Articles by Adam Browning

Rev. Pat Robertson converts on global warming

WWJD? From Reuters:

Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said on Thursday the wave of scorching temperatures across the United States has converted him into a believer in global warming.

"We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels," Robertson said on his "700 Club" broadcast. "It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a buildup of carbon dioxide in the air."

This week the heat index, the perceived temperature based on both air temperatures and humidity, reached 115 Fahrenheit in some regions of the U.S. East Coast. The 76-year-old Robertson told viewers that was "the most convincing evidence I've seen on global warming in a long time."

Next step: doing something about it.

Auto X-Prize

The same folks that put up $10 million for the first private vehicle to enter suborbital space are at it again, this time for something less pie-in-the-sky: a prize for a super-efficient, low-emission vehicle.

Let's hope they are just as successful this time.

Check out the details, in development, here.

Vicious circle

Records are falling all around in California.

A heat wave has been setting record temperatures. And then on Monday, California set a record for all-time peak electricity usage. From the NYT:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to reduce electricity consumption by 25 percent, acting on a prediction from the state's power grid managers that demand would peak at 52,000 megawatts, a mark they had not expected to reach until 2011. Demand peaked at 50,270 megawatts at 2:44 p.m. Pacific time, breaking the record of 49,036 megawatts set last Friday.

More heat = more electricity usage.
More electricity usage = more carbon emissions.
More carbon emissions = ... you get the idea.

Forbes editor calls for tax increase to fight global warming

In a very Forbsian way, of course:

First, get rid of all other energy taxes. And legislation, while we're at it. Then tax carbon. Slowly. Start at a penny a pound, then increase -- let's not get crazy -- a penny a year.

The devil's always in the details.

The link makes you join, so I've pasted it below.