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Jun 30

Trump dropping cabin computer ban, but media too deferential to say so

Crikey, 29 June 2017
The slow but laughable retreat by the Trump White House from unsafely consigning some passenger carried devices to underfloor storage on flights from countries where the president has no personal investments continues apace.
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Jun 29

Coal on limited lifespan as CCS hopes go up in smoke

Renew Economy, 29 June 2017
The coal industry is facing a new crisis point as a group of leading scientists call for the construction of new coal generators to cease within three years, and as the industry’s flagship “clean coal” and carbon capture and storage project went up in smoke in the US. As reported elsewhere on this web site, the US energy utility Southern Co finally gave up on its much-vaunted Kemper coal gasification and CCS project, after costs soared from $US1.8 billion to more than $US7.5 billion ($A10 billion), and it realised it wasn’t going to work.
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Jun 27

Oil majors risk trillions in stranded projects in 2⁰C world

Renew Economy, 22 June 2017
Five of the world’s six largest listed oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell, run the risk of wasting more than 30% of potential investment on high-cost upstream projects that are unnecessary and potentially harmful if we are to ensure the world does not warm beyond 2⁰ Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is one of the key findings from a new report published this week by Carbon Tracker and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and institutional investors.
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Jun 27

Trucks are destroying our roads and not picking up the repair cost

The Conversation, 23 June 2017
It’s high time Australia changed its current road user charges for trucks. The shortfall between the charges for heavy vehicles and the money spent on things like road system maintenance, construction costs, road crashes involving heavy trucks, emissions, pollution and urban road congestion amounts to a taxpayer subsidy for the industry of at least A$3 billion per annum.
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Jun 21

70,000 Beijing taxis are being converted to electric power

World Economic Forum, 6 March 2017
Electric vehicles have been growing in popularity among fleet operators, and soon, Beijing may find itself earning a reputation as the hub of the electric taxi. The Chinese city is home to one of the most important taxi fleets in the world, numbering around 70,000, and under a new program for air pollution control that will begin implementation this year, those taxis will be going electric.
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Jun 20

The buildings that may not exist when self-driving cars rule the road

Commercial Real Estate, 19 June 2017
Advances in vehicle technology in the not too distant future could have a profound effect on the use of many buildings, such as carparks and service stations, and owners of commercial properties need to plan for this potential disruption.
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Jun 19

Brisbane Airport to add fleet of 11 BYD electric buses

One Step Off the Grid, 19 June 2017
Brisbane Airport has become Australia’s second major airport to add electric buses to its transport fleet, with 11 BYD 70 passenger vehicles set to run an inter-terminal shuttle service starting early 2018.
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Jun 16

Goodbye to the Gatwick, and to so much of the old St Kilda

The Conversation, 16 June 2017
The closure of the Gatwick Hotel in St Kilda represents a new front in the ongoing gentrification debate in inner Melbourne. It highlights inconvenient truths about cultural appropriation, heritage as a driver of urban renewal, and the marginalisation of the city’s most vulnerable residents. Gentrification taps into the fundamental urban planning and social issues facing Melbourne and other big Australian cities in coming decades. In particular, it has impacts on liveability, housing affordability, and social cohesion.
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Jun 14

Cars overwhelmingly cause bike collisions, and the law should reflect that

The Conversation, 14 June 2017
Two hundred years after their invention, bicycles are widely recognised as an effective tool to combat physical and mental health problems, reduce congestion on urban roads and improve the quality of the environment. However, cycling participation across Australia is stagnating. This is mainly because of concerns about safety. A report released last week by the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia found that in the vast majority of crashes the cyclist was not at fault.
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Jun 12

“A glimpse into the energy future” with NY affordable housing microgrid

One Step Off the Grid, 12 June 2017
New York unveiled the Marcus Garvey microgrid this week, a project that brings the first microgrid to the city’s affordable housing stock. The microgrid was installed as part of a $190 million refinancing and renovation for Brooklyn’s Marcus Garvey Apartments.
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