Leaders of the G-8 nations reach an uninspired climate accord; T. Boone Pickens wants your tax dollars; and Honda readies an efficient new concept car.

Richest Nations Pledge to Halve Greenhouse Gas: The leaders of the G-8 nations announced a watered-down climate accord Tuesday which will cut greenhouse gas emissions fifty percent by the year 2050. Unlike previous agreements, however, the cuts will be based on current emission levels, not the 1990 baseline of earlier accords. It assumes the participation of China and India, who are not G-8 members. On top of those issues, the new accord seems to give a big vote of confidence to so-called “clean coal” technologies — something which will likely prove a non-starter with environmentalists. (New York Times)

Big Pickens: T. Boone, the Oilman, Ups the Ante in His Wind Bet: Oilman T. Boone Pickens isn’t going to let a little thing like the coming collapse of the petroleum industry stop him from being an energy baron. And he wants you to help pay for it. Pickens is planning a PR blitz between now and election day, touting a plan for energy independence based on windpower and natural gas. But such an ambitious escalation of U.S. windpower — serviced by wind farms owned by Pickens — would require hundred of billion in subsidies footed by American taxpayers. Be ready to be pitched. (WSJ.com)

EU panel votes to lower controversial biofuel goal: As expected, the European Union has taken its first steps to lower targets for biofuel adoption. Legislators voted Tuesday to scale back the EU’s deployment of biofuels to just 4 percent by 2015. European environmentalists are pressing for the reductions until food-based biofuels are replaced by second generation fuels drawn from methods such as cellulosic conversion. (Reuters)

Whales And Dolphins Influence New Wind Turbine Design: A study released yesterday explores the the streamlined shapes of dolphins and whales for inspiration on new wind turbine designs. The field — know as Biomimetics — applies biomechanics to complex modern engineering problems. Dr Frank Fish of West Chester University presented a illustration of how vortices formed by sea mammals might delay the stall speed of wind turbines. The demonstration was made at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting in Marseille. (Science Daily)

Honda will unveil sports car at London show: Honda will be allowing a glimpse of their new Open Study Model (OSM) concept car at the London Auto Show on July 22nd. A Honda press release describes the OSM as an open-top sports car with dramatic, radically aerodynamic lines and a host of fuel efficiency features. It’s unclear if the OSM roadster is related to the CR-Z concept car displayed by Honda last October and scheduled for production as a lightweight hybrid-engine coupe sometime next year. (Automotive News)

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