Satellite data tells that methane emissions have been rising in the US

Global methane emissions have risen and fallen several times since the 1980s, Turner said, but they’ve been rising continuously since 2007. “The causes for this renewed growth are currently unknown,” he said, In the US, the government tally of the country’s annual human-caused methane emissions between 2002 and 2012 shows that emissions have been about 29 million metric tons annually, without …

Nearly half of the states in the U.S. are examining or planning to examine at least some element of the value of distributed generation. Also, more states enact community solar legislation

Excerpt from http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/46-states-took-policy-action-on-solar-in-2015 Nearly half of the states in the U.S. are examining or planning to examine at least some element of the value of distributed generation. Maine is far from a leading solar state, yet its Public Utilities Commission already conducted a value-of-solar study that found the value was $0.33 cents per kilowatt-hour, far higher than the average retail rate. …

Motiv electric garbage trucks in use in Chicago – reduce costs to 10 cents a mile compared to 80 cents/mi with standard diesel trucks

Originally posted on EVObsession The City of Chicago is using ERV electric garbage trucks from Motiv Power Systems, the first all-electric garbage truck in all of North America. The Motiv ERV, or Electric Refuse Vehicle, has enough driving range for 60 miles of city driving and 70 compaction cycles, which makes it perfectly suited to waste management duties, and it …

Electric garbage trucks save money and pollution

Rather than a traditional small gas engine as a range extender though, Wrightspeed uses a more efficient turbine generator charging the battery packs. Though this system is much more expensive than your typical electric car, the fuel and emission savings are much more dramatic. When used on a typical 3 MPG garbage truck, for example, Wrightspeed claims a 95% reduction …

Winter tires for electric cars can reduce rolling resistance by as much as 30%

Nokian is making the first winter tire optimized for electric cars such as the BMW i3. It combines extremely low rolling resistance, excellent grip, and exceptional driving comfort, the company says. It is the first winter tire with an A energy rating and can reduce rolling resistance as much as 30%. In the good old days of motoring, if a car needed more …

GM fuel cell EV progress

“Half of the 8,600 designers and engineers who work on the products and controls that make GM cars and trucks move—literally—are involved with alternative and electric propulsion systems.” – Forbes GM seems particularly interested in making sure that people know about its fuel cell EV efforts. The release kicks off with this statement from executive VP for Global Product Development …

Islands support ocean life in many ways – recent research explains why

Schematic showing factors involved in the Island Mass Effect. Writing in Nature Communications, the authors describe the extent to which the Island Mass Effect happens and also identify some of the key drivers in this ‘positive feed-back effect’, which acts as a life-supporting mechanism. Researchers measured a massive increase in phytoplankton in the waters surrounding 35 small islands and atolls …

Oxygen-starved oceans held back life’s recovery after the ‘Great Dying’

Stanford scientists have found that chronically low levels of oxygen throughout the oceans hampered the recovery of life after the Permian-Triassic extinction, the most catastrophic die-off in our planet’s history. Also known as the “Great Dying,” global ecosystems collapsed as some 90 percent of species perished in this extinction event 250 million years ago. The new findings, published this week …