"PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Tim Thomson needed a charge, quickly. With his all-electric Nissan Leaf fast losing battery power and no places to plug in along the highway from Fresno, Calif., to San Francisco, Thompson turned to his iPhone. He pulled up an application called PlugShare that maps charging stations for electric vehicle drivers. A resident in nearby Madera had advertised his home charging station, so Thomson called in a panic."

"The auto industry will need to step up introduction of fuel-saving technology to help the U.S. meet aggressive goals to combat climate change despite manufacturers’ requests for relief from existing rules, the Environmental Protection Agency’s top transportation official said."

"The oil-train boom is waning almost as quickly as it began."

"The Obama administration has just announced that it will be making $4.5 billion in US Energy Department loan guarantees available for the support of a commercial-scale electric vehicle charging station buildout."

"A solar-powered aircraft successfully completed the first fuel-free flight around the world on Tuesday, returning to Abu Dhabi after an epic 16-month voyage that demonstrated the potential of renewable energy.
"

"Three attorneys general on Tuesday directly challenged Volkswagen’s defense over its emissions deception, calling the decision to thwart pollution tests an orchestrated fraud that lasted more than a decade, involved dozens of engineers and managers and reached deep into the company’s boardroom."

"Despite praising automakers for recent gains in fuel economy, two federal agencies said on Monday that surging consumer demand for pickups and sport utility vehicles made it unlikely that the industry could meet the government’s ambitious projections a decade from now."

"An airplane powered by energy from the sun arrived on Wednesday in Egypt, the penultimate stop on the first fuel-free flight around the globe."

"California regulators Wednesday again rejected Volkswagen’s plan to fix diesel cars that were programmed to cheat on air pollution tests, saying the proposal lacked enough detail for the state to gauge its effectiveness."

"The Department of Transportation on Wednesday released proposed new spill-response rules for rail carriers carrying crude oil."