Some researchers at Rice University have developed ‘Paint-on’ batteries according to the BBC.

If they can get this into production, the weight of the batteries in an electric vehicle could be distributed evenly just like the paint. OTOH, there are no hard numbers on how long the ‘batteries’ will last, as well as a lot of other factors involved in making the process viable.

It is nice to know that people are working on one of the biggest problems of renewable energy production – filling the gap when the sun isn’t shining, the wind isn’t blowing, etc. Energy storage is vital to the process.

Everyone is talking about it, Badtux has his opinion, Hugh at Corrente has a different view, but the only one I can wholeheartedly endorse is Charlie Pierce’s.

Roberts has always been a corporate lawyer, and this law was written by and for the insurance and pharmaceutical corporations. Roberts has never ruled against a corporation, and he wasn’t about to in this case.

The so-called ‘tax’ is clearly identified in the law as a penalty that would be collected by the IRS, not a tax, but that was the only thing that Roberts could find to justify what he was going to do. As Chief Justice he gets to select who writes the majority opinion, and he knew he was going to have to write it, because no one else would have bought his logic. The other four votes were based on their belief that the law was allowed under the Commerce Clause, or the Necessary and Proper Clause, and Roberts didn’t want either of those portrayed positively in the precedent setting majority opinion. He specifically rejected them in his opinion.

Roberts is the voice of corporations on the Supreme Court, and will do whatever it takes, including siding with the four centrists [there are no liberals on the Court].

None of this would have been necessary if there had been a real ‘public option’ in the law, but the corporations didn’t want that, and when not on the campaign trail Zero is almost as much of a corporate pawn as Roberts.