Jim Motavalli

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Mon, Jan 07 2013 at 10:04 AM

We buy wheels with our hearts, not our heads, and that first one is a big emotional experience.

Air pollution now a top 10 disease health risk

Thu, Jan 03 2013 at 3:34 PM

New Delhi adds 1,400 poorly regulated new cars to its roads every day, so it's no wonder that the city is choking on auto exhaust. Asian air pollution kills 2 million people every year. Tough emissions laws in the U.S. explain why we're breathing better, despite adding cars, population and miles traveled.

Avis and Zipcar get hitched as car sharing expands

Wed, Jan 02 2013 at 1:36 PM

With this $500 million deal, all the major rental companies will host big-league car sharing operations. It makes sense, because sharing is growing rapidly. But hold the altruism — customers want convenience and customer service, not green points.

Six auto-centric predictions for 2013

Mon, Dec 31 2012 at 2:53 PM

The crystal ball isn't as clear as it could be for the green year ahead, but I'm going to stick my neck out anyway.

2012 was a whizz-bang year for car trends

Fri, Dec 28 2012 at 3:54 PM

Although EV quotas were blown, 2012 will go down as the green car year, but that was only one important trend that emerged. Self-driving cars? Check. Jetpacks? Check? Crowdsourcing cars? Check.

A sailing race around the world...on eco power

Thu, Dec 27 2012 at 10:31 AM

Javier Sanso is the only competitor in the grueling round-the-world solo yacht race known as the Vendee Globe to use 100 percent renewable energy. If it were a movie, he'd win. But right now he's in eighth place.

Cruising in my propane truck

Wed, Dec 19 2012 at 2:44 PM

Yes, it's the same stuff that goes in your gas grill. People are stopping me on the street. 'A propane truck?' Sure nuff. This is a $2-a-gallon liquid fuel. What's not to like?

Crowdsourcing your car

Mon, Dec 17 2012 at 3:50 PM

Jay Rogers thinks cars can be built by online communities. And why not use open-source architecture that allows constant and regular improvements from an energized group of computer-aided designers?

Coda's layoffs spell trouble ahead

Fri, Dec 14 2012 at 5:21 PM

Take a cheap Chinese car, shoehorn in an electric drivetrain, freshen it up as best you can. Then pray. The strategy doesn't seem to be working for this California-based electric automaker.

Should A123's battery technology be sold to China?

Mon, Dec 10 2012 at 3:22 PM

Sure, a lot of the noise about the sale of a federally subsidized American company to a Chinese high bidder is political, but there are legitimate concerns, too.

Commenting (6)

The article is about the

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:30 AM

The article is about the "most likely to succeed," not about my personal favorites. But I do like the Volt--precisely for the reason I like other plug-in hybrids. It is electricity without the range anxiety. I do hope they make a cheaper version, such as a production version of the MPV5 crossover (based on the Volt) and shown in China.

I re-read my article and

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:27 AM

I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.

I re-read my article and

Mon, Aug 29 2011 at 10:27 AM

I re-read my article and didn't see any typos, so maybe you're on a higher plane.

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Green Tech Blogger

Member since August 2008

Jim is a freelance journalist, speaker, book author, radio personality and expert on all things environmental.

Jim blogs weekly for The New York Times, is a regular contributor to The New York Times’ "Automobiles" section, and has a weekly syndicated "Wheels" column. He also contributes to The Daily Green. He writes “Green Living” for the Environmental Defense newsletter and has contributed to Men's Journal, AMC Outdoors, Popular Mechanics, The Nation, The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Review, Salon, Grist, The Guardian, Tomorrow Magazine, Greenwich Magazine, Sierra and many other newspapers, magazines, and websites. He is a two-time winner of the Global Media Award from the Population Institute, and has shared his environmental expertise in radio interviews across the country.

His books include Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery,Forward Drive: The Race to Build "Clean" Cars for the Future and Feeling the Heat: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Climate Change.

An , Jim is as comfortable lecturing at environmental conferences or academic gatherings as he is addressing the general public. His speeches are provocative and relevant.

Jim spent 14 years as editor of , a national bi-monthly where he now contributes as a senior writer. He has also served as executive editor for New Mass Media and edited an alternative news weekly. He is a member of the Society for Environmental Journalists (SEJ) and has taught journalism at Fairfield University and University of Connecticut. He hosts a bi-weekly public affairs and music radio show on listener-sponsored WPKN-FM.

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Jim Motavalli

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Jim Motavalli

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