Comments ben has made
What if...
I know it really is an impossible question...but what if Al Gore won? The US might have signed into Kyoto, but does anybody really think he would have forced emission cuts? Comparing him with other leaders (mostly Tony Blair who sounds quite progressive on this issue as well), nothing would have changed.On An interview with accidental movie star Al Gore posted 3 years, 6 months ago 17 Responses
lubricant
"the aspect of biodiesel that provides lubricity are the glycerides. The same contaminants that cause gelling in winter. refine the biodiesel so it's usable, lose the lubricity.. great tradeoff."
Heya Tom, does B2 freeze? I always thought that's why people stay with the low blends. If not biodiesel, what will be the lubricant?
On Biodiesel: The slippery facts posted 3 years, 7 months ago 37 ResponsesUltra-low sulphur diesel
Biodiesel has huge potential, regardless of the fact that it may not be carbon neutral. For the record I think it's impossible for biodiesel to be carbon neutral because of the fertilizer that is used to grow the crops...which is made out of natural gas.
The US is moving to ultra-low sulfur diesel in Sept. Ultra-low sulfur diesel needs a lubricant, biodiesel is a great lubricant and that's why we're going to be seeing more biodiesel/diesel blends.
In 2004 ~25 million gallons of biodiesel was sold...if diesel fuel requires B2 as a lubricant, then that number could jump to 748 million gallons practically overnight.
On Biodiesel: The slippery facts posted 3 years, 7 months ago 37 Responsesdiesel is definitely more cost effective
Cars like the VW Golf TDI are definitely more cost effective than many hybrids.
On Consumer Reports' real-world mpg figures make the Prius even more appealing posted 4 years, 2 months ago 22 ResponsesJust thought of another
"The solar industry is the poor counsin of the microchip industry" - Sass Peress, CEO ICP Solar, talking about how solar companies get the junk silicon that microchips can't use.
On We've already collected nature quotes -- how about some quotes on energy posted 4 years, 3 months ago 8 ResponsesHere are some
How about: "The suburbs are the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of man kind" - Jim Kunstler from The End of Suburbia
Also, from the book "Oil Addiction: The World in Peril" by Pierre Chomat, in the book dedications:
"To the children of Hilla, Mosul, Dawaniya, Baghdad, Tehran, Baku, Groznyy, Lagos .. who face the possibility of paying with their lives to ensure the comfort of the children of the West"
Those are my favs at least.
On We've already collected nature quotes -- how about some quotes on energy posted 4 years, 3 months ago 8 ResponsesEffect on oil imports
Increasing fuel efficiencies will go a long way to reducing oil imports. It's strange to think that there was nothing put into the energy bill addressing this.
If all cars went from the current 20mpg to 80mpg (4 times efficiency increase), then the US would reduce oil consumption by 27%. If all US transportation increased fuel efficiency by 4 times, then the US would reduce oil consumption by 45%.
On Beware the hype around plug-in hybrids posted 4 years, 3 months ago 6 Responsessolar power and trash
"Next step: start producing hybrid vehicles built in a solar-powered manufacturing plant where the employee cafeteria serves nothing but locally produced organic food."
They better put in their order for those solar panels now cause they're hot hot hot!
I'd like to know how the price/ton of trash comes about. I can't imagine it being a supply/demand thing, there must be many areas that can theoretically be used as a landfill, all that would really be required is to pay for the price of trucking it there. So is the $34/ton just a number that the city pulls out of thin air? If so, why isn't more expensive?
On Wired profiles companies striving for zero waste posted 4 years, 3 months ago 1 ResponseThese were left out
Simple energy policy can curb our oil demand somewhat:
The biggest point that wasn't really emphasized strongly enough: Price energy at what it's really worth - which has to include the negative externalities of using oil
Get into people's heads that public transportation is better than driving cars (maybe by making parking much more expensive or by taxing drivers the way London does)
Some other things recommended by the IEA:
Support telecommuting
Support flexible work schedules
Support odd/even day driving bansOn Why can't we change our oil-sucking land-use preferences? posted 4 years, 5 months ago 5 ResponsesRe: hydrogen timeline
I don't think we're putting all our eggs into one basket. The energy bill doesn't just support hydrogen research, it also supports ethanol and biodiesel, which are the next logical steps.
A few weeks ago the CEO of Ballard Power systems said that their fuel cells for automotive applications will be commercially viable in 2010. So that's half of the problem solved (the other half being hydrogen storage).On Clinton posted 4 years, 5 months ago 13 Responses
Maybe right now
Hydrogen may be a bad idea at the moment but that doesn't mean that we should stop putting research into hydrogen storage and production technologies. There are lots of ways to make hydrogen that haven't even really been considered (like direct cracking of water with the heat of a nuclear reactor). Also, a big problem is that hydrogen is so closely linked to fuel cells that some people think they are one-and-the-same but in fact there are a number of fuel cells that don't require hydrogen at all.
I agree with Clinton that hydrogen cars a long way off...in fact I believe that before they become commercially viable we will have a complete shift in the way we think about driving cars.theWatt Podcast - energy discussion in mp3
On Clinton posted 4 years, 6 months ago 13 Responses