Good News for the Climate: Electric Vehicles Posting Record Sales Across the Nation

Plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) posted record sales numbers in August, with the Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF both boasting their best sales month ever. This is good news for a technology that is an important part of getting our nation on track to cut our oil use in half and tackle global warming.As more EVs hit the streets, we get a clearer picture of the plug-in car market. The news is good on this front too: while California continues to lead the ...

http://blog.ucsusa.org/good-news-for-the-climate-electric-vehicles-pos

Australia's New Government Puts Its Head Back In The Sand On Climate Change

New Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot CREDIT: AP/Patrick Hamilton Australia newly-elected Liberal National Coalition has made good on its campaign trail promise to cut the country climate commission, the independent panel of experts created by the government to provide information to Australians on how climate change is affecting the country. The Coalition, led by Tony Abbot, says the work the climate commission does should fall to the cou ...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/09/20/2650601/australia

NRDC calls on California's utility companies to ramp up energy efficiency

Energy efficiency programs got a shot in the arm today with an open letter to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) calling on California's utility companies to "aim higher in... ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/nrdc-calls-on-california-s-utility-com

US EPA's RadNet inadequately monitoring radiation risks, says physicians group

The continuing nuclear accident disaster at TEPCO's Fukushima power plant has many people worried about radioactive contamination in the ocean and fish. The Physicians for Civil Defense noted on Tuesday there isn't enough radiation... ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/us-epa-s-radnet-inadequately-monitorin

EPA shuts down Chevy Volt battery factory due to LG Chem's mystery chemical

Over the weekend news came out that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shut down LG Chem's Holland Michigan factory that produces lithium-ion battery cells used in both the Chevy Volt and Ford Focus Electric.&nbsp... ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/epa-shuts-down-chevy-volt-battery-fact

Green Car Congress: MIT study says combustion emissions cause ~200,000 premature deaths/year in US; vehicles and power generation top sources

Researchers from MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment have concluded that ground-level PM2.5 emissions from combustion sources such as industrial smokestacks, vehicle tailpipes, marine and rail operations, and commercial and residential heating throughout the United States cause about 200,000 (90% CI: 90,000--362,000) premature deaths each year, with another 10,000 (90% CI: ?1,000 to 21,000) deaths due to changes in ozone concentrations.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/20130829-mit.htm

Get the Sulfur Out: Cleaner Gasoline Saves Lives | Luke Tonachel's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

According to recent study by researchers at MIT there were about 200,000 premature deaths in 2005 linked to combustion emissions leading to ozone and particulate matter pollution. The biggest single contributor to those deaths is the transportation sector, namely on-road vehicle exhaust.

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ltonachel/get_the_sulfur_out_cleaner

Your exfoliating cream is destroying the environment - Salon.com

Plastic micro-beads in certain lotions end up in the ocean - they look like fish eggs - and they're becoming part of the food supply.

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/03/your_exfoliating_cream_is_destroying_t

TEPCO says not to worry over deadly radioactive water leak at Fukushima

Radioactive water leaks at TEPCO's Fukushima nuclear power plant are not as bad as the press is reporting, said TEPCO on Sunday. Over the weekend TEPCO discovered a leak of radioactive water, at a lethal radiation... ...

http://www.examiner.com/article/tepco-says-not-to-worry-over-deadly-ra