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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized
The Times They a Changin' for the BetterHere’s something that will simultaneously amuse and inspire; it’s a reminder of how quickly our society is evolving towards civility, equality and decency.
From the standpoint of energy and environment, remember that a mere 10 years ago, there was virtually no recognition among the public of climate change. Solar and wind were hobbies; now they’re industries. Pessimists often forget about the huge undercurrent of change for the better.
(And yes, I know that the video isn’t a real BBC production, but the idea it presents makes is precisely on point; you wouldn’t be laughing otherwise.)
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Seven Reasons Why Recycling is the Environmentally Responsible Thing To DoDo you want your children to live next door to a landfill? The burning of this pile of trash releases toxic chemicals into the air, causing serious problems for our own generation and the ones that follow. There are many reasons why recycling is an earth-friendly and environmentally responsible thing to do. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

Green Waste Technology - Three Alternatives to Messy LandfillsAs growing populations result in the inevitable larger, messier landfills, more aggressive and viable solutions are being developed and implemented through three major channels: organic recycling, technology, and other creative forms of recycling at every level. While admittedly not totally effective by any means, when combined with other available methods, they can make a noticeable dent in the landfill dilemma. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

I’m having discussions with a start-up in the New England section of the U.S. that offers a unique approach and capability to hydrokinetics; they’re interested in having my team and me deliver a set of “biz dev” actions aimed at helping them advance their concept into real-world projects.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

More on Oil's Dominance in the World

Re: My recent post Making the Transition from Oil, my friend from Germany writes:  Wow, thank you for this insightful response to my question. It is my hope that oil will lose its economic advantage in the near future.

It’s going to take time.  As you know, oil isn’t used for electricity, but for transportation. Thus it competes with EV batteries. As long as we don’t care about the consequences of oil (like terrorism, in addition to the health and environmental aspects), it will be around for quite a while.  And the world political issues, e.g., the U.S. relationship with the royal family and the mega-wealthy of Saudi Arabia (i.e., the funders of ISIS) doesn’t help.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Happy Birthday Isaac NewtonIt’s the birthday of Isaac Newton, perhaps the best-known person in the history of science.  Though there was other genius to his credit, Newton’s celebrity derived mainly from his insight into universal gravitation and thus the Laws of Motion that apply to all things on Earth as well as celestial objects.  Ironically, his fame was amplified even further because of the stunning nature by which this paradigm was shattered in the 20th Century, not once, but twice. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Making the Transition from OilA friend from Germany writes:  My boyfriend and I were discussing offshore drilling last night, he thinks this will gain momentum once oil prices go up. I am optimistic about renewables and a phasing out of fossil fuels within the next 20 years. As an energy expert, what are your thoughts about the future of offshore drilling in the USA? Thank you for your expert opinion!

What a great question. (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Celebrating Courage494 years ago today, Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther for condemning the Catholic Church in his 95 theses.  This serves as a reminder that, of the many common bonds shared by all humankind, this one serves as perhaps our most admirable: We celebrate bravery in the face of that which we find morally repugnant.

As we move further into the 21st Century, two things are becoming increasingly clear: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

In This Month’s Scientific American: "The Carbon Capture Fallacy"I don’t yet have access to the full version of the article whose “teasers” are here, but I infer from its title that its reasoning is consistent with the position that Scientific American has taken on CCS (carbon capture and sequestration) over the years, i.e., that, for a blend of technological and economic reasons, it’s a fool’s errand.

It appears that we need to adjust our thinking according to words of the smart folks who brought us observations like: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Designers of Our Electricity GridsIn response to my post on Thomas Edision, Frequent commenter Brian McGowan notes that, in the early days of electrification, the Wizard felt that many American households should employ batteries powered by wind turbines to be entirely self sufficient in terms of energy. Of course, this calls to mind all the decisions our society made over the last century or so, most of which, in retrospect, turned out to have significantly negative environmental consequences.

(more…)

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