T. Boone Pickens interview; Scrutinizing Carbon Capture; Zero-emissions Locomotive; Curved Solar Shingles; Toyota FT-EV II

Pickens on Weaning the U.S. From Foreign Oil Video – At the World Business Forum in New York, T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital Management, updates WSJ’s Paul Glader on his project to reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

Canadian Study Scrutinizes Carbon Capture In the face of mounting support for clean coal and the billions being invested in carbon capture and storage, or C.C.S., technology, a new assessment from the University of Toronto’s Munk Center for International Studies has a stern warning for policy-makers: there could be dramatic unintended environmental consequences to sequestering huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the earth’s mantle. I couldn’t agree more – this is a major concern of mine too.

Zero-emissions Locomotive Unveiled As a big-time train fan, this is good news. A battery-operated locomotive promises to unleash no emissions during its operation, aside from emissions associated with charging its massive batteries. A prototype 1,500-horsepower switching locomotive from Norfolk Southern Corp. relies on 1,080 12-volt batteries, reports the Boston Herald. Fully charged, it can operate for three shifts.

Curved Solar Shingles SRS Energy’s Solé Power Tile has made a beautiful solar shingle that is designed to fit into standard Mission style roofs while generating electricity. Curved solar shingles? Sold.

Toyota FT-EV II brings the tiny to T-town The FT-EV II gets down to the essentials of a city-use electric vehicle. It’s only got a range of 90 km (56 miles) and a top speed of 62 mph. Futuristic touches in the FT-EV II concept include drive-by-wire joystick controls, a dye-sensitized solar panel, electric sliding doors and see-through LED rear combination taillights.