The pandemic could be a boon to car use, but it would be a mistake for governments to let that happen. There’s a golden opportunity to push towards a zero-carbon transportation system.
COVID-19 has underscored the value of parks and public spaces. A new survey shows that US mayors have gotten the message, but post-pandemic plans for public spaces remain largely undefined.
Living next to a highway is not great for health, but a new study shows that running air filters indoors can remove tiny particles of pollution and lower blood pressure.
Automobile body shells hang from cradles on the assembly line at a car plant in South Africa.
Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
De-icing salts help us get around in winter, but they corrode cars, crack roads and contaminate rivers and lakes. Scientists are working to develop better options by imitating natural antifreezes.
A used car superstore in Colma, California.
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Electric cars get a lot of hype, but what really matters for the climate are excess emissions from the many millions of gasoline vehicles still sold each year.
Opening all windows, or one front and one rear window, increases the amount of airflow in the car, reducing the risk of airborne transmission.
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Tim Breitbarth, Swinburne University of Technology; Adam Karg, Swinburne University of Technology et Kasey Symons, Swinburne University of Technology
A person who exercises, attends sporting events as a spectator and takes their kids to the oval or swimming pool will create 935 kg of CO₂ per year if using their car.
For anyone thinking about traveling during the pandemic, COVID-19 testing can be an important, but not all-powerful, tool.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Over the approaching holidays, people around the world will want to travel to see friends and family. Getting tested for the coronavirus can make this safer, but testing alone is not a perfect answer.
Do we need this many vehicles on the road?
(Shutterstock)
Life cycle assessments of electric vehicles show that they cannot fully eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions of personal travel. We also need bikes, buses and trains to solve our climate problems.
In the US, the average time spent waiting in fast food drive-throughs has risen by half a minute during the pandemic.
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As the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests have shown many people, racial bias, prejudice and discrimination very much still exist, but have become increasingly subtle and complex.