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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Green Vibes--Where Can You Save More Energy at Home?In today’s every changing world, it is clear that saving energy and protecting the environment are both important. Doing your part at home will help make planet Earth a safe and healthy place to live, and reduce your carbon footprint. It will also be helpful for those trying to save money as well. Little changes over a long period of time will make a big difference in the end. Sure, turning off a computer might save $0.20 cents a day, but that adds up to over $125 saved in a year (really? -ed). Consider making the following changes to help save more energy at home. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

photo 320px-Bambu-imperial-Detalhe_zpsc7debbd4.jpgChoosing the right flooring in your home is one of the most important decisions you can make.  In certain areas it will need to be hardwearing, whilst in bathrooms it will need to be moisture resistant. Some flooring is warm to your feet but more inclined to trap dirt whilst other flooring is cold but easy to keep clean. Whichever type of flooring you choose you will want it to appear attractive as well as function. You may also want to consider flooring which is environmentally friendly: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Asking Santa for a Little Solar PowerThose who may have tired of Christmas music, rejoice.  For there are numerous take-offs on the carols of yore that reflect secular humanitarian values, like this hilarious one on solar energy:

Solar Carol (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Environmental Gifts You Gave in 2015In case you didn’t realize how generous you were over the last 12 months, here’s our Instagram post of the day.  Thanks very much!

Needless to say, we encourage all our readers to follow us on Instagram.  What a great platform, with tons of activity, especially among younger people.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

California Very Important To the Development of CleanTechRe: my post to the effect that companies like Google and Apple aren’t going to sit around and watch humankind fry the planet, reader “Frank” in Florida notes:  Again we are so on the same page! The comparison I was trying to make was that so much in the way of renewable energy is going on in California and so little in Florida. There is still a disconnect in this country. It is so sad that people just can’t seem to reach past their own little world. Case in point, I watched a rerun of Howie Mandel’s “Deal or No Deal,” the contestant was from somewhere on the East Coast of the U.S. and she mentioned on air that she thought that she needed a passport to travel to California for the show. It’s sad; it really is.

Frank, you raise a very interesting and important point, one that many people–even Californians–somehow miss.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Humankind’s Position Re: SustainabilityIf you’re a high-level thinker who wants the totality of the world’s news brought to you in the time it takes you to drink your morning cup of coffee, here’s an article that summarizes where we are vis-à-vis global eco-catastrophe.  It certainly nails the highlights of the past year, from Pope Francis’s Laudito Si, in which he urges the 1.2 billion Catholics and anyone else who happens to be paying attention to take better care of the Earth (and each other), to the fact that the oil companies still receive $10 million in subsidies from taxpayers every minute (according to the International Monetary Fund), and the horrible revelation that Exxon has been suppressing the truth about climate change for the past 37 years.

The metaphor “drinking from a firehose” comes to mind.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

There are Super-Powers on This Planet Unconnected to Oil--And They Won't Allow Humankind To Destroy ItselfA reader asks, “Isn’t it possible that the huge tech giants will come out of the clouds and invest heavily in the renewable energy / efficiency sector?”

Absolutely.  I’m sure companies like Google and Apple both have huge plans in the energy space, some of which are visible at this point (e.g., Google’s acquisition of Nest), others of which are not.  That, btw, was the point of one of the chapters in my last book (Bullish on Renewable Energy), i.e., it’s one of the “14 reasons that clean energy investors can’t fail,” i.e., companies like them–and individual billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg aren’t doing to sit around and watch us turn this planet into a wasteland.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Rooftop Solar in Nevada: The Latest 2GreenEnergy supporter Craig Ruark writes:  Hi, Craig. On December 22nd, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada will be making a landmark decision on the future of residential rooftop solar in Nevada. The last two articles I wrote for the Las Vegas Business Press are linked here and here. Thought you and your readers might be interested.

Yes, that’s very cool.  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Renewable Energy at Enormous ScaleWe all wonder where and when the world will see one single implementation of renewable energy at a scale capable of making a huge impact on our use of fossil fuels. It’s a good bet that this will come in the form of a concentrated solar power (aka solar thermal) plant in Northern Africa that will provide electricity for not only that region, but for Europe as well.

Though we are a long way from that day, the project described here in Morocco is a first glimpse at what this overall effort might look like; this is a 160-megawatt CSP plant utilizing molten salt energy storage, the subsequent phases of which will enable Morocco to provide power to a million homes and replace half of its fossil fuel consumption by the year 2020.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Nuclear Energy:  Where Is It Going?A colleague in the pro-nuke camp writes to the group: Unfortunately, another horrible opinion piece, from Gregory Jazco, former NRC Chairman.  Please comment!

Wilco.  Those of us that understand the urgency of creating a low-carbon energy future see the need to understand the potential contribution of nuclear power. To that end, it’s a good idea to review an occasional article on the subject, like one linked above from the former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, outlining the practicalities associated with the further expansion of nuclear facilities. (more…)

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