Tesla Roadster outperforms Jaguar XKR

Well, it might be a bit expensive ($80,000), but it's fast and has a 250-mile range. Welcome a new electric-powered car on the scene that is capable of outrunning a Jaguar XKR: Electric car gets speed boost with the Tesla Roadster.

Coastal homeowners may feel heat of global warming

Coastal homeowners may feel heat of global warming as insurance companies re-evaluate the potential costs of extreme weather events. A company that forecasts the risk of natural disasters for the insurance industry, Risk Management Solutions, updated their computer model recently and determined that average annual insurance losses will increase 25 to 30 percent in the coastal Northeast, primarily because of hurricane activity.

Wood-burning plants gain power

Wood-burning facilities for generating electricity are getting fresh consideration throughout New England as oil prices rise and other options are struggling for traction: Wood-burning plants gain power - The Boston Globe.

Time to Get Serious About Climate Change

Quasi-scientists and pseudo-scientists (aka oil industry flacks) have industriously worked to deflect the judgment and knowledge of genuine scientists and climatologists, often elbowing their way into the media and purporting to offer an alternative view to the 98 percent of the scientific community that recognizes human-induced climate change is real and threatening the survival of many different species (including the short-sighted creatures causing the problem). Lately, however, the media seems to be shining a light on more responsible viewpoints, as this article from the San Francisco Chronicle illustrates; Time to Get Serious About Climate Change.

Behind The Blackouts

Blackouts being experienced once again across America, resulting in deaths and disruption as heat waves sizzle from New York to St. Louis to California, are a distinct byproduct of electric power deregulation, Tyson Slocum argues in this article, Behind The Blackouts, published on TomPaine.com.

The best cure for the disease: locally controlled power systems...

European Heat Wave Shows Limits of Nuclear Energy

The nuclear power plants that are supposed to save us from the effects of global warming have one small problem: they don't work very well when it gets warm. France, heavily reliant on nuclear power, was forced to shut down many plants during the recent heat wave in Europe as drought-impacted rivers couldn't supply the volume of cooling water needed to keep the plants operating safely. If you can't see the irony here, you should spend some more time listening to the nuclear power boosters, who still haven't strayed that far from their original cheerleading slogans and their promises of "power too cheap to meter." For the full story: European Heat Wave Shows Limits of Nuclear Energy.

No More Oil Wars; Clean Energy Now!

Prevaricators and rationalizers of every stripe snort at the notion that there could be any relationship between our oil gluttony and the spiraling cycle of warfare in the Middle East, but, for those willing to take a hard look, the evidence is abundant. Spreading democracy is a convenient banner for ensuring control of the known oil reserves--60 percent of the world's total--buried in the Middle East.

Ted Glick, in a special for Truthout, builds a compelling case around the link between the bottomless quest for oil and the endless cycle of war in the Middle East: No More Oil Wars; Clean Energy Now!.

Wildfires are raging -- why isn't concern about climate change?

One more harbinger of the ultimate impact of global warming on the planet: uncontrolled wildfires increasing in prevalence and intensity, as discussed in this article from Grist:

Wildfires are raging -- why isn't concern about climate change? |
By Maywa Montenegro |
Grist Magazine | Soapbox | 25 Jul 2006

More Weird Weather

The recent heat wave throughout California was distinctive not because of record-breaking temperatures, but because of duration of high temperatures over an extended period, as discussed in this San Francisco Chronicle article, THAT WAS THE WAVE THAT WAS / Bay Area's string of hot days is longest on record -- odd weather patterns blamed.

Cooling the Mall, Heating the Planet

For 99 percent of the span of human history, people managed to get by without air conditioning. The fact that we no longer seem to be able to function without air conditioning in our homes, businesses, and autos adds one more factor to the energy consumption equation and also contributes significantly to global warming. Stan Cox of the Land Institute makes the case in this article, Cooling the Mall, Heating the Planet.

NASA Goals Delete Mention of Home Planet

Now what might compel this (odd and twisted) administration to remove mention of protecting the home planet from the NASA mission statement? Perhaps a fear of putting too much focus on the issue of global warming, as implied by this New York Times article.

EUROPE: Global Warming, Not Just Heat Wave

Another summer, another slate of record-breaking temperatures across Europe as more meteorologists and climate scientists weigh in on the numerous indicators pointing to global warming. In this Inter Press Service News Agency article, EUROPE: Global Warming, Not Just Heat Wave, Hervé Le Treut, meteorologist at the French Centre for Scientific Research, stated, "We are observing and suffering the first effects of global warming."

New temperature record in Britain

Great Britain has the longest continuous set of temperature records anywhere in the world. None of those temperatures come near those seen in the last few years, a point noted by the two writers of this article in The Independent. And today is predicted to break all records. Of course, global warming is just an invention of liberal doomsayers.

Innovative Autos Hit the Road

With dinosaur SUVs still rumbling en masse across the roads of America, on the fringes of the mainstream automotive world innovative new vehicle designs are beginning to appear, many of them from smaller firms willing to deviate from the cast-in-iron model that still dominates much of the world. Alternative fuel vehicles, hybrids, tri-brids, urban autos, and other eye-catching form factors are gaining the attention of investors as oil prices top $75 a barrel. In this reprint posted by Obvio, a Brazilian company with some remarkable auto designs, the investment possibilities and future of transportation are considered: Traveling the Highway to a Renewable Energy Future.

More Atomic Bomb Balm From the New York Times

Harvey Wasserman, author of several books on renewable energy, knows his way around the slippery arguments of the pro-nuclear power crowd. So, when presented with the usual misleading and unsupportable line of reasoning in a piece in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, his instinctive response was to dice the article to shreds, point by point, in a strong critique, More Atomic Bomb Balm From the New York Times, As Wasserman points out, referring to a draft report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, nuclear power is clearly a boondoggle:

"To begin with, this very long article fails to mention that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has issued a draft report showing that between 99% and 124% of the nation's electricity can be supplied by renewable means by the year 2020. Since nuclear power supplies only electricity, this simple fact makes complete mincemeat of any pretext for bringing it back. If we can get the juice cheaper, safer, cleaner and more quickly from nature, why build sitting ducks for terrorists that have only 50 years of failure to show for a trillion dollars invested?"

Why, indeed?

Why Nuclear Power Cannot Be A Major Energy Source

The growing chorus of nuclear power advocates, energized by what they see as an opportunity to revive a dead industry, have become more vociferous as of late, claiming that building a new generation of nuclear power plants is the only effective way to contend with global warming and oil depletion. Masquerading as environmentally concerned, scientifically grounded rationalists condescendingly setting the romanaticists of the environmental movement straight, flacks such as Stewart Brand, Patrick Moore, and james Lovelock, have become enthusiastic boosters for the technology, casting it as our only hope for the future. However, if you look at nuclear power at a system theory level, from one end of the fuel cycle to the other, the vision can be seen as fatally flawed. In this piece, Why Nuclear Power Cannot Be A Major Energy Source, David Fleming explains why nuclear power is not a "clean" fuel, not a viable option for the future, and not the only choice in town.

The opening to the article, published on the site of FEASTA--The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability--does a great job in framing the argument:

"It takes a lot of fossil energy to mine uranium, and then to extract and prepare the right isotope for use in a nuclear reactor. It takes even more fossil energy to build the reactor, and, when its life is over, to decommission it and look after its radioactive waste."

"As a result, with current technology, there is only a limited amount of uranium ore in the world that is rich enough to allow more energy to be produced by the whole nuclear process than the process itself consumes. This amount of ore might be enough to supply the world's total current electricity demand for about six years."

Read this article. Pass it on to friends. We only have a few years to start making smart energy choices and adopting a sane approach to our patterns of energy consumption as they affect global climate change. Nuclear power is a dead-end choice wiith the emphasis on "dead."

Weather Extremes and Media Indifference

If you've found the news reports of extreme weather-related events unsettling, you're not alone. However, because of a mainstream-media machine tightly linked to many of the industries that contribute most heavily to global warming, the likely culprit behind these events is generally ignored. Few news stories on floods, hurricanes, droughts, or heat waves suggest any correlation with the steady rise in global temperatures. Most often, these correlations are restricted to the OpEd pages, as is this piece in the Boston Globe, Katrina's Real Name. The disaster unfolding in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast is one more link in a growing chain of anecdotal evidence that corroborates what most climate scientists are saying--the effects of global warming are being experienced already in increasingly deadly ways.

Solar Nanotechnology Arrives

After decades of fits and starts, solar energy gets a boost from some new technology emerging from the Silicon Valley. Offering the promise of mass-produced light-collecting plastics that could be embedded in building materials or spread across rooftops, the nanotechnology firms involved in this pursuit are confident that costs can easily be reduced to levels similar to non-renewable sources of energy. Freedom from the grid may be near at hand.

Climate Change: Warnings of Imminent Disaster Fail on Deaf Ears

The title, Warnings of Imminent Disaster Fall on Deaf Ears, says it all.

California Farmers Embrace Solar Power

The abundance of California sunshine during large parts of the year have helped the region become one of the most important agricultural producers in the world. Now, many California farmers are using that same sunshine to produce electricity, lowering their needs for centralized power delivery, particularly during the long, hot summers. One second-generation farmer, Pat Ricchiuti, has cut his annual $1.5 million energy bill by 50 percent after installing 7,730 solar panels, which generate 1 megawatt of energy.

Nuclear Power is Wrong Answer

Among the many myths that bob around largely uncontested in the mainstream media, perhaps the most glaring is the assertion that nuclear power is the technology of choice to solve the global warming problem. As this Baltimore Sun article, Nuclear Power is Wrong Answer, points out, nuclear power is not clean, green, or sustainable.

The Cost of Clean Energy

Amid the claims and counterclaims over which energy solutions make sense for the future, the Union of Concerned Scientists has compiled a clean energy analysis that pulls together hard numbers and provides a compelling argument for turning to renewable energy options now. The bottom line is that if the United States adopted a 20 percent national renewable energy standard, consumers will save money on energy costs and jobs will be created. You might be surprised by just how much will be saved and how much will be gained.

Ocean Data Support Global Warming Projections

Mounting evidence continues to support the well-established scientific judgment that human activities are warming the planet. A new study confirms that the Earth is absorbing more energy from the Sun than is being reflected back into space, as this article from the Environment News Service, Ocean Data Support Global Warming Projections, details. The latest hard data matches computer models of this imbalance and the lead author calls the research "the smoking gun that should put to rest any lingering doubts about humanity's role in global warming."

The End of Oil Is Closer Than You Think

The title of this story from The Guardian UK, The End of Oil Is Closer Than You Think, says it all. The roller coaster is nearing that first big drop and the ride promises to be wild and wooly.

Lining Their Pockets: The Global Warming Debunkers

Guess who is paying for many of the junk science studies and intemperate critiques of global warming scientists? Why, it's none another than ExxonMobil, the company that has pumped more than $8 million into trying to downplay the greatest threat the planet faces. As Chris Mooney points out in this Mother Jones article, Some Like It Hot, the goal is to undermine the scientific consensus that humans are causing the earth to overheat.

Revisiting Chernobyl

Those who swear by the safety of nuclear power should be airlifted to the Ukraine and left to stroll around the deserted streets of Pripiat to get a small sense of the impact of a large-scale radiation release. This Inter Press story offers some insight: ENVIRONMENT: Some Chernobyl Clouds Will Not Clear.

The latest novel from Martin Cruz Smith, Wolves Eat Dogs takes detective Arkady Renko to the Zone of Exclusion surrounding Chernobyl for a chilling, well-researched taste of the magnitude of the disaster and the effects on the remaining local residents.

Wildly Popular Hybrids

Spiraling gasoline prices have led to booming popularity for hybrid vehicles. As the Toyota sales manager in Baltimore says in this Baltimore Sun story, A Winning Hybrid Shows the Way, "People love this car. We could sell as many as we can get."

Enabling Sustainable Development

Project results unveiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) this week provide strategically significant information for siting wind turbines and solar collectors, as described in this release from the Environment News Service, Mapping Reveals Earth's Best Sites for Wind, Solar Power. Focusing on 13 developing countries, UNEP hopes to make a difference in helping launch successful sustainable energy developments in regions with limited resources.

Where is the "Sound Science"?

As Derrick Z. Jackson reminds us in this Boston Globe article, President Bush has told us he needs to see the "sound science" on global warming before joining the rest of the world in combating it. A recent report, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, commissioned by the United Nations relied on 1,360 experts from 95 countries and devoted $24 million to compile a hard science perspective on the human impacts to our planetary ecosystem (including global warming). The Bush administration to date has been curiously silent on the sobering conclusions of this assessment.

Powerful Winds Aloft

Wind turbine energy systems are prone to the inconsistencies of wind forces near ground level, but at higher altitudes wind forces are persistent and strong. An Australian engineer, Bryan Roberts, has designed an approach to launch self-powered aircraft equipped with wind turbines skyward and working with a San Diego startup company, Sky WindPower, is seeking to commercialize the invention. This Wired article, Windmills in the Sky, provides the details.

Homeland Insecurity: Nuclear Plants Open to Attack

Nuclear power is safe and clean and our only future energy option as long as you don't take into account the mining and transport of uranium, the shutdown of reactors in heat wave conditions (as occurred in France during the record-breaking heat a couple of summers ago), the costs and risks of decommissioning reactors, the storage of wastes, and the possibility that terrorists might crash an aircraft into a reactor facility (as discussed in the Washington Post article, Homeland Insecurity: Nuclear Plants Open to Attack . In the age of terrorism, it would be difficult to find a worse choice than nuclear power to bank on for the future.

Missing the Big Picture

Bill McKibben is always an entertaining read and he's particularly sharp and well focused in this Orion article, On Not Quite Getting It.

Plug-in Hybrids Get Astounding Mileage

Suppose you could take that high-mileage Prius sitting in your garage and modify it so that it gets 180 m.p.g. rather than 45? This is the question that a couple of inveterate tinkerers asked as they set out to make their fuel-efficient car even more fuel efficient by plugging it into the garage wall outlet at night. Not surprisingly, Toyota and Honda frown about this kind of modification to their carefully engineered creations. Will such a vehicle be available commercially any time soon? [New York Times, requires registration]

Hydrogen Fueling Station in Vermont

Thanks to a Department of Energy Grant secured by Vermont representative Bernie Sanders, Northern Power Systems and Proton Energy Systems will be constructing an advanced hydrogen fueling station near Burlington, VT. A partnership with EVermont helped bring about this project, which will begin as soon as local approvals have been completed.

Energy deregulation is good for you

Some of the very same companies that engaged in market manipulation to cheat consumers are now banding together to lobby for more energy deregulation. With an energy bill set to be unveiled in Congress in early April, these stealth lobbyists hope to sway opinion in their favor.

"It is disingenuous for this lobby group to push deregulation policies that they claim are good for consumers when history shows that their own companies used these very policies to profit from the biggest consumer rip-off in history," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen.

The Long Emergency

"People cannot stand too much reality," Carl Jung said, as James Howard Kunstler reminds us in this Rolling Stone article, The Long Emergency. The reality that Kunstler paints is truly grim, even for those of us who hope there is a way out of our pending energy crisis through alternative energy and efficiency improvements. The year of peak oil production (as has been projected by other analysts, as well) may be 2005. As we slide downhill, forced to give up the amenities that many take for granted, the behavior of the citizens of our oil-addicted society is likely to be less than civic-minded.

Hot air and global warming

Never underestimate the ability of the current administration to obfuscate in the face of facts and, if that fails, to declare the sun rises in the West, as this article from the Boston Globe, Hot air and global warming, points out.

Rise of Sea Level Inevitable

As discussed in this article from the journal Science, the most recent computer modeling shows that the global warming patterns in place at the moment will result in an evitable rise in sea levels worldwide. This presumes that no additional greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere (which, of course, isn't the case at the moment). As the world's greatest producer of greenhouse gases, the United States, sleeps, the need for urgency grows. The Union of Concerned Scientists offers some suggestions for changes in this piece, Global warming is real and underway.

The official position of the U.S., as expressed by James L. Connaughton, senior environmental and natural resources advisor to President Bush, is that more study is needed, as expressed in this article published by The Royal Society.

Ten Simple Ways to Save Energy

Amidst the earth-shaking news (the latest global warming warnings) and the deeply disturbing news (the opening of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling), sometimes it's good to just step back and consider the day-to-day things you can do to make a difference in this world. This E-Magazine article, Ten Simple Ways to Save Energy, offers tips on personal ways that everyone can cut energy use in their home. If enough people followed this advice, maybe we wouldn't have to sacrifice the few remaining areas where wildlife can thrive to the engines of industry.

Demand for Hybrids Exceeds Supply

The popularity of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles is rising, as evidenced by long waiting lists for available models and steadily increasing production from manufacturers. The winner of a recent contest to create a slogan came up with the phrase "Green Cars Today, Blue Skies Tomorrow" and she is now driving the grand prize, a 2005 Toyota Prius.

Oil Production About to Peak

While forecasts for the point at which oil production worldwide begins to decline have been made by analysts for years, John S. Herold, Inc. breaks the analysis down company by company. Noteworthy for being the firm that first identified the pending collapse of Enron by bringing to light their dwindling profit margins, this latest analysis shows seven of the major oil companies reaching production peaks within 48 months. From there, it's all downhill.

As the executive vice president of Herold puts it, "If the dinosaurs are going extinct, we are trying to figure out which ones are going to go extinct the soonest."

Mount Kilimanjaro Stripped of Snow

For those global warming skeptics, recent photos of Mount Kilimanjaro without its snowcap for the first time in 11,000 years should be reason for pause. How many wake-up calls before the flat-earth crowd gets the message? Reuters tells the story at this link.

Worldwide Wind Power

A new organization, The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), promises to bring together leading forces in this swiftly growing industry, including more than 1,500 organizations distributed throughout 50 countries. As described in this news release, Wind Power Goes Global, from the Environment News Service, this newly formed group represents virtually all of the major wind turbine manufacturers, companies that have a collective wind power capacity of 47,317 megawatts.

Battles Over Wind Energy

It's not too surprising that with wind energy gaining popularity around the world, conventional energy producers are stepping up the attacks. As pointed out in this article, New Dispute Blows Through Wind Energy, the attacks are often deceptive and those with interests in fossil fuel and nuclear energy have a habit of twisting the facts to support bogus arguments.

Biofuel replacing oil in Asia

A number of Asian countries are turning to biofuels derived from local crops to counter the costs of importing foreign oil. Ethanol and biodiesel typically cost more than oil, but these fuels help support agricultural prices and add to the self sufficiency of countries, as described in this article, Asia Pushes Ahead on Biofuel.

Study predicts city flood threat due to warming

Part of my childhood was spent in the tiny town of Magnolia, located on Cape Ann, an energetic half-day bicycle ride from the city of Boston. The mental picture framed by this article in the Boston Globe, Study predicts city flood threat due to warming, gives me that unsettled end-of-the-world kind feeling that I remember from the Cuban missile crisis. We have no divine right to inhabit this planet, and the consequences of our indifference to global climate change may be making this and similar pictures all too real.

Billions Must Change Habits

News has been arriving from every direction lately on the global warming front, much of it bad. Credible scientists are no longer arguing about whether humans are causing global warming; they are discussing the potential impact and the timetables for when that impact will become evident.

Dr. Hermann Ott, the director of the Berline office of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, puts it in these terms: "What we face is an unprecedented challenge: Compared to what we're up against now, the nuclear threat was tiny. What we're faced with now is as destructive as a nuclear war, but unlike the Cold War. There is no individual here with his hand on a launch button. Billions of people have to take individual decisions about what they're going to do - and it's running up against vested interests. It has massive implications for the way we think about our economies and it runs up against the limits of a capitalist society. Our choices now are simple: hope for a technological miracle or try to steer the tanker a little bit from its current path and hope that that's sufficient. Mankind is, for the first time, in the position to actually do this, to consciously steer a different course. We've never had or even been able to do that before - but now we can and it's our biggest challenge. Nature does not forgive."

For more of the interview with Dr. Ott, visit: It's Too Late to Stop Climate Change.

Tilting at Windmills

Is it an either/or situation? Either we stop putting barriers up against the construction of wind energy installations in remote places or we can kiss all of the pristine wilderness goodbye... Bill McKibben answers the question in this New York Times story, Tilting at Windmills.

Power from the Waves

Marine power doesn't get much attention, but the source of this power--the ocean--offers abundant possibilities, as detailed in this article, U.S. Cities Eye Ocean Waves for Power Supplies.

Thousands of Jobs from the Climate Stewardship Act

The Climate Stewardship Act, a bi-partisan effort to spur technological innovation in renewable energy and create jobs, tackles two problems at once. As explained in this article, Global Warming Bill Means Thousands of New Jobs, this legislation could generate 800,000 new jobs by 2025.

Windmills and the Dutch

New innovations in wind energy are coming out of the Netherlands as the Dutch turn a traditional energy source into a modern technology being embraced across Europe. For details, visit: Wind Energy Gains Momentum in Europe.

Apocalypse Now

How Mankind is Sleepwalking to the End of the Earth is the subtitle of
this article, published in The Independent. As another slant on an increasingly inescapable message--we're rapidly making the planet uninhabitable--this piece summarizes the concerns from the Met Office in Exeter, where 200 of the world's leading climate scientists hashed out the issues in what ought to be (but, sadly, isn't) the primary concern of every citizen and every government on the planet. With people collectively hitting the snooze button on the latest round of wake-up alarms, the prospects look very grim.

Actions to Halt Global Warming

A group of UK economists, scientists, and politicians gathered last week in Exeter to discuss possible actions for averting global warming. Their conclusion, as detailed in this Nature.com article, UK climate meeting calls for action, was that major investments are needed immediately to reverse global warming trends and help people adapt to climate change dangers. The consensus was that we don't need more research; we need to take action now to avert the dangerous risks.

Flower Power

Green Week in Berlin showcased a variety of potential energy sources based on agricultural waste. German manufacturers generated some 1.1-million pounds of farm-based fuel, known as "flower power" locally, which includes biodiesel sold in about 1,800 petrol stations. For details, visit: German Farmers Championing 'Flower Power' for Cleaner Energy.

Convincing the Complacent Ones

It's not just in the U.S., but British scientists have noted how curiously complacent the UK public is to the threats of global warming. On the one side, you have evidence and studies from thousands of climatologists around the world; some of the most comprehensive, extensive computer modeling that has ever been performed to map climate change events; and the consensus of vast majority of the world's leading scientific organizations. On the other side, you have a handful of skeptics who have been thoroughly debunked by credible scientists; hack writers like Michael Crichton who use flimsy rhetorical arguments to bolster weak, improbable plot lines (State of Fear); and a laughably incompetent news media that pretends there is still a great debate over whether human activities cause climate change.

This article from The Guardian, How we put the heat on nature, examines the reasons behind public complacency and the rising fears of those scientists who are confronting climate change issues.

Stop Hogging Resources

In an curiously emblematic gesture, the owner of a double-parked Hummer in the Boston Back Bay region hurled scalding Starbucks coffee in a meter maid's face as she was writing him a ticket. In this article by Derrick Jackson, he skewers the sense of entitlement shown by the world's premiere energy users toward the rest of the planet. A single sentence from the article strikes at the heart of the issue: "An angry man in one of America's largest gas-guzzling cars in one of the most chronically congested parts of the city throws some of the nation's most expensive coffee at a working-class woman."

Point of No Return

One of the world's leading climate experts, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, fears that we've already reached the point where a reversal of global warming will be impossible unless immediate, drastic actiions are taken. Ironically, he was appointed to his post as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by the Bush administration after Exxon, a staunch opponent of action to combat global warming, complained that his predecessor was too "aggressive" in demanding action. In this article in The Independent, Dr. Pachauri concludes, "We are risking the ability of the human race to survive."

Solar Strides

A Canadian research team has devised a way to capture light energy outside the visible spectrum, using nanoparticles small enough to be dispersed in typical solvents, such as paint. The process described in this article, Solar Photovoltaic Breakthrough Taps Infrared Light, opens up possibilities for some very exciting applications.

China Goes Nuclear

Just about the time that most of the world has recognized that nuclear power is expensive, impractical, and dangerous, China is embarking on a major drive to build a series of nuclear reactors to meet projected power needs. As described in this article, China Promotes Another Boom: Nuclear Power, China's aggressive plans for reactor construction include building more than one a year until 2020. Public discussions on the risks and implications of increased reliance on nuclear power have been minimal; the government censors news coverage of this sort.

Homegrown is Best

When it comes to biofuels, such as ethanol, countries are best served by producing their own fuel from local sources, a senior scientist at a Greenpeace research lab in England stated. As reported by Reuters in this article, clean-burning ethanol can generate pollution during production if fertilizers and pesticides are used to grow the corn, sugar, or other crops on which the fuel is based. Fossil fuels burned during manufacturing processes and shipment also contribute to pollution. Just as the hydrogen for fuel cells can be produced in clean processes (using renewable energy sources) or dirty processes (using nuclear power or fossil fuels), biofuels are only truly clean when they are produced cleanly.

Do You Want Clean Car Options?

It's Monday--a good day to let your voice be heard. In response to recent California regulations intended to fight global warming through cleaner automobile technologies, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (with a membership that includes Ford, Toyota, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler) is suing to block the implementation. Their claim: consumers don't want clean car options. The Union of Concerned Scientists is coordinating a letter-writing campaign to convince their president, Fredrick Webber, otherwise. Take action by following this link.

Fuel-Cell Vehicles Gain Momentum

The major automakers have been experimenting with fuel-cell vehicles for years with mixed results. This year, however, those experiments are beginning to fruit, suggesting we are advancing toward a new generation of automotive machines that compare admirably with the performance of conventional gas-burning autos. This article, Automakers Put Hydrogen Power on Fast Track, tells the tale. Is it time to start planning a network of hydrogen filling stations?

Willie Nelson Bets on Biodiesel

As a long-time supporter of American farmers and the driving force behind Farm Aid, Willie Nelson makes an ideal proponent for biodiesel fuel. He makes an even more interesting energy company executive, as described in this story, Willie Nelson Bets on Biodiesel. Combining forces with three business partners, Willie recently launched Willie Nelson's Biodiesel and has begun marketing the vegetable-based fuel to truck stops throughout the midwest. As Willie explains it, "There is really no need going around starting wars over oil. We have it here at home. We have the necessary product, the farmers can grow it." If anyone can give a boost to this industry, Willie can.

As the Blades Turn: A Mighty Wind

Despite the hammerlock of a domestic energy policy that seems determined to anchor our future to a sinking ship (fossil fuels), the promise of wind power grows mightily. As discussed in this piece from emagazine.com, [E] - A Mighty Wind (by Doug Moss), wind power is a reality and the graceful spinning blades of wind turbines are finding many new homes around the world.

2004: The Year Global Warming Got Respect

Reporting for the National Geographic News, John Roach declares 2004: The Year Global Warming Got Respect. Despite the obfuscating of the oil industry apologists and the foot-dragging of the business-as-usual power brokers and the tin hat theories of the scientifically challenged miscreants, global warming is being taken seriously around the world. Now, if only the U.S. will take a cue from the rest of the world and begin to address the threat in a rational way, perhaps that respect can be turned into useful action.

Foreshadowing Things to Come

As images of the tsunami aftermath stun the senses, this earthquake-generated event offers a glimpse of the potential consequences from extreme weather events linked to global warming. In this post, Informed Comment, Juan Cole focuses on the important points: global warming is a real phenomena in the collective judgment of the vast majority of the scientific community and the potential impact is deadly.

Tsunamis and Nuclear Power Plants

Natural disasters humble us as a species. They serve as reminders that for all our technological prowess, the natural world packs a far more powerful punch. Less arrogance and more humility is a reasonable response to these kinds of reminders. A good place to start might be to reconsider the siting of nuclear plants in light of potential catastrophes, as argued in this perspective, t r u t h o u t - Russell D. Hoffman | Tsunamis and Nuclear Power Plants.

For a list of relief agencies helping tsunami victims, follow this link.

Fuel-Cell Vehicles Close the Gap

Fuel-cell vehicles will be getting a toehold in the real world and making a small step towards commercialization when dealerships for Zap start doing business sometime in 2005, as described in this article, Wired News: Fuel-Cell Vehicles Close the Gap. Prices clearly will be an obstacle for some years to come, but hydrogen fueling stations are already popping up in places such as Sacramento, California. Definitely a product launch that we want to see...

Costly Effects of Warming

U.S. opponents of the Kyoto protocol invariably speak of the economic costs of implementing measures to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, but they're not so vocal about the bottom line costs of extreme weather. As this BBC article points out, the insurance industry is reeling from the effects of the fourth warmest year since tracking began (according to the World Meteorological Organisation). The year 2004 was the most expensive ever for the insurance industry with record payouts for damages incurred from hurricanes, typhoons, and other natural disasters.

Factor in the expense of agricultural losses, health costs, destruction of wildlife, and similar costs and it is clear that the cost of not responding to global warming is the much greater expense.

The View from Tuvalu

Perhaps if we lived in Tuvalu, there would be a heightened sense of urgency over the threat of global warming. A scant three meters above sea level, the capital island of Funafuti suddenly found itself immersed in sea water from the Pacific Ocean. Rising sea levels take on a dramatic reality when they're lapping at your front door.

Despite the vast preponderance of credible scientists convinced that human activities are steadily warming the planet, President Bush and the current administration are still in denial.

Wind Power Wins Big

If you're looking for some bright spots in the overall environmental picture since the U.S. elections this last week (and you may need night-vision goggles to see anything bright through the black results), voters in Colorado demanded that the state include solar and wind power in their energy portfolio. As reported by John Gartner in Alternet, Ammendment 37 requires that Colorado utilities that service 40,000 or more customers turn to renewable energy, targeting a level of 3 percent by 2007 and 10 percent by 2015. The measure gained approval by 52 percent of the voters, which in the currently skewed perspective of the major news media, is a "clear mandate."

Do It Without Oil

Eliminating oil use can be accomplished within a few decades, according to a new plan released by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). Through modern technologies and intelligent strategies, American businesses can gain a competitive edge and increase profits without the need for additional federal regulations or higher taxes. Partially funded by the Pentagon, Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profits, Jobs, and Security provides guidelines for achieving greater energy efficiency and substituting biofuels and natural gas for oil-intensive operations. RMI co-founder Amory Lovins sums up the findings of the study, "Because saving and substituting oil costs less than buying it, our study finds a net savings of $70 billion a year. That acts like a giant tax cut for the nation. It simply makes sense and makes money for all."

Super-Storms on the Rise

Although the mechanisms that spawn violent storms aren't fully understood, one key factor is the temperature of the world's oceans. Global warming has pushed the temperature of large areas of the ocean to around 27 degrees Centigrade or warmer during summer months. James McCarthy, a professor of biological oceanography at Harvard University sees this as a catalyst for more and more intense tropical hurricanes and cyclones. Water reaching these temperatures evaporates more readily, priming hurricane and cyclone formation and helping maintain the strength and intensity of newly formed storms. This Inter Press article by Stephen Leahy points out the correlations between climate change and extreme weather and argues that green energy to control global warming may help diminish future risks of severe storms.

China Commits to Renewable Energy

Anyone pondering the world's energy needs can't help but wonder how China, with strong population growth and increasing industrial development, will deal with the future. In an historic partnership, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA) have pledged to work together to help shape China's energy future. An encouraging note is that the Chinese Government anticipates achieving 12 percent of its power generation from renewables by 2020 and much of this capacity will be derived from wind. This Greenpeace press release details how new laws and cooperative efforts can help counter energy security and global warming threats.

The Costs of Extreme Weather

Those who contend that the economic impact of meeting the Kyoto Accord is too onerous for businesses probably haven't factored the economic costs of extreme weather into their calculations. Drought, flooding, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events around the world, a byproduct of global warming in the estimation of many climate scientists, produce billions of dollars in damage around the world every year. This presentation by Greenpeace, Global Warnings, provides vivid imagery and commentary on the increasing impact of extreme weather.

High-Power Spokespersons

Celebrity activism has a definite impact on bringing the message home: renewable energy works and it is available today. The benefits of green power are being promoted by a diverse range of high-profile personalities, including Dennis Weaver, Gwyneth Paltrow, Darryl Hannah, Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz, and others. In the Wired article, Stars Power Move to Green Energy, John Gartner describes how celebrities influence the acceptance of alternative energy by what they drive, how they power their homes, and what they say to the media.

Pondering the Post-Petroleum Future

The transition from an oil-addicted present to a sustainable future either brings to mind visions of apocalyptic struggle for dwindling resources or a harmonious, nature-based world community ushering in a new peaceful phase in world history. Perceptions may make the difference in shaping the future, Jan Lundberg argues persuasively in this open e-Letter. What we know about modern physics and the interconnected reality of the world should be a guiding beacon towards a less-materialistic, more co-operative society.

Putting the Brakes on a Supertanker

More on the Arctic warming situation, this time from the folks at the heart of the issue. The Nunatsiaq News reports on the Arctic Council report, to be released on November 9th, 2004. The chairman of the ACIA, in a preview to the report's release, describes the task that awaits as "putting the brakes on a supertanker."

End of the Inuit Culture

A four-year investigation into the climate change in the Arctic concluded that the traditional Inuit culture will cease to exist because of the depletion of summer sea ice. These same factors, as determined by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), will drive marine mammals such as polar bears, walrus, and seals toward extinction by the middle of the century. Warming trends in the Arctic and nearby regions, such as Alaska, are leading to melting permafrost, thinning sea ice and other disruptions as climate change accelerates.

Rising Impact of Global Warming

The first indications of the adverse effects of global warming are already apparent throughout Europe, according to the European Environmental Agency. Among the visible effects that are evident and getting worse: increased risk of flash floods, an increase in the number of diseases transmitted by ticks, declining glacial masses, extinction of some plant and bird species, and other equally daunting trends. Wendy Grossman summarizes the predictions in this Wired article, Europe Warned About Warming. With the mainstream media in the U.S. still essentially shrugging off the immediacy of the threat, these European forecasts paint a grim portrait of the future unless we equip ourselve to counteract the trends.

Playing Catch Up

In the span of several decades, the U.S. has gone from being a world leader in environmental practices to lagging behind in several key areas. As this editorial in the Denver Post points out, when it comes to renewable energy, the U.S. is playing catch up to a host of other nations. For example, our total wind energy capacity last year was 464 megawatts, compared to 14,609 megawatts for Germany, 6,202 megawatts for Spain, and 3,110 megawatts for Denmark. Asia and Europe are embracing renewable energy as a practical solution to energy needs, while the U.S. tinkers with energy plans based on fossil fuels and lags behind more enlightened nations. We can do better.

A Fuel-Efficient SUV?

Ford Motor Company took a step towards lowering the overall fuel consumption of their vehicle fleet by releasing the first gasoline-electric hybrid (SUV) from a U.S. manufacturer. The Ford Escape Hybrid SUV offers a 50 percent improvement in fuel consumption over the standard Escape. The compact SUV gets between 35 to 40 miles per gallon in the city, relying on an electric motor under 25 miles per hour to reduce fuel consumption. Now that Ford has figured out the technology, we wish they would apply it to the rest of their vehicles, which, according to the EPA, have the lowest average fleet economy of any of the U.S. auto manufacturers.

Renewable Energy Bonanza in Arizona

According to a report produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Arizona could generate thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars for rural development by increasing the state commitment to renewable energy sources. Despite a substantial potential for tapping into solar and wind energy, Arizona currently produces less than one-half of one percent of electricity through renewable sources (other than hydro-electric power). The report determined that adopting the basic tenets of a national renewable electricity standard (RES), requiring 20 percent of electricity be generated by renewable sources by 2020, Arizona could create 3,900 new jobs and attract $1.6 billion in capital investment.

Lessons on Sustainable Living from Outer Space

Spacecraft offer useful guidelines for designing energy-efficient, self-sustaining dwellings that can function well in inhospitable environments. New Scientist describes how technologies designed for space travel are being adapted for use in the hostile climes of Antarctica. Some researchers think these eco-friendly structures may play a useful role in solving future housing problems in European cities. Solar power and a lightweight yet durable carbon-fiber shell are two important components of this design approach.

Options for Green Power

For anyone who wants to seek true energy independence, the options for equipping a new home with solar or wind power, or retrofitting an older home, are varied and growing. But, not everyone can immediately afford to invest several thousand dollars to get off-the-grid (though the prospects for doing this in the near future should become increasingly attractive). In the meantime, many utility companies across the country have begun to offer options to their customers to select renewable energy sources for all or part of their electrical service. For instance, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) in Washington State has added a Green Power option to their services. This option, created in collaboration with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, charges customers an extra $4 a month at the minimum level, which enables PSE to purchase 200 kilowatt hours of energy from local renewable sources. Additional blocks of kilowatt hours can be purchased in 100-unit increments for $2. By PSE calculations, if 100 customers adopt the minimum option of their Green Power Plan, in one year the environmental benefit would be equivalent to planting 70 acres of trees. Not a bad proposition, and this is clearly a way for every electrical customer to support the growth of renewable energy. If your utility company doesn't offer a similar plan, maybe they should.

Brazil Pushes for Renewable Energy

Countries squabbling at the World Summit over resolutions to adopt workable energy targets are considering a proposal presented by Brazil to achieve 10 percent renewable energy sources by 2010. This level of commitment could have an important role in stimulating local economies and cutting pollution around the world. Currently, only 2 percent of the world's energy comes from wind, solar or wave power. An American-based group, the Apollo Alliance, also sees renewable energy as having the potential to create millions of jobs.

Popeye's Favorite Solar Cells

Solar cells made from the spinach leaf? It sounds improbable, but that's exactly what a team of researchers is working on, taking advantage of the ability of plants and photosynthetic bacteria to convert photons to energy. In this article from Technology Review, researchers from MIT, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee have achieved initial 12 percent power-conversion efficiency rates, combining biology and electronics to create photosynthetic molecules. A traditional solar cell, the product of several decades of research, achieves 20 efficiency. This new approach sounds promising.

Competition for the Last Dregs

The last dregs of the dwindling worldwide oil supply look very appealing to a voracious consumer that rivals the U.S. in terms of raw appetite. China, with a population of 1.3 billion, is enjoying strong economic growth and, with that growth, the demand for automobiles within the country, including woefully inefficient SUVs, has skyrocketed. This piece in Newsday provides 1.3 billion reasons why we might want to worry about oil.

Power from the Sea

With wind power growing at record levels around the world (with 8,133 megawatts installed in 2003, according to the American Wind Energy Association and European Wind Energy Association) and solar power for home users becoming much more cost effective, other advances in renewable energy are taking place out of the spotlight. Generating electricity from the sea is not a new idea and past attempts have been riddled by failure, but a host of new efforts are underway, as described in this Wired News article, Seas Seen as Viable Power, by Stephen Leahy. A 486-ton wave turbine is being deployed off the coast of Australia, touted as the "first plant in the world to make wave energy commercially viable." The Department of Energy estimates that wave energy has the potential to produce 2 terawatts of electricity. That ought to keep a few electric toothbrushes humming.

A Solution to Global Warming

Finally, the Bush administration has somewhat sheepishly admitted that global warming appears to be a byproduct of human activities. It's about time, though this announcement curiously coincides with the start of the Republican National Convention. Could the most anti-environmental administration in a century be trying to paint itself as moderate as they prance on stage in front of the public? I wonder...

Given this official endorsement by the powers that be, we can no longer label global warming as a wild-eyed delusion invented by the liberal media, a plot by godless communists to drive America to bankruptcy, or a free-market opportunity for Wal-Mart to sell more air conditioners. Now that we have almost everybody onboard (except for those quasi-scientific mouthpieces who earn a direct living from fossil-fuel industry handouts), agreeing with what the vast majority of climate scientists have been asserting for years, what do we do about it?

In a commentary published in the Denver Post, Dr. Howard Geller of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project points to renewable forms of energy and overall improvements to energy efficiency as the answer. He also pointedly critiques those who see nuclear power as a viable solution, citing the lack of economic competitiveness, lack of public support, waste disposal issues and safety concerns--basically all of the same arguments that applied when U.S. nuclear power construction was halted 25 years ago. Nuclear power proponents, always ready to rally behind any excuse to re-energize the dead-end technology, have been blathering on about how nuclear power is the only answer, and, by the way, it is clean and safe and will deliver power that is too cheap to meter (or, have they finally given up on the too-cheap-to-meter argument?). Without the subsidy granted by the Price-Anderson Act, which limits plant owner liability in the event of a catastrophic accident (leaving taxpayers to pick up the additional tab), the industry would probably not even exist. A nice summary of the safety issues, produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists, can be found here.

O is for Oil

It's back to the basics. A large part of our ignorance on energy issues in America comes from the fact that for years it has been so abundant that we rarely need to think about it. In a nicely reasoned article, O is for Oil, Paul Roberts makes a number of key points on our curious misconceptions about energy. As long as we are dependent on oil as a primary energy source, he argues, America as a nation will never have energy security. Well said!

Going Cold Turkey: Fossil Fuel Addiction

Kurt Vonnegut has a way a skating around the pretense and dodging the artful chimpanzee posturing to get to the pure, beating heart of an idea. Cold Turkey, from In These Times, makes the point as only Vonnegut can.

Don't Let the Beer Go Bad

Businesses trying to keep operations going during California's rolling blackouts in 2000 learned to distrust the mainstream electricity grid. Among those most sensitive to a continuous supply of power, Sierra Nevada Brewing, based in Chico, California, took advantage of incentives offered by the California Public Utilities Commission to install fuel cells. The goal is to achieve an energy-neutral brewing operation, where the company creates as much energy as it consumes.

Even a short interruption in the electrical supply can ruin a batch of beer. And the summer temperatures in the Chico area, which push beyond the century mark for days at a time, make it critical that the power keep flowing along with the suds. Business incentives can help companies like Sierra Nevada Brewing free their operations from a fickle electricity grid. The article from Wired, Business Buys Into Fuel Cells, illustrates some other innovative business uses of renewable energy as well.

Energy Politics at Work

In any open society, if democracy is to be given a reasonable chance to flourish, the machinations of government at every level should be visible to the citizens. Leaders who are obviously beholden to special interests or not representing the expectations of their constituents can be removed from office. Bad policies can be rejected by rejecting the leaders who initiate them. A growing problem, however, particularly in terms of energy policy, is that key decisions are being made behind closed doors in virtual secrecy. And a growing body of evidence is pointing to the fact that energy policies are being crafted to benefit the bottom line of the mainstream energy producers, the petroleum and nuclear industries, to the detriment of any advances in renewable energy systems. The pattern of secrecy that was established by Dick Cheney in creating national energy policy is now apparently being emulated by California's Governor Schwarzenegger as examined in this Common Dreams article, Schwarzenegger Pulls a Cheney. Only by finding out who is pulling the strings behind the scenes do we have any chance to turn the current energy juggernaut around and move toward a future where sustainable energy practices can take hold.

Beware the Fossil Fools

One of the strongest arguments for shifting our energy base away from dependency on fossil fuels is, of course, global warming. Given the overwhelming consensus of the legitimate scientific community (i.e. those scientists not directly or indirectly on the payroll of a company that earns its profits extracting, refining, promoting or distirbuting fossil fuel products) that global warming is a serious risk for human survival, it's a puzzle how so many media pundits and quasi-scientists still blather on about the myth of global warming. Skewering these misinformed, unscientific flaks soundly, this article from The Guardian, Beware the Fossil Fools, doesn't pull any punches.

Little Solar Houses for Everyone

Solar power is too expensive and too impractical for mainstream use in the U.S. Or, is it? Truth be told, there are already numerous examples of the practicality of solar power in both business and home applications. Grist Magazine, a feisty little publication that provides "gloom and doom with a sense of humor", makes it a point to bring attention to promising developments on the alternative energy front. One of their staff writers, Amanda Griscom, highlighted a very apt example in her article, Little Solar Houses for You and Me. A collection of homes in Tennessee being built by volunteers from Habitat for Humanity use rooftop solar panels, insualted walls, windows and floors, energy-efficient lighting and other techniques to reduce the overall energy consumption to less than half that consumed by a conventionally constructed home.

This experimental project, co-sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is one step towards a larger goal: the net-zero-energy home. Simply put, the net-zero-energy home will generate as much power as it consumes. This goal is reachable, so the story goes, only if consumer demand increases to the point that the cost of solar panels drops to about a third of what they cost today. To make that happen, we need incentives, public education, research, and perhaps a new administration more interested in investing in the future rather than propping up a dying oil industry.

Need more convincing? The Rocky Mountain Institute, a leader in energy efficiency studies and programs, includes details of more than 200 green building projects from around the world on their Green Developments 2.0 CD-ROM. The technology is out there, along with the answers to a brighter energy future.

Energy Futures in California: Renewable or More of the Same?

Over the years, California has earned a reputation for being quick to act on environmental problems and more progressive on many energy-related issues. Strict automobile emission standards in California prompted massive changes throughout the automotive industry and helped make improved emission controls a priority to relieve some of the air quality problems in major metropolitan areas. The recent energy crisis in the state, however, tainted by the scandal of price manipulation and fraud, has made energy futures a major focus for state government. Landmark legislation championed by Gray Davis before he left office mandates nearly doubling the use of renewable energy resources by 2017. Under Governor Schwartzegger's leadership, despite his professed commitment to renewable energy, the direction of the state's renewable energy futures are in question. What does the new energy governor have in mind?

The Perfect Storm That's About to Hit

In good times, when the price of a gallon of gas is closer to one dollar, rather than two, people don't worry much about fuel costs. To those of us old enough to remember the fuel shortages of the late 70's, when the lines at the gas pumps often stretched around the block, there are ominous harbingers on the horizon, as this article by Jeremy Rifkin, The Perfect Storm That's About to Hit, points out. Fuel costs affect so many different aspects of our society (as well as the global economy) that the advancement of alternative fuel sources really needs to go into overdrive before our addiction to oil kills us.

SUV Solutions

It's no secret that Americans love SUVs. Each time I make a trip to the local supermarket in relatively affluent Manchester, Vermont, I find myself immersed in a sea of ponderous, top-heavy, barge-like vehicles (many of them with N.Y. and N.J. plates, bearing ski racks, monstrous tires, and oversized luggage carriers). The question is: do these machines have to be gas guzzlers and do they have to be unsafe? The Union of Concerned Scientists challenges this notion in a dedicated area of their site, SUV Solutions. Better still, they approach the topic without the somber, lab-coat pedantry you might expect, offering Flash cartoons and a decidedly satirical slant to their viewpoint. And, they demonstrate that with technologies we have available today, we can build safe and fuel-efficient SUVs. If you have a few minutes to spend, take their SUV-TV Challenge.

Apollo Alliance : Wind, Biomass, Solar at the Center of Apollo Energy Plan

The outsourcing of jobs in a variety of areas--including the supposedly impregnable high-tech sector where America has led the world in the recent past--presents a formidable obstacle to any significant economic recovery. The manufacturing sector, in particular, continues to lose jobs. According to Ray Perryman, president of the Perryman Group, in this article, Apollo Alliance : Wind, Biomass, Solar at the Center of Apollo Energy Plan, job losses in the manufacturing sector have continued for 41 consecutive months.

The solution being touted by the Apollo Alliance is a program to create millions of new jobs through a vigorous expansion of renewable energy technologies, including innovation and growth in the solar, biomass, and wind energy fields. Instead of looking backwards towards dangerous and polluting fossil-fuel and nuclear energy approches, the Apollo Energy Plan (named after John F. Kennedy's Apollo Mission that led to a landing on the moon) focuses on the next generation of hybrid automobiles, more efficient building technologies, streamlined mass transportation, and a advances in all forms of renewable power. This alliance brings together labor unions and environmental groups in a unified effort to research and design practical and non-polluting energy technologies--an effort that includes some very major players.