US Can Drive 55—and Should, Greens Say

Attack on $38K gas-guzzler called a 'hate crime'

(NEWSER) - A 32-year-old man in Northwest DC woke to find his dream car—a $38,000 Hummer—with slashed tires, smashed windows, and a message carved into its body: "FOR THE ENVIRON." In a green-friendly neighborhood dominated by hybrids, two masked eco-extremists decided to punish Gareth Groves by mutilating his favorite possession. More»

Senator slams administration's energy-efficiency rules

(NEWSER) - Sen. Rand Paul yesterday ripped into the Energy Department's efficiency rules, which he says require Americans to buy poorly-flushing toilets and unwanted light bulbs, reports USA Today . "My toilets don't work in my house. And I blame you and people like you who want to tell me what I can install in my house," Paul told an Energy Department official at a Senate hearing. More»

You'll save money, and local businesses get a boost

(NEWSER) - Think of it as the "bicycle economy," writes Elly Blue in Grist . Ditching your car for a bike not only saves you thousands of dollars every year, it boosts local businesses. "It's amazing how much money can stay in your community when it isn't being pumped into the gas tank, big insurance, and the auto market," she writes. It's not about bike shops—it's about all those other businesses and restaurants that a thriving community of bicyclists supports within about a 5-mile radius. More»

(NEWSER) - Some cars’ gas mileage is good enough to make them ineligible for the cash-for-clunkers program—but that’s not the only reason David Holahan doesn’t want to turn in his old rides. “I’m all for stimulating the economy, cleaning air, and improving fuel economy,” he writes in the Christian Science Monitor. “But there are better ways to achieve all that than throwing away perfectly serviceable vehicles as though they were disposable razors.” More»

Buick model could get twice the mileage of similar automobiles

(NEWSER) - General Motors’ Buick brand will churn out the first plug-in hybrid SUV by a leading automaker, the company said today. “Buick will get our first plug-in hybrid, which will put the brand front and center in the advanced technology game,” said a GM exec. The company says the crossover SUV, available in 2011, could get twice the mileage of similarly-sized autos, the Detroit Free Press reports. More»