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Excellent over view of shale gas and compressed natural gas dynamics including conversion kits for automobiles and truck fleets. THE ONLY LOGICAL ANSWER to bridge the conversion from oil based fuels to paradigm alternatives lies in the conversion of personal transportation to the use of natural gas. Consider the following reasons: (long list) ONE WEEK AFTER Obama's energy policy speech, March 31, 2011, at Georgetown University, a bi-partisan group of more than 150 Members of Congress introduced HR.1835, with Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) as the primary sponsor. The NAT GAS Act (New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions) Act, is the culmination of efforts of T. Boone Pickens to promote his "Pickens Plan" for changing the focus of American energy consumption. The NAT GAS Act provides incentives for using natural gas in vehicles, purchasing natural gas vehicles, installing natural gas refueling stations, and producing natural gas vehicles in America. The problem is that Obama and his energy secretary do not actually support HR 1835!  The speech was just a ruse.  Watch what he does, not what he says.  CNG-Compressed Natural Gas

I have a story today on Enbridge Gas Distribution and its early investigation of biogas-injection into its natural gas pipelines. It's already being done in several European countries and some U.S. states, and is even mandated in countries such as Germany. Enbridge, and Terasen Gas in British Columbia, are among a number of gas utilities in North America that are trying to prepare themselves for the day when "bio-methane" will become a common component of natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Will the biogas quality affect the pipeline? Can it be used in all natural gas appliances without problem? How much does it cost to scrub out impurities? What's the best source: landfills, sewage treatment plants, biodigesters? All questions that are being asked and answered. Indeed, the Gas Technology Institute is in the middle of a $1.6 million (U.S.) study aimed as answering these questions.

Honda's natural gas Civic GX, which debuted in 2006 in California but is now becoming available in other parts of the country, just may be the cleanest mainstream car on the road. At least the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) thinks so. The nonprofit group . . . put the Civic GX at the top of its 2007 environmentally friendly car list, edging out Toyota's hybrid Prius. The natural gas-fueled Civic scored slightly better than the Prius on fuel economy and reduced emissions in ACEEE's battery of tests. It also scored better in terms of the pollution generated in the manufacturing processes.

With 5 million wind turbines needed (Stanford paper), asset management of renewable plant can only be a rising trend.

Some countries have vintage whiskey. Some have vintage wine. Greenland has vintage ice. Sometimes you just wish you were a photographer. I simply do not have the words to describe the awesome majesty of Greenland's Kangia Glacier, shedding massive icebergs the size of skyscrapers and slowly pushing them down the Ilulissat Fjord until they crash into the ocean off the west coast of Greenland. There, these natural ice sculptures float and bob around the glassy waters near here. You can sail between them in a fishing boat, listening to these white ice monsters crackle and break, heave and sigh, as if they were noisily protesting their fate. Greenland is one of the best places to observe the effects of climate change. Because the world's biggest island has just 55,000 people and no industry, the condition of its huge ice sheet - as well as its temperature, precipitation and winds - is influenced by the global atmospheric and ocean currents that converge here. Whatever happens in China or Brazil gets felt here. And because Greenlanders live close to nature, they are walking barometers of climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol is a symbolically important expression of governments' concern about climate change. But as an instrument for achieving emissions reductions, it has failed

Interesting, but a bit thin on specifics, and still a long way to market.

"Caring for nature" is simply caring :-).

"Owenite Community Robert Owen 1771-1858 Owen's ideal community was drawn up in 1817 by the architect Stedman Whitwell. A large scale model was built and Owen used it on his lecture tours. The designed village spread Gymnasiums for Exercise attached to the Schools and Infirmary Conservatory in the midst of Gardens Baths, warm and cold Dining Halls with Kitchens beneath them Schools for Infants, Children and Youths, and the Infirmary Library, Detached Reading Rooms, Bookbindery, Printing Office etc Ballroom and Music rooms Theatre for Lectures, Exhibitions, Discussions. Museum with Library of Description and Reference Rooms Brew-houses, Bakehouses, Washhouses, Laundries, Dining halls Suites of adult sitting rooms and chambers Esplanade one hundred feet wide about twelve feet above the natural surface. Paved Footpath The Arcade and its Terracegiving both a covered and an open communication Sub-way leading to the Kitchens. As well as dwelling houses and dormitories for up to 2000 inhabitants. For more information visit Robert Owen's House in New Lanark."

My Clean Break column today is actually more of a feature looking at compressed-air energy storage (CAES) and how Ontario, geologically, would be an excellent location to give it a try. About 50,000 natural gas and oil wells have been drilled in southwestern Ontario over the past 150 years and most of them are depleted. Turns out that depleted gas fields are one of several types of underground reservoir that can be used to store compressed air. Salt caverns are another option, and we have plenty of those as well. In fact, 60 per cent of Canada's natural gas storage is in the region. Compressing and storing air wouldn't be that different technically. Another benefit is that southwestern Ontario has strong wind resources, so building a 1,000 MW-plus CAES facility on its own or as part of a partnership with area wind developers could prove quite economical. The idea, of course, is that cheap wind power generated overnight when demand is down could be used to compress and store the air. The air could then be released to generate electricity during daytime peaks, making wind a dispatchable resource in Ontario and more of a realistic replacement for coal power as it gets phased out of the province. Surplus overnight nuclear power, when we have it (mostly during the summer), could also be stored this way.

taking advantage of energy-packed vortices that are formed when water flows past a cylindrical object, even at low speeds. Salmon and trout are known to leverage the force created by these naturally occurring water swirls so that they can swim upstream. A new mechanical device designed to economically harvest that energy and convert it into electricity could turn waterpower into a much larger part of the world's renewable-energy mix.

Each year, things seem to get more exciting for the renewable energy industries, and 2007 was no exception. Although there was much disappointment about the exclusion of important provisions for renewables in the recent U.S. energy bill, the overall global picture was positive. With 31 gigawatts of renewable energy developed around the world, 17 billion dollars in global market transactions and 21 billion dollars in global venture capital invested in new companies in 2007, clean energy can no longer be considered an "alternative" -- it is simply the natural evolution of energy.