Tag Archives: Electric vehicle

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A big Win! and Thank the EPA


Union of Concerned Scientists

Big Win for Clean Cars

www.ucsusa.org

This is a historic week for U.S. consumers and for the future of our nation’s costly oil use. The Obama administration just finalized fuel economy and global warming emissions standards for cars and light trucks sold in model years 2017-2025, which will roughly double the fuel efficiency of these vehicles.

The standards will save drivers of a new 2025 vehicle nearly $8,000 over its lifetime, compared to driving a typical vehicle on the road today. In addition, the standards will reduce global warming emissions by as much as 270 million metric tons in 2030—the equivalent of shutting down 65 coal-fired power plants for one year.

These standards represent the biggest single step our country can take to reduce oil use, cutting consumption by 1.5 million barrels a day in 2030 and putting us on the path towards halving our projected oil use over the next 20 years.

Much work remains to get to this ambitious goal, and we will no doubt have to protect this hard-fought victory. But today we celebrate, and say thank you.

Thank you for being a part of the UCS community that contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and White House more than 75,000 times to support strong clean car standards throughout the last two years. Thank you for supporting and defending these standards at public hearings, in local newspapers, and in your communities. We would not be celebrating this victory without you.

Now we need your help in delivering one last thank you: Tell the EPA and DOT how much you appreciate the finalization of these standards.

Send a Thank You Today!   www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,
Rachel Cohen
Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

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41 Million Cars — GONE … Union of Concerned Scientists


Union of Concerned Scientists
 
 
Time is running out on the opportunity to double the impact of your membership gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Time’s running out! Give today and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Act today and your gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists will go twice as far—putting science to work for a healthy environment and a safer world.

Become a member, click here.
 

A generous supporter has pledged to match all donations dollar-for-dollar—up to $250,000—but only if you act by the end of the week!

Your support of UCS makes a vital difference in building a healthier environment and a safer world. If you’re still looking for a reason to support UCS, how about this one:

41 million fewer cars.

Picture a four-lane highway packed bumper to bumper with idling cars stretching all the way around the earth at the equator. Now picture the tailpipe emissions from all those cars and think about how much that would speed up global warming.

UCS supporters like you helped push through tough emissions standards for new cars and trucks that will require automakers to produce vehicles that emit roughly half of the global warming emissions of a new automobile today. By the year 2030, this effort alone will keep more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released into our atmosphere. That’s like taking 41 million cars off the road.

 time is running out to take advantage of this special opportunity. Please act now. Join more than 85,000 other members of UCS—become a member of UCS today.

WWW.UCSUSA.org

With your help, we will:

  • expose corporations, front groups, and policy makers who mislead the public and undermine understanding of climate science;
  • fight to shut down old and dirty coal plants and increase investment in wind, solar, and other clean, renewable sources of energy; and
  • actively protect scientists in the government and academia from politically motivated personal attacks.

You are a key partner in all this work. Please act now and take advantage of this special, short-term opportunity.

With your help, I’m confident we can win more important victories in the year ahead and the years to come.

Kevin Knobloch Sincerely,
Kevin Knobloch
Kevin Knobloch
President

P.S. Remember: this special opportunity only lasts through the end of the week. Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar—but only if you act now!
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Obama: Keep clean car standards on track


Obama: Keep Clean Car Standards on Track!

The Union of Concerned Scientists has long led the fight to break our country’s dangerous oil dependence and address global warming by strengthening fuel efficiency and pollution standards for vehicles. Thanks to supporters like you, today we stand on the verge of historic progress.

The Obama administration recently proposed clean car standards that would nearly double fuel efficiency to about 50 miles per gallon in 2025, saving consumers billions of dollars at the gas pump, preventing millions of tons of global warming emissions, and saving as much oil in 2030 alone as we currently import from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. As clean energy and public health protections face constant attack in Congress, these standards represent a tremendous victory in the fight against climate change.

Automakers have the technology to make all new cars and trucks cleaner. Just last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, UCS engineers put a spotlight on the most fuel efficient vehicles already available at dealerships nationwide, and the advanced hybrid and electric vehicles that can lead us to an oil-free vehicle future. But just as opportunity knocks, automakers and their allies are working behind the scenes to weaken the standards with loopholes that could increase pollution and oil dependence.

For the next two months, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation will accept comments on the proposed standards. Please tell the Obama administration to move forward with strong clean car standards and oppose industry-backed loopholes.

Take Action Today!

Sincerely,

Rachel Cohen
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program

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Don’t let auto dealers sell us a lemon


Contact Your State’s NADA Director
Urge auto dealers to support new fuel efficiency standards that will clean up our cars, cut America’s oil dependence, reduce global warming emissions, and create new jobs.

This summer, we celebrated a major milestone in the fight to curb global warming and end U.S. dependence on oil when President Obama announced a historic agreement to reduce vehicle emissions and raise fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

These clean car standards will save people money at the gas pump, clean up our air, and create jobs and are supported by environmental, national security, consumer advocacy groups, as well as the United Auto Workers and major automobile manufacturers.

Unfortunately, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is trying to stop this plan from taking effect. The Obama administration is currently ironing out the final details of the clean car standards, but NADA members have already descended on Washington, DC, to try to keep consumers and the American economy from reaping the benefits of these new standards.

And this isn’t the first time they’ve been a speed bump on the road to cleaner cars. NADA loudly opposed the clean car standards finalized in April of 2010—but auto dealers across the country are now selling vehicles that comply with these standards, and contrary to NADA’s dire predictions, dealers reported record profits and increased employment last year, with further gains expected in 2011.

Would you buy a tired, used argument from these folks? The auto dealers need to hear from you that their behavior is unacceptable.

Tell your state’s NADA director to create jobs, reduce global warming emissions, and cut America’s oil dependence by supporting the new clean car standards.

Sincerely,
elizabethirvin.JPG
Elizabeth Irvin
Program and Outreach Associate
UCS Clean Vehicles Program
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Higher standards, better cars. Take action! UCS


The Union of Concerned Scientists is proud to unveil the 2011 Hybrid Scorecard. More automakers are delivering real environmental benefits at good value, yet others continue to try and use the “hybrid halo” to peddle small benefits, bigger, dirtier engines, and lots of unnecessary bells and whistles. To find out how they stack up, check out the fully updated Hybrid Scorecard homepage.

Hybrid technology stands poised to play an important role in transforming vehicles in America. But only strong clean car standards will push the automakers to produce more of the hybrids that will rate high on our scorecard for environmental impact, efficiency, and value. The vehicles occupying the top of our scorecard prove such an expansion CAN be done. Strong clean car standards ensure that it WILL be done.

The Obama administration is deciding right now whether to set clean car standards as high as 60 miles per gallon (mpg) through 2025. That number matters—for our wallets and for our environment. And right now, we need big numbers of people telling the White House to deliver for U.S. consumers.

You and your fellow UCS supporters have taken public action, engaging the Department of Transportation on their blog and commenting on President Obama’s weekly address on YouTube—now it’s time to go right to the source.

We need you, and as many of your friends as you can muster, to send emails straight to President Obama telling him you want the kind of cars a 60 mpg standard can deliver.

Take Action Today!

Let’s make history together,
ScottNathanson_jpg
Scott Nathanson
National Field Organizer
UCS Clean Vehicles Program