Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Today, U.S. EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed national limits on global warming pollution from cars and trucks, along with stronger fuel economy standards. According to the agencies, the proposed standards will reduce CO2 emissions by 950 million...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
I've just returned from Washington after attending President Obama's announcement of new greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles. After battling the industry for seven long years since the passage of the groundbreaking California Clean Cars Law (AB1493,...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
This Thursday (April 23), the California Air Resources Board has a dramatic opportunity to help solve global warming and get biofuels right by adopting the nation's first Low Carbon Fuel Standard. To do so, California must stand up against two...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
As reported in today's New York Times, responding to the Supreme Court's decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to declare CO2 and other greenhouse gases as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act which...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Today GM announced Bob Lutz, their 76-year-old GM product development chief and vice chairman, would retire by end of this year. When it comes to the environment, Bob Lutz's legacy is shaped by two, somewhat paradoxical ways. The quote that...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
I blogged on January 24, 2008 on the National Automobile Dealers Association's (NADA) new report complaining about complying with the California Clean Cars Program. The study makes the following claim: "On a national level, the new federal CAFE standards will...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
I thought I would quickly post some answers to some basic questions that have come up today as the media and others have reacted to the President's announcement today. First, drivers in the states with the California Clean Cars Program will...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
According to reports in the New York Times and Washington Post, President Obama is expected to announce tomorrow (1/26/08) that he will instruct federal agencies to act quickly to grant California a waiver to regulate automobile tailpipe emissions and also to raise fuel...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
All signs are that the Obama Administration is planning to give California the long-delayed waiver to implement its ground-breaking global warming standards for new motor vehicles. At her confirmation hearing, the new EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, promised to "immediately reconsider...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
It’s not often the main automaker lobbying association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), and NRDC find themselves on the same side of an issue. Usually, we are fighting about stricter fuel economy and CO2 pollution standards. But we do...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
This year, every monthly auto sales report has brought gloomy news for the Detroit Big 3. Unfortunately for the past two decades, the Detroit Big 3 CEOs have been living in a virtual “state of denial” regarding oil prices and...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Curbing Pollution , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
This election season, the issue of “just words” has been hotly debated. Do words like “zero emissions” matter when it comes to solving pollution problems? Of course. But equally as important are the facts. To the environment, “zero emissions” are...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
On Leap Day, EPA announced a giant leap of logic. EPA finally released its explanation for denying California permission to implement its landmark Clean Cars program to cut global warming pollution from tailpipes. EPA’s claim that California does not meet...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Curbing Pollution , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Yesterday, my colleague, Nathanael Greene, blogged on the implications of two articles that appeared in Science Magazine that highlight the risks of expanding biofuels without the proper standards and safeguards. As Nathanael correctly points out the issue of carbon emissions from land use...
Posted by Roland Hwang in Moving Beyond Oil
Does a SUV that emits more than twice as much pollution as the greenest car deserve to be called the “green” car of the year? In a controversial decision last Thursday at the LA Auto Show, the Green Car Journal...
