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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I happened to be at the Sonoma County Fair in Northern California yesterday. It was a terrific experience in many ways – one of which was seeing how sustainability has become such an important part of our lives. I’m not sure every county fair in the country would have done this, but there was an entire tent dedicated to renewable energy and sustainable living practices, with 30 or more groups displaying their products, services, and overall approaches to environmental stewardship.

A concept we see with increasing frequency is “eat local,” supporting local farmers, reducing the cost of food transportation and the associated carbon footprint, while turning people against industrial farming practices. I ran into some deeply commited groups of people who tell the story in a clear, compelling way — one of which is The Green Grocer is certainly a fantastic group on an important mission.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Doug Rosen works hard to promote Miles EV’s neighborhood electric vehicles around the globe. The company is very much in the news; it company recently spun of its highway-speed EV sedan division, Coda , effectively making two companies where there was once one.

The company was founded by Miles Rubin, noted businessman and philanthropist. Rubin’s interest in environmentalism is not at all recent; during the 1970s, along with Paul Newman and others, he helped to create Energy Action, an advocacy group dedicated to American energy independence, and he continues to be active in organizations working for energy conservation.

I’m interested in telling Doug’s story because I think his background is particularly germane to the challenge facing environmentalists everywhere. One does not need to be a conspiracy theorist to see that entrenched interests are working very hard to ensure that the migration to renewable energy and electric transportation fails. I heard today that the moneyed interests that sell bunker fuel to the power generation plants in the Caribbean are in the process of making it impossible for those who are working to introduce clean energy. And this, of course, if very small potatoes indeed as compared to the dirty tricks and misinformation campaign that the oil companies are orchestrating doing in the United States.

Doug’s background, in fact, is politics. Disgusted with the inherent treachery, he walked away from the field some years ago, but it’s clear to me that he’ll never forgot the lessons that he learned before he left, and so I publish what he told me, largely unedited:

I was in a small group of people having dinner with Al Gore in 1997 when I heard the term “global warming” for the first time. Here was the vice president of the Unites States, passionately trying to address a huge environmental issue, where the administration had no interest in fuel economy or environmentalism at all. It just wasn’t on the table. And Lord know it wasn’t anywhere near the table in Bush administration. It wasn’t that Bush and his people had no interest; they were the oil people themselves; they had a counter interest.

And don’t forget about Enron. Ken Lay ran George Bush’s first campaign. We’re trying to sell EVs in a climate in which big oil and big government have come together to form enormously powerful forces that work against us. Do you thing you would see the whipsaw of inflation and deflation of oil prices if there were no outside agenda to make this happen?

Fortunately, this has left Americans with a huge distrust for and hatred of the oil companies. When they hear Chevron say ‘Imagine an oil company being part of the solution,’ they say, ‘No, I really can’t imagine that at all; you’re a $%^& liar.’ Most Americans have not forgotten the deceit, and they can’t wait to buy a car that enables them to thumb their noses at the oil companies.

Now, however, you have a clear twist. The Obama administration has committed $14.1 billion to EV development, and the former oil people like Mack McCarty and Hank Paulson have both invested heavily in EVs. So I have to think this is a seachange in which it will no longer be as easy to suppress EV and renewable energy as it was for so long.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

evworld_logoI can’t imagine anyone who has earned the respect of more electric vehicle enthusiasts than J. William “Bill” Moore. Born in Germany, educated in England, Bill is the founder and publisher of EV World.Com, an online ‘zine dedicated to tracking the development and deployment of sustainable vehicle technology. The site was launched on January 1, 1998, and has become regarded as one of the most respected sources of information about EVs online today. Over the last decade, Bill has written millions of words, conducted thousands of interviews (including congressmen, presidential candidates, the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Planet”, as well as respected academicans and up-and-coming entrepreneurs), and attended hundreds of conferences and expositions.

Perhaps more importantly, he’s made countless friends all over the world – and I’m proud to count myself among them.

His articles have been published in Discover, Popular Science, Air & Space/Smithsonian and Mother Earth News. His first book publishing effort, Electrifying Rides, is in the works now. “I’m just about wrapping up Chapter Three,” he told me cheerfully when we spoke just now.

As the name implies, ELECTRIFING RIDES: The Electric Vehicles of the Past Decade… and the Next takes its reader both into the past and into the future.

Moore writes,

(The book takes the reader) from the steel gray waters of the English Channel to the chalk gray surface of the Moon to explain how the revival of the electric car came about and where it’s taking us.

Though it seems counter-intuitive, the modern era of the EV (electric vehicle) began in the air and not on the ground with the flight of a fragile, human-powered aircraft made of aluminum and mylar plastic. When Bryan Allen, struggling with leg cramps, dehydration and fatigue, triumphantly set down the Gossamer Albatross on the sands of Cap Gris-Nez, on the French side of the English Channel on June 12, 1979, he unwittingly set in motion the resurrection of a technology long-consigned to the footnotes of history.

Two years earlier, Allen and his mentor, Dr. Paul MacCready had won their first Kremer Prize for sustained human-powered flight over a mile-long, figure-eight course in the Albatross’ predecessor, the Gossamer Condor. That flight, as daunting as it was, took just over seven minutes and covered 1.35 miles. The flight across the Channel would be 35.8 km (22.2 mi) — 26-times further than the flight at Minter Field back in California — and take nearly three hours, all of it over water.

Six years earlier, the last of three, multi-million dollar electric vehicles completed its own mission along the waterless — and airless — Sea of Serenity. When Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt switched off their LVR (lunar roving vehicle), it had carried them, during three exploratory missions over as many day across the Moon’s rugged Taurus-Littrow region, almost exactly the same distance as the Albatross had carried Allen: 35.9 km (22.3 mi).

As far apart in space and time as these two incongruous events might seem, a common thread — beyond the uncanny similarity in distance — not only binds them but also constitutes a double helix of sorts that is the common DNA of virtually all contemporary — and future — electric cars. These entwining, interlocking strands are themselves comprised of a surprising small subset of individuals, a sort of human ATGC, that binds and breaks and binds again into new, but always familiar organisms, each with its own unique story, only a fraction of which can be told in Electrifying Rides. We trust those we’ve chosen will convey to you the reader, a sense of the urgency and excitement that has propelled a long dormant technology from the night of irrelevance into the brilliant daylight of necessity.

I know we’re all looking forward to the opportunity to sitting down with this one.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Zan Dubin Scott is a name known to most of us in the “plug-in” and renewable energy worlds. She is a tireless advocate and public relations professional, volunteering enormous amount of her time and pouring unlimited energy into the cause of electric vehicles and green energy. I’m proud to call her a friend.

… And I was lucky enough to catch her on the phone just now for a short conversation, which I publish here:

Craig Shields: I hope you still have your (electric Toyota) RAV-4. What a cool car. And they’re like hen’s teeth at the point.

Zan Dubin Scott: Of course. And you’re right, they’re hard to find.

CS: It strikes me that you’re one of the rare people who is lucky enough to have a career that is truly built around a personal passion. Would you say that this is true?

ZDS: Absolutely. It’s awesome to be paid for doing what I love.

CS: If I may ask, how did this get started?”

ZDS: Shortly after I married my husband, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. At that moment, he said, ‘Forget about waiting; I’m going to do all the things that I’ve dreamed about.’ And one of those was to buy and install solar panels on the house. So we did that, and we also got the RAV-4. And really ever since then I’ve worked hard for environmental causes.

CS: Please tell me about your involvement in Plug In America. I’ve met Chelsea Sexton and Chris Paine, and I’m a huge fan.

ZDS: It’s an amazing bunch if diverse, though truly committed people. Each one is terrific in his or her own way. I volunteer as the communications director. Plug In America plays a critical role in advocating for electric vehicles, though originally, it was called Don’tCrush.com, while the car companies were gathering and crushing the EVs. There is a story here that millions of people need to hear, and we’re telling that story.

CS: What do you see as the main hurdles to getting where we need to go with respect to EV and renewables?

ZDS: First of all, we couldn’t have asked for better, more visionary people than Obama and (Energy Secretary Steven) Chu. They’ve committed $14.1 billion in stimulus money to EVs – largely batteries and infrastructure. Thousands of companies – some of them small and entrepreneurial – are all hoping to play an important role here. This money will definitely accelerate the process.

CS: When you talk about infrastructure, what exactly do you see developing?

ZDS: A certain level of EV commercialization will be achieved with people simply charging at home. But, for wide scale adoption, we need a standardized public charging infrastructure. If we don’t have that, people are going to be concerned about getting stranded, although that’s never happened to me in seven years of driving an EV. It’s never happened to a single EV driver I know. Still, it’s a chicken and the egg situation. Ideally, we would grow acceptance and infrastructure at the same time.

And there will be fits and starts. BMW’s a good example. The car is great, but there have been some delivery and customer service issues.

CS: What about renewable energy? We can plug in 90 million EVs this evening and not build a single additional power plant. But don’t we have to advocate for clean energy generation as well as consumption?

ZDS: Indeed. And Plug In America is really starting to get onboard with that as well. It’s in virtually everything we publish now.

CS: I seem to recall that your have a deep background in the political side of these issues. And personally, you know that I’ve always said the technology issues are dwarfed by the political issues. Do you mind commenting?

ZDS: Not at all. That’s another role of Plug In America, to correct the misinformation that the public receives from the car companies who most definitely do not want this to happen. EVs have no repairs and use no gas. We’ve replaced the tires and the shocks on our RAV-4, but that’s it. That’s not good if you’re an oil company or a car company. I’m writing a piece just now on the “myths and truths” associated with EVs.

Here’s a good example of how this works. The car companies are pushing for hydrogen fuel cells, because they know that if this is possible at all, it will happen in the distant future. A commitment to hydrogen takes the pressure off of EVs. Chu decommited the DoE from hydrogen. But it’s back. Congress and several states have passed several million dollars in grants to hydrogen. This isn’t an accident. It’s pernicious. The oil companies are pushing hard for it. The car companies are so weak at this point that they don’t have the power to push for this–and I don’t think they would even if they could; at this point, every major car company on earth has made a sincere commitment to EVs.  

Having said this

CS: Wow, Zan. Thanks for the update. You never stop. That’s one of the things I most admire about you.

ZDS: Thanks, Craig.

** I’m happy to report that Zan’s husband’s cancer has been in remission for seven years; he’s “out of the woods.”

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

As I’ve mentioned in my writings (as if it’s not obvious), the transition to renewable energy will not happen overnight. This means that, for the coming few decades, prudence requires us all to take steps to use all our existing energy-related technologies in the most efficient manner possible.

This is a concept that is most certainly not lost on Lance Miller, President of a start-up headquartered in Las Vegas, NV called Diesel TEK. The company offers a unique approach and capability to those responsible for the cost-efficient and environmentally responsible operation of diesel engines. Such engines occupy an extremely prominent position in today’s world of transportation and power generation; at this point, diesels move over 70% of all goods in the US.

I believe that when most of us think of diesel engines, we think instantly of freight hauling on our interstates. But there are literally dozens of other huge applications for diesel: waste management, buses, railroads, construction, farming, ocean shipping, power generation, etc. The result is millions of diesel engines spewing noxious gases and particulate matter in the exhaust emissions into our atmosphere every day. And it’s not just ugly; recent reports point to diesel emissions as the cause of most cases of cancer.

“There is no power plant available now to replace diesel,” says Miller. “Diesel TEK’s goal is to reduce diesel emissions to as close to zero as possible. We do that through a total rethinking of the combustion process. Diesel TEK offers a number of related diesel technologies that take an absolutely new approach to the complete combustion of the diesel molecule.”

I asked Lance to name what he feels to be the most stimulating thing that happening with the company right now. “We have significant interest from two of the largest diesel truck manufactures, and well as one of the nation’s largest fleets.” he replied. “It’s exciting. When people see proof that they can lower their costs of both fuel and maintenance — and lower the emission and carbon footprint — trust me, it doesn’t take much selling. Our solution is both environmentally and economically friendly; it makes sense every way you look at it.”

“Might the company be acquired by one of these giants?” I asked. “It’s possible, but it’s not our mission. We’re a purpose-driven company; the principles are in to for the game of cleaning up diesel, not for a quick buck,” Miller notes. “I see a long-term commitment and steady, solid growth.”

Again, a company with a real future — and a powerful purpose.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

When Robert Sweeney was earning his Ph.D. in water resources at The Ohio State University, his concentration was the unwanted spin-off from the use of pesticides. “There are many unwanted effects on what we called ‘non-targets’ like algae and other plant life,” Bob explains. “From there, I turned my attention to some of the larger issues that affect the health of our environment, for example, the use of oil and gasoline. I concluded quickly that we really must make the transition to electric transportation in all forms: cars, trucks, buses, and so forth.”

Bob is now the driving force behind a series of expositions, designed to let the public know about the availability of electric vehicles. The Southern Electric Vehicle Expo (October 2-4 in Asheville, NC) will attract people from all over the country. “So many people are interested,” Dr. Sweeney tells me, “but until they have a live experience with an EV, they presume it’s a golf-cart; they need to see that it’s well-made, attractive, and capable of terrific performance.”

When I asked “the good doctor” (as I sometimes call him) where he sees electric transportation going in the coming years, he had some interesting answers. “Well obviously there will be a long and slow replacement of internal combustion engines on our roads generally. But did you know that around here, people with off-grid vacation homes use their EVs as portable batteries? They charge them during the day in town, but use them to power their homes at night. Mall operators are setting up charging stations to entice shoppers to come, and to stay longer and spend more.”

I asked about the involvement of the public sector. “It’s critical. Vancouver has mandated that 20% of its parking spaces be equipped with chargers. Closer to home, Raleigh/Durham/Cary is demanding at a growing portion of its traffic be electric; if it doesn’t, it won’t meet air quality standards and the federal government will cut aid. There is a lot happening fairly quickly; it’s a great time to be involved in this.”

I’m honored to know Dr. Sweeney, and I thanked him warmly for his dedication to making our earth a cleaner place in which to live.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

bicycle-nuclearI had the good fortune to connect to an old friend just now, Forbes Bagatelle-Black, one of these “Renaissance men” who’s as good with the language (he’s a professional author) as he is with the sciences (he hold a master’s degree in engineering).

I called him because of his passion for renewable energy. His blog called “Cycloculture” is about cycling, and he’s quite adamant that everyone should substitute a bicycle for a car wherever they possibly can.

The gating issue, Forbes tells me, is public relations. “We’re in the PR phase of the migration to renewable energy. People don’t get it. They drive a Highlander hybrid that gets 23 miles per gallon, and they think they’re being green. We’ll never get where we need to be with that type of thinking.”

Forbes sees two major snags, both largely built around our market economy. “First you have the supply and demand issues. We have abundant dirty energy that appears to be inexpensive. It’s actually horribly expensive in terms of long-term environmental damage, but those costs are hidden, and no one’s paying them. We’re billing them to our children and our grandchildren. If we were confronting the true costs of what we’re doing right now, gasoline and coal-based electricity would be astronomically expensive.”

“And there’s another market-based issue?” I asked.

“Right. The other issue is politics. We live in a market-driven democracy, by which I mean we can vote for whoever makes us feel good. You can run for office on the platform that “You can’t drive your Hummer” but you’ll never get elected.”

“Do you see any hope?” I wanted to know.

“Well, I’m delighted that we’ve taken the first step, i.e., voting in an administration whose president and vice president are not oil company executives. But from here, I think we just have to hope that Obama administration imposes tariffs that cause gasoline users to pay the true cost of the fuel. If it does, things will change very quickly.”

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

My colleague Trevor Parker is one of the founders of a company soon to be called Green Collar Machines. The company has a unique business plan that defines the micro assembly and distribution of a patented compact electric tractor that comes  available with a variety of accessories for mowing lawns, plowing snow, etc. It’s a good reminder of the fact that very few aspects of our lives will remain untouched by the migration to renewable energy and electric transportation.

Perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of Green Collar Machines is the enormous help they have received from the state of New York and the local governments in Buffalo and Niagara. “We’re extremely grateful,” Parker says. “A lot of Americans—especially from within the GOP—question the validity of the stimulus package. But it’s not a handout. They have huge unemployment, and we have jobs. It’s a true win-win.”

“Do you want to talk about energy independence?” Parker continues. “The most independent you can be is living off the grid. Lots of folks up here are on micro-wind. The green sector is no longer tree huggers and granola eaters; it’s mainstream. It’s the single most important phenomenon occurring in our economy – and in our society at large.”

PS: Here’s a graphical depiction or “infographic” of the history of renewable energy.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

fun-ride-logoOnce the world has fully moved to renewable energy, we’ll all be able to forget about taking measures to reduce our energy consumption. But until that time, we all need to be thinking of ways to cut back.

No one understands this any better than a gentleman I met a few years ago, Mark Shaffer. Mark is the CEO of FunRide, a car-sharing organization in San Luis Obispo, CA, with a unique vision for the future.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept of car-sharing is new to some readers. The idea is simple–and novel. A pool of cars is distributed at various locations in a limited, normally densely populated region—say Boston or Washington DC—and made available to members. For an annual membership and a per-day rate, members go online, look at real-time maps showing vehicle locations, book a reservation, walk to the location, open the car with a special key-chain fob, do their driving, and return the car. Zipcar is the largest car-sharing operation in the country—and has certainly proven that the business model can work.

So what is FunRide’s twist? Eco-friendly cars, in a neighborhood whose demographics suggest an extremely high value on environmental stewardship. I spoke with Mark earlier today.

Craig Shields: Mark, thanks for taking time with me; good to speak with you again.

Mark Shaffer: Happy to. I take all opportunities to get the work out there.

CS: Good for you. Let’s start at the beginning. How did this whole thing get started?

MS: A few years ago, I was sitting in a meeting at the Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition and it came to me. The concept serves so many needs simultaneously. FunRide provides on-demand transportation, in a fun and eco-friendly way—and it gives people the opportunity to try alternative-fuelled cars, giving them an experience that they’ll need before they actually buy one.

CS: So the special idea is eco-friendly cars. Tell me about that please.

MS: Until the supply of pure electric vehicles increases, we have a variety of cars based on a range of different technologies. We have a ZENN neighborhood electric vehicle, a bio-diesel Jetta, a natural gas Honda Civic, and an E85 Ford Ranger. We also have a Honda Insight hybrid, but ideally I’d like to have nothing that runs on gasoline at all.

CS: How are you promoting the organization?

MS: We have a range of fairly traditional advertising and markerting tools we’ve implemented: TV, radio, listings in directories, appearances on talk radio.

CS: You may recall that my background was marketing. You know what I recommend? PR. I would think that the newsworthiness of FunRide is so extreme that a clever PR practitioner could get you enormous quantities of free publicity.

MS: Thanks. Good point.

CS: What do you see as the major market segments for FunRide?

MS: It’s interesting because there are so many. Out of town guests, workers who take public transportation or carpools to work and need to run errands, universities offering vehicles to students, or people who simply don’t want a second car. The recession has had a positive effect on us, ironically, in that people are thinking hard: Do I really need the second car? For $30 a year, they can get the car only when they need to.

CS: Where are you in the whole process at this point?

MS: This is coming together right now. By the end of next week, we’ll be rolling: We’ll have all the cars, the pods, the signs, and the network online.

CS: Fantastic. Best of luck to you. I certainly hope that you get some traffic from this blog. Keep up the good work.

PS: Here’s a graphical depiction or “infographic” of the history of renewable energy.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

fish-pollutionGuest Blogger Mike Brace is working hard to develop renewable energy sources that can replace coal. Here’s why. He writes:

Here’s news from the Associated Press called “State officials issue fish advisories in Kentucky.” They say “High levels of mercury or polychlorinated biphenyls — PCBs — found in some fish species could pose a health hazard to women who are pregnant or of childbearing age and small children. People who are at risk should limit their consumption to about one meal per month, according to the state health department. Environmental attorney Tom FitzGerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council, said the state’s response seemed to be appropriate. High mercury levels can be attributed in part to coal-fired power plants as well as some natural sources.”

Is there really such thing as “natural sources” for mercury pollution? As far as I know we don’t mine or process mercury with in US borders.
This is a crock.

PS: Here’s a graphical depiction or “infographic” of the history of renewable energy.

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