Obama

President’s popularity is falling, a somewhat expected effect considering the difficult period we’re passing. For many, Obama is less visible than he should, especially concerning aspects of social welfare. The long-waited reform of the medical welfare seems of narrower impact than hoped for, and maybe the communication to the public not perfect, and thus the relatively low approval rate.

And on the other hand, of course, sooner or later Obama had to prove his limits, because he is not Messiah and current global problems are actually out of the reach, even for the “most powerful man on the Planet”.

I am one of the many who still believes in the good intentions expressed by President Obama, and hopes for their transformation into reality.

Gee Eight

The G-8 meeting in Italy finally brings an agreement in greenhouse gas emissions. World leaders seem to finally understand that doing nothing will be more expensive that doing something. Unfortunately they do not see (yet) the urgency and amount of action that needs to be done. A global reduction of 50% in emissions until 2050 sounds good for the press, but considering the inertia of the system, the effects will come simply too late for the environment. And of course, nobody can bet on the fact that the action will really come after the good intentions...

Now that the framework was set, massive amounts of funding will have to go to green technologies, and fast, if world leaders are serious about the issue.

Why not?

Clean, electric transportation can be a reality now! We have the know-how and the technology to implement it at affordable prices. The most straightforward and verified technology is the plug-in hybrid, or better, the all-electric car. NiMH long-life rechargeable battery packs for a 2-300 miles range for a medium car can be manufactured at about 10,000 dollars, with further reductions with scaling up the production.

What is still needed? – To satisfy the wish of the people for long-distance trips. And the only feasible way of doing this, due to the long recharging time of batteries (at least some hours), is to replace the discharged battery pack with a charged one at special “recharge stations” on the way. As a side effect, the price of electric cars will drop, as the customer will only rent, not buy the battery packs. Two key elements are needed for this: a standard for battery packs and battery pack chassis, and the recharge points/stations.

For the standard, a small effort from the automakers would be enough. For the recharge stations, about $15 billions, to furnish 10,000 stations with 50-100 battery packs each. This will be a base, start infrastructure that would increase many-fold the demand for electric vehicles. The sum might seem large, but it’s less than 1% the US early budget, and would be the necessary spark for a green revolution in the transportation system that could reduce 20-40% greenhouse gas emissions, apart from creating new jobs and raising living standards.