A new study says the explosive growth of urban areas worldwide over the next two decades poses significant risks to human populations and the global environment, from the loss of agricultural land and wildlife habitat to increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change. (more…)

The plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) arena will soon get more crowded as automakers Mitsubishi and Toyota are in the final stages of preparing to compete head on with the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt in North America. While the new entrants are agreed that there is great enthusiasm for PEVs, their contrary (more…)

As a parent, I don’t expect world changing results when I gripe at my kids. I’m happy if they at least leave a path through the dirty clothes on their bedroom floors.

If you’re like that too, you’ll be a little sheepish when you hear the story of inventor and journalist Pierce Hoover. His 13-year-old son, Nash, kept forgetting to (more…)

More than 50 percent of the 64,000 new transit buses expected to arrive on roadways worldwide by 2015 will be fueled by alternative sources of energy, compared with 28 percent of new bus deliveries in 2010, according to a report by U.S.-based Pike Research. (more…)

As the first non-Japanese head of a Japanese automaker, Carlos Ghosn shook up the Nissan Motor Co. with his blunt, aggressive style. Now he’s made perhaps his boldest move yet: committing his company’s future — and his own considerable reputation — to the success of the new all-electric Leaf. (more…)

Two major U.S. retail companies began installing electric car charging stations outside stores in two states this month, adding privately financed infrastructure that analysts say will be critical for the growth of the electric vehicle market in the U.S.

In Texas, Walgreens, working with NRG Energy, (more…)

Will electric vehicles ever become the common way to drive? What is needed is an infrastructure that allows easy recharging of the vehicle (such as gasoline stations are for the internal combustion engine). There are two key barriers to plug-ins: first, the current battery technology is very expensive, adding thousands of (more…)

What choice will consumers make? After attending the 2011 Toyota Sustainable Mobility Seminar in La Jolla, California (April 4-7, 2011), this is what I walked away thinking. In all respects, Americans are already asking themselves questions like this about the life they live. With regard to the cars we drive it is time to think hard about the way we drive and what we drive. (more…)

Dedicated bus lanes, subway-like stations, intermodal terminals and infrastructure improvements to move buses more efficiently are all features you might see in one of the many Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems that are popping up in cities all over the world. After the success of the world’s first BRT in Curitiba, Brazil, planners (more…)

Electric cars are finally coming to market in the U.S., but what is the future potential for this much-touted technology? A good way to find out would be to launch demonstration projects in selected U.S. cities to determine if, given incentives and the proper infrastructure, the public will truly embrace plug-in vehicles. (more…)