Image credit:Colorado Trout Unlimited.

Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes seems to have a habit of hitting the xenophia-flavored cool aid.

Taylorville Illinois Energy Center, a proposed "clean coal" power plant. Image credit:Illinois Times

Southern Illinois has vast, easily accessible coal reserves.

"Corn falls into the East Nishnabotna River in Montgomery County, Iowa.

Redneck Yacht Club member. Image credit:Redneck Village, "These R My People."

Proper treehuggers follow Lloyd's admonition to keep living space down to just what you need to get by.

Biting female mosquito. Image credit:James Gathany/CDC , via the Gazeteer Extra.

Fear of disease is such a strong motivator. And most people hate insects,. Hence, you will occasionally see reference to the risk of climate-led outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like encephalitis or West Nile as a way to get people to pay attention to climate change. That fear-factor didn't materialize in the political game, nor should it.

SPOT emergency personal communicator device, with "SOS" button. Image credit:Amazon ad.

Many younger Americans, devoid of such early life experiences as one would get from Boy Scouting or hunting with experienced companions, emboldened by a proliferation of cheap GPS devices, and perhaps encouraged by the recent outpouring of 'survival shows' are doing the dumb dance into the wild.

ECD, 5.6 kw UNI-SOLAR® product installation example in Heilbrunn Germany. Image credit:ECD UNI-SOLAR® products web page.

Energy Conversion Devices of Auburn Hills MI recently received a $13 million stimulus tax credit to upgrade operations to produce a new, more efficient line of solar cells. The focus would be on mechanical and chemical engineering innovations, I assume.

"The Hoover Dam holds back Lake Mead (left photo accented by a rainbow) in 1983, the year its highest water elevation is recorded. By 2009 (right), Lake Mead's water-elevation level has dramatically declined, revealing the chalky-white structure of Hoover Dam." Caption & image credit:Arizona Republic

Falling water levels in Arizona's Lake Mead have Arizona citizens facing an historic turning point, brought on by a 12-year regional drought - effects, as pictured.

"Billy the environmentalist" .Image credit:WSJ Online

Last week I wrote about the zero-emission bow-knife for vegetable garden weed control. For certain tasks the bow-knife is superior to any gasoline powered weed-wacker. It's not very good for trimming on steep slopes and handling woody shrubs, however.

Image credit:Hyundai USA

A US executive for Hyundai has pledged to have that firm's new cars average 50 mpg by 2025, according to an article in Detroit News. Hyundai will do this with "15 percent to 20 percent of its fleet in 2025 as hybrids and plug-ins, as well as 5 percent as fuel cell or electric vehicles."

Analysis: This is a car maker that has successfully targeted the budget buyer.