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As this post will show the likelihood that the EU's fossil fuel consumption has peaked, back in 1979, is now very real. It will also compare the degree of net fossil fuel self-sufficiency between the EU and the USA as of 2007.

Gerhard stri-hipp speaks on the comparison of the incentive systems of the world leading solar markets and shows conclusions for the US.

"Generating 20 percent of America's electricity with wind, which is crucial to our future safety, growth and prosperity, would require building up to 22,000 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines."

Review post commenting while - technologically - these targets are major engineering challenge, they still appear socially unacceptable.

Environ Sci Technol. 2003 Dec 1;37(23):5414-6. Global sustainability and key needs in future automotive design. McAuley JW. Basell USA Inc., 912 Appleton Road, Elkton, Maryland 21921, USA. john.mcauley@basell.com Abstract The number of light vehicle registrations is forecast to increase worldwide by a factor of 3-5 over the next 50 years. This will dramatically increase environmental impacts worldwide of automobiles and light trucks. If light vehicles are to be environmentally sustainable globally, the automotive industry must implement fundamental changes in future automotive design. Important factors in assessing automobile design needs include fuel economy and reduced emissions. Many design parameters can impact vehicle air emissions and energy consumption including alternative fuel or engine technologies, rolling resistance, aerodynamics, drive train design, friction, and vehicle weight. Of these, vehicle weight is key and will translate into reduced energy demand across all energy distribution elements. A new class of vehicles is needed that combines ultra-light design with a likely hybrid or fuel cell engine technology. This could increase efficiency by a factor of 3-5 and reduce air emissions as well. Advanced lightweight materials, such as plastics or composites, will need to overtake the present metal-based infrastructure. Incorporating design features to facilitate end-of-life recycling and recovery is also important. The trend will be towards fewer materials and parts in vehicle design, combined with ease of disassembly. Mono-material construction can create vehicle design with improved recyclability as well as reduced numbers of parts and weight.

There's a problem with this mythology: sometimes there's no invisible hand. Sometimes short-sighted government regulations give preference to bad technologies over good ones - stifling innovation and blinding us to our own ability to make progress.

I added the tag 'USA' to this bookmark. It is not the case in Europe, where efficiency has improved steadily. But it's also a debate of apples and oranges. Nuclear, fossil and renewable energy are as different as cricket, baseball and golf bats. And we do not calculate batting averages accross them.

The REN21 Renewables Global Status Report released today shows that the fundamental transition of the world's energy markets continues. Solar heating capacity increased by 15 percent to 145 gigawatts-thermal (GWth), while biodiesel and ethanol production both increased by 34 percent. More renewable energy than conventional power capacity was added in both the European Union and United States for the first time ever.

An action in the "surfing waves" category?

The Energy Department today announced a new partnership between the Department's Challenge Home program and Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) on a voluntary certification process for homes that are so energy-efficient, they can offset most or al...

The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently approved the nation's most stringent energy efficiency standards for residential and commercial buildings, and the new requirements for the thermal performance of windows are expected to contribute ...

The single most important reason that our economy remains sluggish is high gas prices and the high cost of imported oil. We import the same amount of oil into this country as we did in 1997 - but it now costs us nearly $300 billion a year more, a...

Back in April, President Obama signed the JOBS Act and one of the most-heralded elements was so-called crowdfunding. The law sought to solve a major problem: it's hard to finance small-scale business ventures. Wall Street only cares about multi-m...