Toyota has backed off from working directly with the Environmental Protection Agency on improving the EPA’s management processes. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has a long history of working so closely with Industry that the word “collusion” comes to mind, said in a Congressional Hearing in December that the EPA…
This evening we didn’t have the second coming of Christ, but we did see a couple nigh-on-impossible vehicles announced. A semi-truck that does 0-60 miles/hr in 5 seconds? (unloaded) And a 4-seater sports car that does 0-60 miles/hr in 1.9 seconds? And, the truck will be available in 2019, and…
The long-awaited Tesla big rig is due to be shown tomorrow, after being delayed a few times supposedly because of focus on ramping up Tesla Model 3 production. Of source the Model 3 is the make-or-break product of the moment and therefore Elon Musk and others at Tesla Motors must…
The UN Climate Summit, the COP meeting, is currently underway in Bonn Germany. At that meeting California’s Gov. Jerry Brown told a group of native americans protesting his stance on Fracking “Let’s put you in the ground so we can get on with the show here.” That’s caused a bit of…
The Blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are catching a lot of attention, and not just because of the phenomenal rise in Bitcoin’s value this year. Because each Blockchain is a “distributed ledger” where there’s a huge degree of security, thanks to an ingenious application of cryptography, many folks think…
If the standards-based charging networks, and the automakers other than Tesla Motors, are to have a chance, standards-based high-power charging stations like what ABB just unveiled must exist. The Tesla Supercharger network is ingenious only in the forethought exhibited by Tesla Motors to invest in a widespread high power DC…
Solar power isn’t dead in the Trump Administration. Instead, the Dept of Energy announced last week that the 2020 SunShot cost reduction goals were met, and therefore the focus of the Solar Energy Technologies Office would shift to longer-term goals such as Grid Reliability and Energy Storage. “With the impressive…
Nissan today announced details, availability and pricing of the 2018 Nissan Leaf, curiously stressing that the Leaf is not an electric car (despite the electric drive train). Instead, the company stressed driver assist features like ProPILOT (lane keeping), ProPILOT Park (parking assist) as a way to appeal to drivers by…
In July 1979 the USA was gripped by the second of the 1970’s fake oil crises. OPEC decided to give us a second lesson of its power to control the American populace by shutting down oil deliveries. In the midst of that “crisis”, Carter gave this speech demonstrating why he…
The Trump Administration is having its Katrina-moment this week. Katrina being the hurricane that struck New Orleans during the Bush32 Administration, and became the poster-child for both horrible government policy and the cost of ignoring the effects of climate change. We’ll leave the government policy issues to other people who…
The SeekingAlpha website isn’t exactly known for highly accurate investing prognostication. We should therefore take the suggestion that Tesla Motors is doomed because of the Gigafactory with a suitably large chunk of salt. According to conventional thinking, the Gigafactory (Gigafactories, actually) is what will propel Tesla Motors into a huge…
Traffic congestion is one of the negative sides of the car-dominated transportation system. The road system wasn’t built to handle the amount of traffic currently on the roads. Building more roads is not the solution since traveling in that direction simply leads to more sprawl because of geometrical requirements placed…
The expectations on Tesla about the Model 3 are so high that Elon Musk has had to downplay the company to keep the stock from getting over-hyped. Well, I assume that’s what he’s doing when he says Tesla is probably overvalued. There’s the possibility of irrational exuberance carrying people away…
Today California Governor Jerry Brown thumbed his nose in the direction of President Trump, and signed legislation extending California’s Cap-and-Trade program and defining certain non-vehicular emissions as air pollutants and toxic air contaminants. Well, he didn’t actually thumb his nose, but by taking this step California is taking a…
Solar- and Wind- based electricity is clean and renewable, offering a great solution for both Climate and Fossil Fuel Availability problems. But both sources are intermittent, meaning they don’t provide 24 hours a day, and therefore adopting renewable electricity in a big way requires changes in the electricity production/consumption system.…
