The European car industry is going to be heavily impacted by regulations on pollution limitations and tensions are rising between German manufacturers on one side and the French and Italian car industry on the other. Reason? German cars are much heavier than those made by the French and the Italians and the Germans fear that they will be penalized by new pollution regulations.

New cars by 2012 can only emit 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer at max. Most European cars average 160 grams per kilometer at the moment. The new rules are expected to transform the look and feel of all European cars. Even the smallest and most energy efficient cars are required to undergo design changes so the sector as a whole can reach the new goals.

States Commit to Combating Climate Change at Yale Conference of Governors

Governors and representatives of 18 U.S. states signed a Declaration on Climate Change during the Yale Conference of Governors April 17-18 commemorating the centennial of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt planting the seeds for what would grow into the conservation movement and the U.S. National Parks System. [read more]

Mitigating Climate Change: Capitalist Sham?

The UN’s Kyoto Protocol and Clean Development Mechanism, cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions trading systems—nothing but a con and the latest gambit by the international - predominantly Western - political, corporate and media elite to further enrich and secure themselves while doing less than nothing to address environmental degradation and climate change, claims New Delhi’s Centre for Science and Environment.[read more]

Oil ShockWave SimGame: Coming to a Classroom Near You?

Want to learn about oil dependence, make like one of our national leaders and formulate energy policy in response to a threat to global oil supplies? Check out the curriculum box set of Oil ShockWave at the Web site of the same name.[read more]

New Kyoto Protocol CDM Chair Sets Priorities

Streamlining and expanding the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism will be key priorities for 2008, according to Rajesh Kumar Sethi, the recently appointed chair of the CDM Executive Board.[read more]

Lots of Renewable Energy Pledges at WIREC 2008

Lots of activity at WIREC 2008 (the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference), including more than 100 uni-, bi- and multi-lateral pledges from some 40 countries to increase renewable energy development and use.[read more]

Public & Private Sector Renewable Energy Leaders to Gather in D.C.

At the invitation of the U.S. government, public and private sector leaders will be gathering in Washington D.C. early March for WIREC 2008, the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference. The third such event, organizers are busy lining up voluntary pledges from participants to promote and foster renewable energy, which are to be collected and publicly released as the Washington International Action Plan.[read more]

U.S. Cap & Trade, Politics and the Elections

Though proposed means and methods vary, it appears likely that federal greenhouse gas emissions legislation, and a national cap-and-trade scheme, will be introduced in the U.S. sometime during the new president's first term, one that has the potential to reach US$1 trillion, more than twice the size of the European Union’s.[read more]

Alternative Energy, Green Jobs, and Economic Stimulus

“It’s the economy, stupid” Ah yes, we remember the early nineties fondly and the phrase that in recent weeks has been resurrected...[read more]

HCN's call for a national energy policy...and candidates' attention

I'm not a big reader of magazines or periodicals but one I always look forward to receiving is High...[read more]

States vs. Fed: Environmental Justice Comes to the Fore

Issues of environmental justice are increasingly coming to the fore in local, state and federal legislatures and the courts, as evidenced by 12 state district attorneys bringing suit against the EPA over revisions to the Toxic Release Inventory program. Indicative of developments in the West, a precedent recently set in New Mexico’s Supreme Court and interpretation of a 2005 gubernatorial EJ executive order are likely as communities, municipal and the state government wrangle over landfill permits.[read more]

South Africa Sees Potential in a Hydrogen Economy

South Africa's Dept. of Science & Technology is finalizing a national hydrogen and fuel cell development strategy that takes advantages of the emerging market country's being the world's leading producer of platinum, a key catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells.[read more]

NREL to Cut Emissions 75% by 2009

The US DoE's National Renewable Energy Lab is playing a central and pivotal role when it comes to carrying out research, development and commercialization of promising alternative energy and clean technologies. As part of its outreach efforts, NREL on Tuesay pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 75% by 2009 as a member of the EPA's Climate Leaders program. [read more]

The Triple “P” Wave and the Road to Bali

The line forms on the left as heads of state and other high-ranking government officials announce pledges and ambitious plans aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in the build-up to the United Nations Climate Conference to be held in Bali December 3-14. [read more]

Red State, Blue State - Green State?

The color-coded red and blue United States map has become a familiar image in the past few years with the...[read more]

Corruption, Abuse of Power Nothing New in the New South Africa

South Africa emerged from apartheid as something of a beacon holding out the promise of an open, pluralist democratic country...Single party rule and an ANC power structure beset by power grasping political maneuvring and corruption threatens to undermine that promise... [read more]

Auto Industry Workers Say 35 MPG by 2020 Can Be Done

by Lorna Li The Big Three Auto Makers in America - General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler - are spending...[read more]

Environmentalism is Dead: Why Doomsday Doesn't Work

Principals have no real force except when one is well fed-Mark Twain For many years I’ve harbored a nagging sense of futility...[read more]

You Can't Eat Scenery II: The Search for an Index for Sustainable Development

The UN, World Bank and a host of other leading public and private organizations have for more than a decade now led efforts to develop a generally accepted set of indicators of sustainable development that governments and industries could commit to and implement in an effective way…The effort continues and the stakes-- as well as the consequences of success or failure-- are higher than ever… [read more]

You Can’t Eat Scenery: Economic Progress, the Environment & Indicators

The World Economic Forum released its annual ranking of global economic competitiveness last week, drawing attention not only to which countries prominent business leaders and economists believe have the best equipped economies, but to the deep and wide-ranging impact statistical economic indicators have, and how we define economic progress, as well as our social and environmental well-being. [read more]

Powershift 2007 - Students Lobby for Bold Climate Change Legislation

By Lorna Li Climate change activism has taken to the streets this weekend. Saturday November 3rd was the National...[read more]

On Halloween Congress Gets the Spooky Truth about Fuel Efficieny

by Lorna Li On Halloween, the Pew Campaign for Fuel Efficiency is sending out "Spooky Truth" Trick or Treat bags...[read more]

Of Abalone, Drugs, Dwindling Populations & Economic Empowerment

"Illustrations of the threat we pose to other species and the environment and our inability to manage use of our marine and terrestrial natural resources are increasingly common, and one can be seen in the decimation of one of the few remaining wild marine populations of abalone taking place here in South Africa’s Western Cape Province south of Cape Town."[read more]