October 17, 2018 9:28 AM EDT
I spent my career as an automotive engineer at GM. During my time in the auto industry I played a hands-on role in putting new technologies on the road, and had a front row seat to view how cars and trucks have become more efficient over time. That’s partly due to the hard work of my colleagues who design and manufacture vehicles and their parts—but also due in part to a strong set of federal standards that have helped drive the technology forward. Read more >
October 10, 2018 10:20 AM EDT
Together with efforts to provide residents with better alternatives to driving through investments in public transportation, walking and biking infrastructure, and affordable housing near transit, these investments in clean vehicles and fuels can put the region on track to achieve the deep decarbonization of transportation. Furthermore, by directing investments toward the communities that need them the most, the region can make its transportation system more equitable. Read more >
September 6, 2018 2:59 PM EDT
The fight against climate change will be won or lost depending on how successful we are at decarbonizing the transportation sector. Transportation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change in the United States, and in California, and while emissions from electricity generation have been falling, emissions from transportation have been rising. Getting these emissions in check requires steady higher efficiency conventional vehicles, a rapid transition to electric vehicles, and cleaner fuels that reduce the carbon emissions of the fuels used by all our vehicles.
July 26, 2018 1:25 PM EDT
Tesla is at a crossroads. Earlier this month the California company hit the limit for the electric vehicle (EV) federal tax credit, meaning the full $7,500 credit will only be available to those who are delivered a Tesla before the end of 2018. As a result, Tesla’s already expensive vehicles are set to get even more expensive, especially compared to other EVs that still qualify for the tax credit. I don’t want to predict what exactly will happen to Tesla. Instead, I can detail why Tesla may succeed or fail irrespective of the broader EV industry, which is set to overtake gasoline-powered vehicles over the next decade. Read more >
July 19, 2018 1:05 PM EDT
Battery electric buses – the people’s electric vehicle – are becoming more and more common. An increasing number of transit agencies – large and small – are making announcements about purchasing electric buses and putting them into operation.
The obvious benefit of electric buses is that they don’t have any tailpipe emissions. A question we often get at UCS is, “What about emissions used to generate electricity for electric vehicles?”
We answered this for buses charged on California’s grid and found that battery electric buses had 70 percent lower global warming emissions than a diesel or natural gas bus (it’s gotten even better since that analysis). So what about the rest of the country?
