Here’s a brilliant article that examines the challenges that environmentalists face in our discussions on climate change. Why exactly is this subject so difficult to broach with the “common man?” On a radio show I did last week with a lady in Atlanta, she told me, “Oh, I never, ever bring it up. If I want to talk about clean energy, I talk about lung disease, or national security, but I pretend I’ve never heard of global warming.” (more…)
A fellow from India writes: “We are going to start a solar energy project of 16 MW and are desperately looking for investment. Can we get assistance from your people with respect of funding?”
I thought I’d publish what I wrote him (along with notes in italics I added later) as I think it’s of general interest. (more…)
It was 133 years ago today that the first electric street lights were switched on, illuminating New York City’s Broadway (shown in this illustration six years later, in 1886). The lamps of the day delivered just a few lumens per watt, and now we’re measuring our LEDs in hundreds of lumens per watt, making this a fitting reminder of the rapidity with which technology is changing, improving our lives, and perhaps even more important, reducing the footprint of our energy consumption through efficiency and the development of renewable energy.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working hard to promote my new client PlexiSun, based in New Zealand, whose products I regard as a breakthrough in solar thermal hot water heating. Without my help, they’ve taken care of business relationships that will make this product available in Europe and Asia, but they hired me to find them a few good, solid business partners to service the Americas. (more…)
With Christmas right around the corner, it’s a good time to make a note about spirituality generally. There are quite a few excellent film documentaries that make the point that all life forms are intimately but mysteriously connected to one another, and that Western civilization’s general failure to recognize this important fact is the root cause of our many maladies: (more…)
Here’s a Ted Talk delivered by a 13-year-old boy that will blow your mind. The subject matter is an innovative approach to education, and the subject of sustainability doesn’t come up directly at all, though I believe it’s implied. If you can imagine a world populated by people even a fraction as intelligent and creative as this young man, you are, in fact, envisioning a world that functions without the abusive exploitation of resources – both natural and human. (more…)
A friend in the wind industry sent me this interesting article on wind turbines, blades, birds, and subsidies.
I know the industry is taking the situation with birds and bats very seriously, and that’s good; they certainly need to do that. (more…)
Senior energy analyst Glenn Doty commented on my post Explaining Humankind’s Blase’ Response to Climate Change:
“The reason that people aren’t frantic about it: Since 1910, the planet has warmed roughly 1 degree C, and very few people would say that life is worse now than it was 100 years ago. They believe we’ll see technology continue to improve at a greater rate than the change in climate could make things worse.” (more…)
When frequent commenter Cameron Atwood sent me this alarming article this afternoon on climate change, I wrote back, “Scary stuff!” and I considered at the time not to formulate it into a blog post. Even though it is scary in the extreme (see excerpted timeline below), I think carefully about how pessimistic/alarmist I really want to be on this subject. (more…)
If you watched a time-lapse video of major cities over the past few centuries, you’d think that construction was the enemy of the environment. You’d see major factories being built, massive concrete conurbations coming together, skyscrapers springing from the ground. There would be a lot less green space at the end of the video than there was at the start. (more…)
