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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Good News Re: Chinese Coal-Fired Power PlantsHere’s some good news for those of you out there with lungs:  a report suggesting that China is working hard to reduce its dependence on coal-fired power plants, including a bold step to declare war on pollution.   It’s hard to know exactly what motivates the Chinese government, but it’s a good guess that they’re embarrassed about pictures like this one, and they recognize a responsibility—at least to their own people—to take the steps required to deal with the health crises that are precipitated by this mess.

 

 

 

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Canadian Reader Points Out the Need for Energy Efficiency and ConservationRoger Priddle, a reader from the central part of Canada, made a few comments on energy efficiency and conservation that I thought folks might find useful.  I appreciate the constructive criticism.  He writes:

I’m already powering my home with a combination of PV and solar hot water.  So I’m a fan and a believer. The only thing I wish to point out is that your presentations do not sufficiently emphasize the need to use the energy more wisely. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Understanding the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Attacks on Renewable EnergyHere’s a good article that shows how powerful and well-organized the fossil fuel industry is in its nonstop aggression against renewable energy—and anything else aimed at protecting the environment from harmful emissions.

As a reader commented, “I hope the gig pays well.”  Indeed.  Born sociopaths do stuff like this for fun, but the rest of us don’t.  Imagine you’re a decent person, and you’re weighing the pros and cons of participating in this effort.  Your job will be to concoct and disseminate a steady stream of lies whose ultimate effect will be enormous harm to humankind and all life forms here on Earth – now and forever into the future.  The idea is repugnant to the very core of your being.  You can’t believe you’re even considering such a thing.  But there’s that summer house in the Hamptons….

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Liquid Fluoride Thorium ReactorIf you don’t mind taking a 36-minute-long drink of water from a fire hose, here’s the most visible spokesperson for the thorium nuclear reactor, Kirk Sorensen, speaking a few years ago at Google.  The essence of his talk is the history of nuclear power, and one leaves the talk with an extremely good and balanced overview of the subject.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Pope Francis: Causing Climate Change = SinOf the 3734 blog posts I’ve written here since 2GreenEnergy’s inception in 2009, only a few contain references to religion.  This is not an accident.  I figure I alienate enough people with my condemnation of the fossil fuels industries, the war mongers, the corrupt politicians, and the far right wing generally; I see no need to expand this list even further.  But here’s something that I find really noteworthy, and unequivocally positive:  Pope Francis is obviously an extremely intelligent man with a sincere passion for many humanistic and environmental causes—and he’s not exactly a wallflower in terms of voicing his viewpoints.

He sure didn’t mince words here, where he points out that causing global climate change is a sin.  To those of us outside the Catholic Church, this statement may seem self-evident, but let’s give credit where credit is due.  Nice going, Your Holiness!

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Smart Grid

One Utility's Position on Renewable EnergyJesse Berst of Smart Grid News fame is one of the good guys.  He’s smart, level-headed, and always working hard to improve the industry overall.  In this article on PNM, the power utility that serves New Mexico, Jesse points out that this is an all-to-rare example of a utility that – whether you agree with them or not—is at least honestly communicating its position vis-à-vis renewable energy.  I have to admit: that’s a lot better than what we often find elsewhere, i.e., silent, stone-cold obstructionism, or, even worse, a happy PR line from a glib, insincere spokesperson. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Solar PV on Our Roadways?What if we covered our roadways with solar PV?

As this article suggests, there is no reason in theory that this can’t be done, since, apparently, durability isn’t an issue.  And obviously, there is a lot to like about the idea, especially that it’s a fabulous use of already-dedicated public space, i.e., there are plenty of roads in sunny climates that would make excellent candidates for such an enterprise. Also, as noted in the caption under the photo here, they claim to keep themselves free of snow, though, when you think about it, this can’t possibly be true.  What happens when they get two feet of snow between dusk and the following dawn?

That, of course, is a nit.  I would suggest that the author, Douglas Elbinger, needs to focus on two major areas:  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

I haven’t been involved in a super-abundance of protest marches through the years, though I did carry a sign calling for the end of the war in Vietnam in the early 1970s, and, last summer, I took my wife and daughter downtown with me for a demonstration against the Keystone XL pipeline.  In any case, I’m considering joining this one: Bill McKibben, who leads the environmentalist group 350.org, has invited you and me to “A Call to Arms: An Invitation to Demand Action on Climate Change” to be held in New York City next September 20/21.  I can’t think of a place I’d rather be.

McKibben is 100% correct when he reports that we’re living at a time when the greatest crisis humankind has ever encountered is unfolding all around us.  Our reaction?  Open up tons of new land to oil drilling and coal mining.

We could sit around pretending that everything is fine and a business-as-usual approach to energy policy is acceptable.

But it would be wrong.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Europeans and Americans Have Different Perception on Climate ChangeThe U.S. and Europe have a special link; the role that these two entities have played toward each other over the course of history is strong. France with Lafayette helped the U.S. to become independent and the U.S. helped Europe during the First and Second World Wars. Right after 1945 and the abolition of Nazism, when much of Europe lay in ruins, the Marshall Plan gave the Continent the funds it needed to rebuild. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Europeans’ and Americans’ Perceptions on Climate Change Are Quite DifferentOur wonderful French intern, Olivier Goavec, is in the process of finalizing an article called “Europeans and Americans Have Different Perceptions on Climate Change.”  I thought readers might be interested in the comments I just wrote back to him during the editing process.  Fearing that Olivier might by hesitant to write about Americans with a level of brutal honest, I respond:

Whatever you do, don’t worry about insulting Americans.  I agree with everything you said, and I think you’re exactly correct about the fact that we have the resources, which we think entitles us to use them.  So simple, and so correct.

Personally, I think you could be even more condemnatory about American vs. European sensibilities generally.  (more…)

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