Trump EPA to hold unneeded ‘critique’ to challenge climate science

Coal, by Flicker user oatsy40 (Used Under CC License)The best analog to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's latest action might be for the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake a "scientific critique" of theories that the world is round. After all, numerous authoritative sources over the years have raised doubts that the Earth is not flat. Surely their views deserve to be aired. Late last week, it...

Tesla Model 3 production to start Friday, deliveries July 28

Tesla Model 3 Driving on a Public RoadAs he had promised he would late one evening last week, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has tweeted out some updates on the upcoming Model 3. He expects first production Model 3 electric car, with serial number 001 ("SN1"), to be completed this Friday, July 7. The first 30 customers to buy Model 3s should receive them, he followed up, at a "handover...

Montana solar-power law rigging caught on live video, regrettably

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeThe U.S. is coming up to its Independence Day holiday, in which we celebrate the Declaration of Independence from England and reflect on our history and traditions as a nation. This is an interesting time to do that, and there's a cynical argument to be made that backroom politics is as American as apple pie and bald eagles. Which brings us to the...

Why two-motor hybrid systems are better than those with just one

2017 Toyota Prius Prime PremiumSix years ago, we wrote that a number of single-motor hybrid systems were about to enter the market. They represented a new approach to a technology pioneered in 1997, when the first-generation Toyota Prius was launched in Japan. Through 2010, all the full-hybrid vehicles introduced by Ford and General Motors used systems designed around a pair of...

To honor Energy Week, lease an electric car: 10 lessons from new EV driver

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVThe White House has declared this week the inaugural "Energy Week," and what better way to mark the occasion than by driving electric cars? Cars that plug in to use grid energy for travel are a great catalyst for reducing energy consumption and reducing our use of fossil fuels. Now one reporter who took the plunge and leased a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt...

IIHS says Tesla electric cars have higher miles, more costly repairs

2017 Tesla Model SThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute has once again confirmed the Tesla Model S electric car is an outlier. While the Model S gets high ratings for its crash safety, it also seems to incur higher insurance losses than competing conventional cars. Higher claim frequencies, more costly repairs, and higher...