Like everyone I’m in shock over the Charlie Hebdo massacre this week. It’s the latest in a long string of running battles between the West and “terrorists” associated with the Muslim world. In trying to understand why this happened, and I’m thinking of this through the lens of the global…
Now that Republicans have majorities in both houses of Congress, they’re planning to ramrod some extremist so-called-Conservative legislation that undermines all sorts of useful things, primarily in clean technology or environmental protection. A case in point is approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project that environmental groups like 350.org have…
It seems I missed out on something in childhood – Snow Cream – a treat that’s supposedly common for children to eat like Ice Cream. While I’m sure I ate some snow here and there, it wasn’t flavored with anything – so far as I recall. Only now did I…
December 7 is one of those days that are supposed to live in Infamy, because of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on that day in 1941. In school we are taught Japan’s intention was to ensure the U.S. didn’t enter the war, but that instead they woke a sleeping giant and…
The Islamic State is an egregiously violent movement that’s looking to overthrow governments in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and elsewhere. It’s a Sunni dominated version of Islamic governance that’s proven itself quite willing to commit genocidal acts. But is the U.S. at all responsible for its creation or did the Islamic…
There are big dreams and goals for electric car adoption in California, around the U.S. and around the world. California’s goals are something like 1 million plug-in EV’s by 2025 which seems to me to be achievable, unless this dalliance with fuel cell vehicles causes the state to undermine battery…
Allegations have resurfaced that Anti-Fracking activists in Europe are on Russia’s payroll, according to a NY Times news article. That article focuses on the anti-fracking protest focused on Pungesti Romania, which I’ve covered in-depth last winter. The claim is that if the anti-frackers are successful in banning fracking, they’re…
At the just-concluded OPEC meeting, the oil-powers-that-be decided to maintain OPEC’s production level of 30 million barrels per day, despite oil price declines over the last year. For the people who remain stuck on fossil oil as The Transportation Fuel, this is a good thing because it means gasoline prices…
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk penned a blog post yesterday claiming that Tesla’s management didn’t trick Nevada or any other state in the Gigafactory negotations. Instead, Musk says Tesla’s policy is to create win-win solutions where the other party takes no risk, with Tesla Motors bearing all the risk. Why?…
Yesterday, Lightning Motorcycle CEO Richard Hatfield delivered the very first Lightning LS-218 electric superbike. Over eight years in development, the LS-218 is the fastest electric motorcycle in production and perhaps the fastest motorcycle of any kind in production. The company has followed a strategy for several years of innovation through…
Florida Power and Light (FPL) is taking delivery of the third of three Siemens ultra-high-efficiency natural gas turbines for FPL’s Port Everglades Next Generation Clean Energy Center. The Siemens SGT6-8000H gas turbines and Siemens SST6-5000 steam turbine at the site are the core of FPL’s modernization of the Clean Energy Center.…
Last night Lightning Motorcycles fulfilled a long-held promise of selling the Lightning electric superbike to paying customers. The company has raced with production-intent-prototype-bikes in events since 2010 setting a number of records. After every one, Lightning CEO Richard Hatfield promised their bikes were now on sale – a promise that’s…
Last winter saw an intense fight in Romania over Chevron’s plan to drill exploratory hydraulic fracking wells near Pungesti. It’s now possible, according to Romania Prime Minister Victor Ponta, that it will all be for naught, that there are no natural gas riches to be had in Romania’s shale region.…
Barely detectable levels of Cesium-134 have been detected in the Pacific Ocean within 100 miles of the U.S. West Coast. Despite the so-called radioactive plume having nearly reached the coast, we shouldn’t be afraid (yet) that the Pacific Ocean is being absolutely fried with nuclear radiation from Fukushima. The results…
I like to outright own my cars, driving them for many years, preferably not driving very much, all to make the best return-on-investment on each car. But I, and many electric car buyers, say that at this stage of the electric vehicle market it’s better to lease, rather than buy. …
