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States sue to prevent EPA from revoking state emissions powers
States are taking further legal action to prevent the Trump administration from undoing California's stricter emissions rules. California, 22 other states, DC and the cities of New York and Los Angeles have sued the EPA and other agencies in an attempt to block the regulator's plan for revoking parts of California's Clean Air Act waiver that let it implement stricter greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards. The action is a complement to an earlier lawsuit targeting the NHTSA that was aimed at stopping a parallel determination, and comes with a similar argument defending states' powers.
22 states join California to sue the Trump admin over emissions standards
A group of 22 states have joined California in suing the Trump administration, which revoked that state's right to set its own emissions standards. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a plan for national vehicle emissions rules. The One National Program Rule would set federal standards on fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with the administration's aim to scale back Obama-era targets.
EPA pushes national fuel economy standard in face off with California
The Trump administration has announced plans to create a national vehicle emissions standard. The new "One National Program Rule" would allow the federal government to set uniform fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards. The move, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is the latest in the Trump administration's feud with California.
2020 Ford Explorer Hybrid delivers towing power and 500 miles per tank
If you're seeking a green SUV, the 2020 Ford Explorer Hybrid is a viable option -- as long as you don't opt for the four-wheel drive model. The EPA released fuel economy estimates for Ford's latest hybrid model which indicate that the rear-wheel drive model is 4 mpg more frugal than the non-hybrid Explorer's 2.3 liter turbo-4 engine. If you opt for all-wheel drive, the Hybrid is 2 mpg more frugal.
EPA will roll back rules on methane emissions
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce plans to roll back regulations on methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change. The Trump Administration is seeking to do away with Obama-era requirements, which mandated that the oil and gas industry install technology to monitor and limit natural gas leaks from infrastructure like wells, tanks and pipelines, The Wall Street Journal reports. The change could also block proposed rules that would have required the EPA to set emissions regulations on thousands of pre-existing wells and industry sites.
Chevy's 2020 Bolt EV will pack a longer 259-mile range
Chevy hasn't tweaked the Bolt EV much since its introduction, but an impending refresh could be welcome by giving drivers what they often crave: more range. The EPA has rated the 2020 Bolt EV as delivering 259 miles of range, up substantially from the 238 miles you've seen since the start. As Car and Driver observed, that would give it greater longevity than the Tesla Model 3's Standard Range Plus trim (240 miles), the Kia Niro EV (239 miles) and the Hyundai Kona Electric (just shy at 258 miles).
Mercedes-Benz likely to agree to California's tougher emissions rules
Mercedes-Benz may be the next company to agree to California's voluntary emissions rules, The New York Times reports. Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Honda have already pledged to meet California's standards and make their engines more efficient every year until 2026. The pact goes against the Trump administration's attempts to roll back Obama-era emissions reduction goals.
Ford, Honda and others agree to California's voluntary emission rules
The state of California and a quartet of auto manufacturers have agreed on a fuel efficiency deal in the wake of rollbacks at the federal level. Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Honda have all signed up to a pledge to make their engines more efficient -- to the tune of 3.7 mpg -- every year until 2026. That's better than the rolled back standards as proposed by the EPA, but not as strict as those in the Clean Power Plan.
EPA finalizes Trump administration’s coal-friendly climate plan
Today, the EPA finalized the Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) plan, effectively rolling back Obama-era policies to address climate change. The Obama administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP) set national goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. States could decide how to meet those goals, but the targets were strict enough that many states were expected to close coal plants. As NPR reports, the Trump administration's approach will be to regulate the emissions of individual power plants in order to help them stay in business longer.
California sues EPA, NHTSA over data used for car emissions rollback
California has sued the EPA and NHTSA in a bid to get the data used to justify the Trump administration's rollback of vehicle emission standards. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra has accused the agencies of "willfully withholding" the data after they didn't respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for the material used to justify keeping 2020 emissions standards until the 2026 model year instead of raising them under former President Obama's plan.
Fiat Chrysler settles with US over diesel emissions cheating
Fiat Chrysler is about to pay a stiff penalty for its alleged diesel vehicle emissions cheating. The automaker has reached a settlement with the Justice Department, EPA and California that will see it make amends for claimed violations of the country's Clean Air Act. It's launching a recall to fix the more than 100,000 diesel vehicles believed to be exceeding pollution limits. More importantly, there's a hefty financial punishment. Fiat Chrysler will pay as much as $800 million to address the case, including a combined $311 million in civil penalties, up to $280 million to address claims from owners (who get an average of $2,800 each) and $100 million for post-fix extended warranties.
Shutdown means government won't engage with the tech industry at CES
It's not just FCC Chairman Ajit Pai who'll back out of CES as a result of the US government shutdown. The Consumer Technology Association has confirmed that at least ten government officials have cancelled their speaking engagements at the technology trade show "so far." It's not just FCC representatives like Pai or his compatriot Brendan Carr, either. The FTC's Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Slaughter (shown above) have backed out, as have officials from the EPA (Brandon Bray and Barnes Johnson), FDA (Bakul Patel), FEMA (Daniel Kaniewski) and Homeland Security (Andre Hentz).
2019 Jaguar I-Pace receives 234-mile range rating from the EPA
Jaguar's I-Pace is just getting into consumer's hands, and now the EPA has officially released its range estimates for the all-electric SUV. The vehicle has a range of 234 miles from its 90kWh battery pack, according to the EPA's tests. And compared to its all-electric competition, this range-to-kilowatt ratio is not great. But most people don't compare the I-Pace to the tiny Nissan Leaf, rather its main rival is the Tesla Model X.
Tougher emissions rules helped cut US air pollution deaths in half
There's little doubt that air quality has generally improved in the US in recent decades, but quantifying that improvement has been difficult. However, a recently published University of North Carolina study might have produced a more tangible figure. The NASA- and EPA-backed report determined that American deaths from air pollution dropped by 47 percent between 1990 and 2010 to 71,000 per year. The researchers achieved the figures by measuring the levels of two pollutants (ozone and PM2.5) in a 21-year computer simulation and comparing that to CDC data for related causes of death in given regions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischemic heart disease.
The EPA will dissolve its science advisory office
The Environmental Protection Agency will eliminate the Office of the Science Advisor, an entity within the agency that works to ensure its policies and decisions are based on quality science. The New York Times reports that the scientific advisory position, which currently reports directly to the head of the EPA, will be merged into another office -- the Office of Research and Development. "It's certainly a pretty big demotion, a pretty big burying of this office," Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the publication. "Everything from research on chemicals and health, to peer-review testing to data analysis would inevitably suffer."
19 states vow to sue over proposed fuel efficiency rollbacks
Yesterday, the Trump administration unveiled its plan to roll back fuel efficiency standards and soon thereafter, multiple states vowed to fight the move in court. Nineteen states and Washington, DC announced they would sue to prevent the changes from being put into place, Reuters reports. "The Trump administration has launched a brazen attack, no matter how it is cloaked, on our nation's clean car standards," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said following the publication of the proposed plan. "CA DOJ will use every legal tool at its disposal to defend today's national standards and reaffirm the facts and science behind them."
Even automakers don’t want Trump’s emissions rollback
The Trump administration unveiled its proposal to weaken Obama-era fuel efficiency standards, and it's as bad as you would expect.
Trump administration reveals plans to roll back vehicle fuel standards
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it wanted to roll back vehicle efficiency standards put into place by the Obama administration, and today the Trump administration revealed its plan to do so. While the previous policies stated that automakers have until 2025 to get their average fuel efficiencies for passenger vehicles to over 50 miles per gallon, the Trump administration rules would freeze standards after 2021 and average fuel efficiency requirements would then remain around 37 miles per gallon. Further, the plan aims to revoke a waiver that allows California to set its own vehicle efficiency standards.
Trump proposal would end California's tougher car emission standards
It's no secret that the Trump administration is bristling at the Clean Air Act waiver that lets California apply stricter car emissions standards -- the state effectively determines the standards for the rest of the country, negating any federal attempts at rolling back anti-pollution efforts. And the administration has apparently had enough. Bloomberg sources have learned of an imminent proposed standards revision that would strip California of its extra authority. The EPA would suggest revoking California's waiver, while the NHTSA would maintain that California isn't allowed to regulate emissions under the law that established federal-level fuel efficiency requirements.
California has already hit its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions goal
The EPA may be in shambles after Scott Pruitt's short but brutal tenure, but California actually has some good news on the global warming front. The state is well ahead of its schedule for cutting greenhouse gases. According to data released by the California Air Resources Board this week, greenhouse gas emissions dropped to 429.4 million metric tons in 2016, below the target of 431 metric tons for 2020. The total in 2015 was 441.4 million metric tons.
