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R.I.P. for the S.U.V.

Published
by
Larry
on June 17, 2008
in SUV
. 0 Comments

The New York Times gets it right, but has trouble with math.

The Times’ editorial, “R.I.P. to the S.U.V.“, June 17, has the basics, but their numbers are wrong. Small cars like the Honda Civic emit about one quarter of the greenhouse gases per mile compared to trucks like the Ford F 150 and GM Hummer. GM doesn’t publish EPA milage estimates for the Hummer, but reports in the blogosphere peg them at 8 to 12 mpg. Assuming 10 mpg, driving 15,000 miles requires 1500 gallons of fuel. At $4 per gallon, that’s $6,000. The Times said $4,300 for the Hummer.

The EPA estimates that the Honda Civic EX gets 32 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. Taking the average of 36 mpg to drive 15,000 miles would require 417 gallons at a cost of $1,668 - about one quarter of the gas, and the costs to drive a Hummer. (The Times said $2,100 for the Civic.) This should be obvious - the Civic gets close to four times the mileage, therefore gas costs are close to one fourth those of the Hummer. Both vehicles would require the same number of oil changes, but with bigger engines that use more oil; these too cost more for the Hummer than for the Civic. And because the Hummer costs more to buy and to repair, insurance costs are higher.

The Prius, which gets 45 to 50 mpg, costs less to run than the Civic.   To drive those 15,000 miles at at 47.5 mpg would burn 316 gallons. At a cost of $4 per gallon, it would set you back $1,264.

Looked at another way, a 10 mile commute in a Hummer would cost 1 gallon, $4 each way, $8 per day, $40 per week.  In a CIVIC it will cost about $2.22 per day and $11 per week.  In a Prius, about $1.68 per day and $8.42 per week.

There is one area where the Hummer is better than the Civic - since it is so much bigger and heavier, its scrap metal value is higher.

Continue reading ‘R.I.P. for the S.U.V.’

LiquidReflector - reflective paint

Published
by
Jon
on June 17, 2008
in Gear and conspicuity
. 0 Comments

Liquid Reflector is a reflective paint - available in five colors and a clear version, and, according to the manufacturer, yields a fine surface and high reflectivity. (Note: the reflected light is white, regardless of the visible color on the surface). We’d like to test some of this - see how it holds up - and whether its reflectivity would be affected by polyurethane or other transparent protective sealants.

The elegance of reflective materials, of course, is that they’re not dependent on electricity, and, wherever placed, they work when/as needed.

Via Toolmonger.

Emerging Agricultural crisis in Uzbekistan

Published
by
Jon
on June 16, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

Once again, the Times demonstrates its outstanding roster of reporters who, when left to sort out a complex and opaque situation, can explain and illuminate.  Sabrina Tavernise’s piece in yesterday’s paper shows what happens when corruption and a failure to ignore the principles of crop rotation - anyone remember George Washington Carver? - combine to form, in effect, a region’s “agricultural policy.” Old Farming Habits Leave Uzbekistan a Legacy of Salt

Read that - think about the Midwestern floods - and wonder about near-to-medium term food prices.

Shanghai maglev train runs at 268 mph

Published
by
Jon
on June 16, 2008
in Trains and Transportation
. 0 Comments

Inside Transit has a report and images of the new Shanghai maglev train. (AMTRAK, Washington D.C. to New Yor runs at  peak speed, 200 mph, for only a few minutes - in effect a novelty or a capability demonstration).  Check out the post on Inside Transit here. Shanghai Maglev train - image via InsideTransit.com

NATO: Taliban prison attack, jailbreak “isolated incident”

Published
by
Jon
on June 15, 2008
in Afghanistan
. 0 Comments

The BBC reports that NATO is calling the Taliban attack on a prison in Kandahar - releasing 900 inmates, under half of them members of the Taliban - is an “isolated incident.” One supposes that this probably is better for Taliban morale, and from their point of view, might be thought a “major tactical breakthrough” or a “show of strength.” More from the BBC report after the jump: Continue reading ‘NATO: Taliban prison attack, jailbreak “isolated incident”’

NY Times: Saudi oil production nearing all-time high

Published
by
Jon
on June 15, 2008
in Energy
. 0 Comments

Cryptogon points out this piece in the Times which suggests that the Saudis are producing at exceptionally high capacity, trying to limit price increases. From  Plan Would Lift Saudi Oil Output, from the June 14th times:

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is planning to increase its output next month by about a half-million barrels a day, according to analysts and oil traders who have been briefed by Saudi officials.

The increase could bring Saudi output to a production level of 10 million barrels a day, which, if sustained, would be the kingdom’s highest ever. The move was seen as a sign that the Saudis are becoming increasingly nervous about both the political and economic effect of high oil prices. In recent weeks, soaring fuel costs have incited demonstrations and protests from Italy to Indonesia.

Saudi Arabia is currently pumping 9.45 million barrels a day, which is an increase of about 300,000 barrels from last month.

While they are reaping record profits, the Saudis are concerned that today’s record prices might eventually damp economic growth and lead to lower oil demand, as is already happening in the United States and other developed countries. The current prices are also making alternative fuels more viable, threatening the long-term prospects of the oil-based economy.

Toyota promises plugin-hybrid by 2010

Published
by
Jon
on June 13, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Toyota promises plugin-hybrid by 2010, according to Chuck Squatriglia on Wired’s Autopia:

It’s no secret Toyota’s been working on a plug-in hybrid to compete against the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, but Wednesday’s announcement sets a firm deadline and makes it clear Toyota has no plans of ceding the green mantle to General Motors. It also underscores how quickly the race to build a viable mass-market electric car is heating up.

The company’s ambitious “low-carbon” agenda includes cranking out 1 million hybrids a year and eventually offering hybrid versions of every model it sells. In the short-term, Toyota says it will produce more fuel efficient gasoline and diesel engines and push alternative fuels like cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel. It’s also pumping big money into lithium-ion batteries. With fuel prices going through the roof and auto sales going through the floor because of it, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe says the auto industry has no choice but to move beyond petroleum.

“Without focusing on measures to address global warming and energy issues, there can be no future for our auto business,” he told reporters in Tokyo, adding, “Our view is that oil production will peak in the near future. We need to develop power train(s) for alternative energy sources.”

Watanabe’s reference to peak oil echoes that of GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who in explaining the company’s decision to shut down four truck factories said rising fuel prices and mounting demand for efficient cars are “structural, not cyclical.” In other words, the two biggest automakers in the world realize petroleum’s days are numbered.       Continue reading ‘Toyota promises plugin-hybrid by 2010′

EmerGEO - discovered on OpenSourceCommons

Published
by
Jon
on June 13, 2008
in Access to Tools, Open Source Tools and Software
. 0 Comments

Open Source Commons, a project of the Open Society Institute Information Program, is a resource for open-source and open-architecture (i.e. not necessariy free) tools. In answering the question “What Tools do Nonprofits Use?”, provides this answer:

Social Source Commons is a place to share lists of software tools that you already use, gain knowledge and support, and discover new tools. It’s a place to meet people with similar needs and interests and answer the question: what tools do they use?

Within a minute or two of looking at the sitek I found a listing for EmerGeo Solutions, which makes a number of relevant GIS solutions, and which we’d like to evaluate and test as part of a “best practices and tools” project we’re now planning with another group. (More about that shortly). Here’s a look at Emergeo Solutions’ product line, and we hope to have more for you on that soon. But in any case - it’s a safe bet that Open Source Commons will be invaluable. More from EmerGEO:

EmerGeo™ has been installed and exercised in the City of Vancouver Emergency Operation Centre since product launch in October 2003. The software has been installed in several emergency centres and disaster-tested during major events like the 2004 wild land fire event in B.C. The software is designed to streamline inter and intra-agency communications and improve coordination of planning/response/recovery activities among all responding agencies and organizations involved in an event.

EmerGeo™ is built with Interoperability in mind; therefore, we recognize that it is essential to integrate with other emergency planning and response software used by emergency managers, such as the WebEOC crisis management system, alerting and communication technologies and hazard risk vulnerability tools. EmerGeo Solutions is expanding the use of its emergency mapping engine through partnerships with value-added technology providers and emergency and security experts around the world.

From EmerGEO Solutions.

Recently Read: “Survive a Nuclear Blast” at Wired’s Wiki How-To

Published
by
Jon
on June 13, 2008
in NBC (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) weapons, NBC Protection, Shelter and shelter-in-place
. 0 Comments

“How to Survive a Nuclear Blast”, in the Wired How-To Wiki, is an excellent primer. For historical background, we strongly recommend Eugene P. Wigner’s Who Speaks for Civil Defense?, published in 1968, which provides an excellent start in explaining why the United States, notwithstanding its public commitments to the contrary, never bult adsequate blast or fallout shelters.

“The exact scenario … had actually been foreseen … years ahead of the event”

Published
by
Jon
on June 12, 2008
in 9/11 and World Trade Center
. 0 Comments

From the appellate court decision in Nash v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority had moved to set aside a jury verdict or, in the alternative, be granted a new trial. The litigation involved the 1993 truck-bombing, which killed six people and injured hundreds. The Appellate Division, First Department (New York’s intermediate appellate court) ruled against the Port Authority in a unanimous decision decided on April 29, 2008, with an opinion by Presiding Justice Jonathan Lippman:

the exact scenario followed by the 1993 World Trade Center bombers had not merely been foreseeable, but had actually been foreseen and brought to the attention of the Port Authority management by its internal and retained security consultants years in advance of the event.

The entire opinion is worth a read - and is so well-written that non-lawyers will likely be able to follow some of the nuances of the legal arguments.

FEMA Gives Away $85 Million of Supplies Intended for Katrina Victims

Published
by
Larry
on June 12, 2008
in FEMA
. 0 Comments

More on how NOT to respond to a disaster.  CNN reported that FEMA gave away $85 million in household supplies intended for Katrina victims.   Click here for the Article on CNN.

Continue reading ‘FEMA Gives Away $85 Million of Supplies Intended for Katrina Victims’

MIT Professors, Grad students, develop nanotube detector for airborne toxins

Published
by
Jon
on June 12, 2008
in NBC (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) weapons
. 0 Comments

From Nano TechWire, this excerpt from Super-sensitive and small: New MIT detector uses nanotubes to sense deadly gases

Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have built the most sensitive electronic detector yet for sensing deadly gases such as the nerve agent sarin.

The technology, which could also detect mustard gas, ammonia and VX nerve agents, has potential to be used as a low-cost, low-energy device that could be carried in a pocket or deployed inside a building to monitor hazardous chemicals.

“We think this could be applied to a variety of environmental and security applications,” said Michael Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and senior author of a paper describing the work published this week in the online edition of Angewandte Chemie.

Read the rest at NanoTechWire.

Urgent Request to Sign Petition Objecting to FEMA decision - no ice in disasters

Published
by
Jon
on June 12, 2008
in FEMA
. 0 Comments

SIGN THIS PETITION:

FEMA has decided that it’s not going to deliver ice in disasters, except in narrowly defined “medical” or “life-threatening” circumstances. Ice, of course, is a staple in disasters. The Disaster Accountability Project has coverage of the FEMA decision here.

And DAP has also organized a petition drive - sign the petition at this link.

Architect Sheila Kennedy: “It’s curtains”

Published
by
Jon
on June 12, 2008
in Architecture and GreenTechnology
. 0 Comments

Architect Sheila Kennedy has, with her colleagues (whose names we don’t know, hence no attribution) designed The Soft House; Jorge Chapa at Inhabitat has an excellent post on Kennedy’s prototype house whose solar-collecting curtains would produce 16KWH. We strongly recommend you read Chapa’s post - and that you check in regularly at Inhabitat.

Sheila Kennedy/KVArch \

Given our concern with worst-case scenarios - and preventing them - this technological use could go far in prevention by producing more power cleanly and locally. But we want to see rugged and waterproof textile uses for tents and canopies and emergency shelters and sails - consider the possibility of transporting the equivalent of a circus tent to the site of a disaster or power failure - as contrasted to the transportation of heavy petroleum-consuming generators - or solid photovoltaic panels or turbines.

One last thought: Kennedy’s design, we suspect, likely does more than produce energy: it probably acts as a cooling mechanism, preventing or mitigating the effects of a heat emergency.

NanoTechWire has a short interview with Sheila Kennedy here.

J.C. Winnie/After Gutenberg - replacing transportation fuel with renewables

Published
by
Jon
on June 12, 2008
in Electric Vehicles, Energy, Global Warming and GreenTechnology
. 0 Comments

The ever-methodical J.C. Winnie at After Gutenberg has an outline of how the United States could replace fossil fuels with renewables for transportation needs - and this without a large change in vehicle weight, use patterns, or increases in mass transportation. Add those, and we’d have a plan that would be not only environmentally more palatable, but would substantially increase environmental efficiency. From After Gutenberg:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important anthropogenic GHG; and, such anthropogenic emissions unequivocally contribute to climate change. The rise of CO2 corresponds to the rise in global temperature and loss of arctic ice mass. Annual carbon emissions grew by about 80% between 1970 and 2004. Coal-fired electric power plants comprise the single biggest source of CO2 emissions in the world. By and large, such admonishments are being ignored by U.S. policy-makers.

While a planetary engineer in Germany, Roland Moesl, envisions saving life as we know it on Planet Earth, a green pundit in America, David Roberts, describes the Syllogism of Doom. Of course, in Germany between 2000 and 2003 their installed PV capacity quadrupled. And, this was while Germany was becoming the world leader in wind development. It is way past time, ‘Merika, to start doing things right.

A good start would be “the most comprehensive and credible report released on wind power by a federal agency in a decade” (and studiously ignored by mainstream media), which indicates how we could achieve 20% wind power by 2030. Yes, 2030 is too late to stop using coal, but as many have observed, no single strategy will suffice. Switching sooner to electric vehicles, strong support for solar and wind energy development, conservation and improved efficiencies can make an earlier contribution than the delayers have programmed us to expect. The growing risk with peak oil is that in their search for alternative fuel, Americans will ignore much more catastrophic change brought on by anthropogenic emissions. The coal and corn zombies must be repulsed.

That’s just an excerpt. Read the rest of this persuasive analysis at Project Gutenberg.

And we’ll pose a question - we’re beginning to notice county and local impediments to renewable installation - and an absence of state mandates to require utilities to buy surplus power back at reasonable rates. If end users installing renewables in grid-tied systems are discouraged from building capacity in excess of their own use, we’re going to have problems.

One alternative is the setting up of local power coooperatives. But we’re leery of solutions that require lots of lawyers and incorporations. As Malcolm Gladwell points out in The Tipping Point, sometimes the tipping point is making things easy.