Policy

This paper offers some important conclusions regarding air quality of various types of light-duty vehicles including EV's. http://www.pnas.org/content/111/52/18490.full.pdf "We find that powering vehicles with corn ethanol or with coal-based or "grid average" electricity increases monetized...

Hi, I am not sure if this is the best location for this, I was not aware of the statement, or the video. google this statement for more information: "Elon Musk, the concept of battery-powered transcontinental airplanes becomes “compelling” once batteries hit 400 watt-hours per kilogram"...

Very big news: Log In - The New York Times There were discussion with California officials to possibly link the two trading systems. Those saying we can't do this because the Chinese weren't doing it have a much smaller stool to stand on these days. Maybe we can't do it now because...

This should be interesting... I suspect that there are a lot of people on TMC that upgraded from a TDI or owned one at some point in the past... I sold my 2003 Jetta TDI for $3k when I received my $100k Tesla... Prior to electrics the TDI was the 'Green Car of choice' in my eyes...

This is cross-posted from my blog, and I am reposting it here to see if anyone has any insights into the points I am raising. A recent development in personal transportation has been the (re-)introduction of electric vehicles. Where electric vehicles used to be either mobility scooters or big...

:confused: Need help from all you seasoned EV and solar folks. We are in SDGE(San Diego) territory and buying electricity from the grid is like an ever increasing penalty. Household of two (about to have our first child), both of us work so peak time usage is pretty much nil except on weekends...

Yeah, NY Times is reporting they have to recall half a million cars. Hilarious. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/business/volkswagen-is-ordered-to-recall-nearly-500000-vehicles-over-emissions-software.html?_r=0

(Mods, if this is the wrong subject area, feel free to move it to a better one!) We have solar on our primary residence and on a rental home where our son lives. PG&E is the electricity provider for both. On July 18 there was a fierce storm that knocked the power out not only to both homes...

the "profit penalty" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/environment/investigation-finds-exxon-ignored-its-own-early-climate-change-warnings/

Call me an optimist, but my sense of things over the past few weeks has been to suggest that a momentum shift is starting to become noticeable. California's bill SB 350 - "Clean Energy and Reduction Act" Obama 'running wild' with Bear Grylls Saudi Arabia pushing into solar power Russia...

I think this is a good reference article to put things in perspective when certain people try to pull the "Solyndra" card. Fair warning, there is some praise for Obama in the article :wink: http://www.salon.com/2015/09/12/obama_has_done_more_for_clean_energy_than_you_think_partner/

We've had a couple of the environmentally-friendly, cruelty-free, vegan steering wheels thus far; they look just like the ones where they blow the brains out of sentient beings, then "treat" the skins with toxic chemicals that make people sick and destroy the environment (after the cows have...

Hi everyone, I am not sure why I didn't post a thread on this until now, but after re-watching some Elon Musk videos about getting feedback from people, I decided it was time. I designed, built and installed my own solar thermal air heating system for my house about 1.5 years ago and have...

Solar Sunflower: Tell me this doesn't look cool and that you would not want one... Seriously, these guys have the right idea. The tl;dr version: "The end result is a device that produces about 12kW of electricity, along with 21kW of thermal energy (with water temperatures up to 90°C)...

A California-style scheme convincing manufacturers to introduce and produce models with higher fuel economy/low emission is being considered in China. There is an idea to distribute credits in China, much like in California. The highest number of credits would be available for all-electric...

So, here in PA, we have this wonderful deregulation thing. So I get to pick my power provider. All power companies hook into the grid, and everyone pulls out, what is really the same power. (Environmental impacts aside). So, before when I had a propane heated house, and gas sucking cars, I...

About 10 to 20 miles apparently. Shocking : Tesla Model S gets 26.5 mpg I think this estimate is pretty good because it takes data from the EPA/ANL for the national average, and State of CA for a regional average. Anyhoo, long story short, we use natural gas, coal, and electricity, that could...

I found this article on the Scientific American website. It's about two years old, but I think it brought up an interesting point. Conventional wisdom is that densely-populated urban areas were better for the environment, but this article says suburbs could become the next bonanza for solar...

Oil prices have already taken a dramatic fall that's saved consumers big time at the pump. Last week, crude tumbled below $42 a barrel, down from $100 last year. One big-name investor is predicting an even sharper drop. "There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest we have bottomed. You could have...

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers on Wednesday took the first steps toward raising taxes and fees on motorists and further restricting Californians' tobacco use as the Legislature convened special sessions aimed at solving the state's transportation and health care funding crises. Members of a...

Amazing but true, islamic leaders urging energy policy change, after all green is the color of the prophet: Islamic call on rich countries to end fossil fuel use - BBC News

Hi All. I just want to preface this by saying I'm definitely in favor of solar power in principle, but there are some reps who go a little beyond the pale with it. I was in Home Depot today looking for some AC coil cleaner, hoping to improve the cooling efficiency of unit. A young man asked if I...

The PEV Pilot program in California, that would allow all electric or plug in hybrid cars, to charge at the EV rate set up by your local utility. It's called the PEV Sub-metering Program. Each major California Utilities (PG&E, SCE, SDG&E) has set up a sub-metering program; as an example here...

This came across Slashdot today. . . A small, modular, efficient fusion plant | MIT News The importance of this news is hard to overstate. Until now there have been two categories of nuclear fusion research: the mainstream tokamak design embodied in ITER, and the many other...

After reading a few quips on 'settled science' and 'scientific consensus' I decided a separate thread was warranted. Plus this has been a pet peeve of mine for a while since the word 'Theory' is thrown around even by those that should know better... So a few basics; Scientific Law - IS A...

There has been a vocal bunch of U.S. right wing conservative voices online who have been very anti-Tesla. For those of you with a lot of right wing conservative friends, would you say this vocal bunch we see online are outliers who don't reflect the more common right wing conservative...

I figure here on TMC is a good a place as any to look for help! With so many shysters in Ontario, Canada willing to rent your roof top, or finance your project for a locked in rate, it's hard to decide who is providing objective information. What are some good online forums (bonus if it's...

PM Modi Directs Speeding up of Rural Electrification

15 year study at Umeå University, 2000 participants, 300 cases of dementia in the study population. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives journal on July 31, 2015. Those living in the most heavily polluted areas had 40 % increased risk of dementia. 16 % of the cases could be directly...

Mapping how the United States generates its electricity - Washington Post

California Regulator Mary Nichols May Transform the Auto Industry - Bloomberg Business .

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-calif-bmw01-20150801-story.html

Climate change: Obama to unveil Clean Power Plan - BBC News I know it's going to be long road but, this may be a promising start! Insistence on truly renewable energy rather than a slow transition to more natural gas is a great move.

I found this podcast a few days ago... The Energy Gang Some interesting tidbits I've picked up is the challenge of keeping solar profitable as costs fall... SunEdison CEO expressed concern over making $$$ when you can displace the energy of a home with PV for ~$5k in the next 10 years; And...

Hello my friends, this is John Gallagher I volunteered to be the city captain for the first ever National Drive Electric Week in Oklahoma City. I know there's a lot of events going on that week but I want to make the case that for cities like Oklahoma's city is utmost important to have the...

Full article at: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/29/3685286/solarcity-small-businesses-plan/

I don't agree with everything they do... but this is AWESOME. It'll be interesting to see how or when Shell gets their ship out... I don't have the time or fortitude to hang from a bridge... but I can and did send some $$$ to help those that can and do...

The U.S. Senate’s long-term transportation bill called the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act (H.R. 22) includes "user-based alternative revenue mechanisms" that are essentially user fees designed to support the Highway Trust Fund. The following line is in...

Currently, Florida is one of only 4 states that allows for the purchase of electricity from a utility only. Because of this, many solar companies have been put at a disadvantage. See the link below. Careful upon submission of your information, as they only give you one chance to submit the form...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As Gov. Jerry Brown prepares to travel to Rome next week for an international climate conference, the debate over a bill aimed at reducing gas usage in California is heating up. Brown fully supports SB-350, which would mandate a 50-percent cutback in California’s gas...

There are plenty of maps showing how little area is really needed to power the world... here's another way to REALLY drive the point home to 'skeptics'. The 3500sq miles that we use for golf courses in the US could host 1TW of solar PV. On average that >1500TWh/yr. With good tracking and...

The National Bureau of Economic Research just released a study that claims EV's can pollute more than gas cars. If you want to read the whole article on Arstechnica here it is: How much do electric cars actually pollute? | Ars Technica However, it's mistakenly doing an apple-to-oranges...

Figured out my own answer...trying to figure out how to delete this thread

I want to buy solar panels, how can i do?

Sounds like the PUC is going to completely overhaul the current rate system including changing the tier system and time of use. Can anyone here with more expertise than me summarize how this will affect the typical Tesla owner in the state? I'm particularly interested in how the EV-A plan will...

I'm not 100% sure this is correct. I'm already paying $11 a month for some connection fees, okay $10.95 but $11 essentially. Now they are going to add another $10 if you have a reasonable income. A total of $21 for basically being connected - this seems excessive. May be time to revisit...

Alberta Oil magazine asks: Is Tesla’s Model-S the Beginning of the End for Oil? Is Teslas leading source for oil and gas news

Can someone on Phil Ting's district send him an e-mail to find out how this bill is doing and if it will pass.

Seriously bad news is on the horizon for CA prospective buyers that have income >$340,000....the $2500 credit is disappearing. Federal $7500 is still available. While admittedly not a game changer, losing $2500 is still disappointing. I haven't been able to find a date (that makes sense) of...

See: Solar Power Faces Uncertain Future in the U.S. - Scientific American Lobby for extension of federal solar investment tax credit!!