Terms

Washington, DC — In another major setback for US climate policy, President Trump tweeted today that his administration is revoking California’s waiver to set stricter vehicle emissions standards that more than a dozen other states have adopted. For half a century, through eight prior US administrations, California’s standards have led the nation’s push for cleaner cars and light trucks.

Many of today’s cars are already available with connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies such as adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. Testing of fully autonomous vehicles is underway in cities and states across the United States, including Arizona, Texas, and Wyoming. And 22 US states and Washington, DC, have already passed legislation to shape the rollout and impacts of these vehicles.

Blockchain is generating a lot of buzz as a promising system to verify and track peer-to-peer transactions in the energy sector. It could have multiple applications although there is still debate about which, if any, will work well. What’s clear, however, is that companies are already exploring uses of blockchain to save energy. Let me tell you about three applications that show promise.

As new models with longer ranges, state-of-the-art features, and lower prices enter the market, 2018 is widely expected to be the year of the electric vehicles (EV).