oil

The 404 130: Where Justin dances like a Muppet

Fridays are always the craziest days at the 404--hopefully you saw today's preshow where Justin danced his little Muppet heart out to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." If you missed it, you can still check out the video below. We have the pleasure of speaking to the great Lou Bakalar today over the phone; he gives us his take on cutting edge tech and we pick his brain about the dangers of driving a taxi in the city. The story rundown is equally zany, filled with strip clubs, celebrity death predictions, vegetable oil automobiles, and of … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: Wind-powered sports car

Here's a sampling of recent green-tech news:

Sony Unveils Ultrasmall Hybrid Fuel Cell -- Tech-On Sony looks to put fuel cells in gadgets, following a prototype that Sharp demonstrated last week that uses methanol as a fuel.

Canon patents fuel cell-powered cameras -- Crave -- CNET AsiaFuel cells are coming to consumer electronics, it seems. Quite a bit of activity on this front in the past week.

Oil Left in the Ground -- Technology ReviewWe have smart grids--why not have "smart oil fields?" Interest in existing oil fields, where as much as 75 percent of … Read more

Red tape, costs entangle fans of 'green' fuel

It's not uncommon on California roadways to spot diesel cars with bumper stickers that boast of biofuels in the engine, using slogans such as "Fuel for the revolution."

"This is the largest underground movement in the United States since the Civil War and the underground railroad," said Michael Wittman, an environmental activist and biodiesel user in Los Angeles.

But many drivers who began using biofuels to reduce their carbon emissions and save money fear that little-known government regulations are nipping the adoption of homegrown, "green" fuels in the bud.

In California, it's … Read more

Green-tech news harvest: Rising oil prices, ethanol plant cancellations, grease bandits

Here is a sampling of green-tech and energy news over the past few days:

Goldman's Murti says oil 'likely' to reach $150 to $200 -- Bloomberg Oil is now at about $120. Will $200 drive more investment in clean tech?

Grease bandits strike as biofuel demand rises -- The Christian Science Monitor Grease thieves are driving up behind Burger Kings to steal material to make biodiesel. Says a cop: we see it all the time now.

Poet cancels ethanol plant -- Greentech Media The gold rush mentality in ethanol seems to be fading fast. Poet cancels a planned Minnesota … Read more

Marathon Oil, GM invest in ethanol maker Mascoma

In a step toward maturing the cellulosic ethanol business, Mascoma officially announced on Tuesday $61 million in third-round funding, which includes participation from Marathon Oil and General Motors.

Marathon Oil, a gas and oil refiner, will put $10 million into Mascoma to help construct a plant and to further develop the company's proprietary microbe that streamlines the process of turning wood chips or agricultural waste into ethanol.

GM's decision to invest in Mascoma--the second cellulosic ethanol company with which it has partnered--was disclosed last week. GM's amount, however, is under wraps.

As previously reported, Mascoma's … Read more

Can renewable energy make a dent in fossil fuels?

A correction was made to this story. Read below for details.

4.2 billion.

That's how many rooftops you'd have to cover with solar panels to displace a cubic mile of oil (CMO), a measure of energy consumption, according to Ripudaman Malhotra, who oversees research on fossil fuels at SRI International. The electricity captured in those hypothetical solar panels in a year (2.1 kilowatts each) would roughly equal the energy in a CMO. The world consumes a little over 1 CMO of oil a year right now and about 3 CMOs of energy from all sources.

Put … Read more

Sail-powered cargo ship test results in: It cut fuel by 20 percent

Sail power is back.

The MV Beluga SkySails, a cargo ship rigged up with a billowing 160-meter sail from SkySails, used approximately 20 percent less fuel than it would have without the sail during a two-month voyage. Put another way, that's 2.5 tons of fuel, or $1,000 a day, in operating costs. Beluga Shipping ultimately hopes to save $2,000 a day with the technology.

The ship left Bremen, Germany, on the 22nd of January, sailed to Venezuela, and then headed toward the Norwegian port of Mo-I-Rana, docking on March 13. In all, the ship sailed 11,… Read more

Oil demand stays relatively flat, despite rising prices

North America and Europe are consuming less oil, but worldwide demand is still rising despite increasing prices.

The International Energy Agency came out with its monthly report yesterday and, in some ways, it's business as usual. Demand in Western economies for oil dropped by about 190,000 barrels a day, bringing daily consumption down to 49.3 million barrels. Demand in China, India, and other developing nations, however, rose by 120,000 barrels a day to 38.3 million barrels a day.

In all, that comes to 87.5 million barrels a day of oil being consumed worldwide--close to … Read more

Chevron, Weyerhauser team up for biofuels

There's nothing like 200-plus-year-old companies teaming up for the 22nd Century.

Oil giant Chevron and Weyerhauser, which has been in the lumber business since 1900, have formed a 50-50 joint venture called Catchlight Energy that will focus on developing fuels from cellulose-based biomass, like wood chips. Both companies have been working with various universities, such as Georgia Tech, on biofuel research, and this gives them a way to share information.

Chevron's Michael Burnside has been appointed CEO of the venture.

Some will no doubt boo and hiss this deal. Here we have two of the oldest companies focused … Read more