Transportation

It’s hard to know where to start given the outcome of the election. That said, I think I’m just going to stay on message and report environmental news and my perspectives in this regard. While not unusual or surprising, climate change and the environment did not rise up to the top of issues that drove the decision of who to…

I am going to follow two themes today. First, a series of headlines with links to the articles providing specifics about some consequences of global warming that we may not have been considering, or realized previously. Then, some others that reiterate topics that I have been following with you for some time. Secondly, I am going to cover the continuing…

For decades, I have been predicting the types of weather type repercussions that were going to happen that we are now seeing such as drought, fires, floods, hurricanes, excessive rain events, etc. These are happening so frequently every day that it is mind numbing. I’ve also tried to alert you to how all this is going to effect us in…

It’s been a while since my last post and I know I have been very irregular recently. As I’ve run into some of you, you bring this up. Not to worry. I’m fine. I’ve been traveling some and otherwise just enjoying the summer. And there hasn’t been a ton of pressing news to report that you aren’t seeing on your…

“A republic, if you can keep it.” –Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Being that this is Memorial Day weekend, I want to take a moment to reflect on this and recognize how fortunate we are that for almost 250 years Americans, and immigrants that were not…

I am going to start today with the economics of climate change. Over the years you may have read articles deriding the cost of doing what scientists claim it will take to transition from a fossil fuel economy to one based on one free of climate change causing emissions. My response has always been that what is claimed to be…

Today’s focus will mostly be about EV’s and Insurance. If you’ve been following the mass media news about auto and light duty truck sales you’ve been hearing about the slowdown in EV sales. And yes, some of the auto manufacturers have moderated their production of them and their outlook. What is happening is that the PACE of growth of EVs…

In case you haven’t heard, the climate is changing. It’s getting warmer. It is obvious in my own yard. Flowers are blooming four to six weeks early. Buds on the trees are coming out. Bushes are blooming yellow. This winter there was only one kinda snowfall where we got maybe 2 or 3 inches. And other than one week of…

I am going to start today where I left off last edition, with more on how climate change is impacting the insurance business. And then I will cover a variety of other subjects. The second article is about a topic I’ve written about very little and that is how climate change is effecting mental health. Unfortunately, this may be about…

I am going to cover a couple of my usual topics today. I hope you’ll scroll through and see if there’s something that captures your interest. Mostly today are updates on the transition to an all electric fleet of vehicles and then, how losses from climate induced events are impacting the insurance business. Following are articles about the automotive industry.…

Let’s get one thing straight. Much of the news media is spinning EV sales in a way that is a misconception. They are trying to say that EV sales are faltering. That is NOT accurate. They have seized upon the fact that the days supply of Electric Vehicles on dealers’ lots has risen. True. But so has the days supply…

Thanks to all of you who noticed that you had not heard from me for about a year and checked in to see if something was wrong. Nope. Just needed a break. There was a combination of burn out (pandemic related) and life getting too busy for a while. But here I am again to keep you informed on so…

Maybe you noticed that you haven’t heard from me for a while.  As I had mentioned, we went on a vacation and had a great time.  And I took a vacation from writing this blog as well.  Now I’m back and will try to get into the groove again of putting these together but it is summer…so probably won’t be…

As I’ve said over and over, and you’ve heard elsewhere, “follow the money”.  Following the money reveals what things happen and why.  The bottom line is (and yes, pun intended) that when peoples’ incomes and business profits are impacted things change.  People and businesses, and governments too, will change when there is opportunity to increase income and profits or when these…

Happy Mother’s Day to you all.  I hope you get a chance to celebrate the Moms in your life.   Somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 years ago our human ancestors began to develop into the species we have now become.  (I recently read James Michener’s 1965 book The Source which begins human history within this timeframe.) But it was only about 10,000 years…

There are two primary articles I want to highlight today pertaining to a couple of topics I have covered regularly over the years. After that, I will throw at you a several headlines about the auto industry and the environmental impact of climate change. Let’s start with economics.  I have been writing about for a couple of decades now that there is not…

I’ve titled this message “Inevitable” to make clear to anyone who may still doubt that the future of automotive transportation, actually ALL transportation, will be powered by electrons, not fossils.  The pace of transformation continues to accelerate exponentially.  The issues of range, charging times and cost are rapidly being conquered and after a few initial articles on other topics I will…

Going Faster in Both Directions   Going Faster in Both Directions Once again it’s been a few weeks since I sent you my report on what’s going on.  Busy with grandsons and traveling. But the news and the message is pretty much the same.   The climate gets hotter.  The weather gets worse.  Both, faster and faster and more quickly…

Sonny and Cher: The beat goes on (HQ Version) – YouTube Enjoy some music as you read today. For newer readers, some of what I am going to cover today may be new to you.  But for those of you who have been getting this newsletter for longer, I am simply going to provide you with the current status on…

To start off today I want to share with you some information that may be of great interest to you or someone you know.  Many of you know that my wife Debbie has asthma.  For some time now we have been receiving from Sierra Club text messages when the air quality is dangerous for her so she can act accordingly…stay inside and…

You probably didn’t notice that I didn’t send a post last week.  We had the grandsons here and that consumed all our attention! In looking over the recent news I didn’t see any single item that I want to highlight this week so I thought I’d update you on a plethora of ones that I regularly bring to your attention.  So…

Happy New Year!  As we start 2022 I think back a few weeks to my last article of 2021 and reflect on how we started last year and where we ended up.  I am reminded that every year progress towards a new future happens more rapidly and dramatically than is expected by common perception. Remember this time next year that I am…

I am going to take some time off with my family so this will be my last post in 2021.  I’ll list some recent news at the end, as usual, but I want to reflect and share some thoughts about this past year in order that we grasp how much and how quickly our circumstances have changed, are changing and…

I am not going to dwell on any one particular issue today but rather thought that I would simply present you with some news on events that are happening that inform and update you on how and what things are changing relative to some of my usual subjects. I want to start though with giving you a link to a…

I hope that you are enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and for all my Jewish readers, a very happy Chanukah starting at sundown tonight.  We are having our Chanukah party tonight! Reflecting on what I am most thankful for it is the same this year as always: my family and health of all of us.  I and my family have all been…

The title says, Forget Glasgow.  I don’t really mean that.  Glasgow is important.  And I know that some, or even many, will think I’m off my rocker for saying this, but it’s not the most critical factor on how quickly and how far we implement changes to our society that will mitigate climate change to allow our civilization to function with some semblance of…

Every week there is so much news that is published about so many of the topics relating to climate change upon which I attempt to keep you abreast.  This week is no different.  The primary one upon which I will dwell today is very revealing as to why it is so important to keep warming below 1.5 degrees celsius and how the…

Every week brings a wide array of articles that relate to and provide updated information and developments regarding many of the topics about which I report to you.  Sometimes I will feature one subject in more detail while also now providing you with headlines and a brief quote from the featured article and others so you get the salient point(s)…

Those of you who have been getting and receiving my postings know that I make a lot of predictions based on data but using my premonitions and judgement to forecast what is coming often long before the “experts” will.  And when what I have projected comes to pass, I love to say “I told you so!”.  Sure, I have an…

Besides my showing you the science of climate change and the actual real world physical consequences of it (i.e. more and stronger hurricanes, more intense storms, melting glaciers, changes in the jet and gulf streams, tropical diseases moving north, flooding, mud slides, drought, fires, etc.) I have tried to alert you to the impact that a warmer climate is having…

Last week I presented you with a smorgasbord of environmental news.  This week I’m going to display a variety of good and bad news that has been published in the last number of days.  I’ll start with the good news that should give us some level of optimism that we have the ability to do something effective to alter our society in order to…

Today’s messaging is going to be a smorgasbord.  I am going to display for you a variety of items pertaining to several of the topics I cover.  Transportation, insurance, real estate (primarily housing), water shortages and biodiversity.   Since the last few blogs have been about the auto industry let me start there.  If there is still any doubt in your mind as…

Most of you know that my career was mostly in the automobile business basically my whole life but full time from 1976 to 2009.  That is why I have a keen interest and insight into the industry.  That shows up in this blog as I continue to read the Automotive News weekly and follow the business in other ways as…

The focus of today’s commentary is about the insurance industry and the role and the consequences that the warming planet is having on the industry and how this is and will effect your daily life.  There are two principal aspects that I am going to address.  First, how climate change is impacting insurance and the implications to each of us…

It’s been a few weeks since you’ve heard from me as I was on vacation.  My son Zack (35) and I went on a wilderness kayaking trip on the Allagash River in very northern Maine with a group from Sierra Club.  We had a great time.  It was so very nice to get removed from civilization for 8 days and just relax.…

I was listening to the radio yesterday and the “disk jockey” asked the listeners what covid habit you got into you were going to get ride of/change now that restrictions are being lifted a bit.  I realized that one that I have fallen into is writing this article pretty much every Sunday.  You may have noticed, but probably not, that I missed…

It is hard to comprehend that we are around half way through summer.  It sure doesn’t seem like it to me.  It’s going by so quickly and for some reason I feel like I’m missing out.  Maybe because of the weather?  Too hot, too dry, too wet, too cool, too windy (meaning being unsuitable to kayak on Lake Michigan).  But…

Happy Father’s Day and first day of summer!   Today’s article is about science and a new way of measuring what we humans are doing to our atmosphere and subsequently the climate.  Here’s a fundamental premise of the piece that follows.   “The miracle of life on Earth hinges on a delicate balance. The sun’s rays enter the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the planet. At the…

Recently, I’ve mostly been writing about what is going to happen to our society as a result of a warmer climate.  Real estate, insurance, finance, fossil fuel industry, carbon taxes, transportation (especially cars and trucks), etc. I decided today to remind everyone why these consequences are all going to happen.  Paraphrasing what someone once said, It’s the Climate Stupid.  As CO2…

I start today by reiterating my long standing prediction that by 2030 all new cars (and increasingly it looks like light duty trucks and maybe even some heavy duty ones too) sold in the U.S. will be fully electric or drive 95% of the time on electricity.  Back in 2014 when I first made a bet on this it was pretty…

Boy oh boy.  A guy can’t go on vacation for a couple of weeks without the world turning up side down.  Yeah, after a year and a half barely leaving my house and now that the whole family is fully vaccinated, we took a nice break on the beach for a couple of weeks.  It sure felt good!  Fishing, tennis,…

I am trying something a little different today.  I want to see if this is an improvement from what I have done in the past. Let me know what you think after you’ve had a chance to check it out.  Email me back with a thumbs up or down, yes or no, or some such indicator.  I am going to go…

Back to my usual format this week.  I am going to focus on a single topic and a single article.  This time energy; solar to be specific.     I will admit that my ego is soothed when what I have been telling you for well over a decade comes to pass.  And so I will simply let the following…

After a couple of weeks of posting current headlines about what is happening around the country and globe relating to climate change, I was thinking that this week I’d tackle just one topic, one article, and get into it in more depth.  But as I reviewed the articles that I had read and saved for this publication I was once…

MANY years ago when my kids were little (the youngest is 31 now) we had a Beetlejuice doll.  It was about 18 inches tall and when you pulled a string it would say “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” and its head would spin around.  It would freak out our dog and at one point he tore the thing apart leaving only the head and…

You probably didn’t notice that I didn’t write an article last week.  I just needed a break.  But in the last two weeks, the news has not stopped.  So this week, I am simply going to recap some headlines of what has occurred recently.  These headlines, and maybe one brief passage from the article, cover a broad swath of the…

Almost a year ago, May 2020, I wrote the following article. How Many Fingers Do You Have? https://franklytalking.com/how-many-fingers-do-you-have/ The point I was making, and have been predicting all along for many years if you’ve been paying attention, is that our transition from a world reliant on fossil fuels to one that has essentially eliminated the emission of CO2, methane and…

I received some great feedback on the post I sent out last week about the possibility of a fee on carbon.  The following is a great summary of what I heard. Just flagging that a carbon tax unless set extraordinarily high – likely drives little progress outside of the power sector, e.g. in bldgs, transport and industry. And with coal only 20%…

I can’t remember how long ago people started asking me what I thought would be the best way to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels.  I always said it would be with a fee on carbon.  Economists have been saying this for a long time as well.   There has been one truism in American politics that the third rail has…

You all know the story about the frog and the boiling pot of water.  If you threw a frog into a pot of hot water it would immediately jump out.  But if it were in a pot of water that was at a temperature that it found normal and gradually turned up the heat it would slowly boil to death.…

Above: Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago testifies before Congress on the Social Cost of Carbon In the past I have alerted you to how seemingly little insignificant things can actually have enormous impact.  I’ve written several times about NSR, New Source Review, which has a huge impact on many things but especially on whether a coal fired power…

Today is Valentine’s Day.  It’s a time to think about and appreciate all those in your life that you love.  Those that know me know that my wife and family are the core of my life.  Thus, today’s message is about the future…their future.  I have been, and still am, terrified about the planet that my kids and their kids…

There’s been several articles this week that describe how we are inexorably headed for a carbon free, mostly, electric future in transportation.  There have been, and still are, skeptics that don’t believe that we will get to the point by 2030, or 2035 at the latest, when every mass produced car in the US will be fully electric much less light duty…

It is impossible for me to write a post today without saying anything about the insurrection/coup attempt at the Capital Building on Wednesday.  Debbie and I have been talking and worrying for a very long time about if there would be violence in the streets if Trump lost the election.  While we did not foresee the assault on our nation’s Capital Building, with ALL…

I hope you had a wonderful holiday however you may celebrate.  And let’s hope that we survive until noon on January 20th and that after that 2021 is a better year than this one.   As we end 2020 I am astounded and delighted by the change that has occurred since the 2018 midterm election. The change in the public’s…

The time has come,’ the Walrus said,       To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —       Of cabbages — and kings — And why the sea is boiling hot —       And whether pigs have wings.’ This week is a continuation of last weeks post about the end of the fossil fuel industry.  This week is specifically focused on…

“This rather old saying, ‘chickens have come home to roost’, is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone has done in the past have come back to bite or haunt the individual. In other words, you are telling someone that he has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past — though he may…

I listened to a webinar this week about the future of the energy industry.  It reminded me of a panel discussion I attended at the University of Chicago’s Annual Economic Outlook luncheon in 2012 when a Toyota executive was predicting that the majority of vehicles in 2050 would still be burning gas even if many of them might be hybrids.  My view then was that…

Last week I wrote about electric vehicles and why some people are more inclined than others to be interested in buying one.  This week I am going to stay on the electricity theme and show how the way EV’s are charged is changing. The message is that the cost of wind and solar have dropped so fast and so far that it now…

Let’s talk cars.  There’s a bunch of news recently on several fronts.  Two states are passing legislation requiring all sales of new cars to be electric by 2035.  (That’s only five years after I bet on 2030 quite a few years ago.  The world is finally catching up to me!)   ELECTRIC VEHICLES: N.J. calls for 100% EVs by 2035,…

You know that I’ve been warning for a very long time that investments in fossil fuel assets are going to lose their value and do so much sooner and faster than “conventional” wisdom.  Of course, there were some that didn’t even agree that fossil fuel investments were even risky.   I posited that major oil companies’ investments in enormous development projects…

Today’s message is that small, sometimes nearly invisible things matter in a BIG way.  Previously I’ve alerted you to NSR (New Source Review: https://franklytalking.com/altering-nsr-can-kill-you-concerned/) and how what might be an obscure adjustment to a regulation can have an enormous impact on your personal health and that of the planet. In addition, I wrote about the CRA (Congressional Review Act: https://franklytalking.com/what-the-hell-is-cra-and-why-should-you-care/) and how its…

As you know, I have been writing about the adaptation of electric vehicles forever and predicting the conversion to an all electric fleet long before the “experts” have been prognosticating.  One of the primary reasons is that I have faith that battery technology and competitive costs will occur quantum times faster than conventional “wisdom”. Facts on the ground continue to support my…

After sending my last message to you incapsulating some of my themes and perspectives I thought that today I would send you the highlights of some recent articles that summarize and reiterate several topics about which I’ve been writing.   I’ll leave it up to you to look up the articles if you want more details.   Phoenix Hits 114 F for…

I recently received some feedback that there’s enough bad news from the media everyday and that it would be nice if I were more positive in my messaging.  Yes, there is some negativity in my writing. But mostly, I think I have been encouraging optimism.  In considering this I hope that my themes are coming through: 1.  Negative: The Climate…

I hope you listened to my warnings over the past few years and divested yourself from any asset in any way tied to fossil fuels not just for moral reasons but for your own financial security.   A great deal of the asset values supporting the prices of a fossil fuel extraction company’s financial instruments is the capitalized cost of the proven…

I have been writing for a long time about following the money as it relates to climate change.  More recently I’ve been revealing how more and more finance entities have been committing to begin redirecting their capital away from fossil fuel projects and into renewable energy assets.  This started with a trickle and becoming a torrent.  When this started it was tentative and…

Science matters.  While there aren’t many climate change skeptics any more, unless you belong to the Republican Party, it is  worthwhile to see graphically what is happening to our planet’s atmosphere so we can be confident of the rationale for demanding aggressive action to avoid the worst consequences that a quickly warming climate will cause.  So short and to the point today.  A quick…

As I have been writing about for years and in many of my most recent articles, follow the money.  Fossil fuels are being abandon like a hot potato.  As predicted, costs of renewables have dropped more than dramatically.  In 10 years solar has gone from $300 a megawatt hour to $38 in China today.  And wind in the last 10 years…

In case you haven’t been paying attention, it’s becoming more and more clear that the horse is out of the barn:  we’ve passed a tipping point.  When you can read this in Forbes, things have changed.   “After all the suffering of the pandemic, let’s make investments that will preserve life as we know in this planet and strengthen our…

I am staying on the finances of climate change.  The last post related to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) warning that:   “nations must do all they can to promote a recovery that also fights against the climate-change crisis” IMF Gets On Board More and more pressure is coming to bear on investors to take into consideration the risk of directing capital…

Short but sweet today.  Following up on my last two messages to you to reveal the widening acceptance and understanding that we should learn and take advantage of our current circumstances regarding the COVID – 19 pandemic as relates to climate chaos.  The two concepts to which I am referring are: 1.  There is a connection from this pandemic to…

I have been warning of the impending collapse of the fossil fuel business especially oil.  And, with it the devaluation of value of the oil companies’ stock price.  I expected it to happen quickly when it occurred but I certainly didn’t expect it to happen due to a global pandemic.  But here we are. As predicted, it ain’t pretty.  And after we get past…

I am thinking of all of you that receive and read my posts.  I am confident that, while it make take much longer than any of us would like, we will emerge from the pandemic in time.  I certainly hope and pray that we and all of our loved ones and friends are healthy and sound now and at that time. I imagine…

Following up on the post I wrote on Monday (https://franklytalking.com/is-the-coronavirus-pandemic-sending-us-a-wake-up-call-on-climate/) I am attaching two more articles about how ill prepared the U.S. is for anticipating and preparing for a rapid change in the climate and the consequences thereof.  Just look at the title of this post and think of how totally incompetently the current Administration is in dealing with the current Pandemic to…

The world around us is changing fast.  And as much change as we’ve seen in the last week, especially since Wednesday, it’s going to accelerate and it’s hard to imagine what life will be like a week from now much less in a month.  I hope you are taking this pandemic extremely seriously and staying home and isolated.  Even if…

I have been predicting for years that an alternative technology would eventually replace the lithium-ion battery that is now used in electric vehicles.  Some of the reasons being weight, cost, range and, the availability and cost of cobalt.   The following article describes a promising development that could make a huge difference in EV adoption.   We’re getting closer and closer to…

I am often asked by people, “what can and should I be doing to help curb climate catastrophe?”  Many people feel guilty about their lifestyle and/or simply want to do what they can to be a part of the solution to prevent the worst consequences of a warming planet.  My answer is not always what people want to hear. I…

Almost 40 years ago, 1982, a book was published called “Megatrends”.  The author had been an intelligence officer in WWII and was using a technique that had been developed during the war to intuit what was happening to society, primarily in Germany, at that time.  The general concept was to count the number of lines in the local papers that various…

In the past I have written about potential pivotal technology advances that will change the paradigm for electric vehicles (including planes and ships).  We have all read many announcements with hope, only to never see these come into commercial fruition.  (Although in an upcoming post I am going to be following up on one that I wrote about not too long ago that actually IS going into full…

The planet is already experiencing huge impacts from the increasing heat caused by our emitting heat trapping gasses, primarily CO2 and methane.  The consequences are going to get much worse due to the amount of these compounds we’ve already emitted but also what we will inevitably put into the atmosphere in the next 10 years and beyond.  And while we have and opportunity to mitigate the worse…

Last April I told you for a second time not to worry about the proposed fuel economy standards (CAFE) rollbacks because even if the Trump Administration did issue lower regulations that most likely they wouldn’t be implemented and if they were, the auto manufacturers would not adhere to them.     10 Months Later the Story’s Still the Same: Trump is Irrelevant You’ve seen that…

Undoubtedly you read or heard about the power shutoff that occurred in California recently by PG & E due to wildfires.  Most likely, though, you may not have thought about some of the implications of this beyond the immediate concern of the people effected by this event. The ongoing issues are very disconcerting and cannot be resolved overnight.  In fact, they may…

The following article is long and primarily focused on the risk of investments in fossil fuels.  While I have been cautioning you about this for years the chickens are now coming home to roost.  The financial markets are finally seeing the signs of a fundamental shift in where energy production is going.  And the markets are reacting.  While this is…

Reading the following article from Rolling Stone Magazine, I don’t know where to begin.  If you’ve ever read one of their feature articles you know how long they are.  So, I am reluctant to use them in my postings.  Yet, this one is so compelling.  It is about the impact of extreme heat that is coming as a result of climate change.…

  The last article I sent focused on dangerous heat events occurring all over the world but especially devastatingly in SE Asia.  This article delves into developing knowledge and research into the complications of how the changing climate is not linear but rather causing multiple factors of climate change to interact making climate disaster events exponentially worse.  Scientists are learning more and…

Just as technology that will accelerate the transition to a carbon emissions free future is developing more rapidly than most experts could imagine even five years ago it turns out that we are shooting at a moving target.  We need to develop and adopt solutions much more quickly than thought necessary because our planet’s climate is deteriorating materially more rapidly than we conceived.  This is…

In my last post I wrote about the cost of battery technology dropping dramatically and faster and faster.  So now I want to address the other big barrier to EV adaptation and that is speed of charging.  Due out this year is a car that will charge 60 miles in 4 minutes.  That’s 360 miles in 24 minutes.  OK.  Yea, it’s a Porsche…

Following up on my last posting about the fuel economy standards that the Trump Administration is attempting to reduce, I want to remind you of another theme that I have harped on for years:  that technology is progressing, and going to continue to do so, much more rapidly than “conventional wisdom” perpetrated by mainstream sources would have you believe.  Battery capacity, size, price…

Last June after the Trump Administration announced that is was going to roll back the Obama era fuel economy standards I told you not to worry about that.  Here’s the link to that posting.  Don’t Fret CAFE Rollbacks 10 months later the message is still the same and what I said then is being reiterated again now…   “”It’s a global…

There have been a great deal of articles recently with information and developments which I want to share with you.  My practice has been not to deluge you with emails from me and limit my posts to 2 or 3 a week.  I’ve decided to alter that practice for the time being and write to you more often, if I can find the time.…

Two themes that I have written about a great deal come together in this article. One is that risk of climate change is increasingly becoming factored into financial markets and financial decisions. I’ve cautioned about being invested in fossil fuel industry assets especially those companies that have trillions of dollars of fossil fuels on their balance sheets that could end…

Two reoccurring themes in my posts are that mainstream thinking is wrong and that changes are going to happen much, much faster than the experts project.  One of those changes is how fast the transition from a fossil fuel economy to one that is powered by renewable energy will happen.  Usually when I make some bold statement about how fast things will…

The retreat from coal is not only gaining momentum but beginning to become a tsunami.  Literally, TRILLIONS of dollars are being syphoned away from anything having to do with coal and there is nothing Donald Trump can do about this.  Once again I’ll say, Coal is a dead man walking.  With examples such as so many insurance companies divesting I wonder why others continue…

The urgency of fighting to limit the affects of climate change is becoming quite clear in the consequences that are already occurring.  In the last post I described the impact to real estate that is near the ocean coastlines.  Continuing on the same theme this article describes just some of the consequences from forest fires that are becoming more frequent…

“While electric-vehicle adoption remains small globally, and is expected to rise gradually, the prospect of a large-scale shift is setting up a showdown between oil companies and utilities over who will power tomorrow’s cars.”   I am doing something a little different today.  I am quoting the punch line above.  Transition from fossil fueled vehicles to those powered by electricity (hopefully,…

The following article appeared in the Wall Street Journal recently. It reveals how energy companies are viewing the future of automotive transportation. It also describes some of the investments that are being made in encouraging and preparing for a world full of electric vehicles (EV’s). While conventional wisdom continues to predict that a sizable portion of the market will still…

There are untold numbers of articles reiterating the fact that regardless of what the Trump Administration does about reducing the current CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards it would be insane for the auto manufacturers NOT to continue pushing forward on maximum fuel economy for their ICE’s (Internal Combustion Engines) and rollout of electric vehicles.  The article below is one…

Following is an informative article about the status of lithium production and how its supply is critical to the growth of the EV market.  Here are the critical passages…   “In the last two years, lithium production has not been enough to meet demand. As a result, lithium stockpiles have diminished,” said James Frith, an energy storage analyst at Bloomberg…

My articles have continuously reported to you the dramatic development of electric vehicles and predicted that their adaptation will be much more rapid than is being predicted by the mainstream media and prognosticators.  I’ll repeat my belief: By 2030 all mass marketed light duty vehicles in the US will be either fully electric or drive 80% of the time on electricity.  It…

The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is under attack again to be opened up for drilling for oil.  Oil companies, and their surrogates in Congress, and now, the White House, just can’t help themselves.  They have to rape and destroy every and any spectacular landscape on the planet… in the name of short term profits.   In a world that is quickly moving…

You may be aware that several of the Detroit auto manufacturers have lobbied the Trump Administration to revisit the fuel economy standards that were put in place by the Obama Administration. While these regulations are a bit complicated due to there being a couple of different standards, generally the regs require substantial and continued fleet average increases in fuel economy for…

Experimentation continues to evolve in the evolution of car sharing programs.  GM owns Maven and is trying new ways to fully utilize vehicle assets in ways that shares ownership and revenue streams to maximize utilization and income.  The following article provides insight into what General Motors is trying in this regard.  It is quite innovative and cutting edge.   “dealerships…

Those of you who have been following my messages know that I am exceptionally more optimistic about how quickly the auto market will transition from ICEs (internal combustion engines) to electric.  I have said for a long time that conventional wisdom is way to conservative.  I am not sure what criteria that is being used but I have a different…

Following up on my last post about the impact of the enormous iceberg that calved off of Antartica last week, today I am sending you an article about how the impact of melting ice could affect the United States (and the rest of the world as well) in terms of the flooding and its associated costs.  This should be a wake…

As I was sitting on my back deck this morning drinking my coffee, relaxing and listening to the symphony of chirping birds I heard the growl of airplanes flying by overhead.  Not an unusual sound for any of us almost anywhere in the world.  And faintly in the background, I could hear the sound of traffic on the highway that…

Surveys continually show that the American population is becoming increasingly convinced of and concerned about the changing climate and global warming.  The principal cause being the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere along with methane.  The two primary sources comprising about 80% of these emissions are from the production of electricity from coal and natural gas and burning oil in the…

Since the election on November 8, I have been asked countless times “what is the Sierra Club going to do to protect our environment?”  And this: “What can I do to prevent our natural resources and climate to be devastated by actions of the Trump Administration?”  The simple answer is to RESIST.  We simply cannot allow this new reality become acceptable.…

As a follow up to yesterday‘s piece, I am copying Automotive News’ editorial from last week.  This article points out that 2016 was the year of the EV and asks: “What changed? “It’s a move that is driven primarily by the customer,” Speth told us. “Customers see this type of vehicle as cool and sexy, especially younger customers” As a former…

The onslaught of fully electric cars that are competitively priced, get over 200 miles on a full charge and drive better and have more features than their ICE (internal combustion engine) counterparts continues to gain steam (another outdated form of power).  You probably recall that I own and drive a Chevy Volt and Debbie has a Tesla S.  And now, the…

For many years now I’ve been driving electric probably over 90% of the time.  I’ve had my Chevy Volt for over 5 years and in that, I use electric mode for around 80% of my miles.  For two and a half years Debbie has been driving a Tesla S which, of course, is 100% electric.  Combined we’re probably over 90% electric.…

OK.  So this article is kind of wonky and I don’t really get all the science in it.  But, what it says is that at Stanford they have developed an apparently simple and inexpensive way to make all kinds of plastic biodegradable.  This could be an enormous development for the health of the planet. “researchers at Stanford and IBM Research…

“If the Rain Comes They Run and Hide Their Heads” said the Beatles 50 years ago in their song Rain.  And now it is coming in much greater quantities over shorter periods of time much more frequently. Unfortunately, our infrastructure has not been constructed with this new normal in mind.   It’s too late now for our current systems to handle what is…

Those of you who have been receiving my blogs for some time know that I firmly believe that by 2025 virtually all mass produced new cars that are being sold will be either fully electric or drive 90% or more on electricity.  This report continues to support that concept.   Sooner, rather than later, one of the major psychological barriers, range anxiety,…

So many of the incredible technologies and medical breakthroughs we enjoy today and are making our lives better have either been due to basic research done by the our Federal government or funded by it.  Some of this has been done by the DOE (Department of Energy).  The following is a very exciting example.  If successful, the results of this…

In the past there has been discussion amongst our transportation groupies about the use of precious metals and the restraint that it could have on the mass adaptation of electric vehicles and battery power storage.  Therefore, this development sited below from Honda is a potential game changer.   “Honda Motor Co. has developed a new electric motor for hybrid vehicles that tackles…

Out of the blue, this appears to me to be pretty big news.  No one seems to have seen this important development coming.  We’ll have to watch and see how it plays out and the impact it will have on fuel economy and the industry.  It seems like it could be a major driver (pun intended) of decision making at…

Hello to all my transportation friends.  Hope your summer is going well.  I thought this news would be of some interest. Nissan develops e-bio fuel cells for 2020 Tech is safer, cheaper, automaker says June 20, 2016 Hans GreimelTwitter   YOKOHAMA, Japan — Nissan Motor Co. has developed a new kind of fuel cell technology it says is safer, cheaper…

  This Might Get the World to Finally Pay Attention to Climate Change Alissa Walker Yesterday 7:20pm The Royal Navy’s HMS Defender, one of six Type 45 Defenders. (Image: Getty Images News) Six British warships stationed in the Persian Gulf are breaking down because the water is too hot. This week, members of the British Navy testified to the UK’s…

Many of you are most likely not aware that I have another blog that focuses strictly on transportation issues.  If you are interested in being on that list simply email me and let me know.  That said, I considered posting this message there but felt that this topic would be of a more general interest so decided to post it…

This week’s Automotive News featured an article about the Chevy Bolt and other EV’s that are about to hit the market that, like the Tesla, are designed from scratch and are changing the paradigm for electric vehicles and all vehicles.  There are some interesting data points in the following that will help understand how this market is changing.   The…

Electric Vehicles (EV’s) are inherently better than ones with a gas powered ICE (Internal Combustion Engine).  EV’s perform better with a lower center of gravity and better acceleration making them fun to drive.  (Ask a Tesla owner.)  With almost no moving parts, they are much less costly to maintain and provide way more room for passengers and storage on a…

From the following article: “It’s not a question of whether the industrials are gonna be regulated, it’s when and what does it look like.” Recognizing that change is coming, some of the biggest companies in the world (Shell, Monsanto, United Technologies, International Paper, Lafarge North America, a cement maker, )  are getting engaged in shaping what the future will look like.  Resistance is crumbling…

Starting next week, the Paris Climate Negotiations will occur.  World leaders and their representatives will come together once again to attempt to craft an agreement or treaty that will begin to curve the trajectory of climate warming gases back to a level that will save the planet from devastating consequences.   The following article is a good summary of what will be happening…

In case you somehow missed it, President Obama on Friday denied the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline ending 7 years of uncertainty.  Below are links to two videos.  First is his 9 minute statement and the second is a shorter video from the Sierra Club thanking him. I have discussed this controversy with many of you over the years…

Most of us, especially those of us in our comfortable homes in Chicago’s Quiet North Shore Suburbs, feel quite safe and secure.  We can’t imagine an enormous explosion that could destroy our homes, lives and communities like what happened in the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic as described below in Mike Brune’s Blog.  Think again.   Many receiving this may remember…

There is no doubt that we have not moved quickly enough to avoid the horrible consequences that we are already experiencing from a rapidly changing climate.  And it is only going to get worse for the next several decades based on the CO2 and methane that is building up in the atmosphere and will continue to do so for the…

In case you’ve missed this great news…   Kansas City bids to become EV mecca Who’s doing it: Kansas City Power & Light Partners: Nissan and ChargePoint Charging stations planned: 1,001 240-volt stations; 15 Nissan-branded fast-charging stations Cost to install: $20 million Cost to consumers to charge vehicles: Free for the first 2 years. Nissan will cover electricity costs at…

Information continues to come out of China that the leadership there is engineering an about face when it comes to fossil fuels AND transportation.  China is beginning to head in a new direction… and relatively fast.  And the rest of the world had better take heed.   While I have been informing you of China’s moves to clear their air…

I guess the sky isn’t falling after all.  Looks like the auto industry can meet government regulations AND sell lots of cars and truck and make record profits.   This happens every time new regulations are proposed.  They cry that they can’t do it, that nobody will buy the vehicles and they’ll go broke. Then they go out and meet…

I hate say I told ya so (not really) but…..     Battery costs for electric vehicles are falling faster than industry estimates — study Umair Irfan, E&E reporter Costs of battery packs in electric vehicles are declining faster than expected, according to a new report. While industry analysts predicted battery pack costs would decline from $1,000 per kilowatt-hour to…

The future is coming fast…   Tesla CEO vows Model S will drive hands free in 3 months Katherine Ling, E&E reporter Published: Thursday, March 19, 2015 Tesla Motors’ Model S luxury sedan will be able to steer itself on highways after a software update in about three months, CEO Elon Musk said today. Speaking in a media call, Musk…

Cost and reliability are the two major objections I regularly hear as to why people don’t believe we will ever get off of fossil fuels, and certainly, not any time soon.  The following article addresses both issues as it relates to the cost and availability of solar energy storage. I firmly believe that green energy will completely take over energy production long…

The following article is a good summary on where things stand on EV development as we head into 2015.   Industry ‘can’t give up on EVs’ Despite cheap gas, developers press on Automakers remain under regulatory pressure to make giant gains in the average fuel economy and emissions of their U.S. fleets by the 2025 model year. Automotive News January…

One of the push backs I occasionally receive when predicting mass adaptation of EV’s is how charging will work in multi family buildings and where people use street parking. And being the eternal optimist that I am, I’ve voiced my faith that we will find solutions. And here they come. This is really an exciting development. Check it out. EV…

Here’s some current news: Tesla expects 50% jump in deliveries this year But crossover delayed until Q3 next year “There are a whole bunch of things we could do to stimulate demand if that were our problem.” — Elon Musk Automotive News November 10, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla Motors Inc. said last week it expects to deliver 33,000 units…

It has been a while since I wrote about automotive news and how we are going to move Beyond Oil (the name of the Sierra Club Campaign to get the U.S. off of oil by 2050).  In fact, the Sierra Club Board of Directors, of which I am one, voted last week at our November Board meeting, to officially adopt…

Finally, there are an increasing number of well documented research papers being published that are validating what I have been saying for a long, long time: SOLVING THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS TECHNOLOGICALLY POSSIBLE AND WILL NOT DESTROY OUR ECONOMY.  IN FACT, IT WILL ACTUALLY BE ECONOMICALLY PROFITABLE TO DO SO ESPECIALLY WHEN PUBLIC HEALTH COSTS ARE ALSO PART OF THE…

It’s now several months later since the following article was written and we know that the Tesla Battery Gigafactory will be built in Nevada.  The following article details what the intent of this factory will be and how Tesla plans to make battery powered vehicles price competitive with those of ICE’s (Internal Combustion Engines).  Elon Musk, Tesla’s owner and founder, expects that…

Internet’s down. Let’s use the Volt! Automotive News September 29, 2014 Things ground to a halt one morning this month at Buff Whelan Chevrolet in suburban Detroit after the dealership’s Internet connection went dead. Staffers couldn’t run lease payments, find cars in inventory or report sales to the factory. Then a light bulb came on for Matthew Oleszczuk. The new-car…

This is not a normal time in the auto business.  While many are thinking that ICEs (internal combustion engines) will be with us for a long time, I believe that they are dead wrong.  Why would anyone buy anything BUT an electric vehicle when the price is competitive, performance is better, you can drive 200 miles on a charge and…

It’s been a while since I posted anything regarding the transportation industry. There’s a lot to catch up upon from over the summer and I’ll try not to inundate you too quickly but there’s a great deal of information to share with you in this dynamic arena.  But let me start with the following article that was on page 3…

  When I turned 16 back in the late 60’s everyone went to get their driver’s license immediately.  We didn’t even have to have taken and passed Driver’s Education then.  Just show up and take the test and hope you passed, as I did.  It was status then and a right of passage.   As the following article delineates, once…

I have been saying for years now that electric vehicles will take over the market sooner rather than later.  And that it will be much, much sooner than almost anyone else predicts.     At 2012’s University of Chicago Booth School of Management spring Conference I listened to the Keynote Panel discuss The Future of Transportation.  The panelists were Bill…