Climate 411

EPA Delivers Lump of Coal to America for Holidays

Vickie PattonThis post is by Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel at Environmental Defense, and a former attorney in the EPA’s General Counsel’s office.

Two years ago, California asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pave the way for landmark standards to limit global warming from motor vehicles. Seventeen other states plan to implement the Clean Car standards, pending the EPA decision. But today – after two years of stalling – EPA said no. This decision is virtually unprecedented; EPA has granted similar requests over 50 times in 40 years.

The Bush administration is putting the brakes on state action to address the global warming crisis. Doing nothing about global warming is bad enough – but going out of your way to block the state leaders who are taking action is just plain shocking.

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Also posted in Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Read 6 Responses

Turn Off Your Engine!

Mel PeffersThis post is by Mel Peffers, Air Quality Project Manager at Environmental Defense.

Many people idle their car engine in winter because they think it needs time to warm up. Not true! Today’s fuel-injected engines don’t need a warm-up period, and idling for long periods can lead to excessive engine wear.

Worse, cars idling for over 10 seconds use more gas and create more global warming pollution than simply restarting the engine. Surprised? It’s true. The 10-second rule has been proven empirically.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 14 Responses

Breaking News: California Judge Rebukes Automakers

Fred KruppThis post is by Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense.

A federal judge in California today rebuked the auto industry’s attempt to block California and 16 other states from setting tough new limits on global warming pollution from automobiles, calling these efforts “the very definition of folly.”

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 8 Responses

Bush CAFE Standards Overturned on Appeal

This post is by Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel at Environmental Defense.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a 90-page opinion overturning major aspects of the Bush administration’s flawed fuel economy standards for light-duty trucks. Sean Donahue argued the case for Environmental Defense and Susan Fiering for the California Attorney General’s office – on behalf of a larger group of state and environmental petitioners.

Among other things, the court held that the Department of Transportation (DOT):

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 1 Response

To Drive Less, Live Closer to Work

The author of today’s post, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

Total greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks is a function of three factors: amount of driving, fuel economy, and carbon emissions per gallon of fuel (the "three-legged stool [PDF]"). The news media tend to focus on the latter two factors, but how much people drive has a huge impact.

A new report published by the Urban Land Institute says that greenhouse gas emissions cannot be reduced sufficiently by making vehicles more efficient, because growth in driving cancels out improved fuel economy. People also must drive less. And the report’s solution is not just better public transportation.

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Posted in Cars and Pollution / Read 2 Responses

A Level-Headed Look at Ethanol and the Environment

The author of today’s post, Martha Roberts, is an economist at Environmental Defense, and one of the authors of the Ogallala Aquifer study.

Today Environmental Defense released a new mini-report that analyzes how expanding ethanol production might impact the environment: Potential Impacts of Biofuels Expansion on Natural Resources: A Case Study of the Ogallala Aquifer Region [PDF].

Ethanol arouses a lot of passion in people. Our goal was to produce a report that is balanced, meticulously documented, and offers solutions to potential problems.

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Also posted in Energy / Read 1 Response