Reuters: Environment
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In the latest case of pre-election pandering, both McCain and Obama have made the miraculous campaign promise of lowering gasoline prices while also cutting US carbon dioxide emissions. Although the strategy might earn them votes come November, it’s time for Americans to realize that we can’t have cheap oil and cut emissions too.
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Climate change is real and getting worse. Sunday, the Guardian reported that scientists predict ice-free summers in the North Pole by 2013. America is a leading offender, emitting ~20% of the world’s carbon dioxide every year. Here we answer seven questions that shed light on America’s dirty energy habit.
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For all the talk of Chinese demand driving up oil prices, Califonia consumes slightly more gasoline than all of China at 20 billion gallons per year. On a per capita basis, California burn about 40 times as much gas than China. Yet, the trend is for Chinese demand to grow rapidly, and this is likely to continue for many years. If you think prices are high now, imagine what would happen if Chinese consumers were to consume oil as quickly as Californians on a per capita basis. Maybe then Californians would start changing their driving decisions.
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Venture capitalists doled out a record $1.3B in funding to new startups in Q2 2008 across North America, Europe, Israel, and Australia. Solar startups continue to be the VC darling, pulling in $609M, nearly half of all cleantech startups. Sulfurcell, the German thin-film manufacturer, led the pack with $134M in funding during this period. Despite the vibrant market for raising capital, entrepreneurs are not cashing out. There were zero cleantech IPOs in U.S. capital markets in this period, which testifies to the economic downturn and difficult capital markets.
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Et tu, Arnold? On January 31, 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the prominent California Republican, endorsed John McCain. Just six months later, Schwarzenegger sharply criticized the plan to open new drilling lands as “blowing smoke” at the American people, a plan which McCain and Bush have strongly supported. In an even more surprising move ensured to rile Republican ranks, Schwarzenegger praised Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, for his leadership on climate change.
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Solar power is the most abundant energy resource on earth. Solar is also one of the fastest growing markets in the world. This article explains the basics. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/how-solar-energy-works.php
