EPA

The Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday new federal rules that set greenhouse gas emissions standards and will significantly increase the fuel economy of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States.

The new guidelines will affect 2012 model vehicles and will require manufacturers to achieve a fleet average of 35.5 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. This could potentially save the average buyer of a 2016 model-year car $3,000 over the life of the vehicle and. Nationally, these changes will conserve about 1.8 billion barrels … Read more

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday that Los Angeles has more Energy Star-rated buildings than any other city in the U.S.

The news came as part of the EPA's release of a report ranking the top 25 U.S. cities by the number of Energy Star-labeled buildings within its borders. (PDF)

Los Angeles, notorious for its smog problem, remains in first place since last year with 293 Energy Star-labeled buildings, followed by Washington, D.C. (204), San Francisco (173), Denver (136), Chicago (134), Houston (133), Lakeland, Fla. (120), Dallas-Fort Worth (113), Atlanta (102), and New York (90).… Read more

The Obama administration's greenhouse gas ruling Monday was meant to send a warning to industry, the U.S. Congress, and the world: with or without a law, Washington will tackle global warming in a serious way.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health, allowing it to put limits on emissions even if U.S. lawmakers fail to pass a law to achieve the same objective.

These are the ramifications of the long-expected decision:

• Timing: as the EPA made its announcement, negotiators from nearly 200 countries met in Copenhagen to work toward a … Read more

If you're wondering how the familiar term "gas mileage" translates to a car that runs partially on electric batteries, you're not alone.

Industry group SAE International plans to recommend that the Environmental Protection Agency use "electricity per mile" in addition to the familiar miles-per-gallon rating for plug-in electric vehicles, according to a member of the SAE committee tasked with the job. The EPA is working on mileage ratings for plug-ins, which are poised to enter the market, and reviewing its rules for displaying fuel economy on car stickers.

Because efficiency for gas-electric hybrids is … Read more

Editors' note: A bold claim this week by General Motors, that its forthcoming Chevy Volt electric car would get 230 miles per gallon, prompted us to do some musing on a possible historical precedent.

For Release the 11th of August, AD 1909

Durant "Chevrolet" Expects 230 mpb in Town Jaunts

WARREN, Mich. - William Durant, chairman of the General Motors Company, announced to-day that his new "Chevrolet" gasoline automobile, named after famed racing-car driver Louis Chevrolet, will boast almost six times the fuel efficiency of a comparable horse-drawn carriage.

Durant attributed this remarkable figure to a … Read more

Tuesday, GM announced that the Chevrolet Volt would achieve an EPA estimated 230 city mpg. Apparently, GM forgot to tell the EPA.

The official statement released by the EPA states:

EPA has not tested a Chevy Volt and therefore cannot confirm the fuel economy values claimed by GM. EPA does applaud GM's commitment to designing and building the car of the future--an American-made car that will save families money, significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create good-paying American jobs. We're proud to see American companies and American workers leading the world in the clean energy innovations … Read more

The Environmental Protection Agency may have suppressed an internal report that was skeptical of claims about global warming, including whether carbon dioxide must be strictly regulated by the federal government, according to a series of newly disclosed e-mail messages.

Less than two weeks before the agency formally submitted its pro-regulation recommendation to the White House, an EPA center director quashed a 98-page report that warned against making hasty "decisions based on a scientific hypothesis that does not appear to explain most of the available data."

The EPA official, Al McGartland, said in an e-mail message (PDF) to a … Read more

Greener-than-thou Google, which takes environmentalism seriously, is under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency for an alleged coolant problem at one of its data centers, the company disclosed Wednesday.

"In February 2009, we learned of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigation into an alleged release of refrigerant at one of our smaller data facilities, which we acquired from DoubleClick, and the accuracy of related statements and records," Google said in a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We are cooperating with the EPA and have provided documents and other materials. The EPA investigation … Read more

The Obama administration on Tuesday took steps to promote biofuels and is expected to publish a proposal for measuring the environmental impact from biofuels, in a move likely to spark a debate within the industry.

The administration has created the Biofuels Interagency Working Group, which is tasked with helping the ailing biofuels industry and creating policies to improve the environmental sustainability of biofuels. Measures include making money available to refinance existing biorefineries or to make them more energy efficient.

During a conference call on Tuesday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the availability of $786.5 million for biofuels research and … Read more