Environment Memo

Slate has an interesting FAQ on the earthquake in Haiti, such as: Were there housing codes in place reflecting the fact that Port au Prince lies on a fault line? (ans: not really), and Why no tsunami? (ans: because it was not an undersea earthquake).

Some are aghast that, as summarized in the CNN news story, The U.N.’s leading panel on climate change has apologized for misleading data published in a 2007 report that warned Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035. In a statement released, Wednesday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said estimates relating to the rate of [...]

The issue of energy wastage using inductive battery charging (without wires) needs far more visibility, and fast. The manufacturers are rapidly rolling out these devices, and people who are concerned about conserving energy need to get the word out. I’ve discussed this matter previously here, but now we are seeing more and more products coming [...]

The San Jose Mercury News has nice article summarizing environmental actions during the first year of Obama’s administration. Among them, he’s Increased gas mileage standards for cars and light trucks 40 percent, from today’s 25 mpg to 35 mpg by 2016. … Issued EPA rules requiring large U.S. ships to cut soot emissions by 85 [...]

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is now just past twenty years old, so today’s college students don’t remember it. Nevertheless, hopefully the event, and its ramifications, are part of their core knowledge. Recently, it’s been shown that oil remains (how much is not really known), trapped below the sandy beach surface by capillary forces. As [...]

Storage is a major factor in renewable electrical energy production. Without more and better storage in the future, energy production by sun and wind will be constrained. I learned about these things at a recent renewable energy confab, during a talk by a sharp guy from Sandia National Labs, John Boyes, who spoke last week [...]

MotherJones lists some interesting  iPhone “Eco Apps” here.(Which reminds me of the recent New Yorker cartoon showing a fellow who, fired from his job, came home to say to his wife, ” I was replaced by an app.”) These iPhone apps are interesting even to non iPhone and non iTouch owners,  in that they reveal [...]

In looking some at the background of the new appointee to head up EPA’s Region 7, I see he authored an interesting book about a dam that wasn’t built. As discussed here by the University of Washington Press, Public Power, Private Dams: The Hell’s Canyon High Dam Controversy, by Karl Boyd Brooks,was about a dam [...]

In my view, we need people with thorough scientific and engineering backgrounds in leadership positions at EPA. But now it seems we have a historian (with a law degree) appointed as head of EPA’s Region 7, based in Kansas City. As reported in the Kansas City Business journal: President Barack Obama has selected a University [...]

The Chevy Volt is now estimated to cost something like $43,000, while a Toyota Prius is under $30,000. Go figure. The Volt appears to be way overloaded with extras, adding substantially to the cost. The electric car buyer of today is more of a minimalist, I’d say, certainly not needing, nor wanting, these extras, and [...]