sduford on May 22 2008 | Filed under: Politics, Technology
Looks like NASA will have to come clean on their mishandling of the $100M DSCOVR satellite. This amazing satellite would enable us to precisely measure how much energy hits the planet and how much is reflected and re-emitted. This would give us the total energy budget and would give us a very clear understanding of [...]
sduford on Feb 01 2008 | Filed under: Alternative Fuels, Sustainable Dev., Technology
Today, Airbus published a press release stating, “The A380 is the first commercial plane to be powered by alternative fuel.” Loaded with special fuel derived from natural gas, the Airbus will take off from its production plant at in western England. Upon takeoff, the plane will perform a three-hour test flight ending at Airbus headquarters [...]
sduford on Jan 10 2008 | Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology
Last month Scientific American published an interesting article on a grand plan to replace most of America’s energy sources through the use of large scale solar energy. After reading it, I would say that it is quite realistic and feasible.
The biggest obstacle is the cost: 420 billion dollars over 40 years. But then again [...]
sduford on Dec 17 2007 | Filed under: Biofuels, Books, Energy Efficiency, Politics, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Dev., Technology
Here’s a very interesting talk by Amory B. Lovins on weening ourselves off of oil while saving and creating jobs and fostering economic growth. He lists a bunch of simple ideas and shows their effect on oil consumption. This talk is based on his freely downloadable book which details all of his calculations so you [...]
sduford on Nov 30 2007 | Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Technology
I always believed that it is possible to make huge cuts in CO2 emissions without huge economic costs by adopting energy consumption reductions, new more efficient technologies, and renewable energy sources. Many European countries and corporations are already proving it. It just makes sense: you reduce your energy consumption, you save money! And as in [...]
sduford on Aug 28 2007 | Filed under: Global Warming, Politics, Technology, The Science
NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) cost over $100 million and was designed to measure the energy budget of our warming planet. Yet the spacecraft has remained in its box for the last five years and it looks like it is not going anywhere anytime soon.
New DeSmogBlog contributor Mitchell Anderson will write a multi-part investigative [...]
sduford on May 08 2007 | Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Renewable Energy, Technology
If controlling global warming is a priority, then a transformation of how the world produced, transports and uses electricity will be required, IPCC report reveals.
By David Biello , Scientific American
Read the story here.
sduford on Apr 23 2007 | Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Environment, Technology
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sduford on Jan 25 2007 | Filed under: Renewable Energy, Sustainable Dev., Technology
A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth’s hard rock crust could supply a substantial portion of the electricity the United States will need in the future, probably at competitive [...]
sduford on Jan 02 2007 | Filed under: Technology
RICHARD BLACKWELL
Globe and Mail, January 2nd, 2007.
Canada’s wind power business could face a tough year in 2007, with increasing doubts about this green energy source promising to buffet the industry.
While a record amount of wind power is likely to come on-stream next year, with close to a dozen projects across the country set to be [...]