Utah’s Book Cliffs exist as one of the largest expanses of land in the lower 48 states without a paved highway. The BLM, however, is considering a project that would change that. Uintah County’s Seep Ridge Road Paving Project proposes paving over an existing road, which would allow greater recreational (and other, including hunting and oil and gas exploration) access. The proposal states that:
“the road is currently composed of dirt or native material and several segments of the existing road do not meet current federal and state road design standards for public safety. All projections indicate a continued substantial increase in light and heavy vehicle traffic on the road, primarily associated with energy development in the Book Cliffs area.” (UT-080-08-0238 section 1.2)
By Andrew Williams •
January 5, 2009
Engineers have created a new type of road capable of turning the vibration caused by cars into electricity.
The revolutionary new surface, created by engineers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, uses piezoelectric crystals embedded in the asphalt to generate up to 400 kilowatts of energy from a 1 kilometer stretch, enough to run eight electric cars.
Commenting on the innovation, a spokesman from the UK Environmental Transport Association said, “Many predict a massive shift to electric cars, and it may be the roads themselves that help provide some of the power needed.”
By Nick Chambers •
November 11, 2008
The new transportation investments would be paid for with a myriad of tax and fee hikes, including:
- a 2-cent per gallon gas tax increase
- doubling the vehicle titling fee to $110
- raising the vehicle registration fee from $27 per year to $81 per year
- creating a first-time fee of $100 for titling cars new to the state
- raising the tobacco tax by 2½ cents
The plan also calls for borrowing $600 million and using and additional $16 million in lottery money.
By Nick Chambers •
September 19, 2008
According to a sweeping report released by the Center for American Progress and authored by researchers from the UMass Department of Economics, if the US government were to invest $100 billion dollars over two years in six key areas of green and sustainable development — including advanced biofuels — the result would be the creation of 2 million high-paying jobs across nearly all sectors of employment.
This represents four times the amount of jobs that would be created if that same $100 billion were invested in the oil industry for things like more offshore drilling. It also represents significantly more jobs of much higher diversity, pay, and longevity than were created by the $100 billion spent last April so that all us ‘mericans could all get our $600 tax rebates.
By Nick Chambers •
July 31, 2008
Okay. Let me get this one out of the way: gas hasn’t been all bad. In fact, gas has allowed us to accomplish some pretty amazing things. To be clear, when I say “gas,” I’m using the term as an easy way to loosely refer to all liquid fuel products made from buried and fossilized hydrocarbon deposits.
Ooooh… I can hear the flamers’ keys clicking away furiously already. But, before you type that horribly thought out gunslinging response, hear me out.
By Maria Surma Manka •
January 9, 2008
I don’t like wearing shoes or socks, but I live in Minnesota so most months out of the year I don’t have a choice. I remember one time when I was a teenager, I decided to walk barefoot down the paved road in front of my parents’ house. It was a beautiful summer day, but my feet later screamed “WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING?!” Yes, the hot pavement scorched the bottoms of my feet. Luckily, a Dutch company has thought of a smarter way to put that hot energy to use.
Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV is siphoning the heat from blacktop roads and parking lots to warm homes and offices. This technology was first dreamed up about 10 years ago, but advances in cleantech and global warming concerns have caused some people to take a second glance.
The technology is called the “Road Energy System” and it’s actually a spin-off of a method to heat roads and reduce the need for maintenance due to cold weather. A grid of flexible, plastic pipes filled with water lay under the pavement and are heated by the sun. As the water is heated, it’s pumped underground, where it stays about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The water can then be brought up later to heat the road and keep the ice off.
