Transportation posts, articles, and infographics

Decarbonizing California requires relying more on electricity, once it's low carbon

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 188 views

A 2006 California law, Assembly Bill 32, obligates the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (30% below business as usual), and to 80% below that level by 2050 (90% below business as usual). How is it to done? A team from UC, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and elsewhere examines this... [read more]

Electric Cars & Overpopulation — R-Squared Energy TV Ep. 10

February 2, 2012 by Robert Rapier
with 71 views

In this week’s episode of R-Squared Energy TV, I answer questions on the future of electric cars, and the global population, which many feel is the root of so many problems. Some of the topics discussed are: When electric cars might be expected to make significant inroads in the auto market Why some people will continue to be tentative... [read more]

D.C. Auto Show Focused on Efficiency

February 1, 2012 by Geoffrey Styles
with 252 views

Last week I attended the media preview of the Washington Auto Show. With its dual focus on cars and energy policy, this is always a high point of the winter for me, even if this year's display lacked a draw of the magnitude of the pre-production Chevrolet Volt I drove at the 2010 show. Instead, I was pleased to find that the emphasis on... [read more]

The Electric Car and the New Normal

January 31, 2012 by Rocky Kistner
with 295 views

About halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, nestled in the fertile corn and soybean fields of Illinois, a quiet electric car revolution is sprouting up in the town of Normal, a town that in some ways is anything but. That’s because this vibrant, forward-looking community of 50,000—along with its adjacent sister city... [read more]

Worst. Transportation Bill. Ever.

January 31, 2012 by Deron Lovaas
with 530 views

Deron Lovaas breaks down why exactly the House Transportation Bill is bad for our environment, our transportation future and our pocketbooks. [read more]

Advanced biofuels could create millions of jobs while greening the economy

January 26, 2012 by Annegrethe Jakobsen
with 360 views

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance - launched during World Economic Forum at Davos - estimates the socioeconomic prospects of deploying advanced biofuels in eight of the highest agricultural-producing regions in the world, i.e. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, EU-27, India, Mexico and the USA.The report was commissioned... [read more]

PEV-Related Patent Issuances Set Record Levels

January 22, 2012 by James Greenberger
with 244 views

Photo by Berkeley T. Compton via Flickr

The New York-based IP law firm of Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C tracks cleantech patent filings in the United States and around the world. According to Heslin Rothenberg, annual cleantech patent applications have more than doubled since 2008. In the third quarter of 2011, the number of cleantech patents issued in the United States reached an all-time high of 599. This was 109 more than the number of cleantech patents issued in the third quarter of 2010. Of the cleantech patents issued, hybrid/electric vehicle-related patents accounted for 59, an all-time high for that subsector, up from 46 issued during the third quarter of 2010. [read more]

Airline Griping Over EU Aviation Carbon Tax Isn’t About The Consumer

January 16, 2012 by Tyler Hamilton
with 112 views

Here’s my take on the EU aviation carbon tax that is causing a stink with major world airline carriers: ———————————————— Tyler Hamilton My family flew to North Carolina during the holiday to visit relatives and, being aware of new baggage fees, we made every effort to pack lightly. Of two adults and two children we had only one item to... [read more]

Responding to Iran By Doubling Efforts To Gain Oil Independence

January 11, 2012 by Deron Lovaas
with 240 views

With demand for oil increasing in Latin America and elsewhere in the world and Iran threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz, it is not inconceivable that the price of oil could reach an all-time high and stay there some time in the coming year. [read more]

Consumer Interest in Electric Vehicles: A Prediction for 2013

January 9, 2012 by James Greenberger
with 396 views

It is a little early to be making predictions for 2013, but here is one: Within 12 months the folly of tying the fate of light vehicle transportation to a single, vulnerable commodity will again become apparent to the American public. When that happens, consumer interest in PEV’s will move sharply in the other direction. [read more]

The Wave Disk Generator

December 29, 2011 by Lou Grinzo
with 1,800 views

OK, now this is intriguing, even if the article is from April(!?)… New Car Engine Sends Shock Waves Through Auto Industry: researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk... [read more]

Where Do All The Presidential Candidates Stand on Transportation?

December 27, 2011 by Deron Lovaas
with 232 views

Last week in New Hampshire, and this week in South Carolina, Mitt Romney fielded questions about our deteriorating infrastructure. This is an important environmental issue, since potholes and traffic don’t mix well. Consequently, you get more congestion on our roads. And congestion means idling engines and more pollution. It’s also... [read more]

How to Finance More Rail and Bus Lines

December 20, 2011 by Deron Lovaas
with 219 views

There’s a saying that Transportation Secretaries who served as Federal Highway Administrators have actually taken a step down. As with many sayings, there’s more than a grain of truth there. The highway agency is the largest “modal administration” (smaller although still large ones include the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration) and it has a lot of influence over federal transportation policy. [read more]

American Industry and EV Battery Safety

December 18, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 757 views

The bright side of the Volt fire is that it may just show the way for American companies and American technology to get a leg up in the advanced battery race. Let’s see product safety as an opportunity, not as a threat. Let’s encourage the NHTSA and other agencies of state and federal government to require the highest levels of safety possible in EV batteries. Safety is something we do very well as a country (relatively speaking). Let’s use that advantage to put American workers and American technology to work building safe advanced batteries for EV’s. [read more]

The Nuts and Bolts of the New CAFE and GHG Vehicle Standards

December 16, 2011 by Charles Zhu
with 145 views

This is Part 2 of a series on the new EPA-DOT vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy standards. Part 1 took a first look on the goals of the standards.These days, most cars can go from 0 to 60 mph in a pretty short time – but can the nation’s car fleet go from 27.3 to 49.5 mpg in 15 years flat?As we mentioned in Part I, a 49.5 mpg... [read more]