Wheeler as EPA head
The Senate on Thursday confirmed acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler to head the agency. Since Wheeler became the acting administrator last July, he has released plans to unwind rising emissions and attendant fuel economy standards enacted under President Obama, and to rescind California's half-century-old authority to set tighter emissions... 
German automakers have been under a microscope when it comes to emissions from their diesel cars, which were formerly bestsellers in Europe. After Daimler, Volkswagen, and German supplier Bosch paid billions in fines and several Audi managers have been arrested over installing diesel-emissions cheat devices, German prosecutors have handed down a... 
The Trump administration has ended talks with California aimed at settling their differences over increasing fuel economy and tightening emissions regulations, Reuters reported Thursday, citing an unnamed government official. In August, the EPA, led by Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, released a proposal to freeze emissions and associated fuel... 
Ford announced on Thursday that it opened an investigation into the fuel economy testing it does to receive official EPA ratings and federal certification to sell its vehicles in the U.S. The company plans to start by retesting its 2019 Ranger midsize pickup, after employees raised concerns through Ford's internal reporting channel called Speak... 
![San Luis Obispo, CA National Drive Electric Week 2018 [Credit Justin Bradshaw SLO Climate Coalition]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/san-luis-obispo-ca-national-drive-electric-week-2018-credit-justin-bradshaw-slo-climate-coalition_100679776_t.gif)
If the goal of the Green New Deal proposed by Democrats in Congress is to get people talking about a transition to renewable energy, then it looks to be gaining traction. The Senate generated controversy on both sides of the aisle by proposing to hold a token vote on the proposal. Studies have arrived on both sides and in the middle of the... 
While Volkswagen has reached a historic settlement and had to buy back hundreds of thousands of its diesel cars in the U.S., it isn’t the only automaker to be investigated for cheating on diesel emissions. Fiat Chrysler recently agreed to recall its Ram and Jeep EcoDiesels and pay owners for misleading advertising claims. A third case... 
One of the easiest ways for electric-car drivers to get in an argument is discussing how much coal-fired electricity contributes to pollution. Now a new study by BNEF (a Bloomberg spinoff) can help give electric-car drivers some peace of mind in these arguments. It shows that electric cars are cleaner—even when they do run on primarily... 
![Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/exhaust-emissions-from-tailpipe-photo-simone-ramella-2005-used-under-creative-commons-2-0_100644014_t.gif)
Now that the government has reopened after a 35-day shutdown, EPA employees are going back to work facing a backlog. Toward the end of the shutdown last week, executives at all three major Detroit automakers expressed concern about certification delays that could affect new models they plan to bring to market. It can now begin addressing that... 
Efforts to curb global warming have led Germany to propose limiting speeds on its famous Autobahns. Facing heavy fines from the European Union if it fails to meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, the country's committee on the future of transport put forward a series of draft proposals that includes limiting speeds on currently unfettered... 
EVgo launches its first ultra-fast charger in the desert. Microwave ignition claims to clean up internal combustion. And a group proposes publishing its own independent emissions tests. All this and more on Green Car Reports. "All-electric is not going to work," President Trump said in an interview with Fox News, in lashing out against GM for... 
Former Porsche AG CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, who waged a failed takeover of the Volkswagen Group ten years ago, is reportedly one of the backers of a new venture that, at face value, is making claims that sound very much like those made of what was then the favored tech for VW and Audi: TDI diesel. The idea, belonging to a company called MWI (Micro... 
A newly formed organization called Allow Independent Road-testing (AIR) wants to make impartial emissions ratings available to vehicle shoppers. Using a simple rating from A (best) to H (worst), they would tell you, at a quick glance, how much you’re endangering the health of your family with tailpipe pollutants. Although the idea may seem... 
Colorado last week formally joined the ranks of states that are in some way choosing to adopt California’s rules for emissions, rather than those of the federal government. With a unanimous vote by the state’s Air Quality Control Commission, Colorado is joining Pennsylvania and Washington in agreeing to adopt California low emission... 
![Steve and Janet Wozniak with new 2016 Tesla Model S, December 2016 [source: Steve Wozniak Facebook]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/steve-and-janet-wozniak-with-new-2016-tesla-model-s-december-2016-source-steve-wozniak-facebook_100585658_t.gif)
Nissan announced it planned to remove Chairman Carlos Ghosn after an investigation revealed alleged financial misdealing. VW has no fun trademarking names for its new series of I.D. electric cars. The EPA plans to tighten emissions rules on heavy trucks. And cross-lawsuits reveal the underlying machinations in the Faraday Future saga. All this and... 
