Ask a Scientist – December 2017, Union of Concerned Scientists 

This month we asked Dave Cooke, a UCS senior vehicles analyst, to set the record straight on the status of US automakers. Cooke, who has a PhD in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, is the author of the new report, “In Need of a U-Turn: Automakers’ History of Intransigence and Opportunity for Change.”

Read more here.

Dave Cooke is a senior vehicles analyst in the Clean Vehicles Program, specializing in both light- and heavy-duty fuel economy.  He conducts research on fuel efficiency technologies and the implications for oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across the transportation sector. Dr. Cooke received his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics in 2010 from the University of California, Berkeley.  Prior to this, he received his BS in physics from Harvey Mudd College in 2002 and his MS in physics from the University of California, San Diego in 2004.

ALSO OF POTENTIAL INTEREST

• Fremont Energy Discussion focuses on renewables, Fremont Tribune
• National Grid’s ($114 million) future is rising in West Seneca, The Buffalo News
  National Grid launched the upgrade just over a year ago, with O’Connell Electric as the prime contractor. The work has stayed on schedule despite a wet spring, said John Burke, National Grid’s operations director. “I’ve been at National Grid for 30 years, and this is the biggest project I’ve seen,” Burke said. Materials for the facility came from a variety of sources, including steel from Nebraska and locally supplied stone and concrete.
• Dozens Of U.S. Mayors Declare Support For Solar, Solar Industry Magazine
• Community Solar Coalition Works To Drive Future Development, Solar Industry Magazine
• Developer proposing five-turbine community wind project on Tug Hill, Watertown Daily Times
• About Small and Community Wind, American Wind Energy Association
• Fort Collins mayor speaks at University Cities Conference, North Forty News
  He described the Fort ZED project as an example of collaboration between the university, the municipally-owned electric utility and 13 private sector partners to reduce peak-load energy demand by up to 30 percent in two parts of the city. The partners were able to showcase their technology for customers all over the world.
• California approves $1 billion low-income multifamily solar program, PV Magazine
• 3 California gas plants could be replaced with energy storage, Utility Dive
• Power play: How a small co-op wants to open Nevada’s electricity market and own it, Utility Dive: Valley Electric Association is taking on NV Energy and dreaming big.
• Fifteen states and the District of Columbia currently have retail competition, which allows end-use customers to choose between incumbent utilities and competitive retail suppliers for electricity purchases, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• Exxon Agrees to Disclose Climate Risks Under Pressure from Investors, Inside Climate News
  “Exxon’s decision demonstrates that investors have the power to hold corporations accountable and to compel them to address our very real climate-related concerns,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who oversees the nation’s third-largest public pension plan, with $192 billion in assets.
  
• The world’s largest oil and gas companies are getting greener after fighting with shareholders for months, Business Insider
• In Kids’ Climate Lawsuit, Judges Question Government Effort to Get Case Dismissed, Inside Climate News