Thanks for all the help from Inkstain readers – here, in private conversations and over on my Journal blog. My story on the Pickens plan is up. It’s by no means comprehensive, and I decided to zero in on two issues. The need for transmission capacity to take advantage of wind resources. This is an …
Bloomberg had a significant story a week ago that I missed regarding Chinese coal-to-liquid efforts. This is something I’ve been watching closely, reasoning that there is a price point at which CTL becomes economical as a substitute liquid transportation fuel, and that we’re likely to see a strong shift in that direction as soon as …
Going all econ wonk on the T. Boone Plan
From my colleague Lloyd Jojola, further evidence that rising gasoline prices are changing behavior: ABQ Ride reported today that there were 1,000,126 passenger boardings in August 2008, the first time ridership has exceeded 1 million for a single month.
In the Bulletin of th Atomic Scientists, of all places, Kurt Zenz House makes an articulate argument for why expanded domestic oil drilling is both a good idea and matters very little: What we’re watching is the thread of a decent argument–that when oil prices are very high, the United States should expand oil exploration …
I’ve been tasked to do some a story for the Journal on T. Boone Pickens’ energy ideas. Y’all are smart about this sort of thing. Open thread: what are the central issues?
on the unsurprising fact that we use less water when it rains (unsurprising but nevertheless a demonstration that we’re paying attention, and not just blindly watering our bermuda grass) T. Boone is bringing his wind-powered carnival to Albuquerque next week
In this week’s energy tip, Al Zelicoff answers the question that won’t go away: Is it better to turn the light off if I’m only going to be out of the room for a few minutes?
It’s easy to make fun of the good folks of Southamptom for having a law against clotheslines (messy, you understand). But is it not admirable for them to sacrifice for the greater good, allowing clotheslines for the sake of energy conservation? From Bloomberg: Even amid such affluence, clotheslines are finding fans among residents seeking to …
Continue reading ‘Clotheslines and Really, Really Big Houses’ »
I love a good calculation. So does my friend Al Zelicoff, who offers us a doozy of a set in today’s Journal energy tip, providing the back-of-the-very-large-envelope calculation on how much you can save by turning down the thermostat on your water heater: 320 pounds of water X (140 – 60) = 25,600 BTUs or …