Here’s a concept that I thought readers would find interesting. The air that comes out of ducts in industrial and commercial buildings has a certain amount of kinetic energy that is wasted. Believe it or not, the air that is pumped out of an opening five feet in diameter is moving about 10 MPH, which translates to a little over a kilowatt. Here’s a system that captures about 40% of that energy. (more…)
A friend in the solar business I’ve known since high school writes:
Since the last oil embargo we have had bad or no planning, policy written by corporate and foreign funding of U.S. politicians.
We should have done energy efficiency, renewable energy back then. We knew (decades ago) that CO2 was a problem, when we were richer and could have afforded (a solution). It’s do it now time and it may be too late. (more…)
When I was a young boy I recall a bumper-sticker that read: “We’ll Have Solar Energy as Soon as the Rockefellers Own the Sun.” The bitter truth behind this is even more in our faces 50 years later. The most powerful interests on Earth are hell-bent on maintaining the status quo vis-à-vis energy, even with its terrible consequences, not only in terms of environmental and health-related damage, but also the unrelenting hostilities in places that are blessed (?) to have large quantities of oil beneath their surfaces.
Each morning I read the Writer’s Almanac, and I particularly enjoy the “poem for the day.” I hope readers will check out “Wild Turkeys” by Lawrence Kessenich, as it speaks to the issues of peace.
I had a good talk with my mother earlier today in which we discussed Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, a book that examines each of the five periods of geologic history when mass extinctions (large and rapid loss of plants and animals) occurred. Given the work’s title, the reader can see immediately that this is more than an academic curiosity; there is compelling reason to wonder whether or not humankind is in the process of causing the next big die-off. (more…)
Someone asked me recently to name some of the things I would miss most and miss least during my time here on Earth if I were to be hit by a bus this afternoon. Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote him back:
Given the state of the world today, I have to say that the things I wouldn’t miss are too numerous to list, but I should mention, half in jest, the Koch Brothers. People often remark that God must have a sense of humor. I have to admit that it’s borderline amusing to think that you and I are all part of the same species as these people, freaks of nature, both tragically born without consciences. They’re worth $40 billion apiece, and their life’s work is further enriching themselves by poisoning and choking everyone on the planet. The tool at their disposal: buying up our government, quite rapidly in fact, as a means to achieving their evil ends. (more…)
My colleague Glenn Doty (pictured–sorry about the resolution–maybe Glenn can send me a better one) writes about my earlier post on international emissions reductions agreements that would mitigate climate disruption:
I hope you’re right on the international community coming together on this… but I fear China, SE Asia, and India will not play ball. It’s just in their greater interest to continue to modernize as quickly as possible and accept the damage from global warming, and they know it… (more…)
Here’s an article that discusses the concept of a carbon tax. What most people don’t understand about this is that it must apply to all countries equally, or it will have disastrous unintended consequences. Imagine the immediate result of a carbon tax in the U.S.: higher costs to American manufacturers, meaning higher prices for our goods, and thus more goods bought from China, where the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing is far worse than it is here.
This is why my colleague Glenn Doty recommends incentive-based emissions reductions.
This is also what makes the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both critically important and monstrously difficult. I’m rooting hard for IPCC chairperson Dr. Raj Pachauri (pictured) to succeed. What a fabulous person. I have more hair, but he has far more brains.
My interview with him can be found in “Renewable Energy – Following the Money.”
Going paperless is a great thing for your business for numerous reasons. The amount of paper spent in offices is more than enough to make eco-friendly people frown. Still, environmental awareness is not the only reason why most companies switch to a paperless practice. Going green and embracing a paperless practice saves a lot of money, time, space and nerves and increases the productivity of your business. Thankfully, technology provides us with an abundance of smart tools that can help with the transition to a slightly more “green” business. (more…)
As they say, too much of a good thing can be bad. This is especially true for lighting.
Light pollution is the introduction of artificial light into the environment by humans. An excessive amount of artificial light can cause a variety of issues. For humans, it obscures the view of stars in the night sky, disrupts sleep, and can cause safety hazards for drivers. This past August, NPR even discussed light pollution in Light Pollution and ‘The End Of Night.’ But while most humans no longer rely on the stars, animals depend on them for survival. For animals, light pollution can alter their natural instincts and have a devastating effect. (more…)
According to this article in Renewable Energy World, “Chevron Corp.’s attempts to turn plants into alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production have failed.” The author goes on to note:
The second-largest U.S. oil company by market value spent “significant sums” and assigned some of its best scientists to evaluate more than 100 kinds of feedstock and 50 techniques for converting them into fuels without success, Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson said during an address to the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis today. The smartest minds in my company and others haven’t yet cracked the code on pairing the right feedstock conversion technology and logistics in an economic and scalable package,” Watson said. (more…)
