Bastrop Fires From Space
[Photo (c) by NASA Goddard Photo and Video and used under this Creative Commons License] Read More
Ferrari President Says “No” to Electric
Earlier this month, at the Ferrari World Design Contest 2011, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemelo was asked about his thoughts on alternative vehicle technologies. In response, he singled out electric vehicle technology, saying: “You will never see a Ferrari electric because I don’t believe in electric cars, because I don’t think they represent an important step forward for pollution... Read More
David MacKay – Sustainable Energy, without all the hot air
This post was published on 8/23/11 on my blog, Plugged In, on Scientific American. This weekend, I rediscovered the work of David J.C. MacKay, a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge. Dr. MacKay has a PhD in Computation and Neural Systems (from Cal Tech) and conducts research in machine learning, information theory and communication systems. He currently serves as... Read More
Time History of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Thanks to NOAA for putting this video together. Read More
Obama Announces New Fuel Standards
On Friday, President Obama announced a new set of U.S. fuel standards. According to the announcement these new standards will save U.S. consumers an estimated $1.7 trillion dollars over the life of their vehicles by increasing teh fleet-wide average fuel economy to 54.5 miles-per-gallon. At the same time, these standards will eliminate 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution and save 12 billion... Read More
Re-use vs. Re-cycle (via The Daily Wogan & grist)
Is it enough that it involves less steps and uses less resources to create? Or, is the carbon footprint a better measure? Check out an interesting piece by TreeHugger on which is better – disposable, or reusable. Read More
EPA Chief, in Texas, Calls Pollution Rule “Not Onerous”
Originally published by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune on 7/20/2011. Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said a pollution rule adopted this month that has infuriated many Texas officials is “not onerous” and could be enacted “cheaply and efficiently.” Jackson visited Austin today, and after she emerged from an afternoon meeting with green energy... Read More
Saving Water with Wind
The post below was originally posted on Wednesday 7/6/2011 on Scientific American’s blog Plugged In. This year, residents of Austin, Texas celebrated their 4th of July with plenty of beer and BarBQ – but there were no fireworks over Lady Bird Lake as a burn ban prohibited even sparklers from being sold in the area. Texas has just moved through its driest 8-month period on record.... Read More
The Numbers: Saving Water with Wind
Today I published my first post at my new home on Scientific American’s new blogging networt - Plugged In. This post, titled “Saving Water with Wind” explores how using wind power to offset thermoelectric power plants (for example coal, natural gas or nuclear) can lead to huge water savings. In this post I run through a lot of numbers. The calculations behind these numbers are... Read More
France Bans Hydraulic Fracturing
On Friday, France became the first country to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) to extract oil and gas from shale rock on French soil. With a party-line Senate vote of 176-151, the French Parliament not only banned future fracking permits – but also effectively revoked existing permits. Specifically, companies that already own permits for drilling in France’s... Read More
