In the last 35 years we have put more CO₂ into the atmosphere than we have in … all of the preceding history of the world. We must not just stop, but reverse this trend quickly. The single fastest, most effective, most dramatic change we can make to reverse global warming is to not use energy we don’t need to use. We can see why by finding some truth in a common lie told by our trusted financial advisers. (more…)

My wife and I spend a lot of time asking the question, “Why don’t people conserve energy?” Sometimes we get snarky and haughty. But it may not be that people are selfish, or uninformed, or idiots. Indeed, people may be making the most rational decision. But why? The answer reveals one reason why it is so critical that our government force action through legislation. (more…)

Today, oil prices reached another record, just short of $90/barrel. Last year, when the Prudhoe Bay facility run by BP went off line due to a pipeline problem, oil prices were near their current peak of $78/barrel. That was around 14 months ago, and today we have another clear spike. Was there another hurricane? Nope. A severe geo-political event? Nope (well, unless you count Iraq … but let’s not go there, even if it might be the immediate cause … tensions with Turkey, and all). (more…)

Please take a minute read this one page: “Global Warming: Think You’re Making a Difference? Think Again.“. Didn’t read it? Ok, how about this quote:

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is investing a half billion dollars to reduce the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of their existing buildings by 20% over the next seven years. If every Wal-Mart Supercenter met this target……The CO₂ emissions from only one medium-sized (500 MW) coal-fired power plant, in just eight months of operation each year, will negate this entire effort.

Yet, “There are 151 new conventional coal-fire plants in various stages of development in the US Today.” Wal-Mart is doing a good thing, and Wal-Mart is the biggest company in the US (and in the world). If even half of these 151 plants are built, Wal-Mart’s efforts offset only about 1% of the global warming emissions created. And the article has six other equally amazing comparisons like this. C’mon — read it.

But there is a solution, says the article. And it is a “silver bullet”. (more…)

When I started writing this blog, I began to think that it is important to find a simple way to quantify the impact of changes I made (and you make) as a way to help simplify the problem of how to conserve energy. As I began to understand the problem, I realized that energy was at the heart of many of our most serious issues today: global warming, organic food, locally grown food, climate, terrorism, energy independence, geo-politics, and resource depletion. I still believe this is true.

I promoted the idea that one could measure energy most simply through your overall consumption, hence, dollars spent. I think this works at some level on a micro-economic level (your annual household budget, for example). But I have recently come to see that there’s a huge and important flaw in the general way of thinking that lead me to that simplification.

In short, my assumption is that “things” are as they are; our basic assumptions, our ways of thinking, our actions are essentially immutable. (more…)

Business Week reported in this week’s issue that ExxonMobil has been using their record profits to buy back stock. They are not using it to build new refineries, finding new sources oil, or (god forbid) researching and developing environmentally sound energy sources.

A stock buyback allows the company to reduce the supply of their shares, thereby driving up the price, which is good for stockholders. But by not expanding their ability to produce more of their product, they simultaneously reduce the supply of their product, which drives up the price. That only works because they know their will competitors do the same thing.

So guess what? (more…)

U.S. Gasoline prices are back up over $3.00 a gallon, near the record high price set after the Katerina hurricane in 2005. The cause this time is, again, a shortage of refinery capacity. But this time there wasn’t a storm. According to A Reuters reports today

AAA said it was “alarming” that gasoline prices were rising so high without the backdrop of a major geopolitical or natural event to disrupt supply, like a hurricane or a new military flare-up in the Middle East.

Good thing geopolitical or natural events that disrupt supply never happen. Like a hurricane or a flare-up in the Middle East.

This makes me and ExxonMobil happy. (more…)

Perhaps the fact that it finally melted a little this not-quite-spring-yet weekend is to blame, but I took my bike in to the shop to get a much needed tune-up. I’m ready to start riding to work again, and not a moment too soon. Just because this has been an exceptionally warm, or at least short winter doesn’t mean anything on the scale of global statistics, but I have to say, I’m glad. While there’s no strong evidence that extended daylight savings time actually does anything to save energy, I’m still glad, because I like light, and I don’t think it will hurt. And the Union of Concerned Scientists reports that U.S. Northeast faces a hotter future but I’m still cheery. Because I can ride.

There’s a bit of a paradox: global warming makes it easier for me to do things to reduce global warming. (more…)

I have spent some words on energy, in particular how we can use less of it. Our program has been successful by all measure, I think. For those reading and practicing some of the same simple tactics or others, well done. For the other 200M people in the USA, c’mon, give it a try. It’s fun!

I have been reading a lot, and learning a lot as I write. My wife recently finished The Omnivore’s Dilemma (next on my list) and I finished 1,000 Barrels a Second, and am in the middle of Outgrowing the Earth. I saw Brokaw’s Global Warming special (and am going to an Inconvenient Truth any day now). Earlier this year, I read Cradle to Cradle. And I watch the news every night on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show (some of the blanks filled in by The New York Times). This is all delightful, nice, light, summer entertainment which will warm the cockles of your heart. Not to mention the cockles of the earth.

What is striking is that there’s a common thread amongst these disparate subjects. (more…)

Over the last few days I have heard several times about a new Roadster car made by a new car company, Tesla Motors. The car sounds fantastic: it looks great, accelerates like a bat out of hell (0 to 60 in 4 seconds) and has zero emissions because it’s all electric. It also costs about $80K, so not the car for the rest of us … yet. But it sure is interesting, because it is dramatically new, and on the market.

I read Mark Morford’s column in SFGate and he has a very funny piece today on this car. As always, he rants (he’s not a big fan of Bush, for example), and raves (about the car) and, well hell, read the column — it’s hysterically funny. It’s nice to read this column for me because sometimes I feel like I rant and rave a little here. The main difference, I think, is that Morford is funny, whereas I am mostly just a downer. This is also probably why he gets paid.

So, here’s my minor little point about his column to burst the bubble: (more…)