Preventing The Next Blackout

I don't know if I have drank (drunk?) the Amory Lovins kool-aid, but the information that comes out of his brain makes more and more sense to me. Perhaps what he is saying is just common sense after all, and I'm a bit slow on the uptake. Regardless, the man has been studying energy efficiency for decades and we should listen to him when he speaks on the subject. Plus, from what I understand he is a proponent of the free market and believes that government tends to muddy innovation up. So he's the best of both world's, a proponent of free market capitalism and a renewable energy / energy efficiency / sustainable junkie. He can capture the left and the right with his thought. A good place to be in my book.

Anyway, this article in Forbes delves into our atrocious national power grid, cobbled together with duct tape and chewing gum over the decades, and what it will take to make this grid "smart" and efficient. Good read.

Reinventing the Wheels

I stumbled upon this Atlantic article from January 1995 on reinventing the automobile. It seems appropriate to read this article in 2009 (a full 14 years later) now that the American auto industry is on the brink of complete and utter collapse. Be careful when you read this though, because it might make you sick yo your stomach or blind with anger. The technology to make cars energy efficient and have lower emissions was there in 1995 and before. The automotive companies simply chose not to make them and instead relied upon status quo and cheap gasoline. I'm convinced of this.

One of the concepts in the article that intrigued me was making the undercarriage of an automobile smooth, thereby making it more aerodynamic. Something so simple smoothing out the undercarriage would grant us a few more miles per gallon. Is this concept on any of our cars or trucks today? Nope. Nada. Zilch.

So read the article (it's by Amory Lovins the genius that founded the Rocky Mountain Institute) and let me know what you think.

Energy Interview with Amory Lovins

Informative interview in Mother Jones with the founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Amory Lovins. I have just started the book he co-wrote called "Natural Capitalism" (see the Analog Reading margin in the right hand margin for a link to Amazon). In the interview he insists that subsidies for energy (renewable or not) are not the way to go, because energy policy on a federal level is not effective. I believe he has a point but I am not ready to give up on federal subsidies for the renewable energy industry (at the same time decreasing subsidies for coal and oil). I also think that in addition to the subsidies we should pursue all of the ideas he presents in the interview (like making existing buildings energy efficient) to make energy profitable for both the consumer and the distributor. I'm probably wrong though, as Mr. Lovins has been at this a lot longer than I have and is a heck of a lot smarter. Read the interview and let me know what you think.