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☆ See how badly your home could be hit by heat, wind, and bad air over the next 30 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Dan Latu | Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Realtor.com has unveiled a set of climate risk tools that homeowners and homebuyers alike can use to learn the specific climate risks of a property. The tools, called Heat Factor, Wind Factor, and Air Factor, are available starting Wednesday and can map out a neighborhood's risks of above-normal days on the heat index, chances of experiencing wind gusts over 50 mph, and days of poor air quality. More than 40% of US homes, valued at a combined $20 trillion, are vulnerable to extreme heat, wind, and poor air quality, according to a Realtor.com analysis. Understanding your home's climate riskPrior to releasing the heat, wind, and air quality tools, Realtor.com already provided fire and flood risks for properties based on data from First Street. First Street, a climate-risk firm, is also behind the data on extreme heat, wind, and air quality now added to listings.

Persons: Realtor.com, Oscar Seikaly, Bob Stephens, homebuyers, Danielle Hale, Hale, Z, Redfin, we've Organizations: Service, Factor, Air Factor, Business, San, Sun Locations: Florida , California, Texas, Miami, San Francisco, California, Florida

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is setting tougher standards for deadly soot pollution, saying that reducing fine particle matter from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources could prevent thousands of premature deaths a year. Soot pollution has declined sharply in the past two decades, even as the U.S. gross domestic product has increased by more than 50%, Regan said. Bakersfield tied with Visalia in California's San Joaquin Valley as the most polluted city for year-round particle pollution. Wildfires in the western U.S. were a major contributing factor to increased levels of particle pollution, the report said. Six of the 10 cities with the most soot pollution were in California, and two more were in the West: Medford, Oregon and greater Phoenix.

Persons: —, Biden, Michael Regan, Harris, “, Obama, Joe Biden, Regan, we’ve, Manish Bapna, Ben Jealous, Jeffrey Zients, Barack Obama, Donald Trump Organizations: WASHINGTON, Environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, Industry, Biden, Democratic, Administration, Natural Resources Defense Council, EPA, Sierra Club, Republican, Companies, and Paper Association, National Association of Manufacturers, White House, American Lung Association, Visalia Locations: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Bakersfield , California, Fresno , California, Bakersfield, California's San Joaquin, U.S, California, West, Medford , Oregon, Phoenix

WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts by the Biden administration to limit pollution from automobile tailpipes — a major source of planet-warming emissions — face a crucial test as legal challenges brought by Republican-led states head to a federal appeals court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments Thursday and Friday on three cases challenging Biden administration rules targeting cars and trucks. The cases before the appeals court will test a 2021 Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened tailpipe pollution limits and a 2022 EPA decision that restored California’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars and SUVs. The court cases come as the Biden administration pushes the auto industry to quickly adopt electric vehicles as part of its climate agenda. “Far from doing something unexpected or novel'' in the tailpipe pollution rule, "EPA merely tightened existing standards,'' Kim wrote.

Persons: Biden, Ken Paxton, Joe, ”, Paxton, Dave Yost, Peter Zalzal, ″, Pete Huffman, Todd Kim, “, Kim, Zalzal Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican, U.S, Appeals, District of Columbia, Biden, Transportation, Supreme, Environmental, Agency, EPA, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Texas, GOP, Texas Senate, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, NHTSA, Justice Department's, Natural Resources, General Motors, Ford, GM, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, EV, Auto Innovators, Department, EDF Locations: U.S, California, Russia, Ukraine, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia

☆ If you're thinking of buying an electric vehicle, don't forget to check out the tires
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

More tire manufacturers are trying to go green with their products and also make versions for EVs. You're looking to climb into an electric vehicle because it's better for your wallet , better when it comes to maintenance , and better for the planet . The company plans to make tires from only sustainable materials by 2050. Part of the push for better tire ingredients is also coming from regulators. "If we can find ways to just help keep tires better maintained, we can have a really big impact as well on emissions or downtime," Helsel said.

Persons: There's, Chris Helsel, We're, EVs, Helsel Organizations: Morning, Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear Locations: tailpipes, California

That is by far the most ever spent on clean energy in a year. Solar and Wind Power Have Taken Off Electricity generation per year, in terawatt hours China 600 TWh 500 Solar Wind U.S. China 400 E.U. It would shred regulations designed to curb greenhouse gases, dismantle nearly every federal clean energy program and boost the production of fossil fuels. 1 2 3 4 5 Even Tulsa, with its strong links to oil and gas, is embracing clean energy. “But we also understand that energy is energy, whether it is generated by wind, steam or whatever it might be.”Around the country, clean energy is taking root in unlikely locales.

Persons: ”, Fatih Birol, Al Gore, Crews, Francis Energy, Dewey, Bartlett Jr, “, J.W, Peters, Mr, Lazard, Gregory Nemet, —, Biden, Tesla, Giovanni Bertolino, Jon Creyts, Steve Uerling’s, Uerling, Cathy Zoi, It’s, Mary Barra, ’, Barra Organizations: Buses, Port, International Energy Agency, India India, Energy, The New York Times, Heritage Foundation, Republican, Ford, University of Tulsa’s School of Petroleum Engineering, “ Oil, Drillers, Navistar, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Francis, Solar Power, U.S . Steel, Gas, University of Wisconsin -, Panasonic, United, European Union, United States ’, General Motors, RMI, Ford Fusion, Tesla, Postal Service, Amazon, Peterbilt, Companies, Francis Energy, BMW Group, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Benz Group Locations: Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Port of Los Angeles, Houston, Europe, United States, America, China, Britain, terawatt, India, U.S, States, Beijing, London, Tokyo, Washington, Oslo, Dubai, Tulsa, Okla, Italian, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Texas, Galveston, In Arkansas, Republican, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Georgia, Korean, Nevada, tailpipes, California, New York, San Francisco, Canada, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Steve Uerling’s Tulsa, E.U, G.M

☆ Opinion | A Climate Hawk’s Issues With Electric Vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I get why the Biden administration is pushing electric vehicles so hard. To stop the planet from overheating, we’ll eventually need motor vehicles to produce zero greenhouse gas emissions, and only fully electric vehicles can do that. Hybrids, which have combustion engines along with electric motors, will always puff some carbon dioxide (and other bad stuff) out of their tailpipes. By Toyota’s calculation, the amount of rocks needed for one long-range electric vehicle would be enough for either six plug-in hybrids or 90 of the type of hybrid that can’t be plugged in for a recharge. “The overall carbon reduction of those 90 hybrids over their lifetimes is 37 times as much as a single battery electric vehicle,” Toyota argues.

Persons: Biden, there’s, Toyota, That’s Organizations: Toyota

☆ New Yorkers are getting a taste of what it's like to live in the pollution of Delhi, Doha, and Shanghai
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US didn't always have the clean air many of us are used to. This week I didn't expect my texts to be about air quality. New Yorkers and others are getting a taste of what it can be like to live in Doha, Qatar, and Shanghai, where at least air pollution appears to be improving. When the first Earth Day took place in April 1970, air pollution was a major problem in most US cities. Those actions have since made such a difference that many of us are now shocked by what poor air quality looks like.

Persons: —, I'm, he'd, Spriha Srivastava, Eric Adams, Julia LeMense, wasn't, Nixon, Robert Kremens, Rachel Carson's, Kremens, I've Organizations: Service, Yorkers, . New York, Wednesday, World Health Organization, Chester, Carlson Center, Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Act Locations: York, New York, New York City, Manhattan, Detroit, Washington, Lahore, Pakistan, Hotan, China, Bhiwadi, India, Delhi, , New York City, . New, it's, Doha, Qatar, Shanghai, Donora , Pennsylvania, Cleveland, LA, Rochester , New York, Montana, Utah

☆ The US wants to cut carbon emissions from power plants. Here are the 15 states where coal is king.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration proposed steep pollution cuts by coal- and gas-fired power plants. Most US electricity comes from fossil fuels — the sector creates 25% of the nation's emissions. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, and plants have been closing over the past decade. Most of the country's more than 3,400 fossil-fuel power plants would have to nearly eliminate their planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040 under a proposal announced by the Environmental Protection Agency last week. Coal plants could also opt to shut down in the first half of the 2030s to avoid meeting most or even all pollution caps.

Persons: Biden, it's Organizations: Service, Environmental, Agency, EPA, Biden, US Energy Information Administration, West Virginia —, Missouri —, Wyoming, Kentucky —, Utah —, Indiana —, Dakota —, Nebraska —, Montana —, Wisconsin —, Colorado —, Mexico —, Arkansas —, Michigan —, Minnesota — Locations: Mexico

☆ 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70: How Many More Miles to the Next Charger?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Dan Neil | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

FACE VALUE In most respects identical to its gas-powered siblings, the 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige can be distinguished by a crosshatched metallic grille form, which conceals the charging port, and the absence of tailpipes. Photo: Genesis MotorsLET’S TALK INFRASTRUCTURE. On a brilliant Sunday morning last month, the Neil family was returning from a beach weekend in a 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 crossover, with 90 miles to go and about 60 miles worth of electrons onboard. Stylish on its 20-inch alloys and Michelin tires, but not overly efficient, the top-spec AWD Prestige posts an estimated range of 236 miles. But an unexpected errand meant we had to find charging en route.

☆ United Auto Workers Hold Off on Backing Biden, for Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Shane Goldmacher | Coral Davenport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United Auto Workers, a politically potent labor union, is planning to withhold its endorsement of President Biden in the early stages of the 2024 race, according to an internal memo from its president to members on Tuesday. The memo, written by Shawn Fain, the Detroit-based union’s president, said the leadership of the United Auto Workers had traveled to Washington last week to meet with Biden administration officials and had expressed “our concerns with the electric vehicle transition” that the president has pursued. In April, the Biden administration proposed the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations yet, which would ensure that two-thirds of new passenger cars are all-electric by 2032 — up from just 5.8 percent today. The rules, if enacted, could sharply lower planet-warming pollution from vehicle tailpipes, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse emissions. But they come with costs for autoworkers, because it takes fewer than half the laborers to assemble an all-electric vehicle as it does to build a gasoline-powered car.

☆ Are gas-powered or electric vehicles a better deal? EVs may win out in long run, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

They would pay about $84,000 total, versus $87,000 for the gas car, Woody said. Thirty-five percent of Americans say reducing their personal impact on climate change is a major reason they would buy an electric car — the No. Ingrid Malmgren policy director of Plug In AmericaSince they don't burn fossil fuels, fully electric cars don't emit planet-warming greenhouse gases from their tailpipes. "Electric vehicles are the key technology to decarbonize road transport," the International Energy Agency said. Such a vehicle costs consumers 45.3 cents per mile over a 15-year ownership period, beaten out only by hybrid electric vehicles, according to Argonne.

☆ U.S. proposes 56% vehicle emissions cut by 2032, requiring big EV jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The proposal, if finalized, represents the most aggressive U.S. vehicle emissions reduction plan to date, requiring 13% annual average pollution cuts and a 56% reduction in projected fleet average emissions over 2026 requirements. The EPA is also proposing new stricter emissions standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks through 2032. The proposal is more ambitious than President Joe Biden's 2021 goal, backed by automakers, seeking 50% of new vehicles by 2030 to be electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids. Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said the EPA proposal should have been tougher. Medium-duty vehicle rules are projected to cut emissions by 44% over 2026.

☆ America's Parking Addiction Hurts the Economy, Drives up Housing Costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jeral Poskey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A society committed to housing and feeding its people will ensure plenty of land is dedicated to homes and farms. According to the builder WGI, the average parking stall in the US costs $27,900 to build, more than the cost of many new compact cars. The money and resources dedicated to parking could be used for other purposes, but breaking our country's reliance on parking has been difficult. Parking accounted for about 27% of per-unit costs, regardless of whether the resident owned a car or not. Better transportation, better land use, better citiesEfforts are underway to finally rid America of its unhealthy devotion to parking.

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