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Military focuses on energy

Over at the DefenseTech blog, Noah Shachtman muses on the military's need to wean itself off oil, reacting to comments by Jim Woolsey (PDF).

Among other things, he flags the new issue of Defense Technology International (interesting website, though horrendous usability-wise), which is titled "The Military and the End of Oil." It's got pieces on hybrid diesel-electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, solid-waste lasers (?!), and the DoD's new strategic approach to energy and conservation. Interesting stuff.

It's a little depressing to contemplate, but I suspect that 50 years from now we'll look back and realize that, as with so many previous technologies, it was military application that really accelerated clean tech deployment.

(ht: reader JH)

Update [2006-5-26 12:31:29 by David Roberts]: Ah, I see there's related news over on CleanTechBlog, mainly about the shift to hydrogen.

Americans and Climate Change: Incentives

"Americans and Climate Change: Closing the Gap Between Science and Action" (PDF) is a report synthesizing the insights of 110 leading thinkers on how to educate and motivate the American public on the subject of global warming. Background on the report here. I'll be posting a series of excerpts (citations have been removed; see original report). If you'd like to be involved in implementing the report's recommendations, or learn more, visit the Yale Project on Climate Change website.

All right, I realize that nobody is reading this, but dammit, I started posting it and I'm going to finish. It's a shame, really -- this is one of the most interesting chapters. It looks at a variety of professions -- scientists, journalists, educators, politicians, businessfolk, and environmentalists -- and examines the kind of career incentives that discourage active engagement on climate change. It's quite eye-opening. Today I'll just post the intro (super-short!).

Them’s the Breaks

Grist takes Memorial Day off In a burst of spontaneity and goodwill, Grist‘s tall, smolderingly handsome, delightfully witty, dazzlingly intelligent Maximum Leader is giving all staffers the day off on Monday. What generosity! What thoughtfulness! What … did you say? It’s a federal holiday? Oh. In that case, he’s actually not that tall. Anyway, don’t […]

Senate Takes Dirk in Interior

Kempthorne confirmed as secretary of the interior After a brief and largely pro forma confirmation hearing today, the Senate made it official: ex-Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne (R) will succeed Gale Norton as secretary of the interior, steward of 20 percent of the nation’s land. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) whinged a bit at the hearings about […]

TomPaine op-ed: ‘The Alt Fuels Distraction’

I have an op-ed on TomPaine today (it's also on CommonDreams and EnergyBulletin) that I'm fairly invested in. It attempts to make an argument I've made in bits and pieces several times -- something I'm keen to communicate clearly, though I'm not sure this piece fully does the job.

The argument, in short, is that the current debate over our energy future is distorted by money. Big-industry supply-side options like nuclear, "clean coal," and ethanol get all the press, while more immediately effective demand-reduction policies wither from lack of attention. It is the responsibility of the citizenry to push for these options, since industry (and the congressfolk they own) will never do it.

I hope you'll give it a read and let me know what you think. (More below the fold.)

Goreapalooza

The coverage (much of it attacks and distortions) of Gore and his movie is coming fast and furious -- too much for this over-worked blogger to keep up with. Here's a random round-up of stuff I've come across (and not yet linked to):

• A long, fascinating, and complimentary cover story in New York Magazine. If you read one thing, this should be it. (The mag also has a review of the movie by David Edelstein.)
• A flattering write-up in USA Today in which Gore denies he's running.
• Tech Central Station -- shill-factory non-pareil -- posts a purported fact check of Gore's movie. An Andrew Sullivan reader smacked it down. The editor of TCS replies and, unbelievably, uses the same twisted quote from my interview with Gore, which, as I've pointed out, means exactly the opposite of what he says it means.
• The cover story in National Review is a hack job on Gore's movie. ThinkProgress fact checks it, to devastating effect.
• Rotten Tomatoes has links to about a zillion more reviews of the movie.
• Judith Lewis from LA Weekly interviews Gore.
• The Nation's David Corn converses with Gore, mostly about politics.
• Over at TAPPED, Ezra Klein's been running a Gore Watch, keeping up with the press. Read the two latest here and here.
• Shakespeare's Sister eviscerates Howard Fineman (and by implication the whole clubby Beltway punditariat) for his treatment of Gore. (via Ezra)

Other stuff I've missed? Leave links in comments.

Inhofe coming around?

From a press release out of Joe Lieberman's office:

WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), congratulated EPW Committee Chairman, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), for taking a long-overdue, yet significant step toward tackling Global Warming by hosting a roundtable discussion entitled, "Exploring Greenhouse Gas Technologies." The Roundtable consisted of business leaders, environmental technology experts, and a representative of the U.S. Department of Energy.

"Many thought we would never see Senator Inhofe participate in, much less convene, a discussion of technologies for reducing global warming pollution. Clearly, something has changed. Longstanding opponents of reducing global warming pollution are finally getting the message that the American public understands the stakes and will no longer tolerate inaction in the face of the ever-growing evidence that the climate is changing. The American forces of reason and can-do spirit are starting to overwhelm the last bastion of denial and pessimism on climate change, namely, the U.S. Congress, which, I hope, will soon adopt the comprehensive climate legislation that I have been pushing with Senator McCain since 2003."

Inhofe's probably just nuke-boosting and "clean coal"-shilling, but at least it's something.

Americans and Climate Change: The risks of packaging climate change as an energy issue

"Americans and Climate Change: Closing the Gap Between Science and Action" (PDF) is a report synthesizing the insights of 110 leading thinkers on how to educate and motivate the American public on the subject of global warming. Background on the report here. I'll be posting a series of excerpts (citations have been removed; see original report). If you'd like to be involved in implementing the report's recommendations, or learn more, visit the Yale Project on Climate Change website.

Below the fold is the last bit of the report's third chapter, "Packaging climate change as an energy issue." It's quite short! It discusses the risks of tying climate change too closely to energy concerns.

Why green-group canvassing operations need an overhaul

It’s that time of year again on college campuses: final exams have given way to Frisbee on the quad, boxes are packed, and every telephone pole bears a bright yellow poster that says, “Summer Jobs with the Campaign to Save the Environment!” There must be a better way. Many a student has torn off that […]

A Twist of Organophosphate

EPA scientists say they’re being pressured on pesticide studies U.S. EPA managers and pesticide-industry officials have been pressuring agency scientists to skip steps in pesticide testing and allow continued use of some potentially harmful pesticides, says a letter sent to EPA chief Stephen Johnson by union leaders representing agency employees. The “integrity of the science […]