On the U.K. based website The Independent, their science section published a report on March 19th entitled “Dams:  Deep Trouble.”  Below this ominous title, the tag line read “Are vast dams around the world masking the full extent of sea level rise?”

The story goes on to state “over the past 50 years, new dams and reservoirs have held back some 10,800 cubic kilometers of water, which would have been enough to raise global sea levels by about 30mm.”  We crunched the numbers and came in at 32mm, and while the 10,800 km3 of water in reservoirs seems a bit high, let’s go with it.  But the implication - that we’ve stopped building dams and therefore we’ll see a sea level rise of somewhat more than an inch - is underwhelming.

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Is an affordable EV mini-roadster almost here?  PML Flightlink’s EW Series of roadworthy in-wheel motors includes the EW 30/60.  Each of these motors weighs just under 40 pounds, or 18 kilograms, and each motor runs up to 14.4 kilowatts, or 19.3 horsepower.

PML Flightlink’s EW Series 30/60, 14.4 kW in-wheel motor. (Photo: PML Flightlink)

With “internal tapered heavy duty roller bearings that can withstand heavy radial radial loads for robust use,” and “standard flange fittings to accept different wheel rim sizes,” this appears to be the wheel we’ve been looking for.

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That they are pioneers in ”BIPV” technology (building integrated photovoltaics) makes Los Angeles based Solar Integrated a very interesting company.  But the what makes Solar Integrated really, really interesting is they very likely have the most inexpensive photovoltaic solution in the world today.

Solar Integrated’s flexible PV panels being installed on the CocaCola plant in Los Angeles.

Large scale photovoltaic installations are still very expensive.  Even when you get up into the 500 kilowatt or 1.0 megawatt range, which spreads the “balance of plant” costs (the inverter, the power

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That they are pioneers in ”BIPV” technology (building integrated photovoltaics) makes Los Angeles based Solar Integrated a very interesting company.  But the what makes Solar Integrated really, really interesting is they very likely have the most inexpensive photovoltaic solution in the world today.

Solar Integrated’s flexible PV panels being installed on the CocaCola plant in Los Angeles.

Large scale photovoltaic installations are still very expensive.  Even when you get up into the 500 kilowatt or 1.0 megawatt range, which spreads the “balance of plant” costs (the inverter, the power

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Innovative business models and innovative technology are both necessary to usher in the electric age.  Imagine the gigawatt-hours we’ll need just to power the commuter miles for millions of new electric cars.  But along with new sources of electricity, we can increase the supply of electricity from existing sources by retrofitting our grid to the lighter and far more energy efficient touch of new “HVDC light” electricity transmission cables!  This technology allows 1.0+ gigawatt transmission cables to be buried underground, without magnetic fields.  These super efficient cables - that only lose about 1% of energy for every four-hundred kilometers - are far less costly than the current grid that uses - in general - 0.5 gigawatt AC transmission lines that require elevation via expensive transmission towers, with on average 30% energy loss on transmission.

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Dear Mr. Edwards,



Although I'm a libertarian Republican, you were my preferred candidate during this Presidential election process.  The $1,200 haircut, well, maybe not the smartest move.  But I do believe that you are man of honor and dignity; and, most importantly, a man of compassion.  However, I did not sense that you could win your Party's nomination.  As a result, I moved my support to Senator Obama (although not forgetting you in the process).



Quite frankly, I have never been so captivated by a Presidential candidate.  Senator Obama is not just brilliant (as noted by one of his former Harvard Law School professors in one of his TV campaign ads), but truly inspirational; he's the right person to lead our country over the next eight years.  To put things in a historical...More

In previous posts, “Fisker’s Photovoltaic Cars,” and “Photovoltaic Powered Cars,” we have reported on the potential for commuters to power their vehicles with energy collected from rooftop photovoltaics.  But until now we haven’t been able to share some of our spreadsheet analysis with readers.  Thanks to a software company from Sweden SpreadsheetConverter, that hurdle has been overcome...

Cross-section of series hybrid Chevy Volt, possibly in showrooms by 2010. (Photo: GM Volt)

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At AlwaysOn’s recent GoingGreen conference, visionary architect and designer Wiliam McDonough received a standing ovation for his opening-night keynote presentation, outlining his “strategy of hope” for sustainable design. These words are excerpted from that presentation. We’ve also posted a short excerpt , and the entire speech online. The entire transcript is also available in the winter edition of the AlwaysOn Magazine.

As a resident of Virginia, I live in a place where Thomas Jefferson developed his thoughts about revolution. I’ve even had the privilege of living in a house he designed. But despite all that Jefferson accomplished—including two terms as president—I suspect he thought of himself first and foremost not as a politician or as a fomenter of revolution but as a designer....More

Entrepreneurs will turn us green faster than government mandates.

Whether you think raising the price of fossil fuel will stop climate change, reverse the acidification of the ocean, or help nations achieve energy independence, the political momentum to do so appears unstoppable. With that as a given, then, the current debate should focus on what mechanism should be used, how much the price should be raised, and how the resulting funds should be allocated—all of which boil down to choices between practical environmentalism and emotional environmentalism, head vs. heart.

If we’re to adhere to Nobel laureate Al Gore’s “pledge,” for example, we must stop burning coal within 20 years—this despite the fact that coal is the cheapest and most abundant fossil fuel on Earth, that burning it provides 50% of...More

China and India, along with much of the rest of Asia, are industrializing at a pace that is astonishing by any historical standard. And with nearly double digit annual economic growth impacting literally 50% of the world's population, roughly 3.0 billion people, comes an insatiable appetite for energy.

With reference to China in particular, we have covered their ongoing and epic transformation to a fully industrialized nation within mere decades before, in our reports "China's Energy Demand," "China's Renewable Energy," "Wind Power in China," "China's Energy Outlook," "Fuel Cell Development in

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