The Auto Alliance lobbied for this, they own it and are going to have to wear it. After the Great Recession, President Obama bailed out many American auto makers and struck a tough deal on fuel economy standards, which the automakers all agreed to after negotiations. As Mike noted in 2012, the average fuel economy standard was to hit 54.5 MPG by 2025. As the President said at the time:...
More than half the U.S. population is packed into three dozen well-lit metro areas, each one home to at least a million power-hungry people. Surely Americans could save money and energy by living somewhere simpler. Right? You’d think so, especially looking at nighttime satellite photos that show dark landscapes illuminated by glowing urban dots. On the surface, these seem like clear evidence of city dwellers’ oversized energy footprints. And when comparing big cities and small towns directly, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, obviously dwarfs the power consumption of a Philadelphia, Tennessee Urban and rural populations use energy differently, though, which complicates such broad comparisons....
As Ms. Marvel on Disney+ approaches draws to a close, one of the big questions is whether Kamala Khan’s favorite hero, Captain Marvel, may make an appearance. Throughout Phase 4, Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson has been limited to a single post-credit cameo, and that’s something other heroes within the MCU have noticed as well and is expected to play into her story for The Marvels. Set to debut on February 17, 2023, The Marvels is the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel....
Fans are looking forward to seeing Diego Luna return to his role of Cassian Andor in the upcoming, titular Disney+ series. It would have been hard to guess that audiences would be excited about Cassian, out of everyone who could have their own show. Lucasfilm seems extremely confident in what it has to show the world with Andor. Not only is the first season twelve episodes, but season two is already greenlet and will be just as long....
If you’re an early riser and enjoy the outdoors, here’s a way to enjoy one of nature’s special moments: Take your first cup of coffee outside, be still for a few moments and listen. It’s the best time of day to hear the birds. “Right around dawn is the optimum time to hear the chorus,” said Greg Budney, curator for Collections Development at the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University....
Think you don’t like to eat your veggies? Maybe you’re just bored with the options. The truth is, the world is full of edible, healthy and flavorful roots, stems and leaves, the vast majority of which you’ve probably never tasted. In the spirit of culinary adventure, we hope this list will prompt you to titillate your palate with something new. Try replacing those carrots, potatoes, lettuce or celery with one of these exotic vegetables — that is, if you can find them....
Disposable items should generally be avoided, but here are ideas for extending their lifespan if you do end up with some. Let’s be clear: I am not a fan of disposable items and have tried to eliminate them from my home, but occasionally they appear, in which case I make them last as long as possible. Remember that manufacturers will say anything to make you buy more, so always question the single-use description and squeeze as much life out of them as possible....
There are many ways to keep warm, including cuddling puppies in front of fireplaces. Not everyone can do that, and renters and students can’t make expensive changes, so one can see why electric space heaters are popular. There are alternatives, but before we go there, we have to discuss what thermal comfort actually is about, and it is a lot more than just air temperature. Engineer Robert Bean notes that “We don’t inhale comfort, we sense it through our skin…yet 99....
I’ve written a few times about my ongoing quest for a zero-waste household. While I don’t have much hope of reaching Bea Johnson’s level, whose family produces only one quart of waste annually, I have certainly learned a lot by paying close attention to how much garbage and recycling my household generates on a daily and weekly basis. One happy discovery I’ve made is that the zero waste movement is much more popular and widespread than I thought....
Whales were in dire straits in the 1960s, reduced to a shadow of their former glory by more than a century of overzealous hunting. Ancient mammals that had overseen Earth’s oceans for 50 million years were at the brink of extinction, nearly wiped out in a few generations by humans with harpoons. But then we heard them sing. The 1967 discovery of humpback whale songs by biologists Roger Payne and Scott McVay triggered a sea change in public perception....
Fans have been looking forward to a Black Widow movie for a long time. Natasha Romanoff is one of the few original Avengers who has not received a solo film, but after multiple pandemic-induced delays, her time has finally arrived. Scarlett Johansson will return in Black Widow for her eighth round as the titular hero which will see her reunite with her family in Russia. Some new faces include Florence Pugh’s Yelena, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz’s Melina along with the mysterious comic book villain, Taskmaster....
A little over three weeks ago, Marvel Studios concluded the Disney+ run for its second streaming exclusive, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This series followed the continuing adventures of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in a post-Blip MCU world, concluding with Sam finally taking over the mantle of Captain America. Throughout the MCU’s new era of streaming storytelling, the franchise has done everything in its power to give more depth and character development to heroes coming into starring roles for the first time....
Marvel Studios is not messing around when it comes to ending its content plan for 2021. The MCU has had its biggest year ever (at least in output) in 2021 and is not finishing the year lightly. Not only is Spider-Man: No Way Home thrilling theatre-goers worldwide, but Hawkeye is also blowing minds on Disney+. Both projects have been quite prolific for fan theories in their time in the spotlight. Warning - This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Hawkeye....
Everybody loves a Christmas movie or show over the holiday season, and Disney+ has plenty to offer from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and more.The Santa Clause DisneyTim Allen’s divorced dad Scott Calvin gets forced into a Christmas adventure of his own in this 1994 classic as his discovery of an injured Santa leaves him magically recruited to take his place and now deliver presents to families around the world. It doesn’t get any more Festive than The Santa Clause....
Phase 5 of the MCU is officially underway with the release of Season 2 of Marvel Studios: Legends on Disney+.When an upcoming film or Disney+ series is set to come out regarding the MCU, Marvel Studios will usually release a few recap-style episodes of Legends featuring the characters and moments most important to the new story.With Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantimania set to hit theaters on February 17, it was officially announced that three episodes of the Disney+ series would be released to get fans up to speed on what they need to know....
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever perfectly laid the groundwork for the introduction of the iconic supervillain Doctor Doom into the MCU.The character is generally associated with the Fantastic Four, as his origin is closely linked to their own. But Doom does far more than just tangle with Reed Richards and his family.Another sect of Marvel characters who Victor has a history with is T’Challa and the nation of Wakanda. In fact, the iconic villain even rules his own fictional country, Latveria....
We used to be able to justify burning a bit of fossil gas, but we cannot anymore. As noted in a recent post Reduce Demand. Clean up electricity. Electrify everything, I have a gas boiler keeping my radiators hot and a gas stove in my kitchen. I used to think this was the right thing to do and it certainly was when we burned coal to make electricity (which we don’t in Ontario, Canada anymore)....
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki looks to have quite the adventure ahead of him in his upcoming self-titled Disney+ series. The show, which is set to drop on the streaming service every week beginning June 9, sees a timeline variant of the infamous trickster completely out of his element after polluting the “Sacred Timeline” by absconding with the Space Stone in 2012. After this act of mischief-making, Loki is corralled by the Time Variance Authority, or TVA, where he is put under the direct supervision of Agent Mobius, portrayed by Owen Wilson, a seemingly blue-collar kind of guy who plays an as-of-yet unknown role within the TVA’s infrastructure....
Loki will be back for another round of action in Phase 5 with Season 2 of Tom Hiddleston’s solo Disney+ series set for release next summer. The fan-favorite anti-hero is now set to make appearances in each of the MCU’s first five Phases of storytelling, and he’s bringing back some of the most beloved supporting characters from Season 1 as well.Leading the way in this effort is Sophie Di Martino’s Sylvie, who sent the Multiverse into chaos by killing He Who Remains, along with loyal TVA Agent Mobius played by Owen Wilson....
Marvel Studios has a busy schedule over the next few years. For one, there’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is set to be the first real exploration of the Multiverse and seems to be an Avengers-scale project. Then, of course, there’s the likes of Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, both of which are set to make huge status quo shifts in the MCU. This trend is likely to continue with The Marvels, which features a team-up between Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms....
