As I’ve written about before, the carbon intensity of electric automobiles is totally dependent on the source of electricity you use. They can be a huge win, a marginal win, or in some cases, a net loss compared to internal combustion and hybrid vehicles. Claims that electric vehicles are, in general, “emissions free” are so [...]
Posts Tagged ‘energy’
Peak Carbon, Revisited
A little over two years ago I wrote an article for Environmental Leader declaring that 2007 would be the year of “Peak Carbon” in the US, such that GHG emissions would generally decline from that point on (with accommodation for random short blips upwards). In the short term I figured that the economy would get [...]
Electric Cars: Headway, But Improvements Needed
With the 500 car Cooper Mini E field trial, we’re finally started to get some real-world data on the performance of electric vehicles. The WSJ recently ran an article which surveyed participants in the field test and found they were generally getting in the 100-110 miles per charge range, less than the advertised 150. The [...]
BP: Trying to Save the Well?
I got the following note from a friend from my MIT days: There is a drilled well that, at the seabed, enters a structure that is compromised. That structure cannot be fixed in a timely fashion or at all. Thus eliminate the structure (drag it away, underwater demolition, piecewise removal). Once that is removed, you [...]
A Guide to Cap and Trade Legislation
When I first heard of the concept of a Cap and Trade system for reducing pollution, I thought it was one of the most elegant ideas that I’d ever heard. A Cap puts a hard limit on the amount of pollution that will be allowed in a given time period, and permits for that amount [...]
Getting US Business Behind Climate and Energy Legislation
With the upcoming release of the Kerry/Graham/Lieberman energy bill amidst a contentious environment on Capitol Hill, we’re starting to see the big push to get business support for the legislation. The Politico interview with Sen. Graham makes the case explicitly: “The package represents major victories for the business community, which was virtually shut out of [...]
Energy Innovation: How Can We Keep It Blooming
Bloom Energy’s recent announcement of their fuel cell-based “energy server” drew lots of attention from the press, and for good reason. It set some nice marks for performance, and, if successful, will likely be the first of a new market category of energy products. At Sun we looked at this technology a couple of years [...]
A Good Customer for Clean Energy
[Note: I jointly authored this with Dan Sarewitz of ASU] The House of Representatives has passed a massive climate change bill aimed at legislating a new, climate-friendly energy supply into existence through emissions caps, technology standards, and incentives. The bill’s champions assume that, in response to an array of mandated carrots and sticks, nimble startup [...]
The Core Tension of Cap and Trade
The Core Tension of Cap and Trade from Roger Pielke, Jr. on Prometheus blog: “This quote from an anonymous White House official in The Washington Post sums up the core tension of cap and trade. We think a well-designed cap-and-trade program will not have an adverse short-term impact on energy prices. But if we’re completely [...]
Mitigation Math: Hypothetical Answers
Roger Pielke Jr. has an outstanding post titled US Mitigation Math where he shows the general sources and sinks of US energy and resulting GHG emissions. He also throws out some reduction scenarios and concludes that they cannot come close to meeting an emissions reductions goal of 14% below 2005 levels by 2020. So he [...]
