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TED talks

I keep seeing TED talks referenced here and there. I really need to start checking that site more often. Here are a couple of cool presentations. Amory Lovins on winning the oil endgame (sure to enrage all you car-haters out there): Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism, or at least that’s what the talk […]

Australia steps up to oppose Japanese whaling

This move by the Australian government is great news. Moral: elections matter! Let's hope other countries follow suit and stop this madness masquerading as "scientific research".

Explosion at Florida chemical plant causes deaths, evacuations

An explosion at a chemical plant that manufactures fuel additives and solvents has rocked the Jacksonville, Fla., area, forcing evacuations and causing an estimated three deaths. The blast at T2 Labs — described by those at the scene as a “hellish inferno” and “a great ball of fire in the air” — also knocked out […]

Fat-fueled speedboat will undertake second circumnavigation attempt

One of our favorite heroes is back in action. Pete Bethune, who attempted to set a global circumnavigation record in a biodiesel-powered speedboat in early 2007 — and donated his own ass fat to the fuel mix to garner publicity — has announced a second attempt, kicking off in March 2008. Baby got back onboard.

Menahem Anderman analyzes the state of car-battery technology

The following is a guest post by Marc Geller, who blogs at Plugs and Cars, serves on the board of directors of the Electric Auto Association, cofounded Plug In America and DontCrush.com, and appeared in Who Killed The Electric Car.

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Menahem Anderman, PhD, is Mister Battery Consultant. The California Air Resources Board, DOE, and Congress all seem to turn to him to analyze the state of battery technology. His reports always suggest batteries won't quite cut it for freeway-capable cars.

His report at CARB in 2003 seemed to suggest the electric cars then on the road couldn't be functioning as well as they were. Drivers of electric cars were stunned at his low opinion of the state of battery technology. He's always called upon, contracted with, and his report inevitably finds batteries wanting.

At EVS23, he stopped at the Plug In America booth to challenge what he felt was the overly optimistic tone taken by these advocates in their questioning at various sessions. One of the things he specifically said to Sherry Boschert, author of Plug-in Hybrids, to demonstrate the inadequacy of NiMH in electric cars was that the batteries have been replaced in many of Southern California Edison's fleet of RAV4-EVs. Chelsea Sexton of Plug In America inquired of Ed Kjaer at SCE to find out what the truth is. Here's what Mr. Kjaer wrote in response to the inquiry:

European automakers in a snit over proposed EU emissions cuts

A European Union proposal to reduce average new-car CO2 emissions 20 percent by 2012 — and to fine automakers that don’t meet the target — has revved up observers on all sides. German Chancellor Angela Merkel — a climate Cassandra whose country is home to industry giants including Porsche, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler — took a […]

A new site asks political talk show hosts to address climate change

In my introduction to Grist’s presidential forum on climate, I mentioned a statistic that came to me from Gene Karpinski of the League of Conservation Voters: as of mid-November, Tim Russert of Meet the Press had interviewed presidential candidates 16 times, asking nearly 300 questions, and had not mentioned "climate change" or "global warming" a […]

Al Gore named first runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year

In what’s expected to be his final award of a very busy year, Al Gore was named first runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, followed by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. This year’s winner is Russian President Vladimir Putin who, the magazine says, “is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat […]

Don Blankenship is an evil bastard

A while back, I wrote a piece for a magazine called Old Trout, in an issue devoted to the “Thirteen Scariest Americans.” It was edited down to about 200 words there; here’s the full original piece. Don Blankenship Is an Evil Bastard There is no greater threat to the future habitability of the earth than […]

Bush appoints mountaintop-removal mining exec to key DOE position

Yesterday we learned that the Bush administration has appointed Stanley Suboleski to the position of assistant secretary for fossil energy for the Dept. of Energy. In that position, he would “oversee projects such as developing clean-coal technologies and carbon sequestration, and polices related to fossil fuels.” Suboleski is a long-time executive for Massey Energy, serving […]