Green News

Betfair, a well known online betting/gambling site is under scrutiny for using a young woman in advertisement.  Annette ‘Annette 15’ Obrestad (who once won a tourney without looking at her cards) was recently used in an advertisement and it was this ad that drew the criticism.  Protestors claim that using a person around her age (21) will influence younger people to begin gambling and placing sports bets themselves.  The ASA has banned Betfair and told them they cannot run anymore ads featuring people that look to be around the age of 25 (or younger) because of the effects it could have on young readers.

As the number of entrants exceeds the 1,200 mark and all direct buy-ins for the tournament have been sold out; what’s a player to do you may ask?  BoylePoker.com is offering satellites for online players wishing to enter this tournament which looks to be one of the biggest tournaments to take place outside the United States.  Players playing can qualify for the $25,000 tournaments with satellite tournaments starting at just $5.50.  Yes it may be a long shot when you starting with that low of a buy-in but why not give it a shot?  The tournament is set to begin Friday, October 16^th and it looks like the field will make history.

WCOOP is coming to a close and there are two players who are making their case for online poker’s best.  Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier and Daniel ‘djk123’ Kelly both finished with two WCOOP bracelets and though they both fell short of the $1.7 million 1^st place prize in the two day event they both claimed six figure wins.  DJK123 finished a top the leaderboard just ahead of Elky with victories in Event 2: Razz and Event 44: HORSE High Roller.  Elky wasn’t to be out done too badly scoring victories in Event 43: NL Hold’em and Event 38 NL Hold’em (1R1A).

As a member of the Poker Player’s Alliance I am concerned with the future of ‘online poker’ and with Congress returning to session the future of ‘online poker’ hangs in the balance.  The bill to watch in the upcoming months is ‘Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act’, which would allow US companies to obtain licenses and give them the chance to legally operate online gaming sites by abiding to a federal regulated framework.  If you would like your voice to be heard then register with the Poker Player’s Alliance and help save online poker for the U.S. citizens.

Filed under: Tesla Motors

About a month ago we heard that Martin Eberhard had decided to drop his defamation and breach of contract lawsuit against Elon Musk and Tesla Motors. Now comes word that Eberhard and the defendants have actually reached a settlement. Given the ruling of the judge in the case that the suit could proceed, apart from the claim that Musk was falsely claiming a role as co-founder, the settlement should not come as a surprise.

With Tesla having some good news in recent months thanks to DOE loans and an investment from Daimler, the company would surely not want to keep this one hanging out there. As expected, no one is talking about any details of the settlement. However, in a statement that has not yet been released in full, Eberhard reportedly says, “As co-founder of the company, Elon’s contributions to Tesla have been extraordinary.” In return for whatever Eberhard got, he probably had to make nice with Musk. Interestingly, Eberhard’s TeslaFounders blog appears to have been closed.

[Source: LegalPad]

Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk reach settlement in lawsuit originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Solar, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, USA

Listen to the messages coming out of Washington, D.C. and you’d think we’re spending all our available money on clean and green technologies, things like algae biofuels, cleaner cars and advanced batteries. Turns out, this isn’t remotely true. According to a new study that reviewed fossil fuel and energy subsidies for Fiscal Years 2002-2008 was just released by the Environmental Law Institute and discovered that the U.S. spends about two-and-a-half times as much on fossil fuels (mostly aiding foreign oil production) than it does on renewable energy. Fossil fuels were given about $72 billion during the seven years, while renewable fuels got just $29 billion. The money the U.S. spends on renewables isn’t all that great, either. Of the $29 billion, $16.8 billion went to producing corn-based ethanol. Just two tax credits – the Foreign Tax Credit and the Credit for Production of Nonconventional Fuels – account for about $30 billion. The ELI writes that, “The Foreign Tax Credit applies to the overseas production of oil through an obscure provision of the U.S. Tax Code, which allows energy companies to claim a tax credit for payments that would normally receive less-beneficial treatment under the tax code.”

It seems to us that taking some government money out of subsidizing fossil fuels would have a doubling impact on getting to a greener economy: petroleum products would get more expensive (a good thing to more to cleaner cars) and money would be freed up for cleaner technologies.

You can download a PDF of the report, titled “Estimating U.S. Government Subsidies to Energy Sources: 2002-2008.” For purposes of the study, fossil fuels included petroleum and its byproducts, natural gas, and coal products; renewable fuels included wind, solar, biofuels and biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy production. Nuclear was not included in either definition.

[Source: Environmental Law Institute]
Photo by Kenneth Hynek. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

STUDY: U.S. subsidises fossil fuels 2.5 times more than renewables originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fisker

Anyone that has watched either the auto industry or technology startups knows how hard it is to achieve profitability. Blend the two together and you more often than not have a recipe for financial disaster. We’ve seen far more aspiring EV makers go belly up than actually deliver product. Even well-financed companies like Tesla have been on the brink. Aside from Tesla, the other startup with the deepest pockets is Fisker Automotive with money from venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins and others.

Fisker hopes to reach profitability by 2011 with a sales target of 15,000 cars a year. The company claims to have a break even point of 5,000 sales a year so if they get anywhere close to the target, profits should be rolling in. However, as much as we like the Karma – and it certainly is a much more practical alternative than the Tesla Roadster – we remain skeptical. First, we have to wonder if there is a market for anything close to 15,000 Karmas a year at a price point close to $100,000. We also remain dubious of the profit potential given that engines will be shipped from the U.S. to Finland, where the car is to be built, with the completed cars then coming back to North America. Finally, Fisker apparently still has only about 1,400 orders for the car, barely more than the 1,300 reported last January. If the economy continues to languish, Fisker could have a hard time moving 5,000 Karmas much less three times that. Best of luck to Fisker, they are going to need it.

[Source: VentureBeat]

REPORT: Fisker looks to 2011 for profits; color us skeptical originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

Aside from the issue of limited range, the biggest problem with electric vehicles in the near term is expected to be cost. Mitsubishi has already announced that the starting price for its diminutive iMiEV in Japan will be approximately $47,000 before incentives and Tesla’s Model S will start at $57,000 (before incentives) and likely go up rapidly from there. One of the ideas being floated for reducing the up front cost of EVs is battery leasing. This has a number of potential advantages. The apparent cost of the vehicle is dramatically reduced by taking the single most expensive part out of the sticker price. It also allows the owner to opt for a shorter 3-5 year lease term on the battery and then replace it with a new one, alleviating some of the durability concerns.

Since the cost of electricity is significantly less than gasoline or diesel, if the lease cost of the battery is considered as something akin to paying for liquid fuel the total cost of ownership can be considered somewhat more equivalent. That’s exactly what Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told French paper Le Journal du Dimanche this week. According to Ghosn, the plan is to lease the battery for the upcoming LEAF EV for roughly €100 ($147 U.S.) per month in addition to the cost of the car which will be in the $25-30,000 range. Still far from inexpensive, but slowly getting there.

[Source: Le Journal du Dimanche]

Nissan to lease LEAF battery for $150/month originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, On Two Wheels, Green Daily

There’s so much that’s cool about how Blindspot Cycles created the “Drag N’ Bag” motorcycle in the picture above, it’s hard to know where to start. Is it that Blindspot Cycles’ owner Chris Ravana gets his supplies (mostly) from junkyards around his home of Ford Collins, Colorado? Is it that he replaces the fuel-sucking powerplants with all-electric drivetrains? Is it that he has a sense of style that just forces you to pause and go, “whoa”?

Whatever you think is the right starting point, Blindspot Cycles is beginning its own public journey this weekend with an official launch at the Sustainable Living Fair in Fort Collins. Blindspot makes nothing but custom bikes from “resurrected and recycled motorcycles,” starting at around $5,000.

The Drag N’ Bag bike uses a 1980 Suzuki GS 250 as a base and now sports a 72V electric drivetrain that can get up to 70 mph and go for 50 miles. Other bikes in the stable include The Red Racer, based on a 1977 Yamaha XS400 Special, and El Chopper, which used to be a 1986 Honda Rebel 250. See more in the gallery below.

[Source: Blindspot Cycles]

Continue reading New electric motorcycle company, Blindspot Cycles, sets up shop in Colorado

New electric motorcycle company, Blindspot Cycles, sets up shop in Colorado originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Toyota

GM has not been secretive about how important gas prices in late 2010 will be on the price of the Chevy Volt. During a webchat this week, GM vice chairman Bob Lutz said again that higher gas prices are needed for the Volt to become “generalized.” Specifically, he said:

The Volt technology is very exciting, but costs will have to come down before it can become generalized, and U.S. fuel prices will have to rise to world levels, meaning $5 or $6 per gallon.

Part of the reason, of course, is the high cost of the lithium-ion battery in the Volt. In Frankfurt this week, Toyota was singing a similar tune about costs, but from the other side. The tremendous expense of advanced battery packs will delay mass market acceptance of pure electric vehicles until 2020, Toyota execs told CBS.

The cost premium is certainly not a new topic on these pages, but it’s interesting to see the world’s biggest automakers both throw a bit of a damper on EV and plug-ins during an auto show that was so prominently about plug-in vehicles. Is this just sensible caution or something else?

[Source: CNET, CBS]

GM and Toyota agree: gas, battery prices defining parameters for plug-in acceptance originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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