Please Do NOT Buy My Book (Today)

Is Renewable Really Doable, by Craig Shields

Obviously, I’m hoping you’ll want to buy my new book, Is Renewable Really Doable? – on its official launch day, March 15th.

But not today.

The 15th is the magic date when I’m offering a one-day-only bonus — a hot new report currently for sale at $59.95 (“Insights in LCOE – The Levelized Cost of Energy,” by industry analyst Mike Hess) – absolutely free – when you buy one or more copies of my book from Amazon.com.

The 15th is the time to act, for anyone who’s ever wondered:

• What are the world’s biggest governments doing to accelerate – and retard – the adoption of clean energy?

• How do venture capitalists think with the respect to clean energy start-ups?

• Is the thinking of the scientific community as pure and unbiased as it claims to be?

• What will the world probably be like in ten years? 50 years?

• How will the credit crunch and the end of cheap oil affect us all?

If you’re one of those people, you’re about to find out.  Again, I hope you’ll mark your calendar, and buy Is Renewable Really Doable? on March 15th.

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3 comments on “Please Do NOT Buy My Book (Today)
  1. Craig, I have been reading your pages and often commenting, for quite a long time now as I became active in the alternative energy fascet of electric vehicles in 2007. and I have owned Electric Vehicles since 1989. Combined with being in Electronics since 1956 as a hobby and as a career since 1963, and as an Educator from 1981 to 2002. Upsetting perhaps that all investors aspire to be Donald Duck’s Uncle Scrooge and just hold on to their money so the several very profitable concepts I have worked up on paper have never achieved simply for lack of seed money. So if you want me to buy your book, write one that really will teach me to find Capital for a Start-Up business. Otherwise I am spending the next two years organizing a basic litteracy program for the “Lost” individuals in the community where I live. and at the same time I am going to write the best darn practical Electric Vehicle Service, Repair, and Conversion from ICE to Electric or Hybrid Textbook and complete “Home Study” course. By then the three million Auto Mechanics who do not work for Dealerships and the hobbyists who want to truely understand the system will be in demand but still unable to work on EV for lack of knowledge. And my book, “EV Work is Do-Able Even for Me!” wil beat out even your 10th book (By then you will have written several more.) (:^> Actually, Craig I hope you have another BIG HIT!

    • David Behn says:

      Dennis, a belated welcome to the world of electric vehicles. I have been a member of the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa (Ontario) for 25 years, and for several years was the newsletter editor. Among other things, EVCO has developed a hands-on course in electric vehicles for those who wish to learn about them.
      For the record, I do not own an electric automobile; in fact I do not currently own an automobile at all. I use a local car-sharing service for the rare time that I need one, and as a senior citizen of Ottawa I get to use the bus for free 3 times a week. I do own a bicycle, which I have considered electrifying, as many in the club have done, but have decided that as long as I am able-bodied, my human-powered bicycle serves as well, and is even greener.
      I have built a hydrogen fuel cell powered G scale model locomotive (not big enough to ride on, but demonstrates the concept). A larger, rideable one is in the planning stage, to be used on a track at a local museum, to give rides to museum attendees.

  2. Hello David (I know Ron Rancourt from your EV Council too.)

    This may interest you I copied it from a comment on the internet and the information has been confirmed also.

    The cost of a producing a natural gas well is $3.9 million as of 2007. Rest assured that those costs increased in the last five years. The payback averages $22 million but it can take up to 50 years to collect. In addition, there are land leases and royalties that must be paid which are a minimum of 12.5% of the production. This leaves only $19.25 million per well for an average annual ROI of $385,000 or 9.8%. Just a bit over 10 years to break even assuming $5 per 1000 cubic feet of gas.
    In February 2009, Popular Mechanics reported that solar power dropped to $1 per watt. With fossil fuel power plant construction costs at $1300.00 per kilowatt, this makes green electricity less expensive than fossil fuels in construction alone, but even better, there is no fuel cost for green production.
    There is another way we could get the same amount of fuel using solar options. If we compare a renewable option to additional natural gas well drilling, what we would do is build a 3.9MW solar installation near a body of water. This water source could be polluted, saltwater, freshwater, or any other water source. All we are going to do is use the power generated by the solar array to “crack” the hydrogen out of the water. Commercially available generators crack 10 cubic meters per hour using 58KW to do so. Since a cubic foot of hydrogen yields 70% of the energy yielded by a cubic foot of natural gas, we will charge 70% of the price for it. Whereas natural gas lasts 20 years, hydrogen production will continue to pay off indefinitely with no overhead; there are no “dry holes,” no environmental damage in the production and hydrogen is unquestionably a much cleaner fuel.
    Anything that uses natural gas as an energy source can use hydrogen. The current natural gas infrastructure will accept hydrogen without alteration. Hydrogen, with 70% of the energy release as compared to natural gas, is less dangerous to store and transport. It also disperses more rapidly into the ambient air than natural gas which makes a leak far less dangerous.
    However, there are drawbacks to hydrogen. It’s a renewable resource, so there is no impetus to charge more over time. In fact, the impetus is to increase the supply to the point that there is a glut, since the only production cost is the initial investment and production never needs to end. In addition, a huge installation is not needed to efficiently produce hydrogen. The same energy is used per cubic yard whether you produce a cubic yard per day or 100 cubic yards per hour. There is no economy of scale that applies, which means anyone can become a hydrogen producer. Further, it’s not limited to major corporations. In fact, there are plans available on the internet to build effective hydrogen generators for under $20.
    Drilling new natural gas wells is a dangerous activity which helps only oil industry executives. It isn’t necessary, it isn’t economically or environmentally-sound, we don’t need it now, we won’t need it in the future, and there is no point in using it ever again. The same money can be used to create a hydrogen-based energy economy that is renewable, ongoing, and scalable. It would be inexpensive and easy to alter our current infrastructure to accommodate. Is there really a reason not to make this move?
    Most if not darn near all of our cities have Natural Gas piped all over town for cooking and heating as well as industrial purposes and in 2/3 rds. of the electrical generating plants the fuel is also natural gas. This fuel already has a distribution infrastructure. Simply locate inexpensive acreage near a natural gas pipeline and install as large a photovoltaic collector system as can be financed, generate electricity from sunshine all day and crack water into Hydrogen and Oxygen gases, release or sell if a market can be developed the Oxygen and pump the hydrogen into the natural gas pipeline, with an electrically powered compressor running from electricity also generated by some of the solar panels. Because Hydrogen is a normal component or constituent of natural gas, all natural gas appliances can use it without modification.

    I am a proponent of the Hybrid home where an ICE running on piped in natural gas drives alternators, for lighting and battery charging of the home and runs compressers for heat pumps for heating anc cooling the occupied space and cooling for the food storage space also. Think of it like a big house scaled motor home without wheels on a foundation and using regular house construction but RV style utilities for totally off the grid except for natural gas or solar generated electricity and hydrogen for “Generator Fuel” And build a big barn, line the inside with smooth materials the place one or several surplus weather ballons in the barn on hoses and store the hydrogen in that “Barn” at 14 psi, that is normal atmospheric pressurs, that you make with your solar panels instead of batteries for home use. Put the barn well away from the house, even hydrogen at low pressure hydrogen burns not explodes. There is a something to think about.

    Sorry this is so long but the premise simply intrests me!
    Regards, Dennis (Anyone interested in this I would enjoy chatting about it even more, just Google my name (I am the other one, not the rock musician.)