So Sweden and Masdar City are trying a different approach to the personal rapid transit situation. Their proposition has the look and feel of something the Jetsons would take to go shopping: PRT Pods.
PRT Pods. Personal Rapid Transit. Pods. The concept is similar to a taxi or a shuttle bus where the vehicles come to designated stops at frequent intervals. You have the option of booking a vehicle for personal use or for shared use, depending on your time needs and how much you are willing to pay.
Cost for PRT use is estimated to hover around the same as for a bus or subway when shared, and nearer more the cost of a taxi when used individually. The all-electric, zero emissions PRT pods run on established tracks. Best to think of them as a hybrid between a taxi service and a monorail line. Heathrow airport in London has a few in use, in addition to Abu Dhabi's Masdar City and Sweden pioneering the Pod Use for public transportation needs.
[Leilani, "Carbon Free Girl," is a Race Car Driver who competes at NASCAR]
After spending a week in Venice, Louisiana getting an up close view of the BP gulf coast oil spill disaster, talking with locals whose livelihoods are over, and seeing dead wildlife, I am trying my best to look at the positive side. Keep in mind that I just got off the phone with one of my boat captains in Louisiana and he told me he saw six dead dolphins and ten dead turtles in the past few days. So the idea of looking on "the bright side" is nearly impossible, and most days I fail, but I think it is human nature in the face of a catastrophe. The only positive thing that can possibly come from this -- the largest environmental disaster in American history --is if it causes us to change the way we are living on this Earth.
When Dale Earnhardt Sr. died on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, it devastated NASCAR. He was their biggest star and a hero to most of their audience. The one positive thing that came from his death is that racing took a good hard look at safety and they made some really big changes. After his death, all drivers were required to wear full face helmets (Earnhardt wore an open face helmet) as well as a HANS device, a head and neck restraint system. SAFER barriers, or soft walls, were installed in the speedways so that when we crashed, the racetrack wall would help absorb some of the impact. It cost millions of dollars, but it has also likely saved many lives.
I have since had wrecks at nearly 200mph (one impact was so intense it put a crack through my motor) and I have walked away with nothing but bruises and a sore back. I don't know for sure that I would have walked away from those crashes if many years earlier, Earnhardt hadn't passed away and changed the safety rules of racing. His death marked a permanent change to the way motor sports safety was conducted, NASCAR drew a line in the sand and never looked back. That fateful moment made racing safer for all drivers that have strapped themselves into a race car since, including myself.
Perhaps one day we will look back at this oil spill and think "If the Gulf Coast oil spill hadn't happened, we wouldn't have kick started our clean energy economy back in 2010. We wouldn't have made such great strides with solar pv and thermal technology, geothermal energy, wind and tidal turbines, green buildings, hydrogen fuel cell and electric cars, alternative fuels like cellulosic ethanol and algae based biodiesel, and we might not have passed the American Power Act." Perhaps we would look back and incredulously say "Imagine if the gulf coast oil spill hadn't happened, we might actually still be running our country on dirty fossil fuels and spending billions of dollars buying oil from foreign countries! Wouldn't that be awful?!"
Charles Darwin once said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives. Nor is it the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."
And so our time has come -- this is the 11th hour. We either change the way we are living on the planet orrelegate ourselves to eventually having our planet covered with oily water, polluted air, dead coral reefs, and cattle pastures where there were once rain forests. I hope that this disaster will wake us up and make those in charge realize that now is the time for us to turn over a new leaf. To check ourselves into rehab to get off our addiction to fossil fuels and start a new sober life with clean, renewable energy.
I am a race car driver; my career is currently based around an internal combustion engine, and yet even I can see the importance of energy independence and the move towards the use of clean, renewable energy.
We are at a crossroads and I hope we take the right turn -- or maybe it's a left? Let's take a step -- or even better, a leap -- in the right direction. Let's pass the American Power Act and start putting a real effort into capturing clean energy from the wind, the sun, and the ocean. Let's put Americans to work building our new green energy economy. We've been talking about it for years, the technology is already here -- all we have to do now is to make it happen.
What in the world are we waiting for? Millions of gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico?
My greatest hope in the wake of this ongoing tragedy is that this is our clean energy wake up call. My biggest fear? That we won't answer.
Our company psychiatrists say now is the time to move onto the last phase of experiencing a tragedy, acceptance mixed with forgetfulness.about 24 hours agovia Twitterrific
@bpTerry just ran into the grabass room all excited and sincerely asked, "Why don't we just call Captain Planet!?" - he has great weed, ok?4:16 PM May 27thvia web
We plan on spending millions of dollars to fix this mess. We also plan on jacking gas prices so high that you'll wish you never complained.3:54 PM May 27thvia web
Announcement: bp is in desperate need of some positive visual PR. Anything goes. Submit to us w/ #bpbillboard. ABSOLUTELY NO PAY!3:36 PM May 27thvia web
WTF! RT @bpTerry just picked up the party banners i ordered yesterday. somehow they say "Operation: To] Kill Accomplished". im in trouble.2:54 PM May 27thvia web
Of course, bp cares about the fishing industry as well. Now, all tuna from the gulf coast comes pre-packaged in oil. #you'rewelcome #yum1:58 PM May 27thvia web
Heard rumors of a memo about bp choosing $$$$ over worker safety. It's actually @bpTerry 's diary. So don't read it, it's VERY PRIVATE!12:58 PM May 27thvia web
Really turning clean up efforts into overdrive today. We don't want Obama finding out about our crazy office keg parties tomorrow.12:31 PM May 27thvia web
We are dedicated to helping the wildlife in the gulf. Any birds that need cleaning must report to 287 Quartemain St, Baton Rouge, LA 70801.11:01 AM May 27thvia web
The LA Times is reporting that Top Kill is working to plug the leak! Looks like our job here is done. See ya later gulf! #5dayweekend!6:34 AM May 27thvia web
Seems some are trying to co-opt us. What a PR nightmare! Wanna know how to tell us apart? We say pickledick and pussyfart. #bpsaysfuckyou5:40 AM May 27thvia web
After 38 long days, we've finally fixed it... No, not the leak! Terry joined twitter! RT @bpTerry testes, testes 1,2.... 3!?!?!?! lol.5:14 AM May 27thvia web
RT @BP_America - Top kill procceding according to plan. - FAKE ACCOUNT! CAN'T SPELL! If I had less than 7k followers, I wouldn't bother.5:36 PM May 26thvia web
The Gulf Coast oil spill calls into question future drilling plans: What the worst U.S. environmental disaster in decades could mean for new offshore drilling projects and prospects for a climate bill.
Guests [Plus Bonus Call-In guest, knowledgeable engineer with know-how on how to mitigate the oil gush]
Neil King, Jr.
national reporter, "The Wall Street Journal"
Joseph Romm
senior fellow at the Center for American Progess; he runs the blog ClimateProgress.org and is the author of "Straight Up: America's Fiercest Climate Blogger Takes on the Status Quo Media, Politicians, and Clean Energy Solutions."
Scott Segal
Head of the Government Relations practice at Bracewell & Giuliani. He represents utilities, refiners and manufacturers.
Mark Schleifstein
Environment reporter for the Times-Picayune and co-author of "Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms."
Deepwater Horizon Accident Foreshadows a Potential Disaster Waiting to Happen in the Gulf
Food & Water Watch and Safety Engineer Warn of Consequences of a Lack of Critical Safety Documents, Fear Disaster Possible for BP Atlantis
BP Atlantis Platform, Gulf of Mexico
Washington, D.C.—Following [April's] explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Platform, leased and operated by British Petroleum (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico, the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch is warning of the possibility of a similarly tragic disaster involving the company’s Atlantis Project— one of the world’s deepest semi-submersible oil and natural gas platforms, located 150 miles south of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico.
Last year, a whistleblower and former company contractor alleged that the Atlantis platform has been operating without a large percentage of the engineer-approved documents needed for it to operate safely. An independent engineer later substantiated these concerns, concluding that a BP database showed that over 85 percent of the Atlantis Project’s Piping and Instrument drawings lacked final engineer-approval, and that the project should be immediately shut down until those documents could be accounted for and are independently verified.
“The tragic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform is an urgent reminder of the calamity that could occur if BP’s Atlantis platform is operating without the approved documents necessary for ensuring its safety,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “This accident and the recent Massey mine disaster in West Virginia underscore a complete lack of regulatory oversight over the operations of the fossil fuel industry.”
BP has denied the whistleblower’s assertions regarding Atlantis, going so far as to write a letter to Congressional staff saying that they are “unsubstantiated,” even though internal documents show that in August 2008, BP management was aware of the problems and believed that the document deficiencies “could lead to catastrophic Operator error.” An investigation conducted by the company’s Ombudsman in April 2009 seems to substantiate the charges, although the investigation’s results did not become known until this month. BP has never acknowledged that the Ombudsman conducted an investigation of the project’s document deficiencies.
“BP’s recklessness in regards to the Atlantis project is a clear example of how the company has a pattern of failing to comply with minimum industry standards for worker and environmental safety,” said Mike Sawyer, an Engineer at Apex Safety Consultants, who verified the contractor-turned-whistleblower’s concerns about the company’s lack of proper documents. Read More Here >>>
Well, coming out of left field with this one, this is my final idea of who might be more powerful than Obama. Of course, like “the media” this isn’t a single person. Nonetheless, it is something to consider.
As we all know, climate change rose to the top of national and even global concern when Al Gore made “An Inconvenient Truth” and people saw this movie on the topic. This, without the flash and flare of Hollywood even, was a prime example of how popular forms of media can affect the population and politics.
Millions of people watched Obama’s State of the Union speech, but how many millions more saw Avatar?
The popularity and influence of Hollywood could be a stronger force getting more people behind climate and clean energy legislation than Obama ever could (at least, in the population at large — the people who do elect members of Congress).
A new video on the web has just come out along exactly these lines, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Felicity Huffman, Forest Whitaker, Ed Norton, Justin Long, and others. I am writing about that in my next post, so stay tuned. If “Hollywood” continues on this path, I think it alone could drive the necessary public support for climate and clean energy legislation, but they need to really get behind it, (do more than a youtube video).
Well, it is a string of thoughts here. And I guess the point of it is, we cannot only pin our hopes and disappointments on Obama or even Congress. We have to look at the issue more broadly; tackle tragic media coverage of these issues; engage in our democracy more ourselves to get people in all sectors energized around the fact that if the US doesn’t give Obama and Congress some support and some push, China is going to win the game before we realize we’re playing with them; and hope that some bigshots in Hollywood or other popular arenas help get the common citizen behind strong climate and clean energy legislation.
In a high tech, low key twist on American Idol, green technology competitions are springing up all over the country. Among the newer ones is the Clean Energy Prize sponsored by the University of Michigan and DTE Energy, and it offers some clues about the technology stars of the sustainable energy future. For one thing, they better be prepared to go on stage and pitch their talent – one element of the competition is an oral presentation before a panel of judges.
DTE’s involvement is another interesting aspect of the competition. A large part of the company is a conventional natural gas utility, Detroit Edison, but an emerging part is DTE Energy Ventures, which focuses on sustainable energy tech. That puts DTE among a growing list of large energy companies that are turning more investment resources over to sustainable fuels – yet another indicator that peak times for fossil fuels are on the horizon.
The Clean Energy Prize Competition
The competition has already winnowed the starting field of 32 hopefuls down to eight teams from six different Michigan colleges and universities. The projects include advanced energy storage, services that help consumers manage energy consumption (especially peak demand), kinetic energy for wireless devices, biogas digesters/composters for restaurants, and “green” silane gas production (silane is used in electronics, flat screen displays and solar panels). Like California’s Cleantech Open, the competition focuses squarely on commercialization. Advancement in the competition is based on a written business plan, and the prize money is targeted towards jump starting new clean energy businesses.
Conventional Utilities and Emerging Clean Energy
DTE is by no means the first conventional utility to jump from fossil fuels into sustainable energy. Industry giant Duke Energy already owns more than 700 megawatts of wind power and last year it announced plans to build hundreds of mini-solar energy plants in North Carolina. Just this month Duke also announced the purchase of a 14 megawatt solar plant that will provide energy for San Antonio, Texas.
Start-Ups and Clean Tech Competitions
Clearly the big players see a potential gold mine in moving away from fossil fuels, and they have the resources to go after it. The emergence of clean tech competitions helps start-ups get in on the sustainable energy action, providing seed money in the form of prizes or investment opportunities (the ZINO Society is a good example). They can play an especially important role in developing sustainable technologies that are scaled to individuals and small sites, which are an essential part of the sustainable energy puzzle but may not represent an attractive market for larger companies.
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BP Atlantis Platform, Gulf of Mexico
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