Sunny Ahn’s WebLog

As I continue to be discouraged by the lack of leadership by the US government with regards to the environment, I look to key corporate firms to lead the way on key developments. While I’m generally alarmed by the ‘business-as-usual’ goals of such firms as Exxon-Mobil, who continue to have a short-term view of our non-renewable resources (It is truly remarkable how a leader in the energy field has demonstrated no leadership with alternative sources), I’m encouraged by the push of other corporate leaders as we look to the future to address our concerns with the environment.

Recently, Walmart pledged to reduce the energy use by many of its product by 25%. While Walmart has traditionally been quite a follower with respect to the environment, its pledge on a energy reduction of its products is signficant news, particularly given its impact on consumer purchases. Walmart’s influence on US purchasing behavior is, to put it simply, enormous given the impact on the output of CO2 emissions. Specifically, the firm has sold 145 million compact fluorescent light bulbs - enough to electricity for three coal-fired power plants in the US. Such numbers are certainly newsworthy and good first steps, as we must finds simple ways to change our behavior on even daily activities as it impacts own only environment.

My father, Kunil Ahn, officially announced yesterday that he is entering the race for National Assembly (US version of the Senate) in the Gaesan/Eumseong area for the Grand National Party. This has been something that he has been wanting to do for a while and he made it official, particularly since his father served 4 terms in the same district.

The nomination election is schedule for April 9th. Take a look at his website at http://ahn.nbora.com/.  Good luck dad

While the push to alternative fuels is an encouraging event, there generally is no one ‘right’ solution to address the global warming crisis. As the world pushes towards biofuels, there are a number of consequences that are likely to happen as a result. It is likely that the price of corn and other crops will increase dramatically as more people and investment goes into biofuels. In addition, there will likely be increased competition for land, particularly in Asia countries which might force many poor families off their land. Some scientist have even stated that energy crops can destroy natural forests that store carbon, which ultimately is a key source to reduce carbon dioxide. Thus it is important to look comprehensively at all the factors (cause and effect) that are associated with any alternative fuels, as there is no one clear solution.

More environmental news from GM as it invests in a biofuel start, Coskata.  The company is looking to commercialize a process to bring cellulose-based ethanol by 2011.  Currently switchgrass and wood chips are the main materials being used to produce cellulose-based ethanol.  GM claims that the production of the company’s ethanol is less than $1 a gallon to produce, about 1/2 that of producing gasoline.  This investment goes in hand with its push with hybrid vehicles, particularly as it pushes more consumers toward E85 biofuel (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline mix) in its FlexFuel vehicles.  

Toyota stated yesterday that they would launch a plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010, a counter-move to the announced plans by GM for its Chevrolet Volt, due by 2010 as well.  Both vehicles will be based on lithium ion batteries.  According to Toyota, each charge (which takes about 4 hours) uses about 2.7 kilowatt hours of electricity.   The plug-in hybrid, a version of the Prius, gets about 100 miles a gallon, in electric mode.  The plug-in Prius can stay in electric mode until 62mph versus 30mph for the conventional Prius. 

It was announced today that an European automaker, Motor Development International, has come out with an automobile (called MiniCat) that runs on compressed air.  The firm is based in Luxembourg and the cars are manufactured in France.  More on this to come.