Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Greenpeace takes Heathrow
David Roberts, Gristmill
Today, Greenpeace UK held a peaceful protest against the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport in London (the addition of a third runway). The activists managed to walk out onto the tarmac and up onto the tailfin of a plane, where they hung a huge banner:
This effortless breach of security at one of the world’s biggest and busiest airports was a huge embarrassment for its administrators, obviously — a “major investigation” has been launched. But it also did a brilliant job of attracting attention to the protest, and to the fact that aviation is a major culprit in climate change, aided and abetted by subsidies from the same governments that are publicly proclaiming concern over climate.
(25 February 2008)
At the Guardian: Heathrow protesters scaled plane after using ‘broken door’.
Climate Critics Rattle Virgin Atlantic CEO
Lionel Laurent, Forbes
When a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on Sunday, carrying a symbolic 25% load of biofuel blend, most eyes were on the airline’s billionaire president Sir Richard Branson. He called the event a “historic occasion,” warned that peak oil could hit in the next six years, and voiced his frustration that other airlines were not working hard to promote biofuels.
But on the sidelines of the press conference, Steve Ridgway–the less well-known Chief Executive of Virgin Atlantic–was in a more thoughtful mood, voicing his concern over the pressures that had pushed the aviation industry into the environmental spotlight.
“It is certainly driven by political pressures,” said Ridgway, referring to the sector’s drive to be more eco-conscious. With the European Union set to include the aviation industry in its carbon emissions trading scheme from 2010, carriers like Virgin will have to find new ways of adapting to targets imposed from above.
(25 February 2008)
Finally, a mention of the peak oil angle to the story!
Comment at the Guardian: Forests cleared for takeoff?
-BA
Foremost Plug-in Car Expert Felix Kramer (Part 1 of 3) –
Explosion of Hybrid & Electric Cars Coming in 2010-2012
Energy Tech Stocks
Nobody knows more about plug-in electric hybrid vehicles than Felix Kramer, founder of the California Cars Initiative (CalCars.org), an advocacy group working to put cars and trucks that run on electricity from an ordinary outlet in everybody’s garage. So when Kramer tells EnergyTechStocks.com there will be an “explosion” of plug-in and hybrid vehicles on the market in the period 2010 through 2012, it’s information every investor needs to think about, because every investor’s portfolio is going to be significantly affected by how cars and trucks are powered starting in just a couple of years.
The bulk of the trillions of dollars worth of new technology starting to revolutionize the global energy industry is focused on revolutionizing the operation of two things: cars and power plants. With vehicles, it’s all about how (and how soon) the cars and trucks people drive will run on something other than straight gasoline, something that both reduces oil dependence and is less damaging to the environment. Will it be a blend of gasoline and biofuel and, if so, how much will be biofuel and from whence will it come? (Corn? Cellulose?) Or, as Kramer and others are advocating, will it be cars that, for the most part, can bypass gas stations and be filled at home just by plugging them in?
(25 February 2008)
Bill Paul writes:
If he’s right, what Kramer has to say about plug-ins will have a tremendous impact on the global economy, and might just save the world from the peak oil crisis that’s barreling toward us. Part 1 forecasts an “explosion” of plug-ins starting in 2010. Part 2 (Tuesday) is about new technology starting to be developed that may make it possible to retrofit the world’s existing 800 million-plus vehicles so they could partially run on electricity. (A real game-changer.) Part 3 (Wednesday) is the plan Kramer expects the new U.S. president to enact that will end America’s oil addiction once and for all.
Plug-in cars could actually increase air pollution
James R. Healey, USA Today
The expected introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could cut U.S. gasoline use but could increase deadly air pollution in some areas, two reports say.
That’s because a plug-in’s lower tailpipe emissions may be offset by smokestack emissions from the utility generating plants supplying electricity to recharge the big batteries that allow plug-ins to run up to 40 miles without kicking on their gasoline engines. Plug-ins, called PHEVs, are partly powered, in effect, by the fuel used to generate the electricity.
About 49% of U.S. electricity is generated using coal, so in some regions a plug-in running on its batteries is nearly the equivalent of a coal-burning vehicle. The trade-off is one that even plug-in backers acknowledge. It could undercut the appeal of vehicles that appear capable of using no gasoline in town and hitting 50 to 100 mpg overall fuel economy.
(25 February 2008)
