Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) yesterday announced a new technique for efficiently harvesting uranium from the ocean. This raises the possibility that Uranium supplies will be much deeper and longer lasting than previously thought. For the environmentally minded it raises a quandary, in that nuclear energy is one way of…
Electric car maker Coda Automotive staged a “Grass Station” in Culver City for educational outreach. What if you arrived at your normal gas station for a fillup and it was completely different? Coda Automotive published a YouTube video a couple days ago showing just such a situation. The company has…
A few days ago I wrote about GM’s CEO Dan Akerson talking about 200 mile driving range electric cars. This piece triggered an idea in the back of my mind, recalling the Osborne Effect, or the result which happens when a company announces the next generation product and customers stop…
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice yesterday advising consumers and businesses to get prepared for the new electronics recycling law which will take effect on Jan. 24, 2013. The Pennsylvania Covered Device Recycling Act, enacted in 2010, requires that consumers cannot dispose of certain electronics devices in…
The 2012 Pikes Peak Hill Climb was delayed following the (global warming) epic wildfire near Colorado Springs just before the original race date. The rescheduled date was last weekend, and eight electric cars remained in the lineup for the race. These teams included Toyota Motorsports Group, Mitsubishi, Elias Anderson (NovaKar),…
The earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima Japan nuclear power plant resulted in large scale radiation releases. While Science Fiction predicted creatures such as Godzilla resulting from massive nuclear radiation releases into the ocean, actual scientists have found a disturbing change on a more modest scale in…
In what they’re describing as an “epic battle,” Tang Yu of Zongshen Racing is the surprise winner of this weekends e-Power/TTX at Oschersleben. We say “surprise” because his teammate, Ho Chi Fung, has the more powerful of Zongshen’s bikes, and two of Muench’s bikes are more powerful than Tang Yu’s, and…
It’s another joint round between FIM e-Power and TTXGP, this time in Oschersleben in Germany. Race results have been posted, but in this report I’ll focus on the Friday and Saturday results. On Saturday they held a “three lap sprint” race, which Matthias Himmelmann won. There was an over 20…
Kevin Clemens of Lake Elmo MI is seeking to set the national land speed record for electric motorcycles – at 100 miles/hr. His motorcycle is a fairly typical motorcycle conversion, with an Agni motor and an Alltrax controller, though he was careful with the weight keeping that under 150 kilograms.…
The 60 kWh Tesla Model S now comes standard with support for the high power SuperCharger, and with it’s lower cost it’s a better value proposition than the 85 kWh Model S. The Tesla Model S electric car has an EPA certified driving range of 265 miles, when outfitted with…
Speaking to an employee meeting this week, GM’s CEO Dan Akerson talked about research between GM and Envia Systems developing battery technology which should allow GM to build 200 mile range affordable electric cars in the next two-to-four years. The two key hurdles to electric car adoption are price and…
Back in June an epic wildfire near Colorado Springs CO broke out just a few miles from Pikes Peak. The fire forced the evacuation of residents into nearby hotels, and placed a big stress on the local area. In the face of this the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb team…
Following a petition filed by 24 environmental groups on June 18 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) suspended, yesterday, decisions on at least 19 nuclear reactor licensing decisions. The halt affects nine construction & operating licenses (COLS), eight license renewals, one operating license, and one early site permit. The decision…
On Monday evening a small leak at the Chevron refinery in Richmond CA quickly escalated into a fire and explosion. The fire sent a cloud of black smoke and noxious fumes into the air, with residents being forced to “shelter in place”. Following the incident a flood of residents descended…
Muench Racing’s Matthias Himmelman won last weekend’s race in the TTXGP Europe race at Assen (see the report on the qualifying round), with two riders from Zongshen Racing about 20 seconds behind. Himmelman’s bike is running with a new motor, and the team is getting more comfortable with its characteristics.…
