George Takei poses for a portrait at The Collective and Gibson Lounge Powered by CEG, during the Sundance Film Festival, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

George Takei poses for a portrait at The Collective and Gibson Lounge Powered by CEG, during the Sundance Film Festival, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

When celebrated actor and humanitarian George Takai shared this wonderful video (below) on Facebook, he wrote that, in his opinion, the main problem in the U.S. right now is that we have too much “anecdoche,” #8 in the sequence, i.e., too many conversations in which everyone’s talking and no one’s listening.  Could be.  When it comes to compassion and astute social observation, it’s never a good idea to take sides against George Takai. (more…)

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girl-jumping-on-bed-myriaToday, a good number of people have been sensitized and are aware of the effects of human activity on the environment. The direct consequence is that both organizations and individuals are taking deliberate steps to preserve the environment. While companies have developed policies that are aimed at going green, homeowners have been left behind. However, there are several steps that you can take to improve and maintain your home’s energy efficiency. (more…)

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pestilentialI know I’ve mentioned that my mom and I have a good time joking about the “Word of the Day” on dictionary.com, and kidding each other about our diametrically opposing political views.  Here’s my email to her this morning that combines the two: (more…)

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Hendricks-Gin-MartiniWith closing of two more coal plants in Texas, the U.S. has crossed the half-way threshold (262 of the original 543 plants closed, 261 remaining open).

As is always the case, there were multiple “causes of death” in the two most recent cases, primarily an excess of wind energy generation and the low cost of natural gas driving down the market price of electricity.  (more…)

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Someday, will drones be launched with lots of stored electrical energy onboard, attach to your electric vehicle, and charge it en route, as suggested in this article in GreenTechMedia?

Uh….no. Of at least 50 ideas I’ve seen for EV charging, this may be the most preposterous.  Think about what would stand in the way of this solution, starting with slightly better batteries.  If for some reason you don’t believe that better batteries could lie in our immediate future, there’s ubiquitous fast-charging and even inductive charging in our roadways.    (more…)

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GettyImages-538540084Of the nearly 8000 posts here, there are at least a couple of dozen in which I’ve acknowledged that Royal Dutch Shell is the least obnoxious of the major oil companies.  They are fully onboard with anthropogenic climate change, they have a rock-solid understanding that our civilization is in the process of migrating away from fossil fuels, and they seem to have a sincere position in embracing, rather than repelling, this all-important change.

Shell’s recent purchase of New Motion (EV changing stations) is further evidence of all this.   It’s good to see some occasional rationality in an insane world.

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0272SOLAR-POWER-111315The situation with climate change, increased pollution and uncontrollable resource exploitation is getting out of hand, so more and more people are turning to renewable energy sources such as solar power. However, in order to get the most out of your solar power system, you need to choose the right kind, one that’s durable, effective and will provide your household with enough energy. Here’s what you should consider before and while choosing the perfect solar panel for your home. (more…)

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Windmills in a row on cloudy weather, wide shot, denmark

Windmills in a row on cloudy weather, wide shot, denmark

As I’m mentioned, I’m a part of a pro-nuke online community that has a strange antipathy toward renewables.  One might think that proponents of one low-carbon energy solution would respect those of another, but not in this case.  They offer a variety of reasons that I find interesting, but every one of them seems spurious at least to some degree.  (more…)

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awesome-outdoor-home-office-designGreen homes are a growing trend due to their environmental and economic benefits. By 2018, around 40 percent of the housing market will consist of green housing and 84 percent of all homes will have some sustainable attributes. (more…)

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van-gogh-flower-parade-floats-corso-zundert-netherlands-14Hey, Americans.  If you were going to expatriate, where would you go? As U.S. politics becomes more terrifying and life here becomes more bizarre, an ever-increasing number of us are asking ourselves this precise question. (more…)

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