Source: Environmental Leader

“Although many new-vehicle buyers may want to purchase an environmentally friendly vehicle, just 11% are “very willing” to pay more to do so, according to the J.D. Power and Associates, MarketingCharts reports.”

Source: Thomson Reuters

Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it would launch a new, low-cost hybrid car in Japan, North America and Europe in early 2009 as it seeks to cut the lead of Toyota Motor Corp in the green car race.

Despite the pressure of record-high oil prices and concerns over climate change, fuel-efficient and low-emission hybrids still occupy a small niche in the global car market, partly due to their higher costs for both consumers and automakers.

Green Biz

Nearly every day since 1963, Barnes Ellis has driven 10 miles to and from his Portland, Ore., law firm alone.

But he has since traded his $250 monthly parking permit, and his high fuel costs, for a free transit pass. His law firm gave them to workers to promote alternatives to ugly commutes.

Planet Ark

European Union lawmakers have proposed cutting the share of traditional biofuels to less than 6 percent of EU road transport fuel by 2020, a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed.

The Guardian

A group of British eco-enthusiasts have just pulled off the greenest and grubbiest car rally ever, driving from London to Athens in vehicles powered exclusively on waste vegetable oil.

The team motored with unexpected ease across Europe on the proceeds of the grease thrown away by restaurants and cafes along the way. Their hope is that the 2,500-mile feat will help a drive to create a commodity out of cooking oils that otherwise end up in landfills or the sea. Unlike ethanol and other controversial biofuels, recycled cooking fat does not impact on food production.

TreeHugger

Over at the Oil Drum, Alan Drake lays out what should be done to develop a coherent program to reduce oil consumption, cut greenhouse gas emissions, fix the electrical grid and improve the speed and reliability of transport without using oil:

• Electrify 36,000 miles of mainline railroads

A Green Fleet plan aimed at promoting the use of green fuels for the city of Toronto’s fleet gets unanimous approval from Toronto City Council yesterday.

China Daily

The Chinese government is raising sales tax on big cars, while reducing taxation on small ones, in an effort to curb fuel consumption and control emissions that are destroying the air quality in most Chinese cities.

The New York Times

Tesla Motors, a manufacturer of electric-powered cars, plans to change its global supply chain in favour of producing and assembling cars near its home base in California to save more than 5,000 shipping miles.

The Guardian

Spain has launched an ambitious plan to reduce energy consumption and save millions of euros on oil imports by cutting the speed limit to 50mph and handing out millions of low-energy use light bulbs.