From fossil fuel generated electricity to unreliable batteries, electric cars haven’t always lived up to the hype. But with the launch of the Vauxhall Ampera, could all that be about to change? Ruth Styles reports
… Electric cars: could the new Vauxhall Ampera really … Ruth Styles | 22nd July 2011 Ethical Living Cars Electric Cars Motoring Eco Driving Vauxhall Ampera …
78 records didn't come to an end because the world ran out of shellac, writes Chris Goodall. And today's cars won't be made obsolete by a shortage of oil, or even climate change. The transition will be driven by falling prices, long range, clean air laws, and the superb style, performance and driving experience they offer.
… Goodbye oil! Soon all cars will be electric - because they are … of shellac, writes Chris Goodall. And today's cars won't be made obsolete by a shortage of … histories illustrate the reasons why electric cars are now unstoppable. Whether it is middle …
In an ideal world we’d all take the train but it isn’t always possible. So what to do? Carbuzz.co.uk's James Hind has some tips
… has some tips The environmental impact of cars, from dependency on fossil fuels to the … But with train fares rising and electric cars commanding prices beyond the means of most, cars remain the mode of transport of choice …
With all diesel cars failing EU clean air standards in real world driving, and the worst 22 times over the limit, there's only one real solution, write Steffen Böhm & Ian Colbeck: adopt sustainable transport strategies to keep cars off our streets and break our dependence on them.
… It's not just VWs - we need fewer cars, and less driving Steffen Böhm Ian … EU audi3-pollution-cut.jpg With all diesel cars failing EU clean air standards in real … sustainable transport strategies to keep cars off our streets and break our dependence …
The UK's official agency for car pollution testing has taken £80 million from the auto industry in ten years, a Greenpeace investigation reveals, while its senior staff and engineers have a 'revolving door' relationship with car makers.
… for testing pollution levels in new cars has received more than £80 million from … for the best regulator to approve their new cars shows just how partial and inadequate car … We need an independent agency to scrutinise cars and ensure they achieve environmental …
More than 25 million Americans live within an 'oil train blast zone', writes Ralph Nader. But as volumes of tar sands and shale oil carried by train soar, the oil cars identified as a 'substantial danger to life, property, and the environment' in 1991 remain in use. We must ban those dangerous railcars - and put an end to all 'extreme oil'.
… and shale oil carried by train soar, the oil cars identified as a 'substantial danger to … in use. We must ban those dangerous railcars - and put an end to all 'extreme oil'. … identified oil trains as unsafe. The tank cars, specifically ones called DOT-111s, were …
Back in 2000 John Prescott mooted 25 different tram projects across the UK, but a decade later where has that dream gone? Robert Williams laments how we have lost a solution to cutting cars and reclaiming our urban streets
… how we have lost a solution to cutting cars and reclaiming our urban streets … of public transport and the increase in cars on the road. Over the last 30 years, most … we want to attract motorists away from their cars, alternative forms of public transport …
Hydrogen cars - and the fuel cells that drive them - are about to get a whole lot cheaper thanks to a redesign of the platinum catalyst that makes them work, writes Oliver Tickell. By inserting atom-sized holes into the precious metal's surface, its activity can be trebled.
… Economics platinum catalyst-cut.jpg Hydrogen cars - and the fuel cells that drive them - … annual output would not suffice for all cars using existing technologies" , the … point out. What also helps is that fuel cell cars produce no toxic emissions that need …
Fewer than half the UK's inhabitants even have a driving licence, writes Chris Church. So how come the UK's transport policies are all about meeting the needs of drivers? After all, even drivers are pedestrians the moment they step out of their cars. Now a new campaign group is forming to give a voice to non-drivers - and demand a better deal.
… pedestrians the moment they step out of their cars. Now a new campaign group is forming to … in this country make their living out of cars, manufacturing cars or supplying the car industry. At some …
The real lesson of Volkswagen's 'dieselgate' scandal is that we must ditch petroleum fuels, writes Harry Hoster. There's new, clean technologies just waiting to take off - and the most promising is fuel cells. They will also fit right into the new world of renewables, with surplus power from wind and solar making the hydrogen they burn.
… for mileages similar to those of conventional cars while being refuelled within a few … risk of it catching fire is minimal. Hydrogen cars can now be considered as safe as petrol or diesel cars, even in crashes . The more recent …
VW's pollution cheating has caused thousands of premature deaths, write Mike Berners-Lee & Chris Goodall, creating costs that could destroy the company's entire shareholder equity. But this is no 'Black Swan' event. It is an early example of the existential threat to the fossil fuel economy.
… threat to the fossil fuel economy. VWs diesel cars emit a much larger amount of nitrogen … lost annually from the additional NOx from VW cars is thus estimated to be between 4,000 and … higher-than-stated pollution from its 11m cars is between £21bn and £90bn. Before the …
It was a remarkable spectacle, writes Damian Kahya: MPs trying to get straight answers out of VW's top man in the UK over the 'dieselgate' scandal. Of course our cars gave false test results. But who would ever believe those stupid tests anyway? How many people died from all the extra pollution? None! There was no pollution!
… over the 'dieselgate' scandal. Of course our cars gave false test results. But who would … emissions test results for millions of diesel cars has not resulted in any extra emissions … Lucas - focusing on how much more NOx VW's cars have emitted compared to what was claimed …
The discovery that Volkswagen has been 'gaming' vehicle emissions tests has taken the world by storm, writes Paul Nieuwenhuis. But it comes as no surprise to campaigners who have long been aware of the huge gap between 'official' emissions and real word pollution. Where were the regulators? And why did it take an NGO to uncover the scandal?
… were regularly passed by VW's diesel-fuelled cars. The ICCT decided to test why this was … air pollution tests . Nearly half a million cars have been recalled for containing 'defeat … device' software that only turns on the cars' emissions controls when they are …
Boading, dubbed China's 'greenest city', is the world's biggest maker of solar panels and wind turbines, write Caleb Goods & Carla Lipsig-Mumme. But it's also has the country's worst pollution. Green energy, electric cars and the batteries that power them are great, but with the heavy toxic footprint they carry from mine to factory, we must not delude ourselves that they are 'sustainable'.
… worst pollution. Green energy, electric cars and the batteries that power them are … advances in battery technologies for electric cars and domestic electricity generation. We … as an example. The ecological damage of cars, electric or otherwise, is partly due to …
The National Planning Policy Framework will sideline smart growth in favour of out-of-town sprawl - rolling back decades of town centred development. Now campaigners have launched a toolkit to reduce travel demand within local transport plans
Campaign For Better Transport: how to reduce the need to travel Richard Bourn | 13th December 2011 Activism Politics And Economics Health Energy Transport Development Public Transport …
It's time to halt the loss of the nation's front gardens to dreary paving, writes Jenny Jones. Green gardens protect against floods, provide homes for wildlife, keep cities cool in summer, and help us all feel happier. Now, with 7 million gardens already paved over, we must protect those that remain.
… avoid 'residents parking' charges, too many cars for the amount of on-street parking, the …
China is attempting to pursue the same impossible path as the rest of the world: generating consumer demand and wealth without destroying its natural resources and the planet
… In 1993, there were only 37,000 private cars on the road, with the vast majority of … Today there are more than 35 million cars, a figure that is expected to grow to 150 … million within the next ten years. All these cars have contributed to the severe air …
Forty years ago this month The Ecologist reported on the environmental implications of the rise of the Japanese economy. In the wake of the recent earthquake and associated nuclear fears has it cleaned up its act?
… . Even with the now mandatory requirement for cars to be equipped with catalytic converters … in 1964 and has since taken numerous cars off the road and even rendered internal …
Whether it’s rugby, cricket or football you’re into, there are ways to make your sporting pursuits a little greener. Ruth Styles and Catuxa Argibay have more
… travelling within the UK, an over-reliance on cars to get from park to pitch is making the …
Public transport often doesn't work for travellers because it's fragmented, deregulated and operated for short-term profit, writes Rupert Read. A Green transport policy would force operators to coordinate their schedules, integrate multiple transport modes, and entice travellers out of their cars building a real public transport 'system'.
… modes, and entice travellers out of their cars building a real public transport … to switch to smaller, more economical cars, hybrid and electric vehicles are …
Thumbing rides must be one of the greenest forms of travel, and despite all the scare stories and public service warnings, drivers still stop for hitch-hikers. But Adam Weymouth fears for the future of hitching, as the 'sharing economy' sanitizes the experience and strips out the essential sense of adventure, revolution and travelling into the unknown.
… are predictable enough: the rise in cheap cars, the gap year and the budget flight, the … bikes, sharing rooms, sharing skills, sharing cars, sharing, as the New York Times has … something important about hitching that the carshare websites miss. At its heart it is an …
It’s the biggest green energy company in the UK but that’s not enough for founder, Dale Vince. The next step, he tells Peter Salisbury, is to take on the ‘big six’ energy companies and show us all that renewables are the way forward
… of plans to develop hydrogen-cell powered cars – a wheeze that is costing major … to almost 30. ‘The idea of having electric cars is just a chicken and egg thing,’ he says. ‘To get people using the cars, you need the charging infrastructure but …
California's worst drought on record is far from over, writes Kieran Cooke. But while residents are getting used to dusty cars and parched lawns, the state's massive agricultural sector is still growing water-intensive crops like rice. How crazy is that?
… But while residents are getting used to dusty cars and parched lawns, the state's massive … use - and that means letting lawns die, and cars get dusty. There was considerable …
In his new book environmental journalist Michael McCarthy bears witness to the astonishing decline in the once common wildlife of our countryside of the last few decades. But as Chris Rose writes, he does far more than bemoan the losses as he shares with us the joy that he still discovers in nature.
… It used to be that people had to stop their cars at night to clean the windscreen of …