Home › Blog › Page 1341

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Deep Energy Retrofits--A Necessity for Old Buildings

The winter, and its accompanying polar vortices, appears to finally be loosening its grip after months of drastic weather throughout the United States. States across the country experienced some of the coldest weather their homes had seen in years; cities like Chicago, in fact, had its coldest winter in recorded history. In an effort to find a positive side to the months of increased energy usage, we can only hope that some of the highest heating bills customers have seen yet will be enough to encourage a re-evaluation of their home and business’s energy usage and efficiency -especially there is no guarantee that this following winter will be any less cold. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Shortage of Platinum Might Be an Insurmountable Hurdle for Hydrogen CarsOver the last couple of months, there has been a lot of hype around hydrogen-powered cars, with Toyota, Honda and Hyundai planning to roll out hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2015, claiming that they have many advantages over electric and hybrid vehicles. They have the potential to be the best alternative to conventional cars and a mainstream public transport option in the long run. But, as with other alternative fuel cars, there are many challenges that hydrogen cars have to overcome before they can become mainstream. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Offshore Wind in the North Sea - By 2GreenEnergy Intern Olivier GoavecHere’s another article by our terrific French intern, Olivier Goavec, pictured here with his vélo.

In its goal to meet its objectives in terms of gas emission and to become less dependent on energy importations (coal, gas, oil), Europe needs to develop green energy as these sources are massively present and free for the taking. (more…)

Tagged with: , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

University of California at Santa Barbara Provides A Home for Numerous Cleantech Projects Sunday’s hike took a friend and me to the top of the Santa Ynez Mountains, from which I took this photo of the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands about 15 miles off the coast. That little strip at the left is one of the runways of the Santa Barbara airport, behind which is the UCSB, home to an amazing number of cleantech projects. In fact, I’ll be down there on April 24th for their annual “Venture Fair” where students and faculty present their cleantech business concepts.

Btw, this hike is 9.5 miles roundtrip, featuring a little over 2000 feet change in elevation. Going up wasn’t a problem; we took our time and made it in about two hours. Coming down, however, was very hard on my soon-to-be 59-year-old knees.

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Wind Energy and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)A reader asks for my viewpoint on wind energy and concentrated solar power (CSP). She writes: Hello! I have been doing a lot of research on CSP and wind power. I want to know your opinion on which is better and why. Thank you.

It’s hard to answer this question definitively in either direction, so let me present some pros and cons. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

<a href="http://s708.photobucket.com/user/craigshields/media/Hydroelectricity_zps391fb094.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src=It is widely known knowledge that only 1% of earth’s water is actually usable for human purposes. While we do have efficient ways to make this small amount work for us, there are things we all can and should do to conserve our limited resources.

About Home Use

Landscaping accounts for about half of the water Californians use at home. (Source: Sunnyslope County Water District) (more…)

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

In the Battle of the Sexes, Who’s the Driver Behind a Solar PV Purchase?Here’s an amusing little tidbit on the purchase of rooftop solar I just came across:

“Researchers Raina Russo of SolarChat and Glenna Wiseman of Identity3 compiled some initial results from their survey of American women and mothers about solar power buying habits. Though the survey was still open at the time, Russo and Wiseman had already uncovered some pretty fascinating data, including the fact that the majority of the time, women are the main drivers behind the decision to go solar.”

While I actually don’t dispute this conclusion, I just had to laugh that the researchers saw fit to interview an audience composed exclusively of women, and then report that women “wear the pants” in the family when it comes to going solar.  Wouldn’t this result have been more credible if both women and men had agreed on it?

 

Tagged with: , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Americans Largely Unconcerned About Climate ChangeAccording to a Gallup Poll taken last month, only 35% of Americans say they worry “a great deal” about climate change, a significantly smaller fraction than 43% of the population who say they worry about the subject “only a little or not at all.”  I’ve read a few articles recently that suggest that this is strange, given the recent report from the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) that, to my surprise, made something of a splash in the mainstream media.

Fortunately, climate change is only one of a half-dozen good reasons to knock off our addiction to fossil fuels.  Yes, there are people who don’t believe in human-caused global warming.  But are there people who don’t believe in terrorism or lung cancer?

 

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

photo UC_Santa_Barbara_zps8a51d53b.pngHere are all 10 parts of a video I recorded recently on the history of solar energy. It’s an interview with John Perlin, author and scholar-in-residence in the physics department at the University of California at Santa Barbara. John is best known for his highly acclaimed book “Let It Shine! — The 6000 Year Story of Solar Energy.” I certainly learned a great deal from the discussions, and I hope you will too.

I’ve been making my way through the book, and it really is excellent. A great number of my heroes in the field of environmentalism and sustainability, people like Lester Brown, Jeremy Rifkin, and Amory Lovins have written glowing endorsements, and I can see why. It’s very well researched and documented, and presented in an interesting and accessible manner.

I did this with my cell phone, so don’t expect it to look like it came from Steven Spielberg, but I believe you’ll find the content to be of value.
(more…)

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

How Green is My Steel Industry?Steel is a critical part of modern civilization. The steel industry is an economic driving force that provides the materials for a wide range of other industries.

The production of steel has historically also been a very dirty process that results in numerous greenhouse gas emissions, slag waste and requires enormous amounts of energy to fire high temperature blast furnaces. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,