Honda hosted a truly excellent “thought leadership series” this week, “Race Against Time,” on the topic of our diminishing oil supply (especially relative to global demand) and how we can try to deal with this critical topic. Honda representatives asked me to respond if I had more to add to this … [continued]
When we first switched from horses to horsepower at the turn of the 20th century, the move was hailed as one of modernity, cleanliness and efficiency. After a century during which we’ve discovered that the “auto mobile” brought with it a far more dangerous environmental assault than horse droppings, now … [continued]
“Peak oil” is a term that has hardly reached into the mainstream media. Yet, a new leaked report by a German military think tank says world-changing peak oil may be this year. To start off, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, here is a concise explanation of peak oil … [continued]
A pyramid-scale solar power plant is well under way in Kuraymat, Egypt, and the 150 megawatt giant could prove to be a key indicator for the success of a much larger project such as the pharaohs could only dream of. That would be the international DESERTEC solar power network, which … [continued]
Ever wondered what percent of your income now goes to buying gasoline? In some areas, gas is now over a third of household income. That brings getting to work and back on fossil fuels almost as expensive as keeping a roof over your head. (Ideally, a mortgage should not be … [continued]
A new industry poll published in E&P, the world’s leading publication for oil and gas professionals, reveals that worldwide concern about climate and economic risks from fossil fuels is very high. These are quite different results from a Gallup poll on a reduction in climate concerns widely publicized yesterday, showing … [continued]
If the USA was smart, we would make a massive switch to renewable energy now, while we still can. By 2012 we could be out of luck.
The safety of nuclear plants is often debated, but we rarely hear about another potential issue for nuclear energy: peak uranium. That’s the point in time when when the maximum global uranium production is reached and begins to enter a permanent decline. And while we’ve known for some time that … [continued]
In an attempt to save the planet—and possibly just to piss off Canada—the company Mapflow is bringing a ridesharing app to the iPhone. The app is called Avego and Mapflow hopes it will help save the world. Hey, they had me at pissing off the Canadians.
Genomatica, a San Diego-based sustainable chemical company, announced today that it has developed a process to make an important component of plastic without the use of petrochemicals. The chemical, 1,4-butanediol (BDO), has an annual production value of over $4 billion in the automotive, textile, and consumer goods industries.
