emissions

Electric-vehicle sales are accelerating, but U.S. efforts to build a national network of charging stations are moving slowly as states figure out how to fairly dole out public funding to kick-start a new service industry.As the Biden administration prepares to give states $7.5 billion for new charging stations, a similar recent effort suggests a difficult path is ahead. States received $424 million that could be used for charging stations as part of a $2.8 billion settlement by Volkswagen AG…

"You can't manage what you can't measure", according to a famous business mantra often attributed to management guru Peter Drucker. This can help explain why carbon emissions are under more scrutiny than ever as we ramp up our efforts to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change.  For example, the "carbon footprint" – a way of measuring the amount of greenhouse gases (mostly carbon) emitted during a product's creation, use and disposal – has become a household term. With a plethora of carbon footprint calculators…

We all know that a humongous black hole exists at the center of our galaxy. It's called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short) and it has the mass of 4 million suns. We got to see a radio image of it a few weeks back, showing its accretion disk.  So, we know it's there. Astronomers can chart its actions as it gobbles up matter occasionally and they can see how it affects nearby stars.What astronomers are still trying to understand is how Sgr A* formed.The answer looks like it involves smaller black holes, especially ones from…

U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose by 4 percent in the first quarter, as American drivers hit the road in record numbers during the first three months of the year. U.S. motorists logged 753 billion miles on the road through March, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That's the highest first-quarter tally since the federal authorities began keeping track in 1970. The extra miles highlighted the continued recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and came in the face of a run-up in gasoline and diesel prices. In…

The US business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and pay about US$300 million in penalties to resolve a multi-year emissions fraud probe surrounding vehicles with diesel engines, Reuters sources said. FCA US, now part of Stellantis NV, has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram…

The Volkswagen Group is paying GBP193m to settle ‘dieselgate’ claims in the UK. Claimants reached an out of court settlement in the Volkswagen NOx Emissions Group Litigation. That group action concerned claims, which first became public in September 2015, made in respect of the two mode software installed in some VW group vehicles with EA189 diesel engines. The terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential.…

The iron and steel industry produces about 4 billion tons of carbon emissions each year, accounting for around 10% of all energy-related climate pollution, according to a 2020 report by the International Energy Agency. Those figures have risen sharply this century, driven by rapid economic growth in China and elsewhere. The hefty emissions and increasingly strict climate policies in some areas, including Canada and the European Union, have started to compel some companies to explore cleaner ways of producing these…

The supercapacitor device, which is similar to a rechargeable battery, is about the size of a quarter, and is made in part from sustainable materials including coconut shells and seawater. Designed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, the supercapacitor could help power carbon capture and storage technologies at a much lower cost. Credit: Gabriella BocchettiResearchers have developed a low-cost device that can selectively capture carbon dioxide gas while it charges. Then, when it discharges, the CO2 can be…

Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and pay $300 million to settle a probe into its effort to illegally conceal the amount of pollution created by its diesel engine vehicles, Reuters reports. The guilty plea will settle a years-long probe by the US Department of Justice into the automaker’s efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs available in the US. The plea deal is expected to be…

Etihad Airways A350. Image used for representation. (Photo: Etihad)Last year, the International Air Transport Association pledged carbon neutrality by 2050, which is also a target of the United Arab Emirates and several other countriesAFP Last Updated:May 25, 2022, 13:34 ISTFOLLOW US ON:Etihad Airways chief Tony Douglas has said achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 poses the “biggest challenge” for commercial aviation, in a reality check for the industry. Last year, the International Air Transport Association…