Rise of the electric car

LOS ANGELES —  After a brief reprieve, gas prices continue their inexorable summer climb, but Nathaniel Connor hardly notices.
Connor, who lives just beyond the eastern border of Santa Monica in Los Angeles, hasn’t visited the pump in the last three months thanks to his two electric vehicles and a plethora of solar panels affixed to the roof of his house that fuel them. http://www.smdp.com/rise-of-the-electric-car/111047
Article courtesy of The Santa Monica Daily Press by Ashley Archibald

Obama calls for cars to get almost 55 mpg

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced fuel economy standards Tuesday that would require car makers to almost double the average gas mileage for passenger vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fuel-standards-20120829,0,6043250.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Neela Banerjee-Washington Bureau

Arctic sea ice reaches its smallest area ever, still shrinking

The area of floating sea ice in the Arctic has fallen to its lowest size ever observed, researchers said Monday. Moreover, the ice is still shrinking and is not expected to reach its minimum until sometime in September. The average shrinkage of the ice has been increasing steadily since 2007, and researchers attribute the loss to global warming, which is causing warmer temperatures in the region.  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-arctic-sea-ice-20120827,0,5241680.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Thomas H. Maugh II

Zipcar expands van service across continent

Zipcar Inc., the Cambridge-based car-sharing company, said it will expand its Zipvan cargo van service across North American, launching today in Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Portland, Ore.

Zipcar said it will roll out the service to its remaining metro markets throughout the country over the next 12 months. http://bostonherald.com/business/automotive/view/20220821zipcar_expands_van_service_across_continent/srvc=home&position=also

Article courtesy of The Boston Herald by Ira Kantor

AP IMPACT: CO2 emissions in US drop to 20-year low

PITTSBURGH (AP) — In a surprising turnaround, the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the U.S. has fallen dramatically to its lowest level in 20 years, and government officials say the biggest reason is that cheap and plentiful natural gas has led many power plant operators to switch from dirtier-burning coal.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/2012/08/16/impact-emissions-drop-year-low/InlmRZH3amdo3TuLuO5OdO/story.html

Article courtesy of Boston.com by Kevin Begos/Associated Press

 

Winds fan fires across hot, dry western states

CLE ELUM, Wash.—The extreme fire conditions across the West came to bear in a rural part of Washington state when three separate blazes were sparked in just 90 minutes.

Firefighters snuffed two quickly, but the third exploded across more than 40 square miles of grassland, timber and sagebrush on the east slope of the Cascades. It left authorities scrambling to evacuate hundreds of residents.  http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/08/15/it_just_shot_up_so_fast_fires_blaze_across_west/

Article courtesy of Boston.com from the Associated Press by Shannon Dininny

 

 

Perseid meteor shower peaks early Sunday

The annual Perseid meteor shower begins late Friday night, with the peak occurring in the early hours of Sunday morning local time. The number of visible meteors is generally lower than during December's Geminid meteor shower, but the Perseids are frequently more observed because they occur during warmer weather and in a vacation month. http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-perseid-meteor-shower-20120810,0,2891603.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times –Science Now posted by Thomas H Maugh II