Bill: Alternative Energies

Food or Fuel for thought?

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:25:02 GMT

The CSIRO, Australia's leading scientific and industrial reasearch organisation has published its "Fuel for Thought" paper which was a direct result of the November 2007 'Future Fuels Forum". The forum's purpose and the focus of the organisations and governments present, was to .. "to explore sceanrios, conduct quantitative modelling and share ideas as a group so as to inform policy and investment decision making within their own organisations and within the broader Australian Community".

The report:

The future of transport fuels: challenges and opportunities was compiled by the Future Fuels Forum, an initiative led by the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship.
The Forum brought together 18 leading representatives from Australia’s community, industry and government to share ideas.

Let's play "spot the trend".......

Hmmm... Getting warmer?

The report is the result of a year’s deliberations by the Future Fuels Forum (FFF) which was convened by CSIRO to engage leading community, industry and government bodies in discussions about a range of plausible scenarios for establishing a secure and sustainable transport fuel mix to 2050.

I know I sound like a broken record but:

John Hofmeister, President of Shell Oil, USA, speaks about Shell's position on energy conservation and Global Warming.

The speech was made at the Washington University, St. Louis, USA in September 2006.

MP3 version here.

Fri, 30 May 2008 04:01:37 GMT

Making Renewable, Carbon-Neutral Gasoline ... From Algae. A San Diego start-up says it's using algae to create "green crude" that is chemically identical to petroleum and can be refined into renewable, carbon-neutral gasoline. Energy experts say it might be on to something big.

[Wired Top Stories]

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:06:01 GMT

Scientists Unveil High-Res Map of the U.S. Carbon Footprint. Purdue scientists have unveiled the most high-resolution map of Americans' carbon dioxide emissions yet, including video of hourly changes to the nation's greenhouse gas profile.

[Wired Top Stories]

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:51:31 GMT

Prince sees climate fight as war. Prince Charles tells Euro MPs the biggest ever public-private partnership is needed to tackle climate change. [BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:30:14 GMT

Data Driven Driving Decisions.

When my beloved Honda Accord with about 170,000 miles on it finally started breaking down from far too frequent trips to the airport, Wendy and I decided it was time walk the talk and replace it with a hybrid. We did some family research on the matter, talked a lot about why we were making this decision, and narrowed our choices (as if there were a slew) to a Civic Hybrid or a Prius. After a few weeks of scanning the inventories of Cars.com and Vehix, we finally found an appealing, little-used Prius about 30 miles away that we picked up just in time for our Thanksgiving drive to see family in Connecticut.

Almost immediately we were addicted to watching the usage display that relays to the second information about gas consumption and average miles per gallon. On our 150 or so mile jaunt up here, we averaged just over 48 miles per gallon, and I found myself thinking hard about what I could do to increase it. The most obvious was to slow the heck down. When we got stuck in traffic for a few miles, our average started moving north. (I’m not sure if I’ll ever get close to the mid-fifties that are advertised.) Over the next couple of days in around town driving, I’ve been learning a great deal from this constant data feed, and I can already feel my driving habits shifting. (I’ll be leaving earlier for the airport today.) Dare I say it, it’s almost like a video game, trying to nudge the numbers higher as we go.

I keep wondering what an effect just a display like that in every car, one much more simple than the Prius has, perhaps just a LCD readout of mpg at any given moment would have on gas consumption from driving. Probably not as much as $4 or $5 for a gallon of gas, I’m sure, which sounds like where we’re headed. But still, I think it would probably have a pretty big impact.

But despite the fact that we can now fill up our car for less than $30 even on an empty tank, the best part is being able to add this to the lengthening list of choices we’ve made to try to lessen our footprint on the Earth, to the pellet stoves and compost bins and low flush toilets and consignment shop clothes and just reduced consumption in general and more. While I’m not convinced that the personal actions of individuals are enough to overcome the general environmental pillage of big companies and big countries (my visit to Shanghai really shook my faith), and while we are in no way close to perfect in these matters, if nothing else I hope it models for my own kids that everything we buy, everything we do at any given moment is a choice that has an effect on things larger than ourselves.

(Photo by BeigeAlert)

Technorati Tags: hybrid, environment, prius, driving

Listen to this podcast [Weblogg-ed]

Tue, 01 May 2007 10:54:39 GMT

Electric cars 'won't kill off oil industry'. The head of an Australian petroleum company says most people will drive electric cars within 30 or 40 years. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 06:21:39 GMT

Scientist questions nuclear future. Uranium has been a hot topic of late, but one environmental engineer believes nuclear energy does not have a justifiable place in Australia's future. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:36:28 GMT

China sees climate impacts ahead. Climate change brings threats to several regions of China, according to an assessment by the government. [BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

What now?

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:14:51 GMT

Howard signals end of Murray-Darling irrigation. Prime Minister John Howard says irrigation water for farmers in the the Murray-Darling Basin will be cut off if there is no significant rain in the next six to eight weeks. [ABC News: Breaking Stories] [Central Ranges LLEN CEO Library]

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 13:17:59 GMT

Garrett, Rudd still at odds over uranium. Labor's environment spokesman Peter Garrett says he is not changing his position on extending uranium mining in Australia. [ABC News: Breaking Stories]

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 11:15:34 GMT

The Future of Hydrogen Cars. The pros and cons of alternative-fuel vehicles. [Pogue's Posts]

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:39:35 GMT

US ethanol decision to impact on Aust car exporters. Australian car manufacturers say an American decision to have their new vehicles able to run on biofuels will push up costs for Australian car exporters. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:21:32 GMT

Nuclear power will be a tough sell, says Switkowski. The man charged by the Prime Minister with selling the idea of nuclear power to Australians admits it will be tough convincing people to embrace the concept. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:27:56 GMT

Latrobe power station funding a waste, Greens say. Greens leader, Bob Brown, says technology behind a new 'clean coal' power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley will not reduce greenhouse emissions as much as renewable energy sources would. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 03:07:49 GMT

EU leaders agree to cut greenhouse gases (AP).

AP - European Union leaders reached a broad agreement on an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gases and switch to renewable energy sources as part of the fight against global warming.

[Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 02:59:11 GMT

Biofuels Boom, Tough Questions. America is drunk on ethanol -- Midwestern corn farmers, Detroit automakers, politicians approving subsidies and Bush shaking hands in Brazil, but ethanol isn't ready for primetime. By the Associated Press. [Wired News: Top Stories]

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 06:36:11 GMT

GM's Electric Car Gets a Date. The Chevy Volt will hit the streets in 2010, General Motors claims. Plus: Hyundai's good-karma composite SUV. In Autopia. [Wired News: Top Stories]

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 06:17:37 GMT

BP to invest in biofuel research. A major oil company plans to invest millions of dollars researching biofuel. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:45:04 GMT

Wind turbines save '£10 a year'. Many homes would save just £10 a year on their electricity bill by installing a wind turbine, according to a leading turbine firm. [BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:02:04 GMT

Gore accused of energy hypocrisy. The former US vice-president is accused of hypocrisy for apparently guzzling energy while lecturing on climate change. [BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 04:59:50 GMT

Rudd announces $1.5b clean coal policy. The Federal Opposition has announced a $1.5 billion clean coal initiative to encourage the use of the technology in Australia's electricity supply. [ABC News: Breaking Stories]

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:35:41 GMT

Generator a world first for Australian school. A wind generator at Camden High School in New South Wales, claimed to be the first of its type anywhere in the world, will be used by the students to gain a better understanding of sustainable energy, as well as environmental issues affecting our planet, including green house gases, recycling and pollution. The wind generator is just one of several sustainable energy projects at the school. [Recent Items]

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:02:32 GMT

Industry urges global co-operation on carbon trading. The Minerals Council of Australia has welcomed a report from the Prime Minister's task group on emissions trading, saying industry is already driving energy efficiency and new technology. [ABC News: Business Stories]

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:23:32 GMT

Water trade would prevent restrictions: scientists. Three of Australia's leading water scientists want a water trading system to be introduced for metropolitan users. [ABC News: Breaking Stories]

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:14:32 GMT

Hydro Tasmania meets with China's biggest power company. Hydro Tasmania's wind power division says a visit by Chinese business partners has been highly successful. [ABC News: Business Stories]