Environment

Here is a recent CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria "Why you should thank the government for your smartphone" where Mazzucato discusses the role of government investment in early stage R&D. http://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/01/04/exp-gps-0103-mazzucato-intv.cnn "My recent book, The...

Well this is quite a development. I'm not sure I can even come up with appropriate commentary. Saudi Arabia is considering an IPO of Aramco, probably the world’s most valuable company Sell high and buy a small country somewhere before the whole thing comes crashing down. Good move.

Fracked Gas Wont Achieve Paris Climate Goals, But Empowering Communities Could

Hadn't heard this before - apparently Miami's already experiencing flooding. Miami Beach has been installing pumps and raising their roads to compensate. The Siege of Miami

Warning: If you are a supporter of Tesla, electric cars and alternative-energy vehicles, this report will upset you. OPEC is predicting that 94% of cars on the road will still be powered by oil-based fuels in 2040. OPEC bashes prospects for electric cars - Dec. 23, 2015

I can't believe there isn't a thread about this already. Mods, I checked Energy, Environment, and Policy and News and didn't see anything. Feel free to merge or delete if I missed something. A friend of mine who works for a local solar installer told about this last night over a beer...

I've been researching a lot of options in regards to grid storage. What I find striking is that no clear winner has really emerged for grid storage. Even good 'ol lead-acid batteries seem to have a fighting chance due to their low cost and preferring to be maintained at 100% SOC. There are a...

Opponents of wind and solar are falling back to the second line of defense... Sadly led be Jim Hansen... who really needs to stick to climate science... claims that wind and solar can't possibly meet our growing energy demand are coming out of the woodwork. At the lay level acceptance of this...

Anybody been able to get theirs yet?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2015/12/12/firstenergy-finagles-mother-of-all-boondoggles/ So many directions to go with this story. The old regulated, state by state, model of utilities is attempting to adapt to a future it was never built to serve. One that looks more like it is...

I just had to post this somewhere. It comes from America and it's in the papers, so it must be right! :D http://www.sciencealert.com/us-town-rejects-solar-farm-amid-worries-it-would-suck-up-all-the-energy-from-the-sun

I'm disappointed that the parts of the agreement that really matter like emissions goals and funding for renewables aren't legally binding... but I never thought that was really possible anyway. Setting a more ambitious goal of 1.5C seems significant but a goal is meaningless unless you...

Germany just switched on a revolutionary nuclear fusion machine - ScienceAlert

Came across this today...: http://www.digitalityworks.com/Viewers/ViewIssue.aspx?IssueID=145&PageNo=22 Great use for a former mine site!

I originally posted this news in the Investors thread, but this follow up seems better suited here. Vermont's Green Mountain Power is going to buy 500 PowerWalls for installation in customer homes in 2016... Tesla Powerwall Offered To Vermont Utility Customers... $0 Down | CleanTechnica...

Facebook article by Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday: “I don’t give a **** if we agree about climate change” Of course he actually does care about climate change, and recently addressed the Paris Climate Summit imploring governments to do more to halt it. But his article to which I alluded...

Anglo American to shed 85,000 jobs as it dumps coal and copper mines - Dec. 8, 2015 never good to hear people losing jobs, but this could be the start of a massive shift to clean energy.

I know I leave in a small country but usually politicians at every level drive huge black limousine type cars. refreshing to see IMO...

I just had this 3.3 kW array installed on my house last week. I get a really good solar profile with no shade at all on my south side. Though it is often cloudy, the payback should be 5-8 years.

Source

Yep... I'm done... I've already pared back a lot; never buying beef (or any red meat) again :crying: Still not ready to give up poultry...

very interesting article from Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2015-12-01/how-automakers-play-the-emissions-game

Some kind of documentary by Charles Ferguson... Available for free streaming tomorrow for 2 days.

http://youtu.be/okD1wPYlLHw - - - Updated - - -

Full article at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/a-low-carbon-future-doesn-t-mean-losing-our-lifestyle-bob-mcdonald-1.3339891

From Leilani, with a request to be shared: And from me: Just start with one thing. Make one change today. Make another when you're ready. Just one thing.

Such a great idea-deserves it's own thread...advocacy action kit here: Advocacy Action Kit : Our Horizon Let's all join in! Like cigarette warning labels, but for fuel Some Canadian Gas-Station Nozzles Will Soon Have Climate-Change Warning Labels - The Atlantic Bravo and congratulations Rob!

Hi, I know most of us here like to track our energy usage (from our panels). I recently switched my old setup which was using an Efergy monitor (2 transmitters, 2 circuits monitored) to a full blown eGauge setup that monitors most of my circuits at home. I thought I should share my experience...

Reading an article about striking Woodrow Wilsons name from several buildings due to his friendly relationship with the KKK reminded me of a troubling concept... this idea that we forgive fairly significant personal flaws in historical figures due to the social norms of their time; That we...

The UK Is Shutting Down All Its Coal Power Stations

This is slightly off topic, but the Paris attacks got me thinking again about about energy independence and its potential effect on the Middle East. My basic theory is this: If we as a nation can wean ourselves off of foreign oil, thus getting rid of our need to constantly meddle in the affairs...

Am listening presently (0900 Mon 16 Nov) to Ted Koppel expounding on his book Lights Out on the Diane Rehm show; his thesis is that the internet will at some point successfully be used to bring down the US power grid which is, he correctly says, a lot more interconnected than many believe. Of...

http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/11/Cleaner-Cars-from-Cradle-to-Grave-full-report.pdf Their "two most popular BEVs" used in the modelling exercises are the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S85 (no P, no D) The report also uses "EV" to include PHEVs

Microgrids light up the night in Kenya villages - CSMonitor.com

Good Morning, Great timing on this article...18 days to COP21: G20 countries spend $450B a year on fossil fuel subsidies, study says - Politics - CBC News

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has not only read Jeremy Rifkin's book "The Third Industrial Revolution" and taken it to heart. He and his colleagues have also made it the core of the country's 13th five-year plan announced in Beijing on Oct. 29. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8478954...

Brian Noto used to hold that position, but he's not there anymore, so what does Jack do... seMissourian.com: Local News: Battery explosion causes fire at Cape business (11/08/15) Nobody was hurt and he was able to back his Tesla out of the garage, then went to a bridge party with his wife. A...

I've been considering suitable areas for emplacement of lot of solar panels. Many of you are familiar with the Land Art Generator Initiative and the global map they have used to demonstrate how much of various portions of the earth's surface would be needed to satisfy global total energy demand...

U.N. official - Yahoo News

"Gates has said he would pledge $2 billion to counter climate change, while encouraging other philanthropists to do the same. However, the billionaire rejected claims typically made by free market advocates that the only way to reduce climate change is leave it to private enterprise." Bill...

As background, i've been following the solar discussions in this forum for a couple of years now. With the tesla in my garage, there is a very definite desire to put solar panels on my roof and be "driving on sunlight" - and yes, i know all of the caveats there, and the fact that i'm still...

Researchers at the University of Cambridge say they’ve created a lighter, cheaper, longer lithium-oxygen battery that could eventually rival gasoline engines in electric vehicles in terms of range and weight, Automotive News reported. British Researchers Make The scientists announced that...

Another country to get jealous of.

A fully transparent solar cell that could make every window and screen a power source. Researchers at Michigan State University have created a fully transparent solar concentrator, which could turn any window or sheet of glass (like your smartphone’s screen) into a photovoltaic solar cell. How...

Please share with every politician you know. Let's help accelerate the transition: “there have to be incentives,’’ Mr. Lunde said. “It has to be more expensive to pollute than to use environmentally friendly fuels.” Norway Is a Model for Encouraging Electric Car Sales Norway Is a...

My fellow NJers! First of all thank you for making the environment a much better place by driving an EV my question for you all is Do you also have solar on your home? Does it complement well with having an EV? Or to my friends that are thinking about going solar: Have you looked into the zero...

SolarCity's announcement of 22% efficient PV got me thinking. What matters is having top efficiency at a cost efficient price point. 22% efficient solar panels can cost more per Watt than 15% ones, but it can't cost 50% more/Wp. Anyone cares to predict when 20%+ efficient solar panels will...

Looks like, and that's not surprsing, it's across the board. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/09/mercedes-honda-mazda-mitsubishi-diesel-emissions-row?CMP=twt_gu

Over in the VW thread, I had the following comment: Originally Posted by jerry33 Almost all corporations behave in exactly the same manner. VW just got caught. This is why you need strict regulations on corporate behaviour and not turn corporations into...