Guest Post: No, We’re Not There Yet – The Trouble With Hydrogen Cars
By Sheril Kirshenbaum One of the perks of being a Hill staffer is access to cool new technologies when lobbyists visit. And so in 2006, I looped around D and 2nd in a hydrogen car. When I asked the nice man who brought the vehicle about safety and the inherent ‘chicken and egg’ problem (cars and fueling stations – which comes first?), he provided a clearly scripted response intended to brush... Read More
Population and Purpose: Where we use electricity
Electricity is used for many purposes – for example, illuminating a space, cooking food, cooling a store, or running a production line. In Wyoming, more than half of the electricity sold in the state is used for industrial applications. In the District of Columbia, more than 60% is sold to the commercial sector. When searching for the most efficient ways to investment in the nation’s power infrastructure,... Read More
Energy At the Movies at SXSW
During this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) interactive music and film festival in Austin, TX, an event was held to discuss Energy at the Movies. Hosted by Dr. Michael E. Webber of The University of Texas at Austin, this event focused on energy as it is portrayed in and influenced by the silver screen. After giving a lecture on this topic, Dr. Webber hosted a panel discussion with research... Read More
March 9: Energy at the Movies at KLRU Studios in Austin
On March 9, KLRU studios will host Dr. Michael E. Webber for his presentation on “Energy at the Movies.” This 90-minute lecture and panel discussion will explore energy in movies over the past 70 years and how the portrayal of energy on the big screen has influenced energy policy and the energy industry. From the gushing geysers of Giant, to the plutonium-powered time machine of Back... Read More
Inaugural UT Energy Forum
Check out my guest post today on Discover’s blog, The Intersection (blogging home to Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum). My post is about the Inaugural UT Energy Forum, hosted on UT’s campus earlier this month. I attended and spoke about the smart grid in a 7-minute TED-style talk. Read More
Food for thought – energy in food waste
In the United States, about 10% of the energy we consume is used for food production. Each year, we throw away about 27% of the food we produce. On the surface, this means that the energy that we throw away in food each year is the equivalent of the electricity (kWh’s) used in 24.4 million homes – and this value doesn’t include the energy we spend to move food around and preserve... Read More
Hooyah! The military’s going lean, clean, and green
Check out David Wogan’s post (copied below) about the military going “lean, clean, and green” to save the lives of our troops. Hooyah! First and foremost, energy reform is about the lives of our troops. For every 24 fuel convoys that go into Afghanistan, we lose one American, killed or wounded. That is too high a price to pay for energy. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, discussing... Read More
It’s not about the politics
Oil Slick in the Gulf of Mexico The oil slick that has rolled onto the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama does not care about politics. It does not care that Congressmen in Washington are working on an energy and climate bill. It does not care about the press conferences or the evening news reel. The rate at which this slick grows is not impacted by politics – the tradeoffs don’t... Read More
