Recently in the Media... Oil, the Environment and Renewables
There has been some good coverage of renewables and peak oil in the media in the last few weeks, the following are some hilites.
The speech of change
As we outlined in our March 20th newsletter, we had noticed a more or less "globally-neutral" mix of news articles about alternative and renewable energy at the end of 2005. This changed with the 2006 State of the Union address, becoming skewed towards the United States, as alternative energy advocates in the U.S. now had a taller box to stand on, and journalists received something new and relatively unknown to talk about.
Everyone on board
While there have been plenty of local town and district level articles, big media has stepped up as well, some halfheartedly so, while others are adding some value to the mix.
"Special Reports" such as this from the Guardian and After Oil from MSNBC look to be landing pages that hilight related articles that they publish, along with a little added value.
The New York Times published The End of Oil, an excellent piece that covers not only the idea of peak oil, but it's history, also examining the Saudis, energy security and where to go now.
Getting interactive
CBS has provided something a little more interesting than most in the form of one of their interactive elements.
Eye on Energy allows users to click thru various topics and to learn baseline information like average power demand and prices, and how different alternative energy technologies work. The link through to Eye on the Environment provides even more depth into issues that people need to learn about if they expect to make informed decisions about energy and the environment.
We were warned - CNN
The program We were warned was broadcast on CNN Presents. I didn't have access to it where I am located (anyone have a copy?), however they have some video clips available on their website, and the home page for the episode has links to a gallery and some more articles and information on their website.
Does General Motors get it?
One of the feature videos linked above is an interview with Robert A. Lutz, GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development. In the clip, he shows that he doesn't quite get hybrids yet and furthermore he may not get the whole hybrid market yet.
When asked about the Prius, he replies that hybrids didn't make business sense to G.M. when they evaluated them in the past. This is understandable, and he goes on to admit that G.M. effectively missed the boat on hybrids. But he then states that [the hybrid hype has] gotten so crazy that people will now pay for a hybrid that gets no better fuel economy then the gasoline equivalent because the name hybrid somehow makes it magic
.
Someone should wake Mr. Lutz up to the fact that there is a market there that cares, that they aren't crazy, and no magic spells have been cast on the word 'hybrid'.
Lets keep it up
This is all good stuff from the big media folks, and there is a lot of chatter in the newslines from smaller, local news departments as well.
We at Alternative Source like to see the baseline information getting out there. It will enable people to make the informed decisions needed now about an issue that is going to have a lasting effect on our future: how are we going to power the world into the future generations?
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