August 29th, 2012

New gasoline standards for cars and light trucks set by the US Department of Transportation and the US EPA won final approval on Tuesday after several months of public review and hearings.

The new mileage standards will require that American cars get an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The EPA touted the change as a near doubling of fuel efficiency for cars, and predicted the effect on consumers would be like lowering the price of gasoline by $1 a gallon. Overall, the measure will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, according to the EPA.

[Read more →]

January 30th, 2012

Texas travelers can now charge their electric vehicles at Park ‘N Fly lots serving the DFW International Airport in Dallas and George Bush International Airport in Houston.
The recharge units are part of the eVgo (ee-vee-go) network created by NRG Energy Inc.
Each of the parking lots has two EV charging units that allow eVgo subscribers to recharge while they’re traveling.

[Read more →]

February 24th, 2011

The Toyota Prius has evolved into t-h-e hybrid automobile since it first hit the
highways in North America in 2000, setting the standard as America’s biggest selling green car with 955,000 sold since introduction. Sometime early next year, Toyota will offer the Prius in a deeper shade of green.

[Read more →]

December 7th, 2010

IKEA’s American employees are getting an early Christmas present. The Sweden-based home furnishings company is providing a new all-terrain bicycle to about 12,400 employees at its 37 U.S. stores.

About 12,400 IKEA U.S. workers are receiving new bicycles this holiday season. Photo: IKEA

“It’s been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen,” said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. President. “This is our way of saying ‘Thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.’ We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport.”

[Read more →]

September 14th, 2010

No one sends a kid to college without escaping a raft of sacred duties. There’s the requisite group reading of course offerings, the ceremonial first check writing, the buying of the coordinated bedding and the securing of a vehicle in which the newly minted young adult is launched full throttle into his or her post-secondary education experience.

But this last carbon intensive practice has never been economical, especially for young men whose insurance rates can jackhammer through mom and dad’s bank account faster than tuition fees.

More and more, people are questioning whether wheels are even necessary on campus. Many colleges can’t accommodate all those parking needs, and even on gigantic state school campuses students don’t need to drive from class to class. Often a young adult mainly needs a car to return home on weekends or holidays, a transportation need easily solved by Greyhound or Amtrak. For those occasional excursions when a car is called for, the new answer is car sharing

[Read more →]