Last night I was lucky enough to have snagged a front-row seat to listen to a talk by John Perlin — author, lecturer, and consultant in solar energy and forest preservation. A physics scholar at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Perlin gave a fascinating presentation on the role that wood has played in our civilization over the last 6000 years, culminating in the need to take care of our few remaining forests in the 21st Century. (more…)
I follow the discussion on the financial site Seeking Alpha concerning the stock price of Tesla. On any given day when the market is open, there will be at least a handful of comments – some of them bullish, others bearish — but all very well-reasoned. (more…)
I’m making some calls to the top microbreweries in the U.S., trying to get a read on the industry’s appetite (thirst?) for solar thermal heating, considering the enormous amount of energy needed to heat all that water, grain, hops, etc. The only problem I’m experiencing is that they then need to cool that hot liquid (called “wort”) down before they add their yeast, and forward-thinking companies use heat recovery systems — in this case, heat exchangers. (more…)
When 60 Minutes was doing its fact-checking to support its viewpoint that clean energy is a dead industry, I wonder what they thought when they came across this little beauty: California (by far the leading state for solar energy) installed more PV last year than they did in the previous 30 years combined. That’s right, the total installed PV in California more than doubled in 2013.
Last week I reported that I had gotten an email from Lisa Hoyos, who was quite ticked off with Disney, as news had recently broken to the effect that Radio Disney was promoting fracking and pipelines to kids in a music-filled show called “Rocking in Ohio.” Funded through a partnership with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, the road show is being presented everywhere from schools to county fairs under the guise of teaching kids “science.”
Well, today she’s in much better spirits, since Radio Disney, who was on the receiving end of more than 100,000 parents and concerned citizens, has pulled out of “Rocking in Ohio” completely. (more…)
Here’s a blog post by a brilliant young man, Sheeraz Haji, along the lines of what I wrote about 60 Minutes’ galaxy-sized blunder in its coverage of cleantech.
His first point is probably his strongest: Cleantech is essential. It’s not as if we have any other choices. Our civilization is in the process of collapse due to the destruction that it’s wreaking on the environment and the rate at which it’s consuming our natural resources. (more…)
In response to my post on the need to develop an energy policy, a brainy friend of mine sent me this extremely interesting and detailed piece on the relationship between capitalism and our need to preserve our environment. I’m still working my way through it, but, in essence, it “proves” that capitalism and environmentalism are incompatible.
I believe the author is wrong. (more…)
Over the last few months, I took on several clients for whom I delivered marketing of some type: social media, public relations, demand generation, content creation, the establishment of strategic business partnerships, etc. Now, some of these projects are coming to a close, enabling me to take on more work.
If you’re interested in having me help you tell your cleantech story to the world, let’s talk. At the risk of sounding immodest, I’ve had some really nice successes over the years, and I’d enjoy a conversation with you around how I may be able to assist you in forwarding your business.
A young man from Peru writes:
Hi, I am 21 years old and I study environmental engineering. I have been thinking what to do after I finish, and I came to the conclusion that I want to specialize in renewable energy. As this is an important decision, I would like your opinion about it, and any advice you can give me (including good reads, websites, etc.). I already downloaded the free e-book on renewables; thanks for it.
You’re quite welcome; thanks for writing. (more…)
In a discussion I had yesterday with an old friend and long-time 2GreenEnergy subscriber, I was reminded of how outrageous it is that the United States has no energy policy. Is it really any wonder we’re making such dreadfully slow progress in the direction of a sustainable approach to energy, considering that we don’t know where we’re going?
What’s the matter with asking our leaders to chart out the next few decades, and putting a stick in the ground re: our phasing out of fossil fuels? Where do we want to be in three years? 30? Isn’t that what leaders do, i.e., lead? (more…)
