Tag Archives: green tech

Cars, computers and politicians

TweetLast time we had a big, big problem with cars, computers came to the rescue. This was after the second embargo, in 1979. The long gas lines scared us and we thought this was the end of an era, the end of the car as fun. Time to repent and mend our profligate ways, time [...]

Somber Sober Energy Thoughts

TweetThis is what happens with looooong conference calls: you’re sitting in front of your speakerphone, on mute so other participants can’t hear your typing or other asocial activities; your PC displays the PowerPoint under discussion.  You get bored, distracted, or, in the best cases, antsy. So, as I was listening to one more paean to [...]

Greening our houses

TweetI’ll start with a gadget story but we’ll end up with saving energy, with greening our houses, I promise.To save another kind of energy, patience, I tried a Logitech Harmony One “universal” remote.  Again.  A few years back, two previous experiences with Harmony remotes had been frustrating and, ultimately,  abandoned.  It could be me, I [...]

Energetic Feedback

TweetLast week’s column got me the most energetic feedback – so far. Some dislike what they call my negativism, my being a non-believer in a bright future for new energies, others think I’m wrong to call the electric car an out-of-reach dream.  Look at ethanol, a green replacement for Foreign Oil, look at the Tesla, [...]

Energy: Dreams and Realities

TweetMore good news this week: On January 20th, 2009, reality will re-enter the White House. As a Silicon Valley type, by reality I mean technology, science, you know, facts.  We’re happy to see a real scientist as our next Energy Secretary, for example.  Obama just appointed a Physics Nobel Prize winner, Steve Chu, to the [...]

The slow drift of globalization: Watching the Baltic Dry Index

TweetDurable high oil prices might kill the main lubricant of globalization. And trigger decisive innovations in the car industry. Why worry about the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) in a column usually devoted to media and technology? Two reasons. One, the index is an advanced measurement of the state of the worldwide trade, of its growth. [...]