Most recent 40 articles: Yale Climate Connections - Transportation
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More than a dozen Illinois schools add EVs to driver’s ed - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Teenagers at some Illinois high schools are now taking driver’s education classes in electric cars.
Mitchell: “EVs are the future. I mean, it’s something we can get these kids ready to use.”
Gregg Mitchell is the driver’s ed director at Lane Tech College Prep, a public high school in Chicago.
The school recently added an EV to its fleet of cars, using a grant from ComEd, the local electric utility.
The utility’s EVs for Education program has allowed more than a dozen schools to buy electric cars and chargers for their driver’s ed ... Read more ...
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Could your library do this? A California library is helping people try e-bikes for free - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 29) |
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Nov 29 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Libraries lend out a lot more than books and DVDs. Some loan tools or museum passes. And at the public library in Santa Barbara, California, visitors can borrow a weeklong membership to the city’s electric bike share program.
Bilek: “The goal is to give people in the community a chance to try a form of alternative transportation, see if it might work for them.”
That’s senior librarian Ariana Bilek.
She says the library is partnering with BCycle, the city’s e-bike share program, and Bosch, an e-bike technology company, to introduce more ... Read more ...
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Why one researcher is flying less - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 24) |
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Nov 24 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
As a linguistics researcher, Ian Joo of South Korea is often asked to travel for research and conferences.
But when he learned that taking one flight could cause more carbon pollution than the average citizen of Uganda emits in a year, he was appalled.
Joo: “That was a big shock for me.”
He decided to reduce his air travel. While he was a visiting researcher in the Netherlands, he attended four conferences.
Joo: “For all those conferences, I took the train.”
But he says sometimes flying is the only option and travel is critical ... Read more ...
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Many cyclists want to keep biking even in winter, advocate says - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 21) |
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Nov 21 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Even when it’s cold and snowy, Dave Robertson hops on his bike to get around town.
Robertson: “There’s no special equipment. It’s whatever clothes you’re wearing … put on a jacket, put on a pair of mitts and a hat, and get on your bike and go.”
Robertson is the vice president of Bike Ottawa, a nonprofit group that advocates for bike-friendly infrastructure in Canada’s capital city.
He says many cyclists want to keep riding in winter. It’s less expensive than driving a car and better for the climate. So he says it’s critical that cities keep ... Read more ...
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Uber driver switches to EV, saves money - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 20) |
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Nov 20 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Wesley Johnson is an Uber driver in San Francisco. For years, he picked up passengers in his Mercedes. And he spent a lot on fuel.
Johnson: “I was spending like $1,600, nothing less, a month, for gas.”
Plus, he had to deal with the wear and tear on his car, which can be pricey.
So when he heard that Uber and Hertz had partnered on a program to rent out electric vehicles to Uber drivers, Johnson was eager to give it a try.
He’s one of about 50,000 U.S. drivers who have rented a Tesla through the program since it launched two years ago. Read more ...
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Climate change could make air travel even worse - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 13) |
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Nov 13 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Flight delays and missed connections can turn a joyful holiday trip into a stressful fiasco. And these headaches may become more common as floods, heat waves, and storms grow more extreme.
Paul Williams is a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in the UK.
Williams: “Climate change has many potential consequences for the future of flying.”
For example, in September 2023, heavy rain caused hundreds of delays and cancellations at New York City airports. At La Guardia, a terminal flooded, forcing travelers to wade ... Read more ...
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Want to live in a walkable, bikeable city? Follow these tips. - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 13) |
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Nov 13 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States, and passenger cars, SUVs, and light-duty trucks account for more than half of all transportation emissions. If you want to reduce your climate impact, this can present a dilemma. Walking, biking, and public transportation are the most climate-friendly ways to get around, but cars rule the roads in most of the nation. So ditching your car might not seem realistic.
“It’s a really entrenched problem that’s really hard to get out of. We built all of these roads and highways and ... Read more ...
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How to cut the carbon footprint of your next flight - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
When booking holiday travel, you may notice that some sites such as Google Flights now provide an estimate of the carbon emissions caused by each flight.
Rutherford: “So this is something I’m really excited about.”
Dan Rutherford directs the Aviation and Marine programs at the International Council on Clean Transportation.
He says the climate impact of various flights can vary dramatically, depending on if a flight is direct, how new the plane is, the business model of the airline, and other factors.
Rutherford: “In our ... Read more ...
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Meet the former pilot working to reduce climate pollution from planes - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Todd Smith always wanted to fly. But shortly after becoming a pilot and achieving his lifelong dream, he fell ill. During his required time off, he learned about the consequences of climate change and how the airline industry is a major polluter. So Smith cofounded Safe Landing, an organization for current and former airline employees who want to protect the climate and safeguard jobs for industry workers.
Yale Climate Connections talked with Smith about his journey and about how airline workers are pushing for a cleaner industry.
Yale Climate ... Read more ...
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American society wasn’t always so car-centric. Our future doesn’t have to be, either. - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Oct 3) |
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Oct 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Transportation is the largest source of planet-warming gases in the United States, and passenger vehicles are the top emitters within the sector. To reduce car emissions, authorities ranging from the UN to the U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation say that people need to drive less. But this message is often lost in the excitement over electric vehicles, which overwhelmingly dominate the conversation about decarbonizing ground transportation.
The heavy emphasis on car-based climate solutions seems grounded in the assumption that driving is the only ... Read more ...
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Electric vehicles reduce carbon pollution in all U.S. states - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Sep 14) |
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Sep 14 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Cars and trucks are among the largest sources of climate-warming pollution in the U.S., accounting for around 23% of national emissions in 2021. Electric vehicles, along with strategies to reduce driving, are central to reducing that pollution.
But do EVs really lower carbon emissions, even when the electricity feeding the car comes from heavily polluting sources? (Looking at you, West Virginia.) The answer – thankfully – is a resounding yes. Compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, electric cars emit substantially less carbon dioxide pollution, no ... Read more ...
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What it’s like to road-trip cross-country in an electric car - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Jul 10) |
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Jul 10 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Earlier this year, Glen Ayers and his wife Mary drove their electric car from Massachusetts to California and back, stopping at parks and small towns across the country.
Ayers says going such a long distance in an EV was not difficult. Knowing where to charge up required a bit of planning, but he says they were able to plug in at campgrounds and stations along the way.
“If you’re driving on the interstates, pretty much every 30 to 50 miles, there’s a fast charger,” he says.
Ayers says this was a noticeable increase from a few years ... Read more ...
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Electric vehicle incentives for 'gasoline superusers’ would have outsized benefits for the climate - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (May 30, 2023) |
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May 30, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
In the U.S., a small percentage of drivers produce a disproportionate amount of global warming pollution.
“The top 10% of drivers in terms of their gasoline consumption were using about a third of all the gasoline,” says Janelle London of Coltura, a nonprofit that advocates for electric vehicle adoption.
Her team analyzed nationwide data about people’s driving habits. She says many so-called gasoline superusers drive a lot because they have to.
“They are generally people who are having to commute long distances because they can’t ... Read more ...
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EPA’s car pollution rules would save Americans trillions of dollars - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (May 08, 2023) |
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May 08, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are surging in many countries around the world, including the United States. According to the Department of Energy, EVs accounted for just 1% of new U.S. car sales in 2017. That share surpassed 3% in 2021 and approached 6% in 2022. Though the U.S. remains well below the global average EV share of new car sales, which exceeded 14% in 2022, the American market is catching up fast. According to an analysis of global markets by Bloomberg, a 5% share appears to be a tipping point at which EV sales take off in most countries.
Amid ... Read more ...
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Walmart just illustrated how mainstream EVs are now - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (May 04, 2023) |
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May 04, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
In the latest sign that corporate behemoths are getting behind the shift to electric vehicles, Walmart announced on Thursday that it would install fast-charging stations at thousands of locations around the country. The rollout would quadruple the company’s network of charging stations, currently available at more than 280 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.
Walmart’s move could help allay a common concern about buying an electric car - range anxiety, the fear of getting stranded with a dead battery and no chargers in sight. “We’ve got a Walmart store or ... Read more ...
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More clean transportation options are coming to South Los Angeles - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Apr 13, 2023) |
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Apr 13, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
The lack of reliable transportation can be a major challenge in people’s lives.
“Transit really provides access to education, job opportunities, and child care,” says Stephanie Ramirez of the South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone.
She says South LA has high rates of poverty and many people who rely on public transit to get to jobs and school. But buses do not go everywhere. And some roads lack sidewalks and bike lanes.
It’s also an area long burdened by air pollution from truck traffic and industry.
So her group is partnering on ... Read more ...
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Picture book helps kids learn about the downsides of gasoline - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Apr 07, 2023) |
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Apr 07, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
When vehicles burn fossil fuels, they create carbon pollution that warms the planet and other air pollutants that harm people’s health.
Kids today will inherit these problems, so Janelle London wants them to know about the risks of burning gasoline and the alternatives.
“We looked and looked and there was no children’s storybook about gasoline at all. And so we decided it was time to write one,” she says.
London works for the nonprofit Coltura, which advocates for phasing out gasoline by the year 2040.
She and her colleague Matthew ... Read more ...
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Diesel buses harm the environment. These El Paso school districts are going electric. - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Apr 04, 2023) |
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Apr 04, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
This story was co-published with El Paso Matters as part of Next City’s joint Equitable Cities Reporting Fellowship For Borderland Narratives.
In 1939, bright yellow buses became the symbol for students traveling to school. Today, the buses alleviate traffic congestion while taking millions of children to school daily.
But most of them are powered by diesel, which harms the environment and could impact the health of the students riding them.
In cities across the U.S., school districts are beginning to change the vehicles they use to ... Read more ...
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'Free’ employee parking is actually costing the climate and commuters - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Apr 03, 2023) |
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Apr 03, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Many businesses pay for space in a garage or lot so employees can park near the office.
But Allen Greenberg of the Federal Highway Administration says when employers provide free parking, it comes at a cost to the climate and other commuters.
“They are encouraging employees to drive to work in congested cities and largely to block buses filled with low-income workers who are also trying to get to work, who are using the infrastructure much more efficiently,” he says.
So some places such as Washington, D.C., and California now have what are ... Read more ...
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Electric vehicle rebates and tax credits often favor higher-income people - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Feb 28, 2023) |
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Feb 28, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Rebates and tax credits can make it more affordable to buy an electric vehicle.
But Debra Gore-Mann of the Greenlining Institute says these incentives often favor higher-income people.
For example, with many rebates, you have to front the money that will later be refunded.
“So that actually is really conducive to more wealthier people,” she says. “You can float the money, so it’s not such a big deal for you. You can wait for it to come in the mail.”
In a recent report, her group identified ways to make electric vehicle incentives more ... Read more ...
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New solar-powered car designed to travel up to 40 miles on sunshine alone - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Dec 06, 2022) |
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Dec 06, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Soon, some electric vehicle drivers will be able to run errands and then power up their vehicles without plugging in. They’ll just need sunshine.
Steve Fambro is co-founder of Aptera Motors Corp. His team created a three-wheeled electric vehicle with built-in solar cells that provide enough energy to cover many people’s daily driving needs.
“It’ll operate like a normal electric vehicle,” he says. “But all the while, you’ve got this imaginary extension cord that’s charging you up - 20, 30, 40 miles a day in some places.”
The vehicle, which is slated to go into production next year, looks like something out of a sci-fi ... Read more ...
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Don’t get fooled: Electric vehicles really are better for the climate - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 06, 2022) |
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Nov 06, 2022 · Join the Yale Center for Environmental Communication for a webinar on November 4, at 12 p.m. EDT. Panelists will discuss the health and community impacts of more frequent and large wildfires. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Kai Chen, Yale School of Public Health.
Yale Climate Connections
You may have heard the myth that electric vehicles are just as bad for the climate - or worse - than gas-powered cars and trucks. One common myth claims that the climate-warming pollution caused by manufacturing electric vehicle batteries cancels out the benefits. Not so.
Electric vehicles, often called EVs, are responsible for less global-warming pollution over their ... Read more ...
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Titanium dioxide coating could keep roads and bike paths cooler - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Oct 18, 2022) |
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Oct 18, 2022 · Join the Yale Center for Environmental Communication for a webinar on November 4, at 12 p.m. EDT. Panelists will discuss the health and community impacts of more frequent and large wildfires. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Kai Chen, Yale School of Public Health.
Yale Climate Connections
Biking or walking on a hot day can make you feel like you’re in an oven because dark pavement absorbs and retains heat. But applying a special coating to streets and bike paths could help cool them off.
Nicole Iroz-Elardo is an urban planning and public health researcher. She’s part of a University of Arizona-led team that’s testing a product made with titanium ... Read more ...
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Seattle utility aims to make electric vehicle charging more accessible - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Sep 09, 2022) |
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Sep 09, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Many city residents want an electric vehicle. But they hesitate to buy one because they do not have anywhere to install a charger.
Jacob Orenberg is with Seattle City Light. The electric utility is piloting a program that will provide these residents with EV charging on the street.
“The city of Seattle is a relatively older city for the West Coast. And many of our neighborhoods were built before the mid-20th century when the automobile became dominant,” he says. “And so many of the homes there don’t have driveways or garages. We are also a relatively dense city with many apartments and condominiums. And residents of those buildings ... Read more ...
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Electrifying transportation reduces emissions AND saves massive amounts of energy - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Aug 07, 2022) |
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Aug 07, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
With high energy prices and increasing urgency to reduce fossil fuel burning, it makes sense to get the most out of every gallon of gasoline or kilowatt-hour of electricity.
A previous post showed that charging an EV costs around $1.41 per gallon in the U.S., offering consumers a major savings over gasoline. Part of why EVs are cheap to operate is that they use energy with impressive efficiency.
Delving deeper, there’s a stark difference between the way internal combustion and electric engines use energy. The bad news is that combustion engines are fundamentally inefficient. But the good news is that electric motors offer vast improvements ... Read more ...
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The mustard seed that can fuel airplanes - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Jul 26, 2022) |
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Jul 26, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
An Ethiopian mustard plant called carinata has been attracting attention, not for its culinary use, but because its seeds can be used to create a more climate-friendly jet fuel.
“It has high oil content, high lipid content,” says Farhad Masum of Argonne National Laboratory. “You can refine that oil in a bio-refinery to make sustainable aviation fuel, which can replace conventional aviation fuel.”
Masum says carinata fuel is a particularly promising biofuel - partly because of where and when carinata can be grown.
“Carinata is a winter crop,” he says. “You can plant it in the Florida Panhandle or in south Georgia around ... Read more ...
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Meet the woman electrifying her Jeep Wrangler - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Jul 11, 2022) |
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Jul 11, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Veronika Wright grew up in Austria watching the American TV show “The Gilmore Girls” and dreaming of driving a tan Jeep Wrangler like Lorelai Gilmore.
Now Wright lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is the proud owner of her dream vehicle. But she’s working to make it better than Lorelai’s. She and her husband are converting the Jeep to run on electricity.
Wright has a Ph.D. in physics and used to work as a battery simulation engineer.
“This really was a lot of fun, and I got very, very passionate about batteries,” she says.
She wanted to apply her technical knowledge to a hands-on project and share her enthusiasm for electric ... Read more ...
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Grants help Wisconsin nonprofits purchase electric vehicles - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (May 13, 2022) |
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May 13, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Many nonprofits operate on tight budgets. So if they need to buy a car or van, electric vehicles are attractive because EVs cost less to fuel and maintain.
But the up-front price of EVs can be a barrier. And nonprofits cannot take advantage of tax credits that are available to individuals or companies.
“If we can get these vehicles into the communities that need them, that’s going to save them money over a long period of time, and it’s going to help our environment as well,” says Sam Dunaiski of Renew Wisconsin.
Last year, his organization began offering grants to help nonprofits in low-income communities buy electric ... Read more ...
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Illinois offers $4,000 incentive to electric vehicle buyers - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Apr 18, 2022) |
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Apr 18, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The Biden administration has set a goal that half of all new cars sold in the U.S. will be electric by 2030, and many states are creating plans to encourage drivers to make the switch.
Christian Mitchell is deputy governor for public safety, infrastructure, energy, and the environment in Illinois.
“The governor has a very exciting goal around electric vehicles. We want to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, and we are attacking that from all ends,” Mitchell says. “On the cost side … we’re providing a $4,000 incentive for consumers to go out and buy an electric vehicle.”
Combined with federal tax credits, that can ... Read more ...
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NASCAR racing team cuts carbon pollution - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Feb 18, 2022) |
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Feb 18, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
At NASCAR races, cars can top 200 mph as they speed around the track.
This gas-powered sport is an unlikely candidate for climate action. But one racing team is reducing or offsetting its carbon pollution.
Steve Newmark is president of Roush Fenway Keselowski racing.
“We’re not going to be able to avoid using tires,” he says. “We’re not going to be able to avoid, you know, burning fuel when we take our haulers across the country that have our race cars in them. But there were other areas that we identified that we could be more conscious of the impact that we were having on our environment.”
So although the racecars still run on ... Read more ...
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Demand for electric vehicles to cause battery supply chain bottleneck, analyst says - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Jan 11, 2022) |
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Jan 11, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Many countries and automakers have ambitious plans to transition to electric cars, trucks, and buses within 10 to 20 years.
“Demand for batteries is growing at an incredible rate,” says Andrew Miller, chief operating officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
The company analyzes the supply chain for the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles.
Battery production starts with mining lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which can be costly and environmentally destructive.
And Miller says the markets for these raw materials remain relatively small, so they’ll need tremendous scaling up to keep pace with demand.
“So that ... Read more ...
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General Motors to manufacture electric car battery cells in U.S. - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Dec 02, 2021) |
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Dec 02, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
For more than a year, a shortage of semiconductor chips has been holding up car production. And automakers want to make sure the same problem won’t happen with electric car batteries.
Like the chips, most battery cells are made abroad. But as U.S. automakers go electric, they want to develop a reliable domestic supply.
“We’re very focused on bringing the supply chain here, but bringing it here in a sustainable way, and also at a competitive cost,” says Michael Maten, a senior strategist for EV and energy policy at General Motors.
GM intends to make all its new cars emissions-free by 2035. To support that goal, the company plans to ... Read more ...
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Cargo ships and tankers could cut carbon pollution by harnessing the wind - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Nov 12, 2021) |
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Nov 12, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
For hundreds of years, global trade was made possible by the wind, and masted ships sailed the seas.
Today, the shipping industry is looking to harness the wind once again.
Gavin Allwright is with the International Windship Association, a nonprofit trade group.
“When we first started back in 2014 … I was the strange guy in the room, you know, talking about wind,” he says. “The perception was, why should we even consider this?”
But that attitude is changing as the industry tries to reduce carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of conventional cargo ships and tankers.
Modern wind technologies include tall, cylindrical ... Read more ...
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Bed-Stuy organization works to get more people of color on bikes - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Oct 07, 2021) |
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Oct 07, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Citi Bike, New York City’s bike share program, launched in 2013. For the first couple of years, the bikes and docking stations were placed only in lower Manhattan and a small area of Brooklyn.
Alexis Harrison says that sent a signal that “this resource was primarily here for, you know, white young professionals commuting to their … Wall Street jobs.”
Harrison is with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, a nonprofit in Bed-Stuy, a historically Black Brooklyn neighborhood.
She says when Citi Bike later expanded into Bed-Stuy, many longtime residents were not supportive, because they felt the program was not for ... Read more ...
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Electric cars can cost 40% less to maintain than gasoline cars - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Sep 20, 2021) |
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Sep 20, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
The cost of owning a car is far higher than its purchase price. Expenses such as fuel, maintenance, and repairs add up over time.
Andrew Burnham of Argonne National Laboratory co-authored a recent report about the total cost of vehicle ownership.
“Over the lifetime of a vehicle, the maintenance and repair for a gasoline car might be $25,000 or so – so a very significant amount,” he says.
But he says these long-term costs are typically less for electric vehicles.
EVs have fewer parts to service, as they don’t need oxygen sensors, spark plugs, motor oil, or timing belts. Burnham’s team estimated that scheduled maintenance for ... Read more ...
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Minority communities often lack access to safe biking infrastructure - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Sep 10, 2021) |
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Sep 10, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Riding a bicycle is a clean, efficient, and affordable way to get around a city. But biking is not an easy option for everyone.
“What is needed is a focus on the prioritization of racial equity within the cycling movement,” says Charles Brown, CEO of Equitable Cities, an urban planning, policy, and research consultancy based in New Jersey.
He says many Black and Hispanic communities lack bike lanes, secure bike parking, and adequate streetlights.
“Racialized minority groups, as well as low-income populations … are less likely to have access to safe bicycling infrastructure,” Brown says.
He says social barriers also persist. For ... Read more ...
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The plug-in hybrid: Goldilocks bridge or postponement tool? - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Sep 09, 2021) |
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Sep 09, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
They’re often called “hybrids,” but that’s not quite right. They behave like electric cars, but they can also be filled up at the gas pump. Pity the well-meaning PHEV. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
PHEVs are too fossil-fuel-friendly for some climate hawks to accept, and their workings are too complex for many motorists and even some car dealers to grasp. “It’s the least understood technology around,” says Gil Tal, director of the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center at the University of California, Davis.
It’s worth knowing more about PHEVs. Their place in the evolving U.S. and European automotive landscapes is ... Read more ...
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Cities can play a key role in the transition to electric vehicles - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Aug 28, 2021) |
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Aug 28, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Over the past five years, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in Columbus, Ohio, has increased by around 500 percent, thanks to an ambitious program that harnessed the collective resources of the local government, business, and nonprofit communities.
This dramatic growth points to an important resource for decarbonizing the US transportation sector, the nation’s largest source of emissions: municipal electrification programs. Although federal infrastructure policy receives more attention than its state and local counterparts, cities like Columbus have a vital role to play in getting gas-powered vehicles off the road.
Given the imperative ... Read more ...
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California will need more than 1.2 million electric vehicle chargers by 2030, report finds - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Aug 27, 2021) |
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Aug 27, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
California has an ambitious plan for reducing the carbon pollution from transportation. Governor Gavin Newsom has set a goal that all new cars sold in the state will be zero-emissions by 2035.
That’s expected to accelerate the state’s transition to electric vehicles. But in order to drive EVs, many more people will need easy access to charging.
In cities, a lot of people live in apartments and park on the street or in shared lots, so they cannot install their own charger. And in rural areas, people often drive long distances and need to charge up away from home.
Patty Monahan is a commissioner at the California Energy Commission. She ... Read more ...
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Maritime shipping causes more greenhouse gases than airlines - Yale Climate Connections - Transportation (Jul 29, 2021) |
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Jul 29, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Ships transport more than 10 billion metric tons of cargo each year, including clothing, electronics, and oil.
Almost all of these ships run on fossil fuels, so they emit a lot of carbon pollution. Maritime shipping causes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – even more than airplanes.
In 2018, the U.N. agency that regulates global shipping set a goal of reducing ships’ carbon emissions to half of 2008 levels by mid-century.
But Bryan Comer of the International Council on Clean Transportation says little progress has been made.
“Currently, the global shipping sector is not on track to meet even its initial greenhouse gas ... Read more ...
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