• Air

Rich Nations Have Sold 14 Million “Dirty and Dangerous” Vehicles to Developing Nations

• Africa
• cars
• clean car standards
• climate change
• emissions

by Amy Lupica, ODP Contributing Writer A new report from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) found that rich nations, including the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands, are exporting “dirty and dangerous” cars to developing countries en masse. Between 2015 and 2018, an estimated 14 million vehicles were “dumped” in Asia and Africa. 80% […]

• Politics

Lawsuits Mount Against Trump Administration

• California
• Clean Air Act
• clean car standards
• emissions
• pollinators

Last Friday the state of California (along with 22 other states and the District of Columbia) filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for its attempt to revoke the state’s waiver to set more stringent car emissions standards than that of the federal government (an authority granted to the state through the Clean Air Act […]

• Sustainability

Toyota goes “pedal to the metal” on electric vehicle plans

• air pollution
• California
• cars
• clean car standards
• electric
• emissions
• EV
• hybrid
• plug-ins
• vehicles
• zero emission

Toyota Motor Corporation announced last month that it intends to speed its development and introduction of additional electric vehicles (hybrids, battery electric models and fuel-cell electric), with a goal of having every Toyota and Lexus model include an “electrified” option by 2025. 

Why This Matters:  As we pointed out in another ODP story today, vehicle emissions are rising in the U.S. again — which is very bad news.  This announcement by Toyota shows that even though the Trump Administration is rolling back the clean car standards, the auto industry is going to move in the right direction.  Increasingly, U.S. consumers want to wean themselves off conventional gasoline cars and the market will reflect that.  What is needed is a full suite of electric options — more electric vehicles of all types, sizes, configurations and prices — and more companies like Toyota, Tesla and Volvo that are moving rapidly in that direction.  The future is most definitely electric.