The were a couple points of good news for solar power this week. The first is that solar panels are returning to the White House roof. Solar panels on the White House were an important symbol when Jimmy Carter originally had them installed, and an important symbol of disrespect for the planet when Ronald Reagan [...]
This is intriguing, and I’d never heard if it before. Apparently, two billion years ago, for around one million years, there was an area in Gabon where uranium 235 concentrations and other factors coincided to create several natural fission reactors. Cool. Err, well, I guess it was actually hot… Curtin University via APOD. See also: [...]
Today I saw an interesting chart: This is a useful illustration because it clearly shows the main energy sources and users in the US, as well as separating the total energy used and wasted. The original is from LLNL, I saw the link at Ars Technica.
I ran across the paper ‘Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings’. The authors conducted a survey to study how perceptions of energy use compares to the actual use of various appliances and transportation methods. For the appliances, they had people compare energy used to the power a 100 W lightbulb consumes in one hour. [...]
Which half of the US trade deficit is easier to shrink? Probably petroleum. I don’t see much of a chance of major changes in the deficit in goods, but it is easy to significantly reduce the amount of oil consumed.
We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one [...]
My brother and I saw kids driving on the sidewalks in one of the cheap toy electric cars. We got to thinking: How many adults are against electric cars because of their experience with these toys? When I was the appropriate age for a toy electric car, I knew other kids who had them. The [...]
Since they are in the business of selling gasoline-powered automobiles, the manufacturers understandably are reluctant to come out and publicly announce the obvious solution to air-poisoning by the gasoline engine: Get rid of the gasoline engine. On the other hand, every member of the industry is actively engaged in trying to do just that. –W.E. [...]
INDOT is applying for federal money to upgrade passenger train service in the state. The proposed new route through Fort Wayne is a needed upgrade. There have been a number of times when I would have liked to take a train, but the option wasn’t available. This project can’t be approved and completed soon enough. [...]
This is from a month ago, but I think it needs to be fresh in everyone’s minds. New York Times: China Is Said to Plan Strict Gas Mileage Rules You should also read Thomas L. Friedman’s latest editorial. It is past time for Americans to get serious about energy efficiency.