Air Quality Index
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a numeric indicator of local air quality. Since last Thursday night, our AQI has been in the 500 to 526 range. The range only…
Nature Conservancy: “California: Let’s Stop Making Wildfire History”
Some of the factors that shape the frequency and severity of wildfire in California, like drought, record high temperatures and strong winds are beyond our control and in many cases,…
What does it mean to use no fossil fuels for electricity generation by 2035?
2035 is 15 years from today. Presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled his plan to eliminate all carbon-based fuels for electricity generation. Most people have no idea how large the numbers…
Electric Vehicle Efficiency
According to the U.S. government: Energy efficient. EVs convert over 77% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels. Conventional gasoline vehicles only convert about 12%–30%…
Transportation: How EVs are more efficient than ICE vehicles – power on demand and regeneration
ICE vehicle engines, except in hybrids and PHEVs, run all the time. In an EV, you only consume power when you need power. This makes an EV ideal for city…
Energy: Lifecycle GHG emissions from a hybrid, plug in hybrid and an EV are about the same
This graphic, from the International Energy Agency, illustrates the lifetime CO2 equivalent emissions from different types of vehicles. “BEV” is a battery electric vehicle with a 400 km range, HEV…
Energy: In many countries, hybrid gas/EVs emit lower emissions than pure electric vehicles
An average battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars using electricity characterised by the current global average carbon intensity (518 grammes of carbon-dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour ) emit less GHGs…
Energy: Unplugging your cell phone charger does nearly nothing for the environment
Few people have any idea about the lifetime energy usage of popular consumer products. 50-75% of the energy and green house gas emissions for many cars occurs during manufacturing. Switching…
Environment: Electronics recycling reveals huge scam
People want to feel good about "doing the right thing". Recycling is an example of a "feel good" activity and "ethical recyclers" stepped in to help people feel good about…
Environment: We make too much, store too much unused, dispose too much, and reuse too little
"The one thing we do know is that the biggest impact of most products is the manufacturing side. So if you want to reduce the environmental impact of your consumption,…