Obama
set to reduce American Pollution
March
8, 2009 11:33 AM
In
the last 10 years, the United States has fallen
exceptionally far behind in the field of Environmental
Technologies. This is made even more apparent
by the fact that we are now the only country
not to have signed the Kyoto Protocol, which
although is flawed, it still made a statement.
But now with a new administration in office,
Obama is set to sign a treaty in Copenhagen,
Denmark this coming December, which is suppose
to be a more thought-out version of the Treaty
made 10 years ago. The US is currently the
top emitter of carbon dioxide, however the
gap is shrinking significantly with China’s
increased industrialization. So let us all
hope that this works out for the best and
that the world might come together on the
most important issue that we have ever had
to face. |
Chery Automotive’s
Electric Car has double the range of the Chevy Volt
February 22, 2009 8:35
PM
China's
largest car manufacturer has said that it
has plans to build a plug-in hybrid capable
of getting double the gas mileage of the proposed
Chevy Volt. Currently there is only an electric
only car, which can go 93 miles with a max
speed of 72 miles per hour. The battery can
be charged from a standard outlet in 6 hours,
but it can also be charged 80% in 30 minutes.
This comes at a time when other Chinese car
manufactures already produce plug-in hybrid
cars, just another reminder of how China is
beginning to lead the way in hybrid technologies.
BYD's hybrid has a car capable of going 62
miles going 62 miles in an all-electric mode,
and 360 miles in its hybrid mode. These developments
signify major advancements in Chinese car
technology. |
Massive
Outcries about Global Warming from World Leaders
February
21, 2009 10:51 PM
In
the last several days, it seems that there
have been a number of warning from everyone
from the EPA to New York City mayor Michael
Bloomberg, that the threat of global warming
is real and has the ability to affect us in
a variety of ways. First of all the EPA is
set to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide
and other pollutants. Currently the EPA is
working with the Supreme Court in order to
see whether these pollutants endanger public
health. They are currently reviewing all current
scientific data in order to make their decision
under the guidance of Lisa Jackson. Jackson
knows that the process will be difficult,
but the new administration is dedicated to
working toward a cleaner future. Secondly
Michael Bloomberg is also recognizing the
threat as he sets up a panel designed to curve
the effects on the city that climate change
may induce. The panel’s main goal is
to make preparations because as the mayor
says “Planning for climate change today
is less expensive than rebuilding an entire
network after the catastrophe”. With
a warmer climate, the panel must also prepare
for summer brownouts caused by higher electrical
loads from air conditioners, in addition to
flooding from rainstorms. Finally, Lord Nicholas
Stern, who is a former World Bank economist,
began talking about the mass migration that
may be set off by the aftermath of climate
change. These mass migrations could be set
off by anything including, famine, disease,
warfare, or from rising sea level. Also he
said that the world’s industrialized
nations have to reach zero pollution transportation
and electricity production, and global warming
could stay within manageable levels of around
3 degrees Fahrenheit. |
Tesla
reveals a sneak peek of the new Model S
February
19, 2009 1:45 PM
Tesla
Motors, a start up company in Silicon Valley
has recently given a sneak peek of their future
sedan, the Model S, set to debut on March
26. The goal of the car is to provide a more
affordable automobile, compared to the original
Tesla Roadster, currently costing $109,000.
While this is out of the range of most consumers,
they are currently on a 1,000-unit backorder.
Tesla has promised that the car will cost
less than $50,000 after hundreds of dollars
in rebates and $7,500 in federal tax rebates.
|
Source:
Tesla
Motors
What
happened to Ethanol?
February
17, 2009 2:20 PM
Several
ethanol production faculties have closed recently
due to decreased demand and capital investment.
This comes at a time with oil prices falling
causing gasoline prices to sink back into
a range affordable for most Americans. This
is both good and bad news for decreasing America’s
dependency on fossil fuels. It is bad since
this has also caused the price of corn to
drop astronomically and buyers pull of out
their agreements with farmers. However it
now allows us to turn our attention to a more
practical type of power such as hydrogen because
when it came down to it, we were never going
to be able to run the country on corn based
ethanol. |
Do you
think that Solar power is expensive and inefficient?
February
14, 2009 9:30 PM
When
someone mentions solar power these days, the
first thing that comes to mind are photovoltaic
panels costing millions of dollars, such as
the huge array on the Google Campus. While
this is true, another kind of power also works
just as well and can save as much money and
energy. This mysterious form of energy is
solar thermal power and can be used for countless
applications; including electricity, heat,
and hot water. And an Irish company named
Surface Power is looking to take advantage
of this by producing the most efficient type
of panels in history. Their panels can reduce
the energy needed to heat hot water by up
to 70% in the overcast countryside of Ireland,
and the system can only get more efficient
with more sun. The potential for solar thermal
is huge, if we are willing to put in the work
and the capital investment. |
Amazon
to Release the Kindle 2 on February 24
February
11, 2009 3:56 PM
Amazon
has released the Kindle 2 and it is a giant
leap compared to the original released just
over a year ago. First of all they have
introduced several new features such as
the "Read to Me" feature allowing
for a text to speech conversion. Another
one of my favorite features is the fact
that you are able to take legible notes
in the margins of the book. This allows
reference later or for studying for a test.
But the most important part of the Kindle
is the fact that it saves countless trees
used for the production of books, plus the
chemicals used for printing. The Kindle
also works great since there is no syncing
involved. After purchasing, the book will
be delivered wireless over EVDO networks
to your Kindle in as little as 60 seconds.
Documents can also be sent to the device
from a variety of formats. Also with access
to websites such as Wikipedia and Google,
it allows you to do almost everything on
it. On top of all of this the device can
now hold up to 1,500 books, the battery
last 25% longer, and the device now weighs
less than a typical paper back book.
One
thing that I am disappointed with is the
price of the books specifically for the
Kindle. I am hoping that the price of the
books will eventually come down how ever
due to the fact that for paying $350, the
Kindle addition books still cost around
$9.99, while their used books can go for
as little as $3.50 with shipping.
|
Source:
Amazon
Revisions to
Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan
President
Obama’s Economic Stimulus Bill started
out with a price tag of 819 billion dollars.
That has since been reduced to 780 billion
dollars my many cuts, but also the complete
removal of some of the proposed ideas. With
a vote possibly coming as early as Tuesday,
here are some of the areas where funding was
cut:
· The 600 million dollars for hybrids
for federal officers has been cut to 300 million
dollars.
· The 7 billion dollars for weatherizing
federal buildings has also been cut in half
to 3.5 billion dollars.
· The 1 billion dollars for energy
loans has been completely removed. |
Source:
CNN
Tesla Motors to Provide Batteries To Build
an Electric Smart Car
Tesla
Motors, which produces one of the world’s
best electric cars, has started a partnership
with Smart Car in order to construct a more
affordable electric vehicle, compared to the
hundred thousand dollar Roadster. Smart has
a goal of producing 1000 vehicles for 2010
and a portion of them will be coming to the
United States. This collaboration could be
exactly what Tesla needs in order to get its
cheaper sedan on to the streets. |
Source:
Yahoo!
Green
Tests
from Toyota show a 2010 Plug-in Hybrid getting 65
MPG
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It
will not be long until the 2010 Toyota Prius
hits showrooms across the world, and it will
have to meet some high expectations. Toyota
is going to take its next great leap into
the field of hybrid technology with this car
with this new plug in electric vehicle, allowing
the vehicle to be charged through an electrical
outlet instead of exclusively by the gasoline
engine. With this new technology the Prius
is expected to achieve 65 MPG, which is and
an increase of over 15 MPG than the 2009.
These numbers are not definite as they are
from Toyota and not from the EPA, but they
still show great promise into the future of
more efficient vehicles. Toyota has not yet
released an official release date. |
Source:
Yahoo!
Green
|
