#fuel-regulations

#fuel-regulations

San Jose fire officials warned that lithium-ion batteries are highly toxic when ablaze due to 'highly irritating gases' like carbon monoxide.

As a result of these changes, engine and vehicle manufacturers no longer have any future obligations for the measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including model years manufactured prior to this final rule.

On average, fuel prices are up almost a dollar per gallon, or 25 percent, according to AAA. For a nation as addicted to the automotive as we are, that's bad news. Except, of course, for electric vehicles.

"Lowering speeds does reduce fuel consumption, especially at highway speeds, because aerodynamic drag increases rapidly as speed rises. A reduction of around 10 km/h can realistically lead to fuel savings in the order of 5-10 per cent, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions."

President Donald Trump has long fought California's efforts to curb tailpipe emissions and spur electric vehicle adoption, and last summer he blocked the state's first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. He's also routinely criticized California's highest-in-the-nation gas prices, which are largely due to taxes and environmental regulations.

The lawsuit specifically argues that the EPA's decision to rescind a 2009 study that determined greenhouse gases are dangerous to public health was illegal. The study, which is the source of what's called the "Endangerment Finding," was one of several justifications - along with things like the Clean Air Act - for the agency's ability to regulate emissions.

Dozens of local communities, states, and individuals are suing major oil and gas companies and their trade associations over rising climate costs and for allegedly lying to consumers about climate change risks and solutions. At the same time, some states are enacting or considering laws modeled after the federal Superfund program that would impose retroactive liability on large fossil fuel producers and levy a one-time charge on them to help fund climate adaptation and resiliency measures.

"California's policies have slowed American commerce long enough," Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said in a post on the social media platform X announcing the bill.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced an end Thursday to credits to automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles, a device intended to reduce emissions that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said everyone hates. In remarks with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House, Zeldin called start-stop technology the Obama switch and said it makes vehicles die at every red light and stop sign. He said the credits, which also applied to options like improved air conditioning systems, are now over, done, finished.

Last year, the nonprofit Climate Central launched an online database to track the most costly weather- and climate-related disasters across the country. The effort was led by the same lead scientist who tracked those costs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-until the Trump administration axed the project in May. In 2025, the US experienced 23 such disasters with costs totaling at least $1 billion, for a total of $115 billion, Climate Central concluded.