EnvironmentLA - The City's official site for information about projects and programs that are making Los Angeles more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - LADWP offers environmental Green LA programs, including Trees for a Green LA, Energy Efficiency for a Green LA, Solar Energy for a Green LA, Electric Vehicles for a Green LA, Green Power for a Green LA, Recycling for a Green LA and Educational Services for a Green LA.
Green LA Action Plan - The City's official plan to improve energy conservation, transition to renewable power sources, and change the ways citizens commute to work and school.
US Green Building Council-LA - A resource for agencies, municipalities, professionals and companies interested in sustainable, green buildings.
Los Angeles’ program to reduce trucking pollution is working faster than planned, but it has come under attack by the trucking industry.
Today, the city celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Clean Truck Program (CTP), which has taken more than 2,000 polluting trucks off the road and helped placed more than 5,500 clean vehicles into service. The changes mean that ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are now two years ahead of schedule in their master plan to reduce shipping truck emissions by 80 percent. The two ports have collaborated to reduce air pollution from both trucks and ships using the hubs.
A survey of eco-friendly vehicles released today from IntelliChoice.com shows that most 2009 hybrid and clean diesel cars, trucks and SUVs deliver a lower cost of ownership compared to standard versions of the same vehicles.
The 2009 IntelliChoice.com Hybrid and Diesel Car survey examined the value of all 2009 model year hybrids and vehicles with clean diesel engines. The company evaluated the major factors that determine a vehicle’s cost of ownership over a five year period or 70,000 miles, including fuel, maintenance and repair, retained value, insurance costs and taxes and fees.
Audi today said the 2009 Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel, its first clean diesel vehicle for the U.S. market, will arrive in U.S. dealerships later this month priced at $50,900.
Audi says the TDI technology, no 20 years old, is the world’s cleanest diesel system. The technology meets emissions regulations in all 50 U.S. states, the company says. That includes the California ULEV II (Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle) standards that also apply to conventional gasoline vehicles and represent one of the world’s most rigorous motor vehicle emission requirements.
An expectation met is rare enough. An expectation surpassed is a culturally appropriate winter solstice celebration miracle.
So imagine my surprise and delight when reading the miles per gallon readout on the trip computer of the 2009 Jetta TDI during a recent holiday drive over the river and through the woods. The display reads: 43.7 mpg. That’s significantly above the Environmental Protection Agency estimate of 40 mpg in highway driving.
And we weren’t doing any of that 55 mph, coast-down-hills, hyper-miler sort of driving. We were zipping along at 70 mph or so, singing loudly along with the Christmas tunes provided by the satellite radio.
That sort of fuel economy apparently isn’t a fluke. Volkswagen hired a third party, automotive evaluation company AMCI, to test the real-world fuel economy of the Jetta TDI and found it performed 24 percent better than EPA estimates, getting 38 mpg in the city and 44 mpg on the highway.
Don’t be fooled. Gasoline prices won’t be bumping around $2 a gallon for long. Driving a car with good fuel economy still makes sense. Higher mpg means lower operating costs for the household budget and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Happily, car shoppers today have a myriad of options among fuel frugal 2009 cars. You can find something getting 30 mpg or better on the highway at nearly every dealer lot. In some cases, you’ll have to settle for a trim line with a smaller engine and manual transmission to hit the 30 mpg mark.
Don’t be fooled. Gasoline prices won’t be bumping around $2 a gallon for long. Driving a car with good fuel economy still makes sense. Higher mpg means lower operating costs for the household budget and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.