Transportation

Snowboarder Chloe Kim may not be an obvious patroness of green shipping. But it makes sense: The two-time gold medalist shares her hometown with the busiest port complex in the US. She’s also a climate advocate.

You’ve heard the strategy:
  1. Electrify everything.
  2. Greenfiy the grid.
  3. Deal with “hard to abate” sectors.

And  you know the “hard to abate” sectors — cement, shipping, aluminum, cows, and AVIATION.   But maybe aviation should not be on the list, at least not if Beta Aviation, which is selling a FAA-approved electric plane this year, has a say.

Personally, I was blown away by the story, as told by their founder, Kyle Clark, in this Volts podcast, which I fully commend to your ears.  (Or, read/skim the transcript tab.)   It is a marvelous tale about how creative engineering, smart business models, early-adopter customers and American entrepreneurship combined to create a viable substitute for flight powered by jet fuel.

from washingtonpost.com Shannon Osaka | March 29, 2024 President Biden has long vowed to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the United States by 2030. Those stations, the White House said, would help Americans…

The Biden administration on Wednesday issued one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history, a rule designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032.

Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market. A record 1.2 million electric vehicles rolled off dealers’ lots last year, but they made up just 7.6 percent of …

EV shoppers woke up on Monday to a market in which fewer vehicles than before qualify for the U.S. government’s $7,500 federal tax credit. The eligibility rules show only 19 models that receive the credit when purchased as new, down from 43 last year. See chart inside for the new list of eligible EVs.

It took 10 years for the US to sell its first million fully electric vehicles, two years to reach the second million, and just over a year to reach the third. By the time the latest quarter’s figures are tallied up over the next month, the country should be well on its way to a fourth. (Note: great graphs, too.)

LONDON — The International Maritime Organization, the obscure United Nations group that oversees the global shipping industry, agreed Friday to slash its greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades in an attempt to limit future global warming.
The landmark deak includes a standout pledge to reduce its emissions to net-zero “by or about 2050.” Previously, the IMO pledged to reduce its emissions by half by 2050,

LONDON — A rather obscure United Nations group is gathering this week to make a momentous decision that will influence whether the world can limit perilous global warming. Ocean transport contributes about 3 percent of humankind’s greenhouse gas emissions. (If the shipping sector were a country, it would be Germany — and among the top 10 polluters.)

Nevada has a new law that lowers the price upfront of medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks and buses for businesses and public fleets. Governor Joe Lombardo (R-NV) signed Assembly Bill 184 – the Nevada Clean Trucks…

In a bid to combat human-caused climate change, one state in Germany is rolling out a fleet of passenger trains powered entirely by hydrogen.

Five of these “zero-emissions” trains began running late last month in Lower Saxony. And over the next year, the regional rail line intends …