Cars | Grist

Question of the day: Will GM ultimately pay back all of the taxpayers’ loans?

General Motors to start repaying government loans 1
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago
Maryland county draws a “car-free blueprint for growth” 0
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago
Given the high value of the morning brew you can bet that this commodity will soon have carbon insurance percolating around somewhere.

Would You Like Carbon Insurance With That Latte? 0
Posted 2 weeks, 2 days ago
Slow food, fast trains

Random Monday thoughts inspired by a throwaway line from Mark Bittman 5
Posted 2 weeks, 5 days ago Perhaps feeling punchy because it's Monday, Tom Philpott jots down some random thoughts after reading an interview with home-cooking authority Mark Bittman.
More clunker debunkers

Cash for Clunkers brought us ... more clunkers! 29
Posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago So how did Cash for Clunkers work out from an environmental standpoint? Don't ask. The most common deals swapped old pickup trucks for new pickup trucks that got only marginally better gas mileage.
Barking up the wrong tree

Dogs Vs. SUVs 0
Posted 3 weeks, 5 days ago
Nothing like a good profit motive to accelerate public policy

Performance anxiety 0
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago It’s not just the ads showing a baby-boomer couple sitting in matching bathtubs on a beach at sunset where you can find performance anxiety these days. Try looking in the hardware aisle and at the gas station.
Can't you Hear me noggin

Ask Umbra on bike helmets 12
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago When a cyclist wonders about the impact of her discarded helmets on the planet, Umbra suggests that she shift gears.
Bumper to Bonkers

For public transportation to survive, we all need to ... drive more? 4
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago Could traffic jams convert drivers into subway riders? Are eco-parking garages the key to increasing train use? A look at the inescapable role of the car in our every deliberation, even when that deliberation is how to ditch the car.
U.S. headed for massive decline in carbon emissions 4
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago For years now, many members of Congress have insisted that cutting carbon emissions was difficult, if not impossible. It is not. During the two years since 2007, carbon emissions have dropped 9 percent. While part of this drop is from the recession, part of it is also from efficiency gains and from replacing coal with natural gas, wind, solar, and geothermal energy.
CRUDE AWAKENING

The violent twilight of oil and a strategy to expose it 1
Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago An interview with journalist Peter Maass on why it doesn't matter what gas station you choose, and why oil is very bad for the people who live above it.
Road hogs

NASCAR and the high-octane American dream 11
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago A tour of America's energy landscape would be woefully incomplete without a visit to a NASCAR race, so Amanda Little trekked to the Talladega Superspeedway to get a first-hand view of the action. Don't miss this third installment in our series of exclusive excerpts from Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells—Our Ride to the Renewable Future.
Free Pass?

Ask Umbra on buying carbon offsets 11
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago Your power company wants to sell you offsets, but what are they doing with the money? Umbra explains how to find out, and whether it's worth the investment.
A Non-Starter?

Ask Umbra on anti-idling campaigns 15
Posted 2 months ago A Girl Scout troop wants to start an anti-idling campaign, but they're not sure how to combat nervous grown-ups who think turning a car on and off will cause damage. Umbra, floored, gives them fuel for their cause.
Interior Monologue

Ask Umbra on that new-car smell 3
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago An SUV owner wants to get a new ride, but can't stand the fumes in cars fresh off the lot. Umbra sniffs around for tips on quick routes to odor-free driving.
Paved paradise put up a lot of parks

Slideshow: PARK(ing) Day puts people and greenery, not cars, in transformed parking spaces 2
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
I think you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks parking spaces are prettier and more fun than public parks. Which is one reason artists and citizens across the world are transforming city parking spots into one-day public green spaces for PARK(ing) Day 2009. Check out a slideshow of these PARKs from all over -- and don't forget to feed the meter!
Wonkeriffic!

An interview with Jason Burnett, who worked on EPA greenhouse gas regulations 0
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago

The following is an interview with Jason Burnett, who worked in the EPA under President GW Bush, wherein we discuss efforts by the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. Burnett quit the EPA in protest in June 2008, alleging interference from the Office of the Vice President.

The interview is meant as a supplement to the story, "Everything you always wanted to know about EPA greenhouse gas regulations, but were afraid to ask."
Pulling out the Jay Game

Celebs to race Ford’s electric cars on Jay Leno’s new show 1
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
On his new show Jay Leno will flaunt to the world something he knew ages ago: how much Jay Leno is crushin' on electric cars. To prove this point, he'll have his guests race electric autos for the best times, as well as what we imagine will be the title of "Celeb Most Likely to Crash a Really Expensive Electric Vehicle."
It Could Be Verse

Climate-news poem: Cash for cukes edition 0
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
Could the White House farm stand be an important tool in the climate fight?
Things that go clunk in the night

Cash-for-Clunkers to end Monday night, for real this time 2
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
The "Cash for Clunkers" program has been so successful that it will have to be wrapped up earlier than expected, the Obama administration announced on Thursday.