Subject: Energy Technology

• Pleasure Cruiser

  Why is Paul Villinski's "Emergency Response Studio" parked outside Rice Gallery?

  February 12, 2009

• Rescue in a Box

  August 31, 2006

• Kinky Talk

  July 11, 2006

• Stimulus Funds Helping Houston Firm Give Out Free Home Fixes

  Photo courtesy Sheltering ArmsPeople are sometimes suspicious when one of Scott Pool's inspectors calls. The offer -- to weatherize one's house for free -- sounds too good to be true. "We have to convince them that, really and truly, nobody's going to charge them," says Pool, the weatherization director at Sheltering Arms Senior Services, a multi-faceted non-profit in Houston. "People have to be assured that there's no scam involved." Weatherization means caulking, insulating or otherw

  June 1, 2009

• It’s Not Like It’s Rocket Science

  June 15, 2007

• John McCain in Houston

  June 17, 2008

• Wind Power to the Rescue

  July 17, 2008

• Galveston -- Exhibit A Against Offshore Drilling?

  July 18, 2008

• Enron's Lou Pai Gets Into Cow Farts

  August 7, 2008

• Diva of the Deal

  How Enron's high temptress turned massive projects into a $2 billion wet dream for the company -- and an estimated $100 million profit for herself

  October 10, 2002

• Best Talk Radio

  Home Improvement Hotline

  September 25, 2003

• Wal-Mart Turns To Wind Power, A Little

  Wal-Mart is going green in Texas! And we don't just mean the dollars you save every day!! Actually, the company is kinda making a bold move of sorts, teaming up with Duke Energy to get wind power for several of its Texas stores. The two companies announced today that beginning in April, Duke will provide wind energy from its windfarms in west and central Texas directly to Wal-Mart; about 15 percent of the retailer's 360 stores and other facilities here will be linked up at first. "This pa

  November 20, 2008

• UH Prof May Have Created The Self-Charging Cell Phone

  One day, maybe soon, you'll charge your cell phone just by walking around with it -- thanks to a UH professor.Pradeep Sharma and an A&M professor named Tahir Cagin think they've solved a problem that's long vexed researchers. It involves a lot of mumbo-jumbo of the sort that scientists like to use, but essentially, through the wonders of nano-technology, the pair have greatly increased the efficiency of a gizmo that generates electricity through movement.Sharma tells Hair Balls you will be r

  December 2, 2008

• Got Mad, Got Even

  March 23, 1995

• A Question of Power

  June 22, 1995

• Environment Texas Wants More Solar Power (Big Surprise)

  Environment Texas held a press conference today in front of the Mirabeau B. Sales Center at the corner of Waugh and Hyde Park to, excuse the pun, shed light on the positives of solar energy, specifically in terms of promoting "green" collar job growth in the solar power industry and reducing energy costs in Texas. "Texas is somewhat behind, quite frankly," said Ralph Parrott, founder and owner of Alternative Power Solutions in Houston. He admits that Texas needs to give the same level of ince

  February 3, 2009

• Brothers of the Road

  May 22, 1997

• Trench Warfare

  July 23, 1998

• Texas Leads The "Filthy 15"!! Ummm, Yay?

  Photo courtesy NIOSHIn case you were worrying that the air in Texas was getting too clean and all, you can rest assured it's not.Now it's coal ash that has the greenies up in arms.The National Resources Defense Council has released a list of states that are proposing to build enough new coal plants to produce 14 million tons of what they call "dangerous waste." As a sideline, the plants will also produce electricity.And Texas is Number One on the list!! Hurrah!! (Cough. Hack up black mucus.)Ther

  March 12, 2009

• T. Boone Gets Ready For His Million-Megawatt March

  General T. Boone Pickens is invading Washington, D.C. tomorrow. Well, virtually. Members of his New Energy Army, numbering somewhere between 1.5 and 3 million strong, are planning to bombard Congress with emails and phone calls urging lawmakers to pass legislation favorable to Pickens' plan to use less foreign oil and more wind power and natural gas. The three day campaign on Capitol Hill will last through Friday and Pickens' troops are getting keyed up."It's going to be a lot of fun to see

  March 31, 2009

• The T. Boone Pickens Road Show

  March 26, 2009

• Reaping the Wind

  Kopper cops to a Fastowian bargain

  August 29, 2002

• San Francisco Wants to Help Us Recycle

  Helping Hand Spurned

  August 14, 2008

• Bayousphere

  May 1, 2008

• Kyoto Protocol: Chill Out

  Skeptical environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg questions the Kyoto Protocol's effectiveness

  November 29, 2007

• Kyoto Protocol: You're Getting Warmer

  The Kyoto Accord began the race to halt global warming. On its tenth anniversary, why are we barely past the starting gate?

  November 29, 2007

• Wild Rides

  Between serious safety and environmental concerns, the Toyota Prius isn't the angel that everyone thinks it is.

  April 23, 2009

• Woodwind Lakes subdivision built on oil and gas field turns on neighbor who pointed out the contamination

  April 12, 2007

• Par for the Course

  Forget the money crunch, let's play golf

  June 29, 2006

• Shark Bites

  JAWS Unleashed is as sloppy as it is gory

  June 22, 2006

• Letters to the Editor

  April 6, 2006

• Letters to the Editor

  March 30, 2006

• Letter to the Editor

  March 23, 2006

• Power Plays

  Other options to nuclear have their own set of drawbacks

  March 9, 2006

• Bring It On

  Why Houston should want a nuclear power plant

  March 9, 2006

• Veggie Tales

  An alternative to gasoline-based fuel gains traction in Houston

  November 10, 2005

• Best Architect

  September 23, 2004

• Moonstruck

  Dave Criswell dreams of living on the moon. He has a plan for colonization. Other scientists say his idea is 100 years too early. But he's ready now.

  February 28, 2002

• Oil Slick

  Ocean Star

  July 26, 2001

• Letters

  Strip-Search Sass, Gender Mix, Red at the Right

  July 12, 2001

• Letters

  Scaling Green Mountain, Where Credit's Due, Horse-Whipped

  June 21, 2001

• Red Light, Green Light

  With billboards of windmills promising gentle, nonpolluting energy, Green Mountain offers Texans a new power avenue. Will they take it? Should they?

  June 7, 2001

• Plugged In

  Like little Energizer bunnies, electric-car proponents keep going and going and going

  January 4, 2001

• Larry in Limbo

  Is little guy Larry Duncan being made to suffer for the big guys' sins?

  March 13, 1997

• T. Boone Pickens Names A New Holiday

  To celebrate the one year anniversary since launching the Pickens Plan, ol' T. Boone himself has declared today, July, 8, "Energy Independence Day." It nice to know that all it takes is befriending a few powerful congressmen and about $100 million to name your own national "independence" day honoring yourself. (See our take on Pickens' plan). Pickens made this declaration earlier today on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. alongside influential lawmakers including Senate Majori

  July 8, 2009

• Oil Industry Leaving Houston? It Could Happen, Some Analysts Say

  Photo courtesy GHCVB​A Houston without an oil industry? Why, that's like Dallas without assholes.But it could happen, according to speakers at a panel here today. (The Houston part, not the Dallas part.)The RMI Oilfield Breakfast Forum featured dire warnings that Obama's tax policies might encourage oil companies to locate in friendlier countries than the U.S., thus leaving Houston with a lot of empty skyscrapers.PennEnergy reports that one speaker, Jim Wicklund, principal and energy por

  July 28, 2009

• ACL 2009: The Green Scene

  Photos by Katharine ShilcuttYes, those are chickens. At ACL.​The freshly-planted grass isn't the only thing that's green in Zilker Park this year. Since we're in super hippie fun land Austin, after all, it only makes sense that there's a huge emphasis on the environment at the festival. From a display on raising chickens at home to a giant ball of plastic bags, from roving bands of can collectors to enormous solar panels running (although not very well with all this rain) certain festival cont

  October 3, 2009

• Houston Touts Its Clean-Air Credentials (Yes, Dammit, We Do Have Them)

  Photo courtesy GHCVB​Everyone knows that Houston is the smog-riddled energy capital of the world, so it was with a touch of irony that the annual Clean Air Through Energy Efficiency Conference awards were announced this afternoon in Houston.Attendees from across Texas and other states, munching on a typical banquet meal of chicken cordon bleu and asparagus, were supposed to hear self-proclaimed clean-air advocate Mayor Bill White, but alas, he was too busy to show. Instead, Issa Dadoush, direc

  October 15, 2009

• CenterPoint Hits The Jackpot At The Federal Stimulus Feeding Trough

  Photo courtesy White House Flickr group​Let them bitch all they want in Chicago about getting shut out of federal stimulus funds for "smart-grid" power projects. Here in Houston, we're kicking ass.The federal gummint, that socialistic, fascist Big Brother, announced today how it is spending $3.4 billion of your grandkid's money, and Houston's two largest power companies were big winners.CenterPoint is getting $200 million to help with a nearly $640-million project to install 2.2 million smart

  October 27, 2009

• Chipotle Will Install Solar Panels Everywhere But Houston

  Photo by lcrf​Hair Balls is always worrying about reducing our carbon footprint -- in fact, we're constantly using aerosol-spray cleansers and dusters to reduce it like a mofo -- which is why we were stunned to learn in the Houston Business Journal that beloved burrito builders Chipotle Mexican Grill will be installing solar panels in about 75 stores throughout Texas....but not in Houston! (And they're even teaming up with Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy to d

  October 30, 2009