April 2nd, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
I traveled to Atlantic City recently for the 63rd Annual Atlantic Builders Convention to answer a question: "What technical innovations are being discussed and seen at the 'street level?'” We were told that consumers are the biggest factor in a home’s efficiency but, unfortunately, modern homes do not tend to come with an owner’s manual
March 27th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
We have had high oil prices before and I expect that, as before, we will complain about the prices as they increase. They will reach a high point that we begin to accept. And that peak will be followed by a recession and a price decline for months or a year before they once again begin their upward trend. It is as if we are being tested and slowly being acclimated to the new price. This is not to suggest that this is a conscious process or someone is manipulating prices. But in a world where only a handful of major oil companies control almost all the market share, some cooperation is possible and, to some extent, might be expected
March 19th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The US military is a consumer with different priorities. They make their own assessments and have determined as far back as 2010 that there is likely to be shortages of fuel by 2015. If by one war or embargo or a well placed weather event, supplies of oil are interrupted their tanks, ships, aircraft and supplies will have limited mobility
March 12th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Electric vehicles can already be fuel-efficient, however in very cold or very hot weather, when air conditioning or heating requires the same energy used for driving the vehicle, range can suffer. "A 5-pound EMOF-based heat pump [electrical metal-organic framework] the size of a 2-liter bottle could theoretically handle the heating and cooling needs of an electric vehicle."
March 8th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
There are many who recognize our Seas contain a vast yet, largely unknown world: mankind's new frontier that is far closer, with a long history, requiring less investment and perhaps more immediate returns than space. Offshore Wind development is not only a major development into that frontier but a test to see how we may limit or enhance that development with regulations
February 17th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Imagine confusion, trying to navigate streets in a Chinese haze where you can't see across the street. It is like being in a dense fog where you are afraid to breath. Street signs are invisible even if you could understand them. Crossing the street on foot is more a matter of trust or hope than observation. The situation is in many ways similar to our gaze into a murky transportation future. "Is that an EV or a too silent hybrid bearing down on us out of the gloom? Do we hear the clatter of a diesel engine approaching or is that a familiar gasoline powered car about to run us over?" An unknown future creates anxiety
February 16th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The Devil is always in the details. It is being widely reported on the web that a new University of Tennessee study shows that, when electric cars are charged by grid power where the energy mix is 90% coal, they are more polluting than petrol vehicles. But when we take a look at the actual study, several clarifications come to light that tend to discredit the study and marginalize the results
February 13th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Greenpeace has resorted to uplifting the imaginations of the Cincinnati city Council as it took to the air to inflate their agenda. "Cleaner is Cheaper" cites the words on the Blimp floating around the city
February 8th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been under fire with several investigations for loans to companies that have later filed bankruptcy. The most infamous and largest is with Solyndra, but Ener1 and Beacon Power also received loans. Of these, the situation at Beacon Power presents a bit of a special case.
January 28th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The same turbulent conditions that might require you to "return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt" makes wind turbines less efficient. A new study concludes that unstable atmospheric conditions can reduce wind turbine performance by an average of 15%
January 27th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
It is the sort of headline that grabs your attention and suggests doom in the same year that one (of the many) Mayan Calendars is "doomed" to end. Deadline reports that a local pursuing their countryside on "Google Earth" suddenly noticed that the sea near the Hunterston B nuclear power plant, Ayrshire, Scotland was luminous green on Google Earth. Concerned they alerted officials to the glowing problem
January 20th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
The wind like the sun is free. Great, but you can't then use the cost of energy supplies to measure how much you have. We have to measure the wind as it is being used. A floating tower has been tested in the North Sea that reduces the cost of this information for offshore wind
January 16th, 2012 | by Breath on the Wind
Considering all of our present renewable energy generation there is enough clean electricity to power just a little over 100 million electric cars, today. Arguments like "the long tailpipe" would suggest that this goal is far off or even potentially unreachable
October 25th, 2011 | by Breath on the Wind
While we may take a keen interest in politics, such events may not always enter the realm of clean tech. Studies have shown that you are more likely to die of airline pollution than a plane crash. Recently passed house bill HR2594 specifically tells airlines to break the law (of Europe) in order to do nothing about such pollution
October 23rd, 2011 | by Breath on the Wind
If Chris Paine's earlier movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car" was about people being deprived of their vehicles and used as pawns in a struggle between Government regulations and established business, then his latest film, "Revenge of the Electric Car" is about the Kings.
