Two weeks ahead of the XL1's official launch at the Geneva Auto Show, Volkswagen announced last week that the super-green concept car is ready to shift into production. With a combined fuel economy rating of 261 mpg, the two-seater plug-in hybrid is claimed to be the most fuel-efficient production car in the world.
A coalition of energy-sector business leaders is calling on Congress to revive legislation that would rely on market-based incentives to achieve cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. It also wants the government to promote innovation in energy generation and pollution-reduction technologies and to maintain a high degree of flexibility for legacy fuels -- such as coal and oil -- so that they can be integrated into a 21st-century energy mix.
Dozens of liberal and grass-roots environmental groups yesterday disassociated themselves from the Environmental Defense Fund, a group they accused of collaborating too closely with industry and of "greenwashing" shale gas. (E&ENews PM, )
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been considering delaying the Pentagon's portion of a $510 million federal program to invest in biofuel refineries that has been the subject of congressional battles for more than a year, according to multiple sources. (Greenwire, )
Buried within the government's assessment last week on Superstorm Sandy is a somewhat surprising concession: "Critical staff shortages" at the National Weather Service threaten the agency's success. (Greenwire, )
A bastion of fine wines remains unmoved (ClimateWire, )
State and provincial carbon dioxide markets can be the building blocks for a comprehensive climate change strategy if early movers can persuade others to join them, Quebec's top environment official said yesterday. (E&ENews PM, )
Eight U.S. cities will benefit from a new engineering, legal and finance partnership designed to help urban areas design more resilient water infrastructure systems. (E&ENews PM, )
