Cities of the Future

Category: Environment

  • Buying a Diesel Car Today is Selfish and Irresponsible

    Buying a Diesel Car Today is Selfish and Irresponsible

    We all know that pollution, like tobacco, kills! We also know that diesel fuel is extremely dirty. Unfortunately, until a few years ago, the automobile industry had deceived us into believing that diesel was as clean or cleaner than gasoline. Volkswagen, the German automaker caught installing cheating devices to pass emissions tests, went as far […]

  • Barcelona Needs Swift Action Against Pollution

    The capital of Catalunya is suffering from persistent high pollution due to car density and the largest number of motorcycles of any European city. City administrators, while acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, have been unwilling to take any action that would upset drivers. This week I was pleasantly surprised to see a new campaign on […]

  • How to improve Europe’s haphazard recovery of plastic waste

    How to improve Europe’s haphazard recovery of plastic waste

    Inconsistency, confusion and lack of common standards all contribute to low recovery, but the solutions are many and would push Europe quickly toward circular economics. When you finish a yogurt, do throw the plastic pot in the trash or the recycle bin? For some cities the pot is trash, for others it’s recyclable, and for […]

  • San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego Lead In Clean Energy

    Clean Edge, Inc. yesterday released its seventh annual U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index, which tracks and ranks the clean-energy and clean-tech activities of all 50 states and the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. The 2016 edition comes at a time of notable acceleration in the nation’s transition to a clean-energy economy. The top […]

  • Deputy Mayor of London: Diesel NOT the Right Thing for Cities

    Cities of the Future sat down with Matthew Pencharz, Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy for the Greater London Authority (GLA), during the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. We asked Mr. Pencharz his views about diesel in the city in light of the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal. “The VW scandal has focused attention […]

  • Thank you for cheating, Volkswagen

    The automaker’s emissions scandal could end up being a boon if it pushes governments and the industry to reassess diesel’s impact more honestly and move away from it altogether. Before you start howling at me, I’d like to say that I do feel for all the people working for VW and its subsidiaries, suppliers, and […]

  • London Pushes Through Stiff Resistance to Cycle Superhighways

    Two new segregated bike paths will crisscross the city and open up speedy, safe cycling that will ease pollution and traffic for everyone, non-cyclists, too, Boris Johnson says. London is a big huffing puffing city, so Mayor Boris Johnson’s success in pushing ahead with his plan to build cycle superhighways right through the heart of it […]