Transportation

Crazy air pollution levels in Paris

Last week and earlier this one, the French capital was hit by important levels of air pollution. The situation was so out of hand on Monday that the city of Paris decided to ban half the cars off the roads as TreeHugger reported. According to the local ADEME, France is a severe offender regarding air […]

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Ford to boost start-stop systems

According to TreeHugger, ” a Ford representative is saying that they are “going to be aggressive rolling [stop-start] out”. As we have seen previously, such innovation enable cars to stop automatically their engines when not moving. Such a simple system could cut the oil consumption by ten percent for urban driving while only costing around

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The huge cost of traffic congestion

Cleantech and sustainability is not only about energy efficiency and renewables, it is also about how we move around. So my latest piece for Cleantechies is about traffic congestion. Here is the introduction : ” According to a new study carried out by the English Centre of Economics and Business, traffic congestion in the United

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Start-stop systems are simple, yet brilliant

A great innovation I have seen on French cars recently is called Stop and start. Peugeot Citroen (PSA) started selling this anti-idling technology as early as 2006. The gains in urban driving are no less than ten percent… Indeed, thanks to start-stop systems, the internal combustion engine is automatically shut down while you are stuck

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How to save money on your commute

My current job – which I have been doing for almost a year now – makes that for the first time in my life, I have to commute by car. In my previous jobs I was indeed commuting by using public transportation or simply walking. This current situation is quite embarrassing as I have been

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More efficient cars for the US, China and Europe

The Obama Admnistration has finally enacted the new mileage standards that will significantly improve the efficiency of cars by 2025. These new standards will enable the country to save up to 3 million barrels per day by 2025. As the White House blog noted : ” In total, this program will save consumers more than $1.7

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WHO : diesel exhausts cause lung cancer

According to the World Health Organization : ” the WHO  today classified  diesel  engine  exhaust  as carcinogenic  to  humans,  based  on  sufficient  evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.“ This is a bad news for me as I recently changed for a diesel car and I am amazed at how

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Global bike sharing news

I have been blogging here many times over on how biking and bike sharing are great sustainable solutions to fossil fuels depletion, high oil prices, air pollution and traffic congestion. While browsing Cleantechnica in search of great articles to share with you all, I found a blog solely dedicated to bike sharing and the many

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Oil prices : from a recession to another

To the prestigious International Energy Agency :” If oil averages USD 120 per barrel in 2012, the global oil import burden  is set to reach a record high of over USD 2 trillion, or USD 5.5 billion per day “ Their press release goes on : ” The current price levels are on average higher

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