Australia bans incandescent bulbs

Australia will be the world’s first country to ban incandescent lightbulbs in a bid to curb Greenhouse gas emissions, with the government saying on Tuesday they would be phased out within three years. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yellow incandescent bulbs, which have been in use virtually unchanged for 125 years, would be replaced by more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs by 2009.

In smoggiest city, transit chief drives a Hummer

One condition of Steve Lopez's interview with LA transportation chief Jaime de la Vega: Don't ask about his Hummer.

In the American city most notorious for smog and gridlock, the transportation expert drives an oversized military vehicle?

Lopez, an LATimes columnist and editor of the paper's Bottleneck blog, couldn't abide by the condition, but de la Vega wouldn't answer any of his questions about the SUV. The mayor's press secretary said the vehicle was a personal choice and offered this feeble defense: "It's smaller than a Yukon." Ironically, on de la Vega's wall is a quote by Rosa Parks: "Every person must live their lives as a model for others."

Via Streetsblog.