Current CO2 concentration in the atmosphere

Top selling vehicles in the US

Vehicle Technologies Program: Fact #712: January 30, 2012 Top Vehicles in the U.S., 2011:

See the page for the data.

Do I really have to launch into the whole argument about how utterly absurd it is for Americans to be buying this mix of vehicles in 2011, or what that says about the astonishing level of RDS (reality . . . → Read More: Top selling vehicles in the US

Keystone XL is a lesson waiting to be learned

If you’re at all plugged into the enviro news via Twitter, RSS feeds, or even blogs (how quaint!), you probably know that the hot news is that President Obama is set to reject the application to build the Keystone XL pipeline. As with almost anything that’s triggered this much emotion and clash of wills (or . . . → Read More: Keystone XL is a lesson waiting to be learned

Yet another battery breakthrough

If you could wave your handy dandy magic wand and create a single technological breakthrough that would make a huge impact on our intertwined climate and energy challenges, you’d be hard pressed to come up with something better than a killer battery. Find a way to make a battery pack that greatly exceeds the range . . . → Read More: Yet another battery breakthrough

Scrubbing CO2

If you’re itching for a new example of, “this sounds great, but…”, then I’ve got a real winner we can ponder, as described in the article, Carbon dioxide super-scubber? Potential good news in global warming fight.:

Using cheap, readily available materials, a team of chemists has developed a new compound for drawing carbon dioxide out of the . . . → Read More: Scrubbing CO2

The Wave Disk Generator

OK, now this is intriguing, even if the article is from April(!?)…

New Car Engine Sends Shock Waves Through Auto Industry:

researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk Generator could greatly improve the efficiency of gas-electric hybrid . . . → Read More: The Wave Disk Generator

Do anthropogenic aerosols play an even bigger role?

If anyone here needed further proof that some days it’s not worth chewing through the leather restraints, we have a new Science paper of more than passing interest. A third effect of anthropogenic aerosols on the climate:

In a paper published in the journal Science, Natalie Mahowald at Cornell University reports on a third effect of . . . → Read More: Do anthropogenic aerosols play an even bigger role?

Doc alert: World Energy Outlook 2011

The International Energy Agency released their report, World Energy Outlook 2001, this morning.

The full press release [emphasis added]:

The world is locking itself into an unsustainable energy future which would have far-reaching consequences, IEA warns in its latest World Energy Outlook

See Related Publication or Event

09 November 2011 London — Without a bold change of policy direction, the . . . → Read More: Doc alert: World Energy Outlook 2011

More on those record carbon emissions

You can’t throw a computer mouse without hitting some site or person talking about the big carbon news from last week regarding the record jump in worldwide carbon emissions, in both absolute terms and carbon intensity. And it should be a big topic, frankly, considering the breadth, depth, and severity of the ramifications of stay . . . → Read More: More on those record carbon emissions

Unnatural emissions: Flaring gas from oil sites

A pair of articles in the NY Time focuses on one of the more perverse aspects of our current energy/climate amalgam of ugliness: Flaring natural gas. The thumbnail description: When oil is extracted from wells, it’s often accompanied by natural gas. There’s no economical way to store and use that natural gas, so it’s . . . → Read More: Unnatural emissions: Flaring gas from oil sites

The cost of car ownership in the US

Vehicle Technologies Program: Fact #694: September 26, 2011 Costs of Owning a Vehicle by State:

There are many costs involved in owning a vehicle, such as depreciation, interest on financing, taxes and fees, insurance premiums, fuel, maintenance, and repairs. Research has been done to calculate the difference in those costs over a five-year period on a State . . . → Read More: The cost of car ownership in the US