Germany has released its plan to close all 84 of its currently operating coal-fired power plants by 2038 and rely primarily on renewable energy.
For decades, Germany has taken bold steps in the direction of renewables, a path that was made even more difficult when it began its rapid phase-out of nuclear energy after Fukushima. (more…)
Differential calculus is the study of the rates at which quantities change. For instance, if you’re standing on your roof and you throw a baseball at 10 meters per second upward so that it lands in your swimming pool 8 meters below, how high does it get before it starts to come down? How long will it take to land? (more…)
Here are a few words on the adoption of electric vehicles from my Kansas City, MO-based colleague Fritz Maffry. – Craig
PICKUP TRUCKS RACING TO ELECTRIC BIG TIME
GM and Ford are on crash programs to get electric pickup trucks ready. (more…)
This morning’s seven-point indictment against and arrest of Trump ally and adviser Roger Stone reminds us of how complicated and time-consuming all this is, and what a nightmare the Trump presidency continues to be for the nation. One can’t look at this train wreck and fail to wonder how this is all going to play out. (more…)
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s presentation yesterday on global warming was fabulous.
Of particular interest was her position on her Christian faith as it affects the role she plays as a scientist and advocate for climate change mitigation. (more…)
Today’s the big day for environmentalists living near Santa Barbara; Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is speaking at Westmont College, an extremely high-end interdenominational Christian liberal arts college. (more…)
There are probably a dozen posts here on biomimicry, the science of looking at nature for clues as to designing things and solving problems. As the subject’s most visible spokesperson, Janine Benyus, says in her fabulous Ted Talk, “For centuries we’ve been learning about nature; now it’s time to learn from her.”
Janine Benyus at TEDGlobal 2009
The meme here claims to be about biomimicry, and, at a certain level, it most certainly is, but I wonder if its creator wasn’t suggesting that this is the way our entire civilization should function.
The challenge: Our civilization is as far from making a concerted effort to make this happen as we are to putting an end to war or deciding that it’s wrong for 26 people to have the same collective wealth as the bottom 3.8 billion, or giving up our notions that our own race or religion is superior to all others. (more…)
The headline above is the claim of the boat pictured here. Let’s do a little math. We’ll assume that the solar panels are the standard size (65″ X 39″), and they have a 25% efficiency. In full sun that’s close to directly overhead, that’s about 11 KW or 14.7 horsepower. (more…)
Market conditions are forcing the shuttering of coal plants, which are being replaced by natural gas and renewable energy. So why do we have a reversal of the trend towards lower emissions that began in 2005? (more…)
Here’s a 
