photo 20140804_Rome_Colosseum_0397_zps371bd4b1.jpgHere’s a short but wonderful article by Allan Hoffman, PhD USDoE (Ret.) that summarizes U.S. energy policy and where it may be headed vis-à-vis the Earth’s great empires and what eventually brought them down. 

Of course, there are many great aphorisms that speak to the relationship of history to the future, perhaps the most famous of which comes to us from Spanish philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  In this case, the author closes with a similar notion: “We should learn from history, not just repeat it.” (more…)

Tagged with: , , ,

 photo AP_OBAMA_CHINA3_141112_DG_4x3_992_zps2d4b4788.jpgA reader responded to my Thanksgiving Day post in which I called for all Americans, especially those to the left of center politically, to stop griping about what Obama has not brought us, and to be grateful for what we have, in fact, received, in terms of environmental progress.  Maybe this whole thing came to a head for me when I realized that the climate-related agreement that Obama forged with Chinese President Xi Jinping, one of the most sweepingly important international accords in the history of humankind, went almost completely unnoticed in the U.S. (more…)

Tagged with: , ,

 photo Thanksgiving_1861_croped_zps1758106e.jpgWhat gets Americans jumping up and down for joy? We don’t seem to be in a particularly festive mood at this point in time.   And don’t get me wrong; though we all may have many things for which to be thankful in our family lives, we cannot help but be aware of the multi-faceted horrors surrounding us, both domestically and internationally. (more…)

Tagged with:

More of today’s global citizens are taking responsibility for their lifestyle choices that impact the environment. This is most evident in the increased sales of hybrid and electric cars and the use of alternative energy technologies to heat and cool residential and commercial buildings. (more…)

Tagged with: , ,

 photo 320px-D30CB791_BC1CAD11_B2E4C774C624B4DC_zps0c5a0e12.jpgIt can be easy to assume that you need to take drastic measures just to become more green, but there are actually simple changes that can be made to reduce your carbon footprint. From the type of light bulbs that you use to your car’s tire pressure, there are several factors that can be wasting precious resources. To reduce your carbon footprint, there are a few simple changes that you can make without changing your lifestyle. (more…)

Tagged with: ,

Telsa Motors Faces Threats, 24/7/365/…It’s so incredibly rare that I agree with anyone who’s written something of any real meaning and value on the financial website Seeking Alpha on the subject of Telsa Motors I thought, I note this exception.

The author states that out-maneuvering its numerous and incredibly powerful competitors is going to be a huge task that will require years of carefully deployed tactics in all major business disciplines with very few slip-ups.  The auto, and, far more  importantly, the oil industry are working in teams around the clock, planning a way to squash Tesla. (more…)

Tagged with: , , ,

 Home Green and SustainableChoosing life inside a green home means doing everything possible to reduce your home’s ecological footprint. Choosing life inside a sustainable home means selecting material, products, and designs which facilitate long term conservation. A sustainable home finds alternatives to our hyper consumer culture’s loop of infinite production, consumption, and deterioration. For winter, home design and regular heat system maintenance are two extremely important factors in green and sustainable living when the temperature drops. (more…)

Tagged with: , , ,

Advanced Nuclear Asks: Does Renewable Energy Pencil Out?Every day we encounter reminders of how quickly the rate of science is advancing.  As it happens, it was exactly 90 years ago today that we learned via the Hubbell Telescope that the Milky Way galaxy was not the entire universe; rather that it was only a small speck within it.  How much farther will the study of astrophysics take us, in the exploration of dark matter, dark energy, and the like? Of course, no one knows, but at the same time, no one needs to be reminded that the constant acceleration of all this work is staggering.  Half of the world’s information was created within the last 24 months. Meaning the world’s information supply (most of it worthless, I’ll admit) is doubling every two years.

This is what I find so strange about most of the proponents of advanced nuclear who work so hard to prove that theirs is the only solution.  I received 14 emails yesterday from this cadre with subject line: “renewables don’t pencil out.”

That’s a bit cavalier, don’t you think?

Sorry, all you wind energy folks (more…)

Tagged with: , , , ,

Guidelines for Eco-Friendly Techniques of Web DevelopmentNowadays, just with the help of few clicks we can acquire a lot of data or knowledge on anything. Internet has already become a part and parcel of our life. But the time has come when we should sit back and think a bit about our environment. It has been found out from company reviews and research that every single website that is being surfed generally emits 20 milligrams of Carbon dioxide every time. Now let us go through some green techniques that can be used for web development purposes. (more…)

Tagged with: , ,

Why Should You Consider Switching to a Hybrid?The increasing popularity of hybrid cars is good news as we edge closer to true zero-emission vehicles. There are now more choices available to buyers with luxury firms like BMW and Porsche becoming interested in the market as well as options for performance-focused vehicles or those suited for families. Here’s just some of the benefits you could expect when you make the switch.

How Do They Work? (more…)

Tagged with: , , ,