Energy
New million-dollar donation from out-of-state oil company helps the attack on California’s climate change law
According to a story in today’s Los Angeles Times, a new $1 million cash infusion from Kansas-based oil company Koch Industries –the second-largest private company in the U.S. — is buoying the campaign in favor of Proposition 23, which would block implementation of California’s landmark law to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The company is owned by …
CONTINUE READINGFollow-up on refrigeration: the history of the idea of food “freshness”
My colleague Jonathan Zasloff’s recent post on refrigeration reminded me of a fascinating book published last year: Fresh, by Susanne Freidberg. This book — authored by a college classmate of mine who teaches geography at Dartmouth — chronicles the evolution of the culturally-constructed concept of “freshness” in 19th and 20th-century America, and the development of …
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CONTINUE READINGEPA proposes fuel economy letter grade labels for cars
New labels proposed by the federal government would give new cars letter grades reflecting their fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions. Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are expected to get the highest grades. The rule isn’t final yet; the public can comment and make suggestions on the label design. Most of us are familiar with …
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CONTINUE READINGGumby and the Mad Hatter Meet US Energy Policy
As Dan notes, the Coast Guard is reporting the explosion of a nonoperating oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The last I heard, there were no fatalities, and several workers there were able to escape using flotation clothing, better known as “Gumby Suits.” Obviously, had the oil rig been functional, there is a strong …
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CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: Oil Rig Explosion
The Washington Post reports that a non-producing rig in 2500 feet of water has exploded off the Louisiana Coast. More details at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090202590.html?wpisrc=nl_natlalert
CONTINUE READINGScaling Up Clean Energy
Science has a special issue on the problem of taking clean energy to scale. News stories highlight some of the challenges associated with making this energy transition, Perspectives take an in-depth look at how researchers hope to scale up biofuels development, and a Review discusses a two-stage approach for expanding nuclear power generation. Compared to …
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CONTINUE READINGJump-Starting Clean Tech
A new report illuminates the role of the stimulus package in energizing Clean Tech. Three of the four areas discussed in the report fall into this category; the fourth relates to medical research. 1. Modernizing transportation, including advanced vehicle technology and high-speed rail. Among other things, this includes $2 billion in advanced battery and electric …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia legislature considers environmental bills
The California Legislature has several environmental and land use bills in front of it right now. Under state law, the legislature must act by August 31 in order to send any of these bills to the Governor for signature. Here’s a quick summary of the pending legislation, with some links for further info. (Current information …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy Policy: Kicking Butt and Taking Names
Steve, you write: This is not just about ceiling insulation and more heat-reflective roofs. It also has to do with the ability of electric generators to convert heat to power, the elimination of line losses from the transmission grid, and the improvement of fuel delivery systems to avoid leakage. It has to do with strategic …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat a Waste of Energy
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has issued its annual snapshot of our national energy use, based on data collected by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency. The good news is that we used less energy in 2009 than we did in 2008 (almost all of the savings probably attributable to the still-weak economy). The …
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