States, Cities sue EPA over Clean Power Plan rollback

Coal power plant in ChinaThe power grid that electric vehicles plug into will get cleaner over time. But depending on where you are, the rate at which it cleans up could have a lot to do with something that’s headed to the courts. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by 22 states and seven cities, in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, aims to...

Democrats call to end global warming emissions (gasoline included) by 2050

Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]The powerful, Democratic-led House Energy and Commerce Committee put meat on the bones of the Green New Deal on Tuesday. The new plan called "100 by 50," aims to eliminate 100 percent of emissions that contribute to global warming by 2050. It was laid out by Republican Committee member Paul Tonko (NY), who said in a statement, “There is no...

CO2 emissions in US could fall again in 2019, federal agency projects

Smokestacks [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Agency forecasts that for the first time in two years annual carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. will decrease. The report, issued last week, forecasts that U.S. CO2 emissions will fall by 2.2 percent in 2019, in what it says is the largest decrease since 2015. After rising by 2.7 percent in 2018, the...

Report: EPA delays proposed fuel economy plan until September—or later

Southern California traffic - by flickr user David R. BlumeThe EPA's plans to freeze fuel economy and emissions standards have been put on hold until at least Labor Day, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg earlier this week. Last August, the EPA released its long-anticipated proposal to unwind the steadily rising fuel-economy standards put in place in 2012 under President Obama, in part to...

How much would 100 percent renewable energy really cost?

Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]Democratic presidential candidates talked hardly at all in the debates late last month about the Green New Deal, a proposal in Congress, to, among other things convert America's electric power completely to renewable sources. Americans have shown broad support for such a transition. What's been left unaddressed—and which many candidates...

Analysis finds hybrids make better use of scarce batteries than pure EVs

Volkswagen Tiguan GTE concept,  2015 Frankfurt Auto ShowIn the face of growing shortages of batteries and battery materials for electric cars, one respected analytics firm says those batteries would do more good for the environment put to use in more hybrid vehicles rather than fewer all-electric cars. Per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity produced and installed in plug-in vehicles, hybrids deliver 14...

In spite of tougher standards, European cars get dirtier

English traffic, from European Environment Agency reportEuropean automakers need to sell many more electric cars, but their customers aren't buying. Instead, they're buying more gas powered SUVs that emit more pollution than the cars they drove before. The ramifications for automakers could be dire if they can't sell more electric cars by next year. The European Union is scheduled to introduce the...