Environment


Carbon Footprints: Ditch the dog, get a Hummer H2, save the planet?

If you don't like dogs, there's now a new reason to continue avoiding canis domesticus. New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale have put forth the hypothesis that the care and feeding of a pooch is more environmentally harmful than rolling in a Toyota Land Cruiser. Those shifty, antisocial felines aren't much better, so don't get any more smug than you already are, cat people. One ten-pound feline's care is the same to the environment as a 3300-pound Volkswagen Golf, the theory goes. The Vales present this work in their book "Time to Eat the ... Read more →

REPORT: Jeep Wrangler safe from CARB "Cool Cars" proposal Jonathon Ramsey

Remember California's "Cool Cars" regulation? Coming into force in 2012, the rule requires manufacturers to install windows that prevent 45% of the sun's energy from entering a vehicle by 2014, ...

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green: traffic din could be ruining the sex lives of frogs Jonathon Ramsey

While the automobile's total impact on the environment remains up for discussion, it's apparently pretty clear that cars and frogs don't really mix. Well, not if you're a male frog trying to get ...

REPORT: GM gets out from under its polluted sites scot-free Jonathon Ramsey

Among those clamoring for attention and payouts from Motors Liquidation Co., the company that assumed General Motors' unwanted assets after its Chapter 11 filing, are the environmental and ...

Nissan Forest air-con utilizes aromatherapy, 'natural' breezes to reduce fatigue Michael Harley

Rolling down your vehicle window to get a breath of fresh air may be unnecessary in your next Nissan. The Japanese automaker just announced the development of its new "Forest AC" air conditioning ...

REPORT: Toyota's push to build green cars may destroy 17th century Japanese rice paddies 4 months ago on Autoblog

Toyota has worked hard to cultivate its image as the "green" automaker. And with so many hybrids on the road, it's hard to argue. Some critics have cited the fact that mining for battery components is bad for the environment and the thousands of miles that massive, CO2-spewing ships travel to park ...

Germany joins EU in taxing CO2 emissions 9 months ago on Autoblog

European car ads are always mentioning how many grams of CO2 a car emits because more than twelve European countries tax drivers based on those emissions. Germany, home to a cadre of automakers for which CO2 parsimony is not a prime consideration, has held out from the carbon dioxide taxation ...

Obama faces immediate challenges with Detroit 9 months ago on Autoblog

To be fair, the new president faces a lot of immediate challenges. But when it comes to the auto industry, the biggest four challenges could be the bridge loans, fuel economy mandates, the EPA vs The California 14, and the board of czars that will oversee the fortunes of GM and Chrysler. The ...

Riders on the Storm: Does car exhaust contribute to lightning strikes? 10 months ago on Autoblog

You can add another life-killing phenomenon to the list of deadly byproducts attributable to cars: increased lightning strikes. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that in the southeastern U.S. from 1998-2008, there was 25% more lightning during the work week than on the ...

Seattle's plow crews not trying to clear snow from roads by design 10 months ago on Autoblog

Not long ago, Washington state's Department of Ecology was making noises about not letting people wash their cars at home because "what goes on the street goes into the creek." Now the state is on the opposing side of Seattle's efforts not to let harmful chemicals wash into the freshwater streams ...

Washington county may ban car washing at home 1 year ago on Autoblog

If residents in several cities in Clark County, Washington want to get their cars clean, they could soon be forced to do it at retail car washes. According to an employee at the Washington state Department of Ecology, the state wants "people to make the connection of 'what goes on the street ...

Carmakers try different ways to grow green 1 year ago on Autoblog

Now that making cars cleaner and more efficient is a mainstream proposition, the only questions are how each carmaker plans to do it. BMW's Efficient Dynamics has allowed it to lower it's CO2 emissions more than any other automaker. In a show of how seriously all automakers are taking the issue, ...

GM breaking up with Big Oil in new commercial 1 year ago on Autoblog

General Motors is apparently serious about it's green push and will be launching a new commercial later this month to show off its environmental intentions. The spot, created by McCann-Erickson, is GM's televised Dear John letter to Big Oil that begins by saying, "We've had this great relationship ...

Automakers facing a 75 mpg CAFE rating by 2030? 1 year ago on Autoblog

The Big Predictions for the Future have begun. This is the numbers game where eye-popping numerical targets start being thrown around before we've come anywhere close to achieving the eyebrow raising targets that are still 14 years away. According to Margo Oge at the EPA, the CAFE standard will need ...

Geneva 2008: Bentley's future involves drawing straw 1 year ago on Autoblog

The big news from Bentley in Geneva wasn't really about today -- but stay tuned for 2012. Bentley plans to have its wheel-to-well measure of CO2 emissions down to less than 120g/km, from 400 g/km now. How? By lightening the cars, by engineering better transmissions, and through powerplants able to ...

Porsche warming to diesels 1 year ago on Autoblog

In yet another move demonstrating that Porsche is capitulating to the greener crowd, an industry newsletter is reporting that the German automaker's executives have overcome their long-time reservations about diesel powerplants and are considering such a vehicle for their lineup by 2010. ...

Speed bumps are bad for the planet 1 year ago on Autoblog

Britain's Automobile Association has found another bump in the road to environmental kindness: speed bumps and really low speed limits. They took a car that got 58-mpg running a constant 30-MPH, and ran it over speedbumps at the Millbrook Proving Ground, slowing down and speeding up for each bump. ...

Canada plans new fuel economy standards at least as good as U.S. 1 year ago on Autoblog

Canada's response to America's latest energy legislation and CAFE standards: a resounding "Meh, whatever. Call us when you're serious." The land of the maple leaf has declared that the new U.S. standards simply don't go far enough. Said the nation's transport minister, "We welcome the U.S. goal, but ...

"Blue" the new "Green" in automotive environmentalism 1 year ago on Autoblog

Blue is, among other things, the color of the doldrums (the blues), the unknown (out of the blue), the cold or airless (turning blue), the ocean (the big blue), Democrats (blue states), and racy films (blue movies). According to ad agency JWT, 2008 could see blue take on more meaning: becoming the ...

VW & DaimlerChrysler put out more CO2 than last year... kind of 1 year ago on Autoblog

In 1998, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said that in ten years it wanted cars to put out 140g of CO2 per kilometer. According to the latest report from Transport & Environment, a "green pressure group" according to the BBC, only two makers are close to that, and two out of ...

Ford, Chrysler irked at feds' potentially biased email 2 years ago on Autoblog

Charges of anti-Americanism have followed the transmittal of an e-mail from the US Department of Health and Human Services to 67,000 federal workers. The e-mail, written by an unnamed member of the department, gives advice on buying a personal car and suggests making fuel efficiency the first ...

Nissan puts out the most: carbons, that is 2 years ago on Autoblog

From 1990 to 2005, Nissan's carbon emission levels have grown more than any of the other top six automakers selling cars in the US -- and not by a little. The company's 2005 fleet is responsible for 9.2% more carbon output over its lifetime than the 1990 fleet, according to a study by Environmental ...

German cities introduce zones for eco-friendly cars 2 years ago on Autoblog

Cities in Germany are adopting environmental driving zones called Umweltzonen. The zones will be ranked from 2 to 5, aligned with the Euro emissions scale, and the emissions ranking of your car will decide whether you are allowed to drive in a particular zone. When you register your car, you ...

Another expensive mess for Ford: Cleaning up its Twin Cities site 2 years ago on Autoblog

Ford's recent Q2 good news shows that it's making progress in cleaning up its own messes. Still, there are plenty of messes that need to be addressed -- a literal one being the land under its Twin Cities production plant in Highland Park, Minnesota. The factory, in use since 1925, will be closed ...

Voters want better gas mileage, and sooner 2 years ago on Autoblog

In a survey of 30 congressional districts in the Midwest and Southeast, it was "found that nearly nine out of ten voters want mandatory increases in fuel efficiency." In fact, to be specific, they want the House of Representatives to pass the same CAFE standards as the Senate passed two months ago: ...

Breathe easy: British website lists low CO2 emitters 2 years ago on Autoblog

British buyers have been able to glance quickly at their color coded environmental labels since 2005, a convenient way to assess the footprint they'll be leaving on things green or furry. Now buyers can head to the Department for Transport's website, and the DfT's ACT on CO2 program will provide a ...

Hyundai and Kia open $58M green tech center 2 years ago on Autoblog

Bolstering their green credentials and commitment to the environment, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia have teamed up on a $50 million green tech R&D center. The purpose of the facility will be to "accelerate the commercialization of fuel-cell electric vehicles," and it is kitted out with a ...

Ford names new senior veep 2 years ago on Autoblog

Ford's commitment to safety and sustainability has allowed Susan Cischke to move on up in the corporate world, with her new title of senior V.P. of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. The promotion will allow Cischke to report directly to Ford CEO Alan Mulally on developments to wean ...

Are these things really worth it? - What if you made a regular car with all the tricks of a Prius? 2 years ago on Autoblog

Hybrids definitely do work -- we're not refuting that -- how well they work is open to debate, however, especially in light of the revisions to EPA mileage numbers. So, let's examine the Prius. Amazingly engineered vehicle, that's for sure. The way they got all those different systems to work as a ...

SEMA: Al contending for Automotive X-Prize 3 years ago on Autoblog

The Alé from Fuel Vapor Technologies is the first actual entry for the Automotive X-Prize that we've come across. For those that need a refresher course, the X-Prize Foundation is the organization that got a private plane into orbit by dangling some big bucks at the end of a stick. The ...

Ford exec: Drive greener or else! 3 years ago on Autoblog

In an interview with Whatcar?, Ford's global product development boss Richard Parry-Jones said car buyers need to embrace greener cars if global warming is to be overcome. In fact, Parry-Jones goes on to say it's the role of the consumer, not car manufacturers, to save the planet from polluting ...

Biodiesel plant caught polluting 3 years ago on Autoblog

The Seattle Times reports that the Washington State Department of Ecology has sent a warning to a biodiesel-crushing plant in the state that it is releasing methanol, a toxic vapor, without a permit. Further investigation has shown spilled vegetable and biodiesel oil on the premise, as well. The ...

If Peugeot plants a tree in the forest, will it offset the CO2 in the atmosphere? 3 years ago on Autoblog

Six years on, French automaker Peugeot is finally seeing one of its environmental initiatives bear fruit... so to speak.  The manufacturer actually began a forestry project back in 1999 by embarking on a plan to build a living 'carbon sink,' in the form of two million ...

Hybrids and the 'metrospiritual' segment 3 years ago on Autoblog

Best Syndications has posted an article on how hybrid vehicles are part of the demographic category Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) or "metrospiritual. " (Pictured is actress Gwyneth Paltrow, considered by many to be a member of said category). The writer goes on to ...

Third-gen Prius to flirt with 100 mpg? 3 years ago on Autoblog

According to AutoExpress UK, Toyota is set to go for the green-veined jugular with its next Prius. The automaker's next hybrid will reportedly net a scarcely-believable 94 mpg (113mpg in imperial gallons). The figure comes about as the company has reportedly set a fuel economy bogey of 40km/liter, ...

UK green cab service expands Prius coverage 3 years ago on Autoblog

UK Minicab firm greentomotacars has started a pilot program to expand into the West London area with its Prius fleet. The service, which currently uses five of the well-known hybrids, plans to increase its numbers to fifty when they extend service across all of London by the end of June. Even ...

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Autoblog Podcast #152: Paukert Enhanced!

Chris Paukert joins the usual crew of Chris, Sam, and Dan, summarily classing up the joint.

 
 

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