Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself
You feel the rumblings of the cleantech revolution reverberating beneath your feet, as if you were standing next to an active volcano that could erupt at any second. You recognize that our world will soon be clamoring for sustainability in all its many forms, as we wake up to the fact that dinosaur technologies: inefficient appliances, gas-guzzling cars and trucks, toxic chemicals, last-century’s lighting and HVAC, coal-fired power plants, etc. are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. You’re confident of this trend, and you’re willing to place a wager on it.
I’m Craig Shields, an author and consultant in this space who, every month, reviews literally hundreds of cleantech ideas, and speaks with dozens of entrepreneurs and investors all over the world. Occasionally I see a match. And when I do, I make an introduction.
Now that we know one another, I suggest that we talk about our future together. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
i mainly read about renewable energy to find out about the more economic influences they have and the new discoveries of suitable sites and technologies that have to do with it. i do have environmental concerns as well but most info i ever find regardless of what searches i make usually lead me to things that dont provide information specific enough for me to gain as large an interest in renewable energys environmental impacts. if you have any recommended sources of such info feel free to let me know
I am concerned about the big push for industrial wind turbines in this country. I frequently visit a friend in Falmouth, Massachusetts who has had three of these turbines installed within in a mile (one is less than 1/2 mile) away from his home. He and his neighbors are having health issues as a result of the operation of these turbines so close to their homes.
All of these people are green-minded, and none complain of the visual impact (although the turbines are quite overwhelming, the blades appearing to hang over the tall pine and oak trees). I’m sure you must have heard of the documentary film “Windfall”… the issues raised in that film are the same as those in Falmouth.
It’s important to me and to those aware of situations of this nature, that you and other proponents of wind energy take care to understand that the turbines cannot be placed closer than 1.25 miles from residences.
The health issue here is the most important; the inefficiency and economic issues are a further concern. Please be sure that your research and understanding is all-encompassing before you continue to advocate wind energy.
Thank you.
Patricia A. Holden
West Dennis, MA
Patricia,
What are the health problems they feel are from the wind turbines ?
If they are suspected from high EMF Electro Magnetic Field have they measured with a meter to see if it is real? I check high voltage transmission lines for over the TOC swedish standard of 2 MiliGaus and find it disipates very fast with distance.
Thanks, Patricia. Please see: http://2greenenergy.com/wind-turbines-health-issues/22405/.
Craig, we are working on a project now with a Caribbean island and I can tell you their most important goals are as follows:
1) To reduce their dependency on fossil fuels (diesel generators)
2) To make their island a model Green Energy island for the rest of the Islands.
3) To prove that Solar and Wind Power with Battery Back Up can be realized @ a price that is going to reduce the Cost over what they are paying now.
Yes, we’ve discussed this. Where are you currently on your path to get them to that point of grid parity? A big part of this, I would think , would be the cost/kWh of the batteries. What’s yours, if you don’t mind sharing?
Why aren’t you utilizing the geothermal activity, since there has been exploration of shallow high temp wells in the area?
Which Island are you on, I could have some friends advise you on which system to establish?
Which is the exact questions and advice this company should be offering.
I wish you could find a JV Partner for me to help get my company off the ground. The weight of the world and the battle with corporate chemical companies only feels heavier. How does one with an idea take that idea to market. I am developing the first all organic selfsustainable turf management system and renewable energy platform engineered into two hotels.
Politics back businesses all the time that have less hope for american economics.
Is my company just hopeless?
I enjoyed speaking with you about your company on the phone a few weeks ago. It’s an interesting idea, but I it’s a bit afield from what we focus on here. In any case, don’t give up.
If you are only working on sustainable energy platforms, that is not really sustainable. Unless you offer other avenues for positive revenue streams, the cost of development for any renwable energy system will be to great.
At the same time if you are not using those other revenue streams to direct energy towards your platforms, you are only wasting your investor’s money and credability.
Its common sense really. The cost of development is much higher than the profit from yield. Though if the profit is offset by other avenues that direct more potential to the system. It then becomes a win win!
Good morning Craig,
Well written indeed!!
But a small but essential part of the introduction is missing. Who is CRAIG SHIELD? He is an individual, part and parcel of the vast civilization of today called the Western society. Its the western society that gave all the catastrophic issues mentioned by Craig in his Cleantech Forum. Iwould go a step further and say that the root cause of our EARTHs problem are the end result of the western philosophy of consumption beyod means , the fundamental of Western Economics which ADAM SMITH would not be proud of. “CAPITALISM” at its worst is what you see in every issue that baffles mankind today. Its the western society, ever since the Industrial Revolution that swept EUROPE in the 16th Century that is responsible for the chaotic condition that the world society finds itself now.
If western society understands above then the first step is taken in aleviating further degradation of MOTHER EARTH.
Thanks and Regards
Shrinivas
Shrinivas,
Your message was typed on a computer, the message was turned into electrical signals and 0’s and 1’s via 2 wire connection, powered by electricity, then converted into a laser signal that was modulated on and off at roughly 10 Billion times per second and transmitted via WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing over fiber optic cable, passing through an optical amplifier every 80 KM or so even if it had to cross on the cable layed on the bottom of the ocean, till the packets arrived at the local “Central Office” where they are reassembled and sent back via 2 wire copper into a computer where the 0’s and 1’s are reassembled into text that we can all read on a blog stored in a data center that is powered by electricity, yet in spite of all this technology, the whole process cost you and everyone else practically zero and in less than 2 seconds to cross all the way from India to America. All of these technologies required to send your message are courtesy of “capitalism” ! So next time you want to throw a tirade, why not go outside, start a fire and send your message via smoke signals. Surely you don’t want to sound hypocritical using technology created by capitalism to criticize capitalism
Regards
Simon
Hi Craig,
I have been following your blog for quite awhile. I appreciate the valuable information that you provide through both your links and your opinions. All of it has helped me stay up to speed on alternative energy and other issues that are important to the future of both our nation and our planet.
Thank you for providing this valuable service to us all.
Chris Frandsen
Candidate of District 47
Texas House of Representatives
Thanks for the kind words, and best of luck to you in your bid for election. I’ve checked out: http://www.votechrisfrandsen.com, and you seem to be on the right side of the issues. Go get ’em!