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Amer. Chem. Soc. editor supports carbon tax, not cap & trade

By on January 28, 2010 in Green Energy

This is actually a pretty big development in the discussion of Cap & Trade vs. Carbon Tax to rein in our country’s emissions of greenhouse gases.

In a January 11, 2010 editorial in the American Chemical Society’s weekly magazine, Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), Editor Rudy Baum has this to say:

H.R. 2454, the 1,200-page climate-change and energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives in June 2009 that establishes a CO2 cap-and-trade system, should be put out of its misery in favor of a simple carbon tax. Cap-and-trade is a sop to the coal, petroleum, and other energy-intensive industries; it does nothing but muddle the very simple need to put a price on carbon on which industry can base its capital-spending decisions.…

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Floating windmills the key to offshore wind energy?

By on January 14, 2010 in Green Energy

There seem to be two types of people in the world — those who think this looks totally cool:

…and those who do not.

Because wind energy sources are, in many cases, found on shorelines (oceans, seas, the Great Lakes, e.g.), finding ways to move the wind turbines out over the horizon has many attractive advantages: visual impact, noise, bird deaths are all reduced. The problem is that the water there is so deep, anchoring them to the lake, sea or ocean floor is not feasible.

Enter the floating wind turbine. Seriously.

There are three basic types as shown in this diagram:

You have those that are ballast stabilized, mooring stabilized and buoyuancy stabilized.…


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Good Green News for Michigan!

By on January 7, 2010 in Detroit, Green Energy, Michigan

Lots of good news coming out of Michigan this week in the area of electric vehicle manufacture.

First, today marks the first day of production for GM’s lithium-ion battery pack at its Brownstown Pack Assembly Plant.

“This is an important milestone for GM — and a critical step in bringing the Chevrolet Volt to market,” GM CEO and Chairman Ed Whitacre said in a statement.

The battery pack, which is made up of more than 200 battery cells, will be used in the Chevrolet Volt electric car, slated to hit showrooms late this year.

And that’s not all.

As reported by the Detroit News:

The event drew U.S.…

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I’m dreaming of a GREEN Christmas

By on December 6, 2009 in Green Energy

Mrs. E and I are putting up our Christmas tree and decorations today so I thought a blog entry on the “greening of Christmas” might be a fun idea.

This diary will talk extensively about “Christmas” trees and decorations because the celebration of Christmas is one that most often involves the use of non-standard lighting decorations and trees inside the home. That said, anyone decorating with holiday lights or trees will find this discussion of interest.

There are two main areas where you can have a big impact on your carbon footprint around the holidays. The first is the use of locally-grown real tree.…


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Lieberman & Graham writing climate change bills??? Oh, crap…

By on November 25, 2009 in Green Energy, Politics

Those of us that are waiting (not so) patiently for legislative action of one of three “pillars” of the Obama administration’s reform goals (health insurance reform, green energy/climate protection, and education reform) got a bit of seemingly bad news this past week. As Politico, Senators John Kerry and Harry Reid have indicated that work on the climate change bills (yes, BILLS, more on that below) will be put off in favor of passing a jobs bill and legislation to reform the financial industry.

“I think it would be good if we did [financial reform] first because it helps to establish the rules of the marketplace which helps to establish the rest if it,” he said, after a meeting with several other committee chairs with jurisdiction over the legislation.…

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Meanwhile, back in the Senate: a decent climate change bill!

By on September 30, 2009 in Green Energy, Politics

Today is the day that Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer will release the Senate version of the so-called Cap-and-Trade bill, their version of the bill Representatives Waxman and Markey got passed in the House earlier this year. And, surprise, surprise (really!), it’s stronger than the House bill.

The Washington Post got a sneak peak at a nearly-completed version of it and the news appears to be good.

This legislation appears to do a few things the Waxman-Markey bill did not:

  • Make it easier for businesses to purchase carbon offsets by increasing the number of offsets by 40%
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83% by 2050
  • Help ensure that the price of carbon will not exceed $28 per ton (the “carbon collar”)
  • Emphasize transportation efficiency
  • Ensure that the EPA continues to be able to regulate the emissions from coal-burning power plants

It’s getting some very good reviews.…


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What if they held an “energy citizen” rally & nobody noticed?

By on September 4, 2009 in Bwahahahahaha, Green Energy

Cross-posted at the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post.

Yesterday was the BIG DAY for Michigan’s “Energy Citizens”! Yes, the giant groundswell of corporately-funded astroturf outrage at climate change legislation that would put a serious hurt on the profit statements of Big Oil concerns found its way into Livonia, Michigan.

It was going to be big. At least that’s what the Michigan Farm Bureau insurance company said.

It was going to show our Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin that Michigan “Just Says NO!” to clean energy, reduced carbon emissions and promoting a new energy economy.

I was unable to attend because, not surprisingly, they held in the middle of a work day when most working people are otherwise occupied.…


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Carol Browner on Detroit Automakers: “So Much Optimism!”

By on August 4, 2009 in Green Energy

Former head of the EPA and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, Carol Browner, was in Michigan yesterday to talk to Detroit vehicle manufacturers about the future of the industry. She was invited by freshman Representative Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield) who has recently introduced legislation called ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY ACT that will inject $550 million into the Dept. of Energy for research and development of the next generation of energy efficient vehicles.

Carol Browner, head of the Enviromental Protection Agency under Bill Clinton, was picked by President Obama as the first director of the newly created Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy.…


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Cellulosic Ethanol is On The Way or “OHMYGOD this is Awesome!!!”

By on December 18, 2008 in Green Energy

The December 8, 2008 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly publication of the American Chemical Society, has a terrific piece by Stephen K. Ritter called “Genes to Gasoline”. It details recent advances in ethanol produced from non-food cellulosic sources and it should give all of us a sense of excitement about what’s possible from just this one energy source.

Although ethanol won’t solve all our energy needs, it is likely to be major component of a portfolio of sources that will replace fossil fuels in the very near future. And creating ethanol from non-food cellulosic sources is a necessary step to avoid high food costs, reduced availability of certain food sources in various parts of the world and brings to bear what I feel is the biggest strength Americans have: science-based ingenuity.…


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