A month ago the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) released a Europe-focused report on the total cost of ownership of various decarbonization pathways for freight trucking. It was deeply flawed, with unrealistically low costs for the hydrogen pathway as they put multiple thumbs on the scale. Perhaps their analyses … [continued]
In Paris at the end of 2015, the world rejoiced when the national representatives from around the planet agreed to try really, really hard to keep average global temperatures from increasing more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Of course, in the 1800s when the Industrial Revolution began, the amount of … [continued]
The hydrogen chorus is again singing, discordantly and joyfully, as Bavaria continues along the tragicomic journey which inevitably leads to abandoning hydrogen after wasting much governmental money and delaying electrification. A tiny, two-car Siemens light-rail passenger train has completed trials this week and sometime in 2024 will go into service, … [continued]
Humans have a primal attraction to a crackling flame and the ambience of a cozy fireplace. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the hearth the “the psychological center of the home,” and designed all his residences around a central fireplace. For the majority of humans who now live in urban areas, … [continued]
Not to be left behind as the world is spun in circles by hydrogen hype, Ontario published a hydrogen strategy in 2022. Recently it announced the first approved significant project, one that involves truckloads of hydrogen leaving Niagara Falls to be burned in a gas generator over 100 kilometers away. … [continued]
This question is asked regularly of me these days. After all, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) is the new pipeline, doesn’t care if it’s run underwater, underground or through a steel pipe, and the millions of kilometers of pipelines in the world are going to be decommissioned at an accelerating rate … [continued]
The largest Gulf oil spill since Deepwater Horizon highlights the inherent risks of offshore drilling to coastal communities and marine ecosystems. A new large oil spill hit the Gulf of Mexico on November 16. This disaster is a stark reminder of the constant risk that offshore drilling poses to wildlife, ecosystems, and … [continued]
Keep track with COP28 pledges to UN funds that help developing countries reduce greenhouse emissions and address the impacts of climate change. Debates about funding are always a major feature of UN climate negotiations. The big injustice of the climate crisis is that the poorest and most vulnerable communities, who … [continued]
COP28 has some good news stories to go with the bad. Prominent among the good news was the Double Down, Triple Up pledge pushed by the Global Renewable Alliance and signed onto by almost 120 countries. A somewhat similar pledge related to nuclear is receiving a lot of media coverage … [continued]
The global food system, which encompasses production, post-farm processes, and distribution, is a key contributor to emissions. Viable technological solutions can help to reduce the effect of food production, which is responsible for about one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Enter food tech, a multi-billion dollar industry.
