The Daily Five: Tuesday, 30 September, 2008

Gulf Coast gas stations are still reporting spot gasoline shortages; your TV may become obsolete next year; and the Blade Runner doubles as both bus and train

No quick end to gas shortage in Southeast: Spotty gasoline shortages continue throughout the southeastern United States, fallout from the double punch of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Retailers in Nashville, Atlanta, and Charlotte continue to report supply problems — the result of shuttered or damaged Texas refineries that could take another several week to get back to full capacity. Meanwhile, oil prices took a sharp drop Monday on fears of weak demand and a sputtering U.S. economy. Light, sweet crude closed down $10.52 to $96.36 a barrel Monday, off over 10 percent from the previous close. (USA Today and MSNBC)

2 First U.S. carbon auction brings states $39 mln: The first stateside carbon auction raised some $39 million dollars toward renewable energy construction. Big carbon emitters, such as power companies, snapped up the right to emit carbon dioxide at a little over three dollars a ton. The selling states — Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont — will divide the money to fund more green energy resources for the region. (Reuters)

10% of U.S. Domestic Energy Now Renewable : While the future of the renewable energy tax credits which have led a boom in green energy technology remains in doubt, the industry is clearly making progress. A new report on how things are going has just been released by a group calling itself the SUN DAY Campaign. It says, in part, that green power now makes up about 10 percent of our national production. Leading the way: biofuels and biomass/ But windpower is catching up quickly, up almost 50 percent from last year’s reported numbers. ( EcoGeek)

ASL Steps Up TV Recycling Efforts Ahead of Digital Switch: By now, you’ve probably heard about the big TV switch in 2009, when broadcasters will be compelled to switch off traditional channels in favor of the new U.S. digital standard. The move, which is scheduled for February 17th, will instant make obsolete all analog televisions not on cable or using an over-the-air digital converter — and that means an avalanche of potentially toxic e-waste. California’s ASL Recycling is among the disposal companies ramping-up for a crush of dicarded TVs. They’re planning to stage 150 collection points to take up and safely dispose of the sets. We’ll help direct you to a collection site in your nieborhood as the switch gets closer. (Good Clean Tech)

Blade Runner concept combines a bus with a train: It’s a bus — i’s a train. It’s both. A new mass transit concept called the Blade Runner from the UK’s Silvertip Design is designed to help meet new demand for rail transportation option, without the need for additional track construction. The Blade Runner looks a bit like a jumbo-sized double decker bus. It’s equipped with two sets of running gear: one for road, and one for rail. The Blade Runner would be capable of taking to the highway when rail lines aren’t available, functioning as if it were an 18-wheeler. Like modern locomotives, diesel generators would power electric motors connected to the drivetrain. (Autoblog Green)

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