Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Actually, you’ve probably bought the last of a lot of things, but I remember being struck when I first heard James Howard Kunstler say, “Most Americans have bought their last car.” So I’m going to use the example of cars to demonstrate why that is and why we won’t get off of fossil fuel in time.
California’s low-carbon fuel standard has oil companies anxious
Obama’s secret weapon: the web
Congress seeks “kill switch” for Internet
Congress, EPA, EDF ignoring energy curtailment and clean-coal oxymoron
On your trike!
Ditching shampoo a dirty little beauty secret
Studying open air museums for insights
America needs passenger rail
Optimizing Transportation Infrastructure in a Changing World
Making Streets Safer For Seniors
I have been reading and watching with some bemusement a number of stories appearing in the British press and on television this past week on the subject of electric cars. The media interest is largely a reaction to the UK government’s recent announcement of plans to provide cash incentives to buyers of plug-in vehicles, designed to stimulate the market for highly efficient vehicles. A number of articles, some of which have hot-links from the ODAC website, have ‘experts’ variously dismissing the environmental benefits of electric cars as fiction, claiming their mass adoption will cause blackouts, or accusing the government of a cheap gimmick.
A weekly review from a UK perspective.
A mid-week review of peak oil news, including:
-Prices and production
-General Motors
Maybe I’ve been wrong all along—maybe just believing is enough. Maybe we don’t have to actually use less oil now or ever. Maybe all we have to do is imagine we’re using less oil.
EPA Finds Greenhouse Gases Pose Threat to Public Health, Welfare / Proposed Finding Comes in Response to 2007 Supreme Court Ruling
Obama signals US rail revolution
Portland, Multnomah County unveil 40-year climate plan
A lesson from the trains in Spain
Transformers: Protecting Pedestrians From Killer Cars
China Influence Grows With Car Sales
Efficient drivers cut emissions, but stir up hot air
Status symbol of The Great Downtown: Dutch bikes
Couple making downtown freight deliveries by bike
$1.7 billion Brisbane airport expansion deferred as tourist numbers fall
Can China catch a cool breeze?
Algae could ‘supply entire world with aviation fuel’
Environment Agency questions green credentials of biomass
Global palm oil demand fueling deforestation
