February 12, 2008 by Rob.

Richard Stuebi posted on C|Net News.com about Wall Street’s getting ahead of the curve on impending carbon legislation.  Apparently investment banks are worried power companies racing to get new coal plants built and grandfathered in before carbon management legislation make it impossible to build the plants.  They are effectively pre-imposing the laws by requiring that new deals comply with hypothetical future carbon restrictions.

It looks like “the market” has already figured out that carbon controls are inevitable.  I wonder how much longer we have to wait before Washington will step up?  My guess is sometime after Jan 20, 2009.

Posted in Green Tech | 1 Comment »

February 12, 2008 by Rob.

My friend and avid reader has been sending me link bait knowing that I can’t resist posting.  I hate to disappoint him…

I’ve been down on the Prius for quite a while, so it’s reassuring to see another blog confirm my opinions.  Chuck Squatriglia for Wired’s blog calls hybrids a “misinformed craze.“  His argument is that they are a short term solution that is too complex to be sustainable.  Like many current environmental clean-up initiatives (e.g.: ethanol), they are designed to make us feel better now without being sustainable long term.

I wonder if he would find models like the, now heavily advertised, Chevy Volt are a simpler and more viable option. 

At the same time Crave’s blog found a California entrepreneur is fully bought into the Prius solution.  OurPower.org is turbo charging green vanity play by selling plug-in Prius  conversion directly to Valley CEOs.  Their idea is that executives will try to out green each other like environmentally conscious lemmings.  Unfortunately, there is no obvious visual difference between a regular Prius and a plug-in version.  Maybe they should will dangle extension cords off the rear bumper in addition to lots of green butterfly stickers.

Posted in EV News | 2 Comments »

February 2, 2008 by Rob.

Laura and I had an interesting conversation about my story of stuff post.  I was trying to explain it to her and started with how the cheap radio used metal from Brazil mined by people who are destroying the rain forest.  That sent her over the edge - not because it was sad, but because she thought it is futile to change it.

So the challenge is how do average individuals make a different in our consumer driven society?  It’s a battle of ant bites.  If each of us works to make a small difference then the overall effect is huge.  What are small differences?  Here are some ideas:

1. Recycle deeply including batteries, electronics, and other toxic trash that should not be thrown away
2. Extend the life of your goods by actually keeping them until they wear out.  For example, don’t replace your dryer if your washer breaks.  Keep your car an extra year.
3. Save money.  Living deeper in debt as a country makes us less self sufficient.
4. Spent your time outdoors with other people instead of buying things and consuming things.
5. Turn off the lights when you’re not home.
6. Downsize your lifestyle.

Most importantly - talk about the issues and get a discussion going.

Posted in Rants | No Comments »

February 1, 2008 by Rob.

I was catching up on my friend’s blog, MetronetIQ, and was very glad I took the time to follow one of his links.  He advised checking out the story of stuff site and I want to pass on the recommendation.

This video is especially relevant considering our government is about to “rescue” our economy by borrowing money from China (bonds) to issue a tax rebate so we can consume more Chinese goods.

Even if you already “get it” about sustainability, this video is worth the 20 minutes.  Let’s give ourselves a collective kick in the ass.

Posted in Rants, Green Tech | 1 Comment »

February 1, 2008 by Rob.

I was nearly stranded last week by the cold after I’d driven just 10 miles in the 40 degree weather. Luckily, I was close to home and managed to literally crawl back to my extension cord.

It’s not fun learning the difference between theory and practice first hand. I had a hard time disillusioning someone at the lame UT event who insisted that Pb batteries lost just 30% capacity at zero degrees based on the “cold cranking amps” label on his ICE battery.

I’m looking forward to warm weather! I took the RAVolt out on our balmy Saturday for 20 miles and you’d never know that it was gasping for breath just 2 days earlier.

Posted in Daily Use | 2 Comments »