Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Old Car Batteries

The Most Carbon-Intensive Component of Electric Vehicles Deserves Attention

It's well known that an electric vehicle is only as clean, from a greenhouse gas perspective, as the electricity it consumes to power it. A new study finds that the electricity used in the manufacturing of car batteries also must be considered.

October 24, 2018 - Bloomberg News

Jiujiang power plant

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Decrease in the U.S.

President Trump and his cabinet have been busy rolling back environmental regulations and promoting coal burning, and now they claim credit for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions last year even greater than in 2016.

October 23, 2018 - NPR

Fracking

Petrochemical Industry to Drive Major Growth in Oil Demand

A new report from the International Energy Association projects that petrochemicals will be the largest driver of oil consumption, greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting the effect of electric vehicles on oil demand.

October 7, 2018 - Reuters

Freeways

Report: Transportation Emissions Sully California's Environmental Reputation

There's good and bad news from an annual assessment on the Golden State's economy and environment. Gross domestic product per capita increases as emissions per capita decrease, with the major exception of emissions from transportation.

September 6, 2018 - Bloomberg

California Wildflowers

Paying for Climate Change Mitigation at the Pump in California

Two market-based programs add about a quarter to every gallon of fuel purchased in the Golden State, but don't expect to see the prices listed anywhere. Furthermore, costs to comply with the Low Carbon Fuel Standard are expected to increase.

August 13, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Twin Peaks Drive

Breaking: Trump Administration Will Revoke California's Auto Emissions Authority

Sources leaked news of the Trump Administration's plans to dismantle the Obama-era environmental policies. The Trump Administration also aims to dismantle the Golden State's ability to regulate air pollution from vehicles.

July 23, 2018 - Bloomberg

Cool, California

California Reaches Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target Four Years Ahead of Schedule

It is possible to achieve state-mandated global warming reduction goals after all. The nation's first such goal, signed into law by Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, called for reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

July 13, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Harbor Freeway

California Has 8 of the 10 Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

Despite ever-stricter air-quality regulations and dropping emissions, the American Lung Association once again finds the state to have some of the worst air in the nation.

April 24, 2018 - USA Today

Methane

New Research Directly Measures Methane's Increasing Greenhouse Effect

According to to a recent study, methane gas produces a much larger greenhouse effect than previously thought. Planners can act to limit the environmental impact of methane.

April 13, 2018 - Kayla Matthews

Gas

How Cities Undercount Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By the usual measures, wealthy "consumer cities" have largely put a check on their carbon emissions. But that doesn't account for the emissions that their consumption habits fuel in other places.

March 24, 2018 - National Geographic

Traffic

EPA Releases Draft Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 1990 to 2016

The inventory, a requirement from a 1992 U.N. treaty, shows emissions from most sectors are either decreasing or holding steady. The major exception: transportation.

February 21, 2018 - Climatewire

Pedestrian Bridge

State Legislation Would Clear CEQA Obstructions for Road and Transit Projects

One legislator believes CEQA "is a key barrier to California meeting its ambitious climate change goals.”

February 5, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Rose Bowl

What's a Climate Action Plan if it Has No Teeth?

The city of Pasadena has released its draft Climate Action Plan, but how will the city achieve an 83 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions if the plan sets no mandates?

January 10, 2018 - Pasadena Star-News

Scott Pruitt

Scott Pruitt and the 'Paradigm Shift' at Trump's EPA

In just his first year, the high-profile and controversial cabinet member “has begun to dismantle former president Barack Obama’s environmental legacy.”

January 8, 2018 - The Washington Post

Wildfire

Wildfires Prompt Forestry Debate on Climate Change

While forests sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, wildfires release enormous amounts of greenhouse gases as they increase in frequency and intensity from climate change.

November 29, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Cooper River Cable-Stay Bridge

States Sue Trump Administration Over Suspended Clean Transportation Rule

A coalition of government bodies from eight states around the country has sued the Trump Administration, claiming that the U.S. DOT unlawfully suspended an emissions accounting rule.

September 26, 2017 - NRDC Blog

Renewable Diesel

From Buses to Trains, Renewable Diesel Catches On in California

For almost two years, MUNI's diesel-powered buses in San Francisco have run entirely on renewable diesel fuel. Diesel-powered Amtrak trains running from San Jose to Sacramento could be next.

September 16, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Historic Vote by California Senate on Cap-and-Trade Expected Monday

Caling the upcoming vote on AB 398, which has created strange political bedfellows, "the most important vote of your life," Gov. Jerry Brown cast the decision as choosing between "massive new regulations" and market-based mechanisms.

July 16, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Robot car

Beware the Utopian Visions of Transportation Technology Boosters

At the dawn of automated vehicle technology, humans, and Americans in particular, should recall the shortcomings of past utopian visions.

June 30, 2017 - Eno Transportation Weekly

Air Quality

Air District Connects Climate Protection to Clean Air Plans

With the adoption of the "Spare the Air - Cool the Climate" program, the Bay Area's air quality regulatory agency has broadened its mission to make reduction of greenhouse gases a paramount goal, along with protecting public health.

April 24, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

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