Romania may not have any choice but to allow hydraulic fracturing (fracturare hidraulice), according to a report by the Romania Energy Center. We’ve been studying Romania’s situation over natural gas, and proposals to frack that country’s shale deposits, as a way of learning about the overall story of fracking. The…
It would be wonderful if there were one fast charging standard for electric cars. We’ve collectively gone through periods with dueling standards, and it was painful. But, the current environment has several fast charging standards (CHAdeMO, China, Combined Charging System, and Tesla) each of which are vying for dominance. Recently…
During last weekends anti-protests in Romania, one company based in Western Romania went to the protest rally in Arad to reiterate they will not use hydraulic fracturing or any other technology to exploit shale gas. In a specific location, near Curtici. Panfora Oil & Gas company said in a press…
On Monday we reported on anti-Fracking protests in Romania that saw coordinated rallies in over 60 cities around Romania, as well as several cities outside the country. Today we have the displeasure to report that Chevron is set to begin shale gas exploration (Fracking, or fracturare hidraulica gaze de sist)…
Tesla Motors is launching a new subsidiary, Tesla Finance LLC, to handle leasing Tesla’s electric cars to small and medium sized businesses. The new program is a separate focus from the pseudo-leasing financing that Tesla announced a year ago. That program, focused on individuals, gave a lease-like purchasing option for…
Berkeley CA has been curiously devoid of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The city’s residents are famously green, but somehow there have been only two public charging stations in Berkeley for a long time, and those were in a parking garage with limited hours of operation. That changes now with the…
General Motors is reaffirming its investment in electrified vehicles, reaffirming there will be a 2nd Generation Volt (something which wasn’t always a given), hinting at future electrified cars from GM. On Wednesday, the company announced nearly $500 million in investments in new manufacturing equipment and processes to support building the…
A few days ago we looked at how some in the Oil industry are protecting their position – by feeding us education (propaganda?) saying that fracking is okay. Today, I have found a Coal/Electricity industry CEO, FirstEnergy Corp. President and CEO Anthony Alexander, crying that “electricity is under attack,” that…
On Sunday, anti-fracking activists in Romania took to the streets of 60 cities in Romania, and several cities outside the country (such as New York), to protest hydraulic fracturing, and calling for a ban on the practice. Since my last report on Romania, where we learned the government is allowing…
Will Nissan launch, this year, a version of the Nissan Leaf that gives a 135 mile driving range? According to an article last week on TheStreet.com, that’s exactly what Nissan will do, by this fall. Unfortunately the article offers no solid proof, just a pile of weak guesswork. However, one…
As we might expect, those who work in the Oil Industry see Fracking differently than those of who are alarmed about its risks. Fracking, aka hydraulic fracturing, is thought to be poisoning groundwater, causing earthquakes, and causing more methane releases at well-heads. Additionally, fracking helps us all to stay addicted…
Last week, Tesla Motors and New York State reached an agreement under which Tesla would be able to continue selling the Model S through the stores they currently operate in New York. Sigh of relief, yes? One state in which Tesla has won out over the Auto Dealers Associations? Not…
A quick reminder on the timeline for the Tesla Motors affordable mass production electric car. I’ve seen a few news articles the last couple days suggesting the “cheaper” Tesla electric car will “debut” in 2015. Article titles like “Tesla’s More Affordable Model E May Hit the Road in 2015” are…
If we can switch from caffeinated to decaffeinated coffee at the drop of a hat, why is it so hard to switch away from gasoline fuel for cars to something else? We know that gasoline and all the other fossil fuels cause a wide range of problems, and that it’s…
It may not look like it, but the ‘modern’ transportation system, especially as it exists in the U.S.A., is broken, horribly. As I see it, the car companies and others are working hard on the appearance that modern transportation systems are okay. That’s just the sugar coating designed to make…
