Bill O, the Art of Journalism and Me.By Tom Rooney, CEO of SPG Solar Journalism, says the wag, is the art of speaking with absolute authority about something you know nothing about. Earlier this week, America’s most dominant cable TV news host, Bill O’Reilly, of course, took that definition to a new level when he [...]
as posted to Huffington Post While thousands of climate change scientists, policy-makers and thought-leaders gather in Copenhagen to consider what to do about the future of our planet, most climate change skeptics are stuck on dissecting a scandalous incident that occured in the virtual world last month. This so-called “Climate-Gate” stems from the efforts of [...]
My good friends over at Cleantech Group put out their 10 for 2010 cleantech predictions after Thanskgiving, and after our usual “webside” chats on the future of the sector, chastened me into responding with a set of counter predictions. What’s in store for cleantech 2010? 1. Private capital recovers. Nick Parker predicts that private capital [...]
By John Addison, original report at Clean Fleet ReportElectric cars and hybrid cars are prominent here at the LA Auto Show. GM highlighted big plans for the Chevy Volt. Toyota, owning some 65 percent of the U.S. hybrid market, displayed the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) along with a growing family Toyota and Lexus hybrids. [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi One of the big line-items in the energy-related provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was energy efficiency. Over $3 billion was allocated to efficiency investments, with the expectation of a 7:1 economic return, based on previous results of the DOE’s State Energy Program since its inception in the late [...]
By John Addison (original post in Clean Fleet Report) For the fifth consecutive year, EPA is reporting an increase in fuel efficiency with a corresponding decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for new cars and light duty trucks. Average CO2 emissions have decreased by 39 grams per mile, or 8 percent, and average fuel [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi Jim Halloran, a financial analyst of the oil/gas industry now with Russell Energy Advisors at Financial America Securities, recently sent along to his various contacts something he came up with called “The Immutable Principles of Energy”. I liked it, and thought it was worth passing on verbatim to readers of my [...]
By John Addison (original post Clean Fleet Report) The electric car will facilitate the smart grid and a renewable energy charging infrastructure. The electric car will help make the smart grid relevant to consumers. Right now most cars use inefficient engines fueled with gasoline or diesel. In the coming decades, many cars will use electricity. [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi Unlike some other environmental issues, there is virtually no controversy or skepticism about the perils of mercury in the environment. Not only has mercury been known for centuries to be highly poisonous, it’s also increasingly linked to other physiological ills, including some speculation in recent years that mercury is related to [...]
Thomas Friedman, one of my favorite authors, had an editorial this week entitled, “America must lead in energy technology“. As with most of his recent writings and speeches, it’s targeted around the thesis of his Hot, Flat and Crowded book, which basically argues that a combination of climate change, globalization, and population growth are creating [...]
By John Addison (originally published in the Clean Fleet Report) By 2020, 219,000 customers of PG&E (NYSE: PCG) may say goodbye to those trips to the gas station. No more spinning dials at the pump – $20.00, $40.00, $80.00, etc. Instead drivers will conveniently plug-in their electric cars at home or work. The fill-up will [...]
by Richard T. StuebiMany informed observers consider the inadequacy of clean drinking water to be one of the world’s most serious problems. By some estimates, 20% of the human population lacks access to good water supplies. That’s not to say that these people live nowhere near water: indeed, most of humankind lives fairly close to [...]
By John Addison (11/10/09, original post Clean Fleet Report) The new 2010 model hybrid cars offered in the U.S. are destined to sell with gasoline prices rising. Toyota (TM) dominates the list including new models from Lexus. There are also impressive offerings from Honda (HMC), Ford (F), Nissan (NSANY), and Chevrolet (GMGMQ.PK). Your top 10 [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled “U.S. Biofuel Boom Running on Empty”, which presented a blistering across-the-board slam on biofuels. Perhaps more interesting than the WSJ article itself was an email reaction I received from a prominent energy tech venture capitalist with keen visibility into [...]
Canadian firm, Saltworks Technologies, just came out of stealth in relation to their desalination technology, which they claim reduce the electrical energy required for desalination by over 70%. They report they can produce 1m3 of water with 1kW hour of electrical energy, compared to the 3.7kWhr per m3, which is what is currently achievable using [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi Much has been written about the planned release by General Motors (NYSE: GM) of the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. When GM launches the vehicle, now slated for late 2010, it plans to sell tens of thousands of them. As profiled in an article in the August 24 issue [...]
By John Addison (originally published in Clean Fleet Report 10/26/09). My test drive of the new Ford electric car for 2011 demonstrated that Ford (NYSE:F) is building an electric car that millions will want. The Ford Focus EV prototype provided a quiet and smooth drive for a prototype. One Ford engineer indicated that he was [...]
by Richard T. Stuebi Although much of the ink these days about innovative vehicles relates to plug-in hybrids, work continues to explore the potential for hydrogen-based fuel cells to play a key role in the transportation sector — particularly in light of the recent decision by Congress to reauthorize funding for hydrogen autos. Admittedly, as [...]
Ok, I couldn’t resist. GM is running a contest to name the silver green color for the Volt. Winner gets to go to the LA auto show and drive a pre-production Volt. So if any of you have a few minutes to amuse yourself, add your color name idea in the comments to this post, [...]
By John Addison (Originally Posted 10/19/09 at Clean Fleet Report). Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) committed to an electric vehicle future when it committed with the FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) to buy 10,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the coming decade, as they upgrade their fleets. The energy storage in these vehicles could eliminate the [...]
