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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Concern for the future of the planet is growing. Being a member of the world population amidst an ever teetering global economy and the seemingly infinite growth and effective weight of climate destruction can create an unparalleled pressure and fear of the future. For most of us, the problems have become clear. There is an ever growing mountain of evidence illustrating a dire picture of the future. For many, a shift has become detrimental, and the spirit of resourcefulness must span across all areas of our lifestyle if there is any intention of creating a happy, successful, sustainable future. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Like many of us I’ve usually questioned regarding technology that may facilitate the surroundings. My motivation could be a conviction that science can sooner or later facilitate undo the environmental issues caused by act. What follows could be a tiny choice of ideas that show some promise with respect to saving the earth.

There is a desire to conserve our surroundings. Government agencies, Non government agencies and public action teams are all attempting to contribute towards conservation of surroundings. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Earlier today, I was driving to a lunch meeting with a potential investor in our clean energy investment opportunities, and I had the good fortune to find a lecture by Buddhist philosopher Alan Watts on the radio.  The talk brought back good memories, as I was heavily into him when I was a young man in the early 1970s. 

Apparently when Watts was a little boy living in London, he happened upon a store with the sign in the window that read “Philosophic Instruments.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Though I don’t normally cover the news on extreme sports, I do need to mention that NBC took Olympic gold last night in the Extreme Cruelty event, ascending to the top of the podium for their talk on camera with men’s skiing “Super-G” bronze medal winner, American Bode Miller.  The interviewer forced Miller to talk about his reactions to the tragic death of his brother, obviously a very painful subject to him, with not just one question on the subject, but three – until Miller, eventually in tears, was rendered incapable of speaking further. 

The relevance to environmental justice?  The migration to a sustainable way of life here on Earth can happen only in the presence of people who honestly care about one another, and demonstrate that in their actions.  When this basic compassion is missing, all is lost.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

I’m planning to make yet another addition to my list of renewable energy investment opportunities: the development of a smallish wind farm in Sardinia.  Apparently, power from wind turbines that are rated under 60 KW is greeted with a huge feed-in tariff (more than 26 Eurocents per KWh for 20 years).  An associate of mine in Paris plans to deploy an array of 18 specially built small/mid-sized turbines (55 KW apiece) to generate a total nameplate capacity of 1 MW, using land high up on a rocky mesa, leased from a farmer with huge flocks of sheep.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Santa Barbara is lucky enough to have one of the 13 Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums.  Yesterday I checked out several dozen original documents that happened to interest me, including the first page of one of the world’s most beloved pieces of piano music: the A-flat (“Heroic”) polonaise of Chopin, as well as several writings of the world’s great scientists.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

I was milling around Wall-Space, a hip new art gallery in Santa Barbara’s “Funk Zone” yesterday, looking at some really cool photography, when the clerk, an amazingly articulate and self-possessed young lady, asked me about my interests.  No sooner had I gotten the words “renewable energy” out of my mouth than she opened a drawer stuffed with the images of Jay Tyrrell, a fellow whose photographic subjects are largely concentrated on – and I’m not making this up – wind turbines.  If you check this out, you’ll learn about Jay’s project “Wind Army” a science fiction story that brings wind turbines to life in a sort of  “War of the Worlds” plot-line. 

Now that’s what I call an imagination.  

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Weather conditions have been freezing, you’re probably worried about your electrical expenses going over the roof again. You need all the heat you can get and it’s just as easy as turning up the switch, right? However, when the bill arrives, you’re doomed again. Wouldn’t it just be awesome if there are ways to cut down on those bills and still get the warmth you need from the stormy weather?

Now, how you can make your home conducive to stay in besides the cold temperature while keeping the expenses on the low. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Environmentalism is on the rise and has had a huge effect on the way that we live our lives. Thanks to our growing awareness of the issues that man-made pollution can cause, more and more people have been making changes to their day to day lives in order to successfully reduce harmful emissions; you can make a change for the better by doing something as simple as using your car less often or changing the light bulbs in your house. Changing to a new set of light bulbs has become a popular choice precisely because it’s so easy and there are now enough alternative products to make such a change feasible. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s an article by an author with keen insight into the issues that will shape the future of humankind on this planet: Michael T. Klare, the Five College Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The title of his newest book, The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources, articulates the basic issue: the oil companies and the governments that they largely control have little interest in backing off from their passion of maximizing their profits, even at the expense of the health and safety of everyone living on Earth.  (more…)

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