Here’s the latest newsletter from my colleague Jon Lesage of the Green Auto Digest.  Justice for Volkswagen: Coming Real SoonApparently, the 11 million victims of VW’s emissions fraud (of whom my wife and I are two) are very close to getting some sort of restitution in the form of a buy-back at a preferential price.

This is perfect for me, as it kills two birds with one stone: compensation for my loss plus a quick and painless end to my tenure as a VW owner.

I’m done with the bitterly vitriolic hate thing I had going on there, but I really do want to see justice done, and to have these people out of my life forever.

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Celebrating the Paris Climate Change AgreementCaption to this Instagram post: A historic meeting took place on April 22, 2016, as more than 155 countries have committed to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. 

An expression of pure exhilaration.  Whenever possible, we like to wax enthusiastic.

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Earth Day Instagram Post from Last FridayCaption: Never underestimate the power you have to change the world.

An attempt to inspire by expressing gratitude.

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Solar Power Is Great, But Take It Easy on the Specious LogicHere’s an upbeat article on the city of San Francisco and its commitment to renewable energy.  It includes:   The San Francisco ordinance says that solar energy is needed because the city is vulnerable to sea level rise due to carbon dioxide emissions. Solar energy can replace power generated by fossil fuels, reducing those emissions. (more…)

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New Concepts in Renewable Energy Part of my career involves looking at new ideas in clean energy, which enables (forces?) me to look at some really wild stuff that couldn’t possibly work.  The inventor of this concept in wind energy called the other day to explain how effective his invention will be.  What he apparently doesn’t understand is that the energy extracted from wind is proportional to the swept area, and that this device will cost hundreds of times more per square meter than our current technology.

Like so many others, he wants to raise investment capital to build a prototype.  Won’t happen.

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Global Water Quality IssuesWater is known to constitute nearly 70% of the human body. It is also vital for the survival of other living organisms and various ecosystems. Besides water quantity problems such as drought and water shortages across different parts of the world, there have been global issues regarding water quality.

World Water Development report in United Nations (UN) water (2012) explained that an abundant supply of clean water is essential for the health and wellbeing of humans and the ecosystem; and their social and economic development. The report also added that there has been no evidence of improvement in water quality in a global scale. (more…)

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Rain-forest Destruction: Today's Instagram PostCaption:  This is one of the many reasons that our civilization’s gluttonous consumption of red meat is one of the most clearly unsustainable aspects of our culture.   

 

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A Quick Case for Optimism Re: Civilization's FutureA reader comments, “Your claim “The U.S. Citizenry is in the Process of Taking Back Its Democracy” is (quite) dubious!”

I grant that it’s dubious. It’s a prediction of the future, which makes it inherently uncertain. I happen to believe that it’s true, but I could have equally made the prediction solely on the basis that it has the potential to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. (more…)

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Five Ways to Ensure your Business is Energy EfficientOne of the most costly components of running a business revolves around energy usage. The cost of energy is constantly rising, and the amount of energy most businesses use tends to rise over time due to expansion and inefficiency.

The good news is that there are ways to improve your business’s energy usage. Let’s examine five ways you can ensure your business is more energy efficient. (more…)

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It’s Not Impossible to Make Broad and Wonderful Changes To Our Civilization; It Happens All the TimeIn response to my post The U.S. Citizenry Is in the Process of Taking Back Its Democracy, a rather cynical reader notes: “corruptive influence of money,” is a cliche like “world peace.” Such slogans sound ideal and high minded, but while unarguably desirable, lack practical reality.

The reason that a phrase like “world peace” is unrealistic is purely and only that people believe it to be so.  (more…)

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