When it comes to global warming, things may not be quite as bad as we thought. According to a recent study in Nature Geoscience, global warming seems to have leveled off over the past decade, meaning that some of the most dire climate change predictions could be a thing of the past. But while the news is good, it doesn’t mean that we are out of the danger zone. Global warming is still changing life on the planet as we know it.

Read the rest of Scientists See a Negative Outlook Despite a Recent Stabilization in Global Warming

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Post tags: carbon atmospheric levels, carbon dioxide levels, climate change news, climate change study, CO2 levels, global warming, global warming leveling off, global warming levels, global warming stabilizing, global warming tapering off, global warming temperatures, oceans absorbing heat, understanding climate change

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Post tags: alternative transportation, chevy volt, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, ford, ford EV, ford fusion, ford fusion energi, ford fusion energi plug in hybrid, ford fusion energi test drive, ford fusion hybrid, ford hybrid car, fusion energi, fusion energi test drive, fusion hybrid, green cars, green transportation, hybird electric vehicle, hybrid car, Inhabitat test drive, plug-in hybrid, plugin electric vehicle, plugin EV, plugin prius

Aston Martin has unveiled a new hydrogen-powered Rapide S, which is based on Aston Martin’s four-door, four-seat sports car. The hydrogen Rapide S was developed in partnership with hydrogen experts Alset Global and will become the first car of its kind to compete in an international event when it hits the track at the 41st ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring next month.

Read the rest of Aston Martin to Race World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Rapide S at the Nürburgring

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Post tags: alset global, aston martin, aston martin hydrogen rapide s, aston martin rapide s, green transportation, hydrogen car, hydrogen-powered race car, Nürburgring, zero-emissions

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", battery powered cars, car prototypes, fuel efficient cars, fuel efficient vehicles, green transportation, HotRod diesel car, Louisiana Tech diesel car, Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2013, Shell energy-efficient vehicles, Shell race Houston, student car marathon, student car prototype, Université Laval vehicle prototype, Urban Concept Vehicle

Ever since 2007, the people at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute have tracked the fuel economy of cars purchased in the US. On Wednesday, the team released the numbers for March 2013, revealing that the average fuel economy had reached 24.6 mpg, which is an all-time high. The report shows just how far we have come since October, 2007, when the fuel economy averaged a measly 20 mpg.

Read the rest of New Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Reached an All-Time High in March 2013

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Post tags: air quality standards, Eco-driving Index, fuel efficiency, Fuel Efficiency Index, MPG 2013, New car miles per gallon, UMTRI, University of Michigan Transportation Research of Institute, US car efficiency, US fuel efficiency, US Miles Per Gallon Average, US MPG

Read the rest of Mercedes-Benz Debuts 2014 B-Class Electric Drive at the New York Auto Show!

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Post tags: 2013 New York Auto Show, electric car, electric motor, green car, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, new york auto show, ny auto show

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Post tags: electric vehicle, ev, EVs, green cars, green transportation, green vehicle, hybrid car, hybrid SUV, jacob javits car show, jacob javits center car show, new york auto show, new york car show, nyias, Subaru, Subaru hybrid, subaru suv hybrid, Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to push ahead with regulations that will require the production of cleaner gasoline and impose fleet-wide pollution limits on new vehicles by 2017. According to a report in the Washington Post, the rules will mandate that the sulfur content of US gasoline be reduced by two-thirds, from 30 to 10 parts per million—a move which would add less than a cent per gallon to the price of gas, while having an overall environmental impact comparable to taking 33 million cars off the road.

Read the rest of Obama Administration to Move Forward with Regulations Requiring Cleaner-Burning Gasoline by 2017

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Post tags: barack obama, california car, california pollution, car exhaust, car pollution, carbon emissions, environment regulation, environmental protection agency, epa emissions, epa regulation, gasoline sulfur, obama environment, tailpipe emissions

While drones are typically—and quite reasonably—associated with the horrors of modern warfare, California-based startup Matternet, Inc. hopes that a network of peaceful unmanned aerial vehicles could provide vital assistance to communities in need. Their remotely operated electric quadcopters are intended to deliver supplies to people in areas lacking in basic infrastructure, such as remote towns and villages as well as to those in post-disaster zones.

Read the rest of Matternet’s Battery-Powered Drones Could Bring Supplies and Disaster Relief to Remote Areas

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Post tags: Disaster Assistance, Disaster Relief, drone, electric aircraft, electric vehicle, flying robots, Matternet, nasa, Paola Santana, Poverty, robots, rural infrastructure, singularity university, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Read the rest of Nissan Unveils First Ever Pathfinder Hybrid for 2014 at the New York Auto Show

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Post tags: 2013 New York Auto Show, electric car, electric motor, green car, new york auto show, NISSAN, Nissan hybrid, nissan pathfinder, nissan pathfinder hybrid, nissan pathfinder hybrid 2014, ny auto show

The 2013 World Green Car of the Year will be announced later this week at the New York International Motor Show, and the three finalists have been named. Vying for the prized title are two all-electric cars—the luxury Tesla Model S and the more modest Renault Zoe—alongside the Volvo V60 plug-in diesel hybrid. For US drivers, the question may be somewhat academic; the Renault Zoe is presently only available in Europe, while the Volvo V60 hybrid was available in Europe, until it sold out for this production year. But each of the impressive vehicles bring their own unique offerings to the green car market – read on to learn more about these finalists, and vote for your favorite!

Read the rest of Which of These 3 Vehicles Should Win the 2013 World Green Car of the Year Award?

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Post tags: all-electric vehicle, car of the year, car of the year 2013, diesel hybrid, electric cars, electric vehicles, emissions-free, ev, EVs, green car of the year, green car of the year 2013, green cars, green transportation, new york auto show, New York International Auto Show, phev, plug-in hybrid, renault zoe, tesla model-s, Volvo V60

Last year, we reported that MIT’s cheetah robot broke the speed record for four-legged robots by running at 18mph. Now, MIT researchers say that their robotic version of the wild cat may soon outpace its animal counterpart in running efficiency! The robot’s streamlined stride and its lightweight electric motors produce high torque with very little energy wasted.

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Post tags: all terrain robot, bigdog, bigdog robot, Boston Dynamics, cheetah, darpa, ls3, power arm, robots, us army robot

Read the rest of Smart Collaborates with Designer Jeremy Scott to Fashionize the Electric Car

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Post tags: "design collaboration", car manufacturer, electric car, electric motor, fashion collaboration, fashion designer, Fuel Efficient, inhabitat, Jeremy Scott, Katy Perry and Rihanna, Lady Gaga, lithium ion battery, Los Angeles, madonna, new york city, new york fashion week, New York., ny fashion week, NYFW, smart car, Smart forjeremy, Smart ForTwo, sustainable design, sustainable driving, zero-emissions

Car designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker made his name in the car industry designing the highest of the high-end luxury cars for BMW and Aston Martin. After making waves in the auto industry with vehicles such as the Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and BMW Z8, he decided to break away from this corner of the auto world imbued with tradition and start his own company, Fisker Automotive. Fisker’s first vehicle to hit the road has been the Karma, an impressively green, extended range electric vehicle with so many curves, your eyes are already driving it before you’ve even gotten behind the wheel. Coming in as loud and clear as the Karma’s sex appeal, Henrik Fisker is on a mission to make green cars cool. We recently had a chance to talk to him about how he’s risen to the top of the electric vehicle pack, and where he plans on taking his cars from there.

Read the rest of VIDEO: Inhabitat Interviews Henrik Fisker, Founder of Fisker Automotive and Designer of the Karma

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Post tags: eco car, eco vehicle, electric car, electric vehicle, extended range electric vehicle, Fisker Automotive, fisker car, fisker karma, fisker vehicle, green car, green transportation, green vehicle, henrik fisker, high gas mileage, karma, karma car, karma electric vehicle, Karma EV, low emissions car, low emissions transportation, sustainable car, sustainable vehicle

With the number of athletes and fans traveling to a gigantic stadium filled with bright lights, epic half-time shows, and enough confetti to carpet a billion hamster cages, the Super Bowl is not what one would first think of as a “green event.” However, one of our nation’s biggest cultural events may have an environmentally-friendly side after all. In addition to efforts made by the promoters to offset carbon emissions through various eco-friendly projects, the behavior of the fans themselves could be working towards reducing the overall amount of energy used during the big game. Research by the consulting firm, Opower comparing the electricity use of 145,000 households during last year’s Super Bowl with other winter Sundays found that power use was reduced by as much as  7.7 percent, depending on location.

Read the rest of How the Super Bowl Causes a Drop in Household Energy Use

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Post tags: big game, carbon offsets, Consumption, east, Electricity, emissions, game, Green Appliances, households, opower, social, sunday, super bowl, tv pooling, west

Peugeot just announced plans to introduce a new hybrid car that does away with lithium-ion batteries entirely and instead uses compressed air to provide zero-emissions driving. The new compressed air car that will be powered by a hybrid system that combines a gas motor with compressed air storage.

Read the rest of Peugeot Announces Plans to Release a Hybrid Car That Runs on Compressed Air by 2016

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Post tags: citroen, citroen hybrid car, compressed gas, green car, green transportation, hybrid car, Peugeot, peugeot hybrid car, zero-emissions driving

Scientists at MIT have genetically engineered a soil bacteria that can create fuel for cars. The bioengineered Ralstonia eutropha converts carbon into isobutanol—an alcohol that can replace or blend with gasoline used by vehicles. The new technology could help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and significantly decrease our carbon footprint.

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Post tags: "clean energy", Advanced Research Projects Agency ARPA-E, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, bioengineered bacteria, biofuels, biotechnology, carbon emissions, green technology, isobutanol fuel, MIT Research, Ralstonia eutropha bacteria, scientific research, soil bacteria fuel, U. S. Department of Energy

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Post tags: abu dhabi, Around the world in 80 days, Brusa, closed cabin electric bike, Design, Designwerk, eco design, electric bike, green transportation, luxury electric bike, Masdar, sustainable design, swiss, Swiss electric bike, Tobias Wülser, World Future Energy Summit 2013, world's most efficient luxury vehicle, Zerotracer

Research in recent years has uncovered a strong connection between reductions in lead pollution and the decline in violent crime in the U.S. Writing in Mother Jones this month, Kevin Drum discusses the research of Rick Nevin, a consultant who began researching lead pollution during the 1990s for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nevin’s research has shown that the rise and fall of atmospheric lead produced by leaded gas closely corresponds to a similar rise and fall of violent crime.

Read the rest of Did Removing Lead From Gasoline Cause Violent Crime to Plummet?

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Post tags: ADHD, agression, brain, crime, damage, Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, Kevin Drum, lead, lead pollution, neurological, neurology, poisoning, Pollution, research, Rick Nevin, violence

Read the rest of Seven Sizzling Hybrid and Electric Cars from the 2013 Detroit Auto Show

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Post tags: 2013 Detroit Auto Show, Acura, Acura NSX Concept, cadillac, Cadillac ELR, Infiniiti Q50, Infiniti, lexus, Lexus IS 300h, NAIAS 2013, Nissan Leaf, Nissan Resonance Concept, vw, VW CrossBlue Concept