November 23rd, 2009

Atmospheric CO2 levels to hit million-year high

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 8:29 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, cars & traffic, climate change, energy, environmental health, fossil fuel, global warming, petroleum, research

Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Current Climate Change Theory, IPCC, Harry Fuller

American scientists say the CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere are going to hit levels not seen in the past million years. Current climate change theory says CO2 is one of the gases that is causing global warming.

Researchers say the additional CO2 entering the atmosphere is stable and can remain for thousands of years. As fast as plants absorb CO2, more is being added. The IPCC says the additional CO2 is partially due to human acticity, especially burning fossil fuels and wood.

The rise of CO2 in the atmosphere has been measured since 1998 when records were first kept. This past year has seen the CO2 concentration increase slightly faster. The World Moeteorlogical Organization says the increase began with the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago. The three main greenhouse gases are CO2, methane and N2O (nitrous oxide). All three have both natural and man-made causes.

The IPCC projects that the current CO2 emission curve would raise global temps from 4.3 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by century’s end. Temperatures are already 1 degree higher in the past century. The IPCC says this warming’s mainly due to the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Such warming is predicted to change weather patterns with more extreme weather events. More drought and famine. Political and demographic disruption. More floods. Extinction of numerous plant and animal species. Rising sea levels along with the melting of land ice. Those are the IPCC predictions. Sounds like just another 2012 movie, doesn’t it?

November 21st, 2009

American cars giving slightly more miles per gallon

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 4:12 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, petroleum

Tags: Car, Emission, Carbon Dioxide, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Harry Fuller

The avergae MPG of cars driven by Americans continues to edge up. According to the EPA, average MPG hit 21 in 2008. It’s up nearly 2 MPG since 2004.

High gas prices and then the cash for clunkers program are expected to keep the MPG moving up this year. CO2 emissions have also been fallling since 2004. That year marked a turnaround in the U.S. The EPA reports CO2 emissions increased and fuel efficiency decreased in the United States from 1987 to 2004.

MOST EFFICIENT

Honda again leads in fuel efficiency on American highways, says the EPA. Next come Hyundai-Kia and then Toyota. VW finished fourth in fleet efficiency. Both GM and Ford showed fuel efficiency gains.

November 16th, 2009

New car sales soar in Europe, thinking smaller

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 10:24 am

Categories: Blogroll, Europe, European Union, air pollution, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, engineering, fossil fuel, mass transit, petroleum

Tags: Car, Sales Strategy, Sales Force Management, Sales, Harry Fuller

Western Europe saw a dramatic new car sales increase in October. Sales were encouraged by heavy subsidies for owners getting rid of older cars, “scrappage” they call it in British. And the smaller cars sold best. Huge increases were seen in sales at companies from Fiat to Renault, Chevy, Skoda, VW. Down in sales year to year: Saab, BMW, Mercedes, Audi. Japanese auto makers have a smaller share of the European car market than they command in North America or Asia.

A majority of the cars sold in Europe have long been new-generation diesel, meaning they run more efficiently and are cheaper to maintain than gasoline-burners. Fuel prices in Europe are double or even higher than that compared to U.S. prices. The fuel, diesel or gasoline, is more heavily taxed. Except Norway, most of Euroope depends on oil imports.

Car sales in eastern Europe continue to decline due to less government intervention there. The former Soviet satellite states are still much in love with the “free market” after years of central planning and Russian domination.

November 16th, 2009

How we think, and perhaps lie, about the oil supply

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 5:30 am

Categories: Europe, biofuel, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, law & politics, petroleum, renewable energy, research

Tags: International Energy Agency, Aleklett, Leadership, Government, Management, Harry Fuller

I recently blogged about one oil expert claiming the world’s oil supply is less than officially admitted. In the most recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), it’s clear what they are worried about: economic panic.

The IEA warns that continued rising oil prices could stymie economic growth on a wide scale. Oil prices have risen 80% this year from their low point after the economic woes that were openly recognized late in 2008. Crude is still less than $80 per barrel, far below the record prices of $140 or more a couple years back.

The U.S. and China rank #1 and #2 in national oil consumption.

DON’T TRUST THE IEA

A group of European academics are warning their governments to not trust the IEA oil supply figures. Without directly referencing the recent whistleblower who says the IEA is cooking the books, these scientists and engineers say the oil supply and production numbers have been “politicized.” That’s polite talk for corrupted and dishonest. The academics go on to say the world production of oil will actually decline between now and 2030, not increase as much as the IEA continues to project.

Here is where you can find this report on “Peak of the Oil Age.” The leader author is Kjell Aleklett of Uppsala University. Aleklett is president of ASPO, Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO).

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November 12th, 2009

Hybrids not the only greener cars

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 10:15 pm

Categories: Blogroll, China, Europe, air pollution, biofuel, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, engineering, fossil fuel, petroleum

Tags: Car, VW, Sales Strategy, Sales Force Management, Sales, Harry Fuller

VW is having a surge of sales in the U.S. without a hybrid model to market. VW says much of their increased sales is from fuel-efficient diesel models that out-perform standard gasoline engines. Modern diesel tech is much more fuel efficient and produces less CO2 emissions than gasoline or old-fashioned diesel engines some of us remember from the 1970s.

VW has not been immune to the global auto slump, however. Their profits and units sales numbers are down as they are for nearly all auto brands.

ONE HOT AUTO MARKET

In China auto sales are greatly increased year-to-year. The government has a vigorous set of incentives to increase car sales and it is helping most manufacturers, including GM and Ford who both saw big increase in sales in China.

November 11th, 2009

California Dreamin'... or fantasizing?

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 9:24 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, green tech, law & politics, petroleum, renewable energy, research, solar, wind

Tags: California, Government, Internet, Transportation, Vertical Industries, Harry Fuller, innovation, business, jobs,

Can California once more emerge as the global tech center? A recent NPR program explored the challenges and promises of greentech California style. Amid further state budget problems, California’s governor is counting on greentech to help revive the once Golden State’s economy. Just this week an electric truck and bus company opened its new headuqarters in Stockton. Here is EVI’s website. The company said it moved to California because that’s where they expect most adoption of the electric vehicle tecnology.

The new California gold rush, as it is being characterized, will inevitabley arouse oppisition. What will huge solar farms or wind farms do to land use and wildlife?

Of course from the invention of the transistor through the Apple Mac to the iPOd, Calfironia was where it happened first. Then there was the Internet, from Netscape, Yahoo and Excite to Google and on to YouTube, California has constantly been a center for reinventing technology. Can you imagine Cisco, Oracle or Pixar located anywhere but California?

But this time around every nation on earth is looking for the next generaton of energy and green tech. Governments are watching and investing. The Internet grew out of a DARPA project but once it went public there was little government aid or interference. That will not be true with anything important in the energy sector, anything involving the electricity grid, transportation or even massive water systems. Everybody’s playing for keeps this time.

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November 11th, 2009

Chemistry of clean coal

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 8:43 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, biofuel, cars & traffic, climate change, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, petroleum, research

Tags: Reaction Design, clean coal, coal, electricity, NREL, DOE, greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, carbon footprint

Currently coal-burning accounts for over 45% of American electricity. Once the coal is out of the ground, what are the environmental concerns? Mercury, sulphur, nitrogen compounds and CO2 emissions.

This clean coal dream is a big deal politically in the U.S. Half of the states have significant coal reserves. And one-fourth of all coal in the world is believed to be in the U.S. The coal supply known to exist in the U.S. has more energy potential than all the earth’s known petroleum reserves.

The National Energy Research Lab (NREL) within the Department of Energy (DOE) is embarked on a project to find a way to burn coal with minimum CO2 release into the atmosphere. CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Over 3/4 of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. is CO2 from energy use or production.

One greentech company hired to work on the clean coal project is Reaction Design of San Diego. I spoke recently with Bernie Rosenthal, Reaction Design’s CEO. His company had just gotten a DOE grant to work on next generation coal-burning power plants. The most efficient ways of getting electricity from coal is via gasification.
Coal gasification schematic. Courtesy Reaction Design.

So Reaction Designs is working on modeling the chemistry needed to gasify coal, then burn it to produce electricity while capturing as much CO2 as possible. Rosenthal explained that it’s crucial to understand the chemistry of what happens both during gasification of coal and then during combustion. That’s where his company comes in. Also, Reaction will work on ways to make the footprint, literally, smaller. Current technology would require enormous physical additions to coal burning plants just to gasify coal. There is no commercial scale plant in the U.S. that gasifies coal right now. What happens chemically in both the boiler and the combuster at a coal-burning plant will be examined by Reaction.

Whatever results and chemical models Reaction comes up with will be tested burning real coal under real conditions. Rosenthal says Reaction will also produce designs and chemical reaction models that can be scaled up to the size needed by the U.S. expanding appetite for electricity.

Other projects that Reaction Designs is working on include: modelling surrogate engine fuels for vehicles. This work was done with consortium of engine and fuel manufacturers. Results not made public yet. Some of that work may be applicable to power generation companies, says Rosenthal.

Reaction’s worked with airplane engine manufacturers looking at possible future jet fuels. Looking also at non-fossil fuels for military as well. That’s through a NASA project. And Reaction has a biofuels project with DOE. They’re looking at next generation biofuels for autos.

Before the talkbacks begin: yes, I know there’s much skpeticism about “clean coal.” There is also much criticism of our current dependence on coal and the environmental results, of which I have frequently blogged. However, there is almost no chance we Americans will stop burning mounds of coal in the foreseeable future so cleaning it up seems like a worthwhile endeavor. And clean coal would be a wonderful tech to sell to China.

November 9th, 2009

EPA takes next step toward regulating greenhouse gases in U.S.

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 8:35 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, biofuel, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, law & politics, petroleum, renewable energy

Tags:

One more formal step has been taken by the EPA in its move toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions from major American air polluters. The EPA has formally submitted to the White House its finidng that greenhouse gas emissions are endangering public health. The White House budget office now has up to 90 days to review the finding before allowing the EPA to move ahead with implementing any regulations.

It is not likely the White House will find any major objection to the EPA’s proposal to regulate emissions from major industries in the U.S. That means the EPA is likely to move ahead next year on cutting greenhouse gas emissions regardless of any Congressional action or inaction. At this point the Senate is where the energy/environment bill is tied up. And with medical insurance the over-riding issue in Washington, there is little danger of any Congressional action on energy in the near future. The House passed its Waxman-Markey bill last spring.

The EPA is acting under the authority of the Clean Air Act so expect opponents to sue claiming the act does not give the EPA power to regulate CO2. That would happen after the EPA actually issues its regulations.

Barring Congressional action the EPA will be in the center of the fight over greenhouse gas rules in the U.S. And if Congress fails to act many industries will begin to engineer and position themselves to comply with any EPA regs putting even greater value on eliminating coal-burning as a source of industrial energy. And making carbon sequestration an even more attractive possibility. In the short run this should also make natural gas an even more valuable source of energy for traditional industries that need heat rather than simply electricity, that ranges for bakeries to cement plants to wallboard manufacturers to brick makers.

November 5th, 2009

Kerry-Boxer bill gets out of the (first) box

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 3:38 pm

Categories: Blogroll, air pollution, biofuel, cars & traffic, climate change, conservation, energy, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, law & politics, petroleum

Tags:

The Kerry-Boxer bill got out of the first Senate committee to consider it, but it did so over the trampled bodies of Republicans who oppose it and boycotted the committee session.

There are other energy and greenhouse gas proposal swirling through the Senate, and those will be meshed with the Kerry-Boxer bill. I blogged earlier about the tri-partite effort to negotiate some energy legislation that could get enough votes to pass the Senate.

Even though the House passed a different energy bill last spring, today the Speaker of the House said the Senate bill can be meshed with the House’s earlier version.

November 5th, 2009

X-Prize competition for ultra-efficient car speeds ahead

Posted by Harry Fuller @ 12:02 pm

Categories: India, air pollution, building, cars & traffic, conservation, energy, engineering, environmental health, federal government, fossil fuel, green tech, law & politics, petroleum, renewable energy, research

Tags: West Philly, Tata, ZAP, Delta Motorsport, X-Prize, fuel efficiency

Ten million dollars will go to the team that has designed, builds and runs the best car with a minimum of 100 MPG rating. The X-prize folks have now narrowed the field to 53 designs submitted from across the globe. Among those making the cut: Tata Motors of India and engineering students at Cornell University. Of the car designs moving forward: 28 are in the Mainstream Class and 25 in the Alternative Class.

Here you can find a list of the teams in the final competition. American universities are Cornell and Western Washington. There is also one public high entered: West Philly. Read about them here.

The only car makers I recognize on the list: Tata and ZAP. Tesla did not make the cut. Ooops. None of the big guys dare put their engineering to this test. Honda, Mercedes, GM, Toyota–nope.

One team is entering a Toyota chasis. They promise a “steam combustion” engine in a Prius! The two areas of concentration seem to be: highly efficient energy use, of course, and then very light materials in the vehicle itself.

Britain’s Delta Motorsport is building an electric car with a small hydrogen fuel celland small back-up internalcombustion engine.
Delta Motorsport’s X-Prize entry.

The X-Prize Foundation recently got $5.5 billion from the federal government for this clean car competition.
“Our clean energy future depends on our ability to design and commercialize new highly-efficient vehicles that are cost-effective for consumers and use significantly less energy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This funding will support cutting-edge, American innovation that can help us fundamentally transform personal transportation and address the global climate crisis.”

Here’s what the X-Prize folks have to say about their own mission: “The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. In 2004, the Foundation captured world headlines when Burt Rutan, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world’s first private vehicle to space to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE.”

For the fifty-three competing vehicles performance testing will begin in spring 2010 and winners will be announced in September 2010. Exact dates and locations will be announced shortly. This could be fun to watch.