We’d Like Our Leaders To Bring Us a Sane Energy Policy — But There’s a Catch



Tiny Running Costs
Once you’ve got the upfront cost of purchasing the car out of the way (and there is certainly a premium to pay for them at the moment) electric cars are far cheaper to run than their petrol-guzzling equivalents. (more…)



I’m reminded of the presentation that ARPA-E deputy director Dr. Cheryl Martin gave at CleanTechLA earlier this week, in which she said, “Storage makes everything better.” We all chuckled at this cute little maxim, but she’s right. Storage means less expense associated with providing power at peak moments, more integration of variable resources in the grid-mix, better reliability in the event of storms, the establishment of micro-grids and distributed generation, and the migration to electric transportation.

I’ve presented this concept to the people I thought would have the most interest — but to no avail. By fondest hopes: (more…)

Thanks for writing, Emma. It’s ironic. Canada has renewable resources coming out its ears, especially hydro, and the wealth to take advantage of them – so all that’s going along well. But the mayor of Toronto’s crack cocaine embarrassment is dwarfed by the antics of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in terms of environmental irresponsibility. (more…)


• Our current transportation paradigm (the car) has been with us for over 100 years, and it’s far too wasteful and expensive, both financially and environmentally, for the 21st Century. The average car has 1.1 occupants, and is in use 3% of the day. Roughly than 1% of the gasoline our cars consume goes into moving the occupants; 75% is wasted as heat, and 24% is used in moving the car. (more…)
