February 22, 2010
Bill Gates Calls for Innovation
In a recent article posted by Bill Gates, he noted that in order to reach certain goals for reduction of CO2, insulation is not the answer, but rather through innovation. The goals referenced by Mr. Gates include a 30% reduction in CO2 by 2025 and an 80% reduction in CO2 by 2050. As Mr. Gates points out, the 2050 goal is likely not attainable – not without major innovation.
The issue, as I see it, is that this is a global goal. It is tough to have a global goal, however, if every country is not on board. If that is the case, then we must look to the law of averages. If only one of the major CO2 producing nations is not completely on board, then there is no way that the goal can really be attained. That is, not unless the remaining countries take their CO2 production down to nearly 0%. Unfortunately, there are some greenhouse gas emissions that we just cannot stop. As noted in the article, this may include, for example, the decaying process, making fertilizer, etc. So what does that mean for the USA? I believe it means a major shift in our transportation and energy production industry. It means that we will need a complete shift away from the archaic idea of burning fuel, i.e., petroleum, coal and even natural gas, in order to generate power.
February 4, 2010
Honda Sued for Trying to Save the Earth!
Honda can probably be considered one of the leaders in making more fuel efficient vehicles. They have always put out some pretty good vehicles, and now, with hybrid technologies, they have been manufacturing some vehicles that get between 40 and 45 miles per gallon. If I were Honda, I would want to boast about that too. Apparently, Honda started an ad campaign that offended Save the Earth Enterprises, an environmental group based here in the U.S. Save The Earth Enterprises sued Honda for trademark infringement over their recent ad campaign.
At first, I could not wrap my brain around this issue. I could not figure out who in their right mind would possibly confuse an environmental group with an automobile manufacturer. We have all heard about the (alleged) global warming issues, and if global warming was not enough of a reason to want to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle, then the price of fuel sure should have been. I also could not figure out what attorney in their right mind would possibly encourage their client, an environmental group, to sue a giant like Honda, who could only possibly be found at fault for manufacturing cars that may be too reliable (if you have had a bad experience with a Honda, please disregard that last comment).
