Blog – Page 1264 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Environmentalism Quite Popular Internationally

craigshieldsPosted on March 21, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

As a rule, Americans don’t devote too much of their time to learning about trends toward environmentalism elsewhere in the world, even if those trends may be spreading like wildfire. I mentioned recently that The Netherlands is the focal point to a new-found appreciation of walking and bicycling. In the U.S., about 1/10th of 1% of all bicycle sales are electric; in Amsterdam, it’s 37%. Why? It’s an attempt, and a successful one at that, to get cars off the road.

There are other important differences between the Dutch and Americans, one of which is the former’s appreciation for classical music. Here’s a wonderful performance featuring a young girl with a fabulous voice, performing an aria of Puccini: “O Mio Babbino Caro” to a packed audience in an outdoor theater in Maastricht (pictured above); this is something that would be exceedingly rare in the U.S.

Tagged with: appreciation of walking and bicycling, Environmentalism Internationally, trends toward environmentalism

Mitigating Climate Change–A Legal Strategy Based on an Ancient Premise

craigshieldsPosted on March 21, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Those of us concerned about climate disruption turn to legal scholars for strategies that may be successful in protecting Earth’s atmosphere. Here’s one I just came across, propounded by Mary Christina Wood (pictured), a law professor at the University of Oregon, and author of “Nature’s Trust – Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age.” It’s based on a notion that goes back to Ancient Rome:

Government holds in public trust for all its citizens the resources they need to survive, and can be held accountable if it fails to protect those resources for future generations.

Not to take anything away from Ms. Wood’s construct, but one would think that all legal approaches in this space are variations on this theme; it really comes down to the purpose and duty of government to begin with: protection of the people. Regardless of how much or how little government one thinks is a sound idea, the only folks who could possibly object to this concept are anarchists—and even anarchy is based on the concept that groups of people have natural, spontaneous tendencies to build ad hoc social devices that function to protect themselves from harm.

Tagged with: anarchists, anarchy, Climate Change Legal Strategy, mitigating climate change, Nature’s Trust – Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age

More on Aeroponics–A Key Player in Sustainable Agriculture

craigshieldsPosted on March 20, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

My colleague Glenn Doty writes on my piece Aquaponics, Aeroponics, and Other Concepts in Modern Vegetable Farming:

Upscale restaurants and organic grocers for foodies are one thing. But to analyze where this must eventually end up, and try to find a path from the rooftops of high-end restaurants to large-scale operations that could feed a modest percentage of the human species… There are chasms to cross….It will eventually happen because it must, and once all options start running dry someone is going to throw the Hail Mary. Until then, this is just a high-end and novel form of gardening. (more…)

Tagged with: Aeroponics, aquaponics, Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore, international trade agreements and tariffs, Modern Vegetable Farming, organic fruits and vegetables, tower gardens

Our Precious Atmosphere Is Finite In Size

craigshieldsPosted on March 20, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

A reader comments on my article 2GreenEnergy Has A Broad Focus and Results That Are Hard to Measure–But There’s Good News Too…. By the way, very nice piece. I think that the only way we make progress is if people raise their voices and calmly and logically discuss their views. You have done that better than most, and thus had a very big influence on people…..You mentioned the small blue dot in your piece. I know people have a hard time to get their head around that. (more…)

Tagged with: Adam Nieman, atmosphere is finite in scope, change our climate, Precious Atmosphere, small blue dot

Aquaponics, Aeroponics, and Other Concepts in Modern Vegetable Farming

craigshieldsPosted on March 19, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Regarding my recent post on aeroponics and other aspects of sustainable agriculture, senior energy analyst Glenn Doty writes something that is both correct—and illustrative of a large point in clean tech investment:

I believe that the future will rely on vertical urban farming – and most of the farms across the Midwest will have to be glassed in over the next hundred years. But I think that the true gains here won’t be found without massive integration of technologies and demand.

The efforts that would be required to move forward here would never be palatable for a standard investor. Far too much capital would be required at an unproven model, and a small-scale model would have too many inefficiencies and too poor a ROI to attract bigger investors. (emphasis mine)

First, let’s take a few steps back. (more…)

Tagged with: Aeroponics, aquaponics, average bit of food Americans eat travelled 1200 miles, food deserts, increasingly powerful chemical insecticides, monocropping, vertical farming

Identifying the Problem in Industrial Agriculture Is Easy; Identifying a Solution that’s Truly Sustainable in Every Way (Including Profitability) Is Extremely Tough

craigshieldsPosted on March 18, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ve seen quite a few business plans recently that propose to take a significant amount of investors’ money and build some really cool sustainable agriculture project, i.e., sustainable fish farming or aeroponics used to offer locally grown, organic produce. I just wrote to the person submitting them:

I have no doubt in the basic five tenets here: (more…)

Tagged with: aeroponics locally grown organic produce, childhood obesity and diabetes, climate change desertification, food deserts children grow up on fast food, Industrial Agriculture, sustainable agriculture project, sustainable fish farming

From Guest Blogger Micaela: Top 100 Green Initiatives 2015 by GreenMatch

craigshieldsPosted on March 18, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Greenmatch UK has recently published a list of 100 Green Initiatives, awarding the Top 20 Green Bloggers, Top 20 Green Schools, Top 20 Green Projects, Top 20 Green Bites and Top 20 Green Community Initiatives for 2015 in the UK. The winners have been awarded for their efforts to achieve sustainability and for contributing to a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

The listed sites contain nice and useful resources, media, news and initiatives devoted to the environment. The award is a way to recognize the green efforts and to encourage more people to join the environmentally friendly initiatives. You can check the list here: top-100-green-initiatives. (more…)

Tagged with: Top 20 Green Bites and Top 20 Green Community Initiatives, Top 20 Green Bloggers, Top 20 Green Projects, Top 20 Green Schools

From Guest Blogger Green Energy Scotland: Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme in UK – A Complete Guide to Follow

craigshieldsPosted on March 18, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

UK Government has made a commendable step towards conservation of fossil fuels with RHI. Renewable heat incentive is a scheme which encourage the householders, communities and businesses to uptake several renewable heat technologies, providing them financial incentives. The government of UK has put this effort to meet their target of achieving 12% heat generation from renewable sources by 2020.
Is it for the Domestic Users? (more…)

From Guest Blogger Sustainafreak: Green Property Incentives in the UK – Effective or Not?

craigshieldsPosted on March 18, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

(Gotta love this guy’s name! – Ed) In a bid to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes, the British government has introduced a handful of incentives to landlords to maximise the economic potential of their properties. The idea behind this is twofold: 1. tenants will save money on their energy bills, and 2. by raising the economic rating of the property, it will in turn increase market value.