This is the second of Distillations’ four-part series Our Chemical Landscape. In this episode, we move from the city to the burbs, where increased sprawl is creating a host of traffic and related air quality issues. First, Distillations assistant producer Anne Fredrickson brings us a brief history of electric cars. Then, a feature from Austin, Texas where producer Lindsay Patterson explores how mass transit options might help mitigate growing transportation and pollution concerns in her area.

Commuters taking the highway to downtown Austin. Image courtesy of Flickr user Rutlo.