http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/smartphone-app-car-emissions.html 2016-09-27 18:03:47 An App to Help Save Emissions (and Maybe Money) When Buying a Car The app is a result of research that looks at 125 cars and measures their mileage and the greenhouse gases generated in making and powering them. === How much is your car contributing to The The result is an But, I hear you say, a driver of an electric car in California will be getting cleaner power than a driver in the Midwest, which is heavily dependent on coal-fired power plants, right? The app lets you customize by region. The paper, by This app thrills me, because it turns out that I own the gas-powered car with the smallest carbon footprint — and physical footprint — on the market, according to the app: a Smart. I bought the tiny two-seater in 2008, and it has long been a point of contention between my wife and me. When people see us in the parking lot and ask how we like the car, I say “I love it!” and she says “I hate it” at the same time. She doesn’t like its bumpy ride or the finickiness of its transmission. I love that my little rattletrap gets 40 miles per gallon, and now love even more that it’s better for the environment than about one third of the hybrids out there. It is a good day when the mighty engine of science comes together to prove me right about something.