The 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... Montana solar-power law rigging caught on live video, regrettably
The 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... 
Modern electric cars have been on U.S. roads for seven years or so, and owners love their smooth, quiet, close to noise-free operation. That silence has been a bone of contention for even longer, however, since hybrids operating purely on battery power are similarly quiet. For years, the U.S. Department of Transportation was charged with drafting... 
The Trump Administration has had a challenging start on numerous fronts, but its work to slash emission rules and eliminate regulations continues. The EPA administrator, climate-science denier Scott Pruitt, has said he isn't "currently" planning to target target California's ability to set its own emission rules. In March, the agency previously... 
Volkswagen is following the lead of many other global automakers: it has signed a deal for a new electric-vehicle joint venture in China. The German automaker said this week it has partnered with Chinese automaker Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. (JAC) to produce electric vehicles, as well as to market various mobility services. Both Volkswagen and... 
What's a truck? If you tell your average suburban family that they're hauling their kids to school and sports practices in a truck, many will push back. "It's an SUV," you'll likely hear, or perhaps, "it's called a crossover"—short for crossover utility vehicle, or a car-based SUV. DON'T MISS: Are you driving a car, a crossover, an SUV, or a... 
Carlos Ghosn, the man behind the Nissan Leaf electric car and now the chairman of the Renault Nissan Alliance, isn't the first to say it. But his recent comment that cities are driving the push for electric cars is an important one, because it indicates a prime market for their advantages. The result is that city governments all over the world are... ![Smog obscures George Washington Bridge, 1973 [From EPA Documerica series]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/smog-obscures-george-washington-bridge-1973-from-epa-documerica-series_100594067_t.gif)
Much of the news out of Washington, D.C., these days has to do with the possibility of political scandal. But the wheels of government keep turning, and significant changes are happening at numerous agencies charged with missions as diverse as collecting intelligence, supporting education, and protecting the environment. Few groups are seeing... 
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... ![Natural gas flaring from oil well [licensed under Creative Commons from Flickr user Sirdle]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/natural-gas-being-flared-from-oil-well-licensed-under-creative-commons-from-flickr-user-sirdle_100443858_t.gif)
While much of the nation's capital is preoccupied with the unpredictable Trump administration and its possible ties to Russia, the fate of the Environmental Protection Agency generates less news coverage. That's not to say there hasn't been news. Administrator Scott Pruitt is proceeding swiftly with a radical plan to restructure—critics... 
It was one of several common tropes used 10 years ago against proposed regulations to boost average fuel economy. "More efficient cars will have to be lighter-weight, and they'll be unsafe because in accidents, they'll crumple up like Kleenex." Logical conclusion: if you require higher fuel economy in cars, more people will die in crashes. DON'T...