Election Day and Clean Coal Technology

Today is primary day in Virginia and we have two out of three Democratic candidates supporting the development of clean coal technology. I’m not making a judgment on their endorsements, but found it interesting that this topic has reared its head in state-level politics as much as it did in the Presidential campaigns of 2009. With the new influx of $3.4 billion federal taxpayer stimulus dollars, there is no end in sight for this topic. The allocated federal stimulus money will focus on carbon capture and sequestration, otherwise known as carbon storage.

So for now, this voter, homeowner and average citizen has to figure out which candidate is likely to build the best energy mix for Virginia, if the coalition majority has any ground to stand on and if coal technology is really an oxymoron, a myth or eventually a reality.

Engineering a Greener Future

It's been a big week for Detroit and an even bigger week for the average American consumer. Media stories on GM dealerships feeling the pinch, car buyers making purchase decisions and Chevy lovers waxing poetic about times gone by have all been prolific. The one big story that seems to be missing in the mainstream is how this will change the attitude of the manufacturers. Does this mean that going green will become a mainstay in the development of new vehicles for GM?

For those of us who have watched the "An Inconvenient Truth" or even track quarterly auto sales figures, it's very apparent that the Japanese have figured out what America wants - quality at $2.00 per gallon and gas savings at $4.00 per gallon. In his book, "The Long Emergency", James Kuntsler addresses the issue of hiccups (Gore does too). During 2008, we saw record prices per barrel and at the pump which is just a hiccup, but inevitably a permanent reality. So let's hope that GM is willing to build a greener future and welcome them to a newer cleaner world of automotive engineering. It will be painful, but is there another choice?