Energy
Well, silly me, here I thought that the Biofuel Pact that will be signed by President Bush and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would be viewed as a good thing. Here’s what I thought would be the main storyline: President Bush sees the new agreement with Brazil on ethanol as a way to…
In the Providence Phoenix from two weeks ago, Ian Donnis quoted University of Rhode Island Political Science Chairwoman Maureen Moakley on Rhode Island’s tendency to reject development of all sorts…For too long, Moakley believes, there has been a lack of vision and an excess of parochialism on economic development: “We don’t want a port, we…
Because many estimates concerning the efficiency of ethanol-based fuels put forth in the 1970s and 1980s were based on an assumption that ethanol would be primarily derived from corn, ethanol developed a reputation that has been hard to shake for being inadequate as a gasoline replacement. However, with technological improvements in agricultural and refining techniques,…
Over the past few months, the Projo has been running an interesting series of energy-policy editorials. Today’s editorial contained a reference to a possible new way to produce gasoline that I had never heard of before…The coal in Illinois alone could make more energy than all the oil in Saudi Arabia. And the technology to…
Suppose the electric company offered you a rate cut. Would you answer…“Yes, I’ll take it”, or“No thank you, I’d prefer that my rates be stable instead of low”.Bill Harsch, candidate for Rhode Island Attorney General, wants you to know that this question is not a hypothetical one, because the State of Rhode Island has determined…
1. According to Kevin Dennehy of the Cape Cod Times, the Federal legislation championed by Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt intended to kill the Cape Wind project has been mellowed. Cape Wind proposes constructing a set of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound capable of generating three-quarters of the electricity used by…
60 Minutes ran a story last night on ethanol as a fuel for automobiles. There now exists a proven fuel blend called E85 that is 15% traditional petroleum, 85% ethanol. The ethanol can be produced from corn which can be grown in abundance in the United States. Automobile engines using an advanced fuel injection system…
Back in February, the Projo editorial page dubbed Senator Lincoln Chafee “Senator Lincoln Hamlet” for taking too long to make up his mind on which way he would vote on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. (The Senator disputes the notion that he took an inordinate amount of time to…
At the behest of Congress, President Bush has offered a few solutions to the current gas crisis, including an investigation into whether the oil companies have engaged in price gouging. This last lays at the heart of the current debate. Bill O’Reilly certainly chalks it up to a sort-of-conspiracy and is particularly suspicious of the…
Some of the numbers in the White House’s description of the Advanced Energy Initiative worry me. It seems, judging by the amount spent, that a serious effort is being made with respect to coal and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles…The President’s Coal Research Initiative. Coal provides more than half of the Nation’s electricity supply, and America…
