Los Angeles is known not only for its celebrity clientele, but also for its congested roadways and heavy traffic, which consequently has led to severely polluted air, and the title of the “smoggiest city” in the United States. While air quality has improved somewhat in LA, a joint study by UCLA and the California Air Resources Board suggests that nearly a quarter of Angelenos (more…)

Putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their emission of air pollutants by up to 70 percent, reducing the impact of marine shipping on Earth’s climate and human health, scientists have found. Their evaluation of the impact of vessel speed reduction policies, such as those proposed by the California Air Resources Board, (more…)

Despite being in the midst of a financial apocalypse, California continues to find money to support the sale of electric vehicles. The California Air Resources Board just approved an additional $27 million in incentives to spur sales of hybrid and electric cars and trucks. The car rebates ($2,500 per vehicle) will put the price tag of the Leaf and Volt a bit closer to the price (more…)

For the past two years, electric vehicles (EVs) have been prominent subjects of automotive news pages, with OEMs introducing new models almost monthly. The latest announcement is the Toyota Rav4 EV, which is scheduled to hit California dealers late this summer. The Rav4 really exemplifies most of the EV announcements because it, like many of the EVs, (more…)

Earlier this year, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) completely revamped its passenger vehicle emissions control regulations. The new Advanced Clean Cars program, which covers model years 2017–2025, combines several regulatory schemes into the new program: the Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) program, which governs tailpipe (more…)

A San Francisco judge ruled in March that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) must stop implementations of regulations under the state’s 2006 climate change legislation (AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) because the state didn’t adequately consider alternatives to a cap-and-trade plan for carbon emissions. In (more…)

(Reuters) – U.S. federal government and California regulators will coordinate announcements of proposed fuel economy and emissions requirements for 2017-2025, the agencies said on Monday.

California will now release its fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards for 2017-2025 model year cars and (more…)

California may be doing more than any other US state so far to reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy and emissions. This week California yet again took great strides toward a low-carbon economy, cracking down on carbon emissions while also moving to ensure fossil fuels are replaced with renewable power sources. Last week, as I’ve written (more…)

(Reuters) – California on Thursday approved rules for a multibillion-dollar carbon market, in what proponents hope and detractors fear will be a turning point for the United States toward building a national program to address global warming.

After Congress failed to pass a climate change law last year, California is the (more…)

Carbon emissions at sea have received more attention over the last decade. Ports, especially, can have a negative impact on air quality in the populated areas that surround them. The many emissions sources at ports include ships, trucks, trains, and cargo-handling equipment. Harbor-crafts also contribute a significant portion of total port emissions. These include (more…)