Miles to go and promises to keep*
Electric or gas? “Choice comes into Focus” was the banner headline in the business pages of the L.A. Times on April 26th. It was a story announcing Ford’s commitment to marketing two similar Focus...
View ArticleSeeking Alpha: oil and alternative fuel confusion
I frequently read Seeking Alpha, an online newsletter. At first, the title of the newsletter seemed beguiling, something out of the sixties…like Seeking Esalen or Seeking Peace of Mind or better,...
View ArticleWhat do Dickens and Jack Webb have to do with natural gas?
Remember Dickens (Charles, that is). In “Hard Times,” he indicated, “Now, what I want is facts. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else.” Remember, Jack Webb, in “Dragnet”? “Just the facts,...
View ArticleChris Paine speaks on “The Resurrection of the Electric Car” (maybe)
Good for you, Chris Paine! Paine, if you remember, was the filmmaker who produced “Who Killed the Electric Car?” His recent opinion piece in The Washington Post took on the supposed mythologies about...
View ArticleWhat does Billie Holiday have to do with natural gas?
How many of you remember Billie Holiday, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, early Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee? No, this is not a test for Medicare. Your answers will not be screened by the IRS nor will your...
View ArticleWhen the WSJ speaks about oil, should everyone listen? Yes, with one ear.
I have great respect for the Wall Street Journal, particularly for its coverage of news related to energy, oil and alternative fuels. Generally, it does a fine job. But last week’s front page story,...
View ArticleDiary of a (sometimes) mad Prius owner
I used to think that the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (CAFE) were measurements for a cup of quality Starbucks coffee. Now I am older and hopefully smarter. The Obama administration and...
View ArticleElectric Cars: The Next Smartphone?
What if a clever business model could lower the retail price of a Tesla compact sedan to less than $20,000, or make an extended range option like BMW’s i3 attainable for under $30,000? Could such...
View ArticleChina To Unleash $16 Billion For Electric Car Charging Stations To Boost...
China is considering a massive government program to build more charging stations for electric vehicles and boost demand for the eco-friendly cars. The policy, which could provide as much as 100...
View ArticleIn France, 10000 Euros To Switch From Diesel To EVs
France currently grants new car buyers a credit of 6,300 euros ($8,400) if they purchase an electric vehicle. But if a new bill submitted to Parliament by France’s Minister for Ecology, Sustainable...
View ArticleEurope says yes to alternative vehicles
Things have always been a little easier in Europe when it comes to saving gas and adopting different kinds of vehicles. The distances are shorter, the roads narrower, and the cities built more for the...
View ArticleThe decline of oil and gas prices, replacement fuels and Nostradamus
“It’s a puzzlement,” said the King to Anna in “The King and I,” one of my favorite musicals, particularly when Yul Brynner was the King. It is reasonable to assume, in light of the lack of agreement...
View ArticleAbbott and Costello, war, sectarianism and Middle Eastern oil — a trifecta
I bet only those on Medicare, like me, remember the old Abbott and Costello joke, “Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third”… or something like that. The dialogue was funny at the...
View ArticleToyota predicts a non-gasoline future
Toyota threw in its lot with the alternative vehicle crowd when it predicted that gasoline and diesel engines will be virtually extinct by 2050. Kiyotaka Ise, senior managing officer of the world’s...
View ArticleThe inane ‘range anxiety’ argument
I’ve heard some good arguments against electric vehicles (EVs): The technology is still too expensive; if the electricity you charge the car with was generated by coal it’s, worse for the environment...
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