August 29th, 2012

New gasoline standards for cars and light trucks set by the US Department of Transportation and the US EPA won final approval on Tuesday after several months of public review and hearings.

The new mileage standards will require that American cars get an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The EPA touted the change as a near doubling of fuel efficiency for cars, and predicted the effect on consumers would be like lowering the price of gasoline by $1 a gallon. Overall, the measure will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, according to the EPA.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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January 18th, 2012

It’s one of those cold, white-bright days of winter. We’ve not had many like it this January. Instead, we’ve been walking around outdoors in our shirt sleeves, sneezing from pollen allergies and having a lot of little conversations about the unusual warm “spell”.
We’re experiencing climate change, of course, and it’s not a spell, but a new norm. Nearly everyone recognizes that something’s going on. Sometimes I feel like a character in Twin Peaks, exchanging knowing glances with the neighbors over these changes we cannot speak of because it’s somehow become radical to openly declare that climate change is happening, even though people in all walks of life can see it plainly. I’m thinking about farmers, landscapers, urban planners, builders, utility managers, insurers, scientists, oceanographers, biologists, botanists, power plant operators….

Popularity: 1% [?]

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July 29th, 2011

America's cars and trucks will average about 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 under the second phase of the Obama Administration's national vehicle program, which is backed by 13 automakers. Ford, GM, Chrysler, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar/Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo -- which represent more than 90 percent of the cars and light trucks sold in the US, all back the plan, which was formally announced today. "We’ve set an aggressive target and the companies are stepping up to the plate," said President Obama, who called the plan the single most important step the nation has taken to reduce its oil dependence.

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March 31st, 2011

President Obama took on the oil crisis Wednesday in a speech at Georgetown University, saying once again that the U.S. needs to wean itself from foreign oil and develop a long-term energy plan to stop "being a victim" of the oil markets. It's a message the nation has heard from half a dozen presidents. But never has it been more urgent, with the oil-rich Middle East exploding in civil unrest; rising global demand pushing gasoline prices to $4 a gallon again in the U.S., and fossil fuel emissions contributing to the greenhouse gases triggering climate change. Obama listed several ways the U.S. can step down its reliance in Middle East oil, including tapping more domestic oil and gas. But he acknowledged that the U.S. consumption of 20 percent of the world's oil far exceeds the 2 percent of oil reserves it controls.

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March 29th, 2011

This awesome piece by the Bay-Area Post Carbon Institute recently won a YouTube award for best non-profit video. It's must-see viewing for anyone wondering whether fossil fuels are the root of global problems. Could our dependence on finite, dirty, polluting fossil fuels be causing environmental destruction, jeopardizing food production, endangering future generations and fueling unending wars? (Hint: The answer is yes.) While many have aimed to tell this story; this abbreviated history, forced to stick to the facts for the sake of brevity, rises above.

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February 24th, 2011

You may or may not agree with T.Boone Pickens’ theory that natural gas is the best bridge fuel to the future. Some people, especially those living atop “fracked” and soon-to-be fracked gas shale formations, worry that drilling can contaminate water supplies and emit harmful air pollution. For them, the fact that natural gas burns much cleaner than gasoline does not adequately compensate for these environmental threats. Still, there’s no arguing that the celebrated Texas oilman makes a strong point about America’s costly oil dependence.

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July 14th, 2010

Solar World AG, one of the largest solar PV manufacturers in the world with factories in California, Oregon and Washington, has scored a dream advocate for its products: J.R. Ewing. Actually, the spokesman is Larry Hagman, who played the oilman on the long-running Dallas series. Hagman reprises his oil baron role in an ad for Bonn-based Solar World, where someone obviously decided the possibilities were too rich to leave untapped.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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