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On the Road to Cleaner Cars

October 23, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, cleancars, fueleconomystandards, globalwarmingstandards, greenhousegasstandards, nationalprogram, obamafuelstandards, vehicles

On Wednesday, U.S. EPA and DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) held a public hearing in Detroit on recently proposed, first-ever national limits on global warming pollution from cars and light trucks and strengthened fuel economy requirements. The proposed...continued

U.S. DOT Proposes National Tire Efficiency Ratings and Labels

June 18, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, cleancars, cleanenergy, fueleconomy, fuelefficienttires, globalwarming, oilsavings, tires

The past week and a half have been noteworthy in the passenger car tire world. Last week, California proposed tire efficiency ratings and today the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposal for a...continued

California Steps Toward First Tire Efficiency Ratings in U.S.; Federal Agency to Follow

June 17, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, cleancars, cleanenergy, drilling, fuelefficienttires, globalwarming, oilsavings, tires

Last week, California proposed a new tire efficiency rating system based on a tire's energy consumption during driving. Under the system, efficiency information on all tires sold in the state is collected in a public database and the most efficient tires...continued

Tire Efficiency: How Your Car Can Cruise on Less Gas

June 12, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, cleancars, cleanenergy, drilling, fuelefficienttires, globalwarming, oilsavings, simplesteps

Did you know that some car tires are more efficient than others? It's true; some tires use less energy as they roll along the road and therefore make your car, minivan, SUV or pickup consume less gas. Fuel efficient tires...continued

Clean Energy Cities Could Make the GM/Segway and Bicyclists Flourish

April 7, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
gmsegway, smartercities, transportation, transportationbill

If the GM/Segway P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) vehicle were zipping around my neighborhood right now, I would expect to see it in the bicycle lane on 6th Avenue. The experimental two-seat electric vehicle isn't ready to join cars and trucks...continued

Waxman-Markey: Putting America on the Road to a Clean Energy Transportation Future

April 6, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
fueleconomystandards, globalwarming, lowcarbonfuelstandard, oildependence, smartercities, transportation, vehicles

The transportation sector is second largest source of global warming pollution in the US (contributing about a third of total emissions) and it consumes two-thirds of our daily oil demand. Those two facts make it essential to act now to...continued

Fuels Emissions Cap and Low Carbon Fuel Standard Are Key Parts of House Climate Proposal

April 1, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, energyandclimate2009, fueleconomystandards, globalwarming, lowcarbonfuelstandard, oildependence, transportation

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposed essential policies for cleaning up our fuel supply and reducing our dependence on oil. The proposal includes transportation fuels under an economy-wide cap and establishes a complementary, performance-based low carbon fuel standard....continued

Higher Fuel Economy for 1 Year Gives Administration Opportunity to Set the Next 5 Years Right

March 27, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
CAFE, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, globalwarming, oildependence

Today, the Obama Administration finalized fuel economy standards for model year 2011 cars and light trucks, which include SUVs, minivans, and pickups. This is a step in a process that could make the vehicles we drive each day dramatically cleaner....continued

President Obama's Electric Ride

March 20, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
capandtrade, cleancars, cleanenergy, electriccars, fueleconomy, Obama, obamaspeech, pluginhybrids

When I heard that President Obama was going to visit Southern California Edison's Electric Vehicle Test Center, I pictured him behind the wheel of a plug-in vehicle with a big smile on his face. He'd step on the accelerator, feel...continued

Obama’s Clean Energy Vision for Transportation

February 25, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
capandtrade, fueleconomy, globalwarming, obamaspeech, oildependence, vehicles

In his speech to the nation last night, President Obama connected the dots between a healthy, vibrant economy and clean energy. He pointed out that our oil dependence continues to gravely threaten our security and economy, that our ill auto...continued

Obama Administration Should Strengthen Fuel Economy Standards

January 7, 2009

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
energyefficiency, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, gasprices, globalwarming, NHTSA, obama, oil, oildependence, oilsavings, policy, security, vehicles

Today, the Bush Administration announced that it will not issue final fuel economy standards for automobiles, leaving approval to President-elect Obama's administration. This gives the Obama administration an opportunity to move quickly under the nation's clean air and energy laws...continued

Driving Quietly: Testing the Cars of the Future

October 1, 2008

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
backtothefuture, CAFE, delorean, electricdrive, electricvehicles, energyefficiency, fuelcell, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, futurecars, hydrogen, pluginhybrids, vehicles

Last Friday, I was invited to the Consumer Reports test track to drive some of the cars of the future. It wasn't a typical test scene - no revving engines or the odor of petroleum. With the exception of the...continued

Clean Energy Saves Americans Money

September 17, 2008

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
AIG, CAFE, cleanenergy, drilling, energyefficiency, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, gasprices, OCS, oil, oildependence, oildrilling, oilsavings, outercontinentalshelf, policy, security, vehicles

Efficiency and other clean energy measures are sound investments for the near and long-term. I realize right now that it's hard to believe that sound investments exist. The financial center at Wall Street seems to be crumbling with the news that...continued

Clean Energy: 9 Million More Barrels Each Day than Drilling

September 8, 2008

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
arcticnationalwildliferefuge, CAFE, cleanenergy, drilling, energyefficiency, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, gasprices, OCS, oil, oildependence, oildrilling, oilsavings, outercontinentalshelf, policy, security, vehicles

The more I look, the more oil savings I find. My latest investigation continues to cast serious doubt on the advice of drilling advocates by turning up 11 times more oil in 2030 than we could extract from the Arctic...continued

Drilling is Not the Answer: Save Oil FASTER with Realistic Car Fuel Economy Standards

July 14, 2008

Posted by Luke Tonachel in Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
CAFE, drilling, fueleconomy, fueleconomystandards, gasprices, OCS, oildependence, oilsavings, outercontinentalshelf, security

Earlier today, President Bush announced the lifting of an Executive Branch ban on drilling in protected areas off our coasts. In an accompanying White House document, the Administration acknowledged that drilling will take a long time to produce any oil;...continued

Luke Tonachel
Luke Tonachel
Vehicles Analyst
New York City
When I was 9 years old, my parents loaded me and my siblings into the...
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