As if it wasn’t hard enough trying to displace the internal combustion engine as the motive force of the automobile, then this happens.  First the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt’s battery starts catching fire.  Then battery-maker Ener1 files for bankruptcy protection.  Last Thursday, the electric vehicle arena acknowledged more bad news.  Fisker Automotive, maker of the electric sport coupe Karma and promisor of the Nina, issued a press release following a set of disquieting reports from various outlets.  The sour news:  “As a prudent b...

We blogged last May and again in December about the tidal wave of litigation set loose by Our Children's Trust (OCT), an Oregon environmental group that had orchestrated the filing of  a dozen suits asserting the defendant States and the United States had an obligation under the public trust doctrine to restrain carbon dioxide emissions, as well as regulatory petitions in about 40 jurisdictions.  One can find OCT on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo. It prepares "backgrounders" for the press (attached). It has even coined its own acronym, ATL (atmospheric trust litigation...

Yesterday was a banner day for offshore wind farms in the mid-Atlantic.  Promoters and advocates received a favorable environmental assessment, a new form and two calls for nominations.  The Environmental Assessment.  Secretary Ken Salazar of the Department of the Interior gave wind developers a big boost when he announced the Department's decision to move forward with government leases of offshore areas for wind farms. This comes at a crucial time for wind turbine manufacturers; Danish turbine giant Vestas A/S announced last month that it would be closing one factory, lay...