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Scoop.it!
California, joined by 22 other states, is suing the Trump administration over its decision to weaken regulations limiting auto emissions. 
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Undermining its own hype, Tesla admits that building its new Model 3 could be a huge challenge
PIRatE Lab's insight:
High risk, high reward.
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People that commute by car spend an inordinate amount of time staring at taillights. There’s no way they’re getting around that traffic in front of them. But what about bike commuters? This group of Latvian cyclists recently created a powerful demonstration of the large footprint created by cars that carry just one occupant.
The four cyclists strapped on fragile frameworks shaped like cars, then hopped into the local traffic in Riga to show how much room they would occupy on their daily commute. The difference communicates loud and clear: if these cyclists were actually in cars, they would seriously add to congestion. Via Lauren Moss
Bhopkins's curator insight,
October 16, 2014 5:16 PM
This group of Latvian cyclists recently created a powerful demonstration of the large footprint created by cars that carry just one occupant. 
Jim Gramata's curator insight,
October 27, 2014 10:49 AM
Visually compelling look at the power of the bike commute 
Agence Relations d'Utilité Publique's curator insight,
November 24, 2014 5:06 AM
Les images parlent d'elles même...
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After countless delays, cost overruns, gridlock gripes from Tesla's Elon Musk and a phenomenon known as "Carmageddon," officials Friday will finally unveil on the 405 Freeway the nation's longest continuous carpool lane.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Wow...it only took a billion dollars, a decade of active planning/construction (on top of our twenty previous years of discussions), unions screaming for the "high paying jobs" the construction would provide, beyond aggravated motorists, etc., etc.
Who says we can't do overpriced, car-centric, gasoline-centric, dated-before-it-launches transportation planning?
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Scoop.it!
If you haven't yet heard, today the federal government issued a new rule to make sure that our nation's "heavy duty vehicles" (big rigs, delivery vans, garbage trucks, and the like) go almost 40 percent farther on a gallon of fuel. This new rule will reduce global warming emissions by 1.1 billion tons and oil use by 2 billion barrels over the lifetime of the program. This is the single most comprehensive set of fuel economy and global warming pollution standards for heavy duty vehicles ever put in place, and the United States now has the strongest truck fuel economy standards in the world.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
New efficiency standards for semis.
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Nowhere do automakers sell more hybrid vehicles than California, with its unique combination of environmental consciousness, high gas prices and traffic-choked highways. But new hybrid models will be in short supply at this week's Los Angeles Auto Show — one sign that the technology is still struggling to break out of its green-car niche, experts say.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
There is nothing new about this analyses, but it is an updating of older efforts with the most recent numbers out there. It is true that using coal-fired power to juice your your car is problematic, but for most of the county (e.g. coastal areas) most of us would be better off switching to electric transportation systems. Also, the best possible solution is to power our vehicles with locally-generated power, such as roof top or garage-top solar panels.
The trick is getting this into everyone's hands in an easy, turn-key manner. I think the tone of this piece misses that key point. This is an evolving conversation and new technology. It also needs to be one part of a broad spectrum of approaches to de-carbonizing our energy markets. Falling back onto the old mantra of "it doesn't work everywhere all the time" is a bit ho-hum and overly simplistic. Kind of the way some folks feel it is necessary to write an op-ed about their research to get increased attention for it.
For those interested in the actual study, you can find it here:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mansur/papers/GraffZivin_Kotchen_Mansur_MargEmit.pdf
There is also an interesting story, in a similar vein, from the LA Times about faltering gas-electric hybrid vehicles at this week's LA Auto show:
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-la-auto-show-no-hybrids-20141121-story.html
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While the MTA regulates the taxi industry, the state Public Utilities Commission has claimed jurisdiction over the new ride services, which typically contract with people to use their personal cars to carry passengers who hail them with a smartphone app. The new companies, unlike taxi operators, have lesser insurance requirements, no restrictions on the number of vehicles they put on the streets, no clean-air standards and less-stringent background checks. Among biggest impacts of the ride services has been the drop in taxi rides taken by people in ramp taxis, which carry people in wheelchairs. Director Malcolm Heinicke wants to make it mandatory for taxis to have e-hailing apps, and taxi drivers said they want the city to keep ride services and limousines out of transit-only lanes and taxi stands.
PIRatE Lab's insight:
Change is hard. This is perhaps a classic example of how poor planning can kill an industry that provides a social good. Is your grandma going to be able to jump on Uber and get in someone's car when she lands at the airport for Thanksgiving?
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![Gas, Hybrid and Electric Cars [Infographic] | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/6kLV883E4QRxHEAJ1HbXezl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Already, electric and hybrid cars are surpassing gas engine cars in not only miles per gallon and sustainability, but also affordability. For example, the 2013 electric Nissan Leaf runs costs from $28,800 to $34,840. This affordable midsize car gets 75 miles on a full charge and has a refuel time of just seven hours at 240 volts. Find more information at the link. Via Lauren Moss
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