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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Eco-Developer Should Establish the Level of Demand for Eco-Friendly HousingA reader asks for my advice regarding a concept in sustainable building that can provide whole neighborhoods of energy-neutral houses.  He believes he has a very marketable product that can serve West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee right now.

My advice: Choose each specific target location very carefully.  As you know, “location” is all three of the top three ingredients that creates the market price of real estate.  Here it’s even more important.  If you’re going to sell 15 eco-houses in Gatlinburg, TN, the first thing you need is 15 families who want to live in Gatlinburg, TN.  Do they exist?  You’re creating a huge amount of supply, and if that’s not met with an equal demand, you’re going to face a problem, regardless of the houses’ eco-characteristics.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Energy Efficiency Initiatives in Sustainable Cities

European Sustainable Cities

European cities are making big sustainability strides and the rest of the world is taking notice. The combination of the continent’s “Europe 2020 growth strategy,” government and institution-backed programs like EPIC-HUB and SMART-HG, and regulations like mandatory energy audits for large enterprises are creating green cities, environmentally responsible businesses, and citizens empowered with energy efficiency.

Within the next 5 years, the EU is planning to cut their annual primary energy consumption by 20%: a lofty goal. To succeed, they understand that they must increase energy efficiency at all stages of the energy chain: generation, transformation, distribution and final consumption. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Nuclear Energy vs. Variable Renewable ResourcesReader Mike Carpenter asks:  Craig:  Please look at NuScale Power in Corvallis, Oregon.

Thanks very much, Mike.  Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to evaluate the merits of individual approaches to nuclear energy.  Having said that, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Is Nuclear Power Necessary for a Workable Approach to Energy?A reader named Barry has been active in 2GreenEnergy since its inception and asks:

I had a couple of college professors that told me in 1977 at UCSB that nuclear power was using a flawed theory and that we have just been lucky so far. I don’t know anything about the advanced nukes you speak of but I consider you reliable. So here’s the question ….what would you prefer to see proliferate as our next form of energy?   I realize the answer is probably a mix of sources but it would be nice to hear: where would you put your money?

Thanks for the confidence you’ve placed in me. As you suggested, the answer is complicated.  There is no silver bullet, but let me lay out a few thoughts. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Liquid Fluoride Thorium ReactorRe: my recent post on liquid fluoride thorium reactors, a reader notes:

It seems thorium is the best choice, as they become flexible enough to reduce atomic gen-sets down to 20 MW, put anywhere near clean water with 8-10 pre-made 40’ containers.  Successful plants are running in India…..Thorium fuel is cheap compared to gas/oil/coal, but the plant is very costly.   Wind is by far the cheapest generating method, followed by hydro.    Thorium is cheap once a realistic payback is completed, in about 10-12 years…..Thorium has several other advantages….higher breakdown temperature, all consuming to almost zero residue, no plutonium is generated, thus it is not used to make bombs. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Small Wind Power – An Artistic Stab I wanted to make another comment or two on this idea in small wind: a set of small, vertical-axis turbines that are designed to look something like a tree. It’s interesting to note that people seem to get their panties in a bunch about ideas like this, e.g., my pro-nuclear friends, the leader of which sent the link and wrote: “Be ready to handle a new year of scammers…” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Driving and Our Modern-Day Eco-SensibilitiesWhen my father taught me to drive 45 years ago he passed along his best advice on the subject, one piece of which I remember quite vividly:  Don’t back up one inch farther that you need to.  He told me, “You’ll have at least 1000 times more accidents per mile driven going backward than you will have going forward.”

When I taught my kids to drive just a few years ago, I made sure they got that too, but I also passed this along as well: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Are We Making Progress in Our Discussions on Climate Change?Frequent commenter Cameron Atwood notes: Climate denialists in congress have now slowly gone from claiming human climate disruption is “a hoax,” to “it’s nature, not humans,” to admitting “I’m not a scientist.” I’d say that’s a little progress. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Small Wind Power – An Artistic Stab Here’s a cute idea in small wind: a set of small, vertical-axis turbines that are designed to look something like a tree. It’s hard to object to an idea like this—except when its creators make wild claims:

Claim: It’s quiet but powerful. (Define “powerful.”  I’m sure it’s quiet, and I suppose you could say that it’s powerful in the sense that it generates more electricity than a real tree.) (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Don’t Expect Miracles from U.S. Lawmakers When It Comes to the Environment—Or Anything Else

It’s no secret that U.S. Congressmen routinely act with complete disregard to the interests and needs of the people who elected them; in fact, this sad truth is so pervasive in Americans’ lives that it really doesn’t even make the news anymore, and very few wonder about its cause. (more…)

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