We in the U.S. suffer under a political machine that systematically ignores the will of the people, as in the article excerpted here:
Here are a few facts that came from a recent presentation that Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig gave to a large and earnest audience. (more…)
2GreenEnergy supporter Gary Tulie writes from Buckinghamshire, England as follows: Hi Craig, Panda New Energy has just placed what has to be the biggest order yet for electric cars – They have ordered 250,000 cars for $12 billion from Nevs, a Chinese car maker which took over Saab.
Yes, thanks for that. Those trying to keep tabs on the electric vehicle adoption curve should note the article linked here. News of a $12 billion order for electric vehicles doesn’t come along every day.
Of course, to the degree these cars are charged with coal-fired power plants, they are a net negative for the environment. All this heightens the need to find alternative sources of energy, and get rid of coal on this planet as soon as possible.
Many of you are making an effort to keep yourselves abreast of the unfolding chain of information associated with the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to suppress the truth surrounding climate change. To that end, you should be keeping track of work emanating from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). In particular, here’s the beginning of their report called:
Far too many people waste power by leaving the lights on when they don’t need to. Optimizing their energy efficiency can greatly reduce power bills and lessen their impact on the environment. Here are a few ways you can improve the efficiency of your energy use.
Science fiction legend Arthur C. Clark would have turned 98 today.
When he realized he was dying in 2007, he made a video in which he told future generations: “I have great faith in optimism as a guiding principle, if only because it offers us the opportunity of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I hope we’ve learnt something from the most barbaric century in history – the 20th. I would like to see us overcome our tribal divisions and begin to think and act as if we were one family. That would be real globalization …”
Explorer Freya Stark has this to add: Few are the giants of the soul who actually feel that the human race is their family circle.
Good concepts for a winter’s day.
The migration to renewables is best understood as a three-phase process:
First, we have the task of replacing coal in the grid mix, which is happening with great effectiveness in our world today. The cost of PV, wind, other renewable resources, storage, smart-grid, efficiency, etc., all continue to plummet. Advanced nuclear holds great promise as well. (more…)
Mass production of electric cars throughout the world gives way to innovative concepts in the fields of green energy and sustainable design. Having said that, we are still far from achieving low greenhouse-gas emission standards. In countries as California, which gets most of its power from green sources, the use of electric vehicles is highly beneficial to the environment.
Note: California isn’t a country, and I doubt most of the rest of this is true, but what the heck… 🙂 – ed (more…)
A reader wonders about this article on the long period of time required to replace internal combustion engines with EVs. He asks, “Is this true?”
I think this is pretty fair. But remember that as long as coal remains the least expensive form of baseload electricity, EVs are a net negative for the environment. I think it’s good that we’re introducing EVs and building out the charging infrastructure at the precise same time that we’re eliminating coal from the grid.
Pictured left is the westernmost bookstore in the United States; it happens to be in Hanapepe, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, where I came to visit my mom. What I (condescendingly) thought would have a few hundred pieces of esoteric junk is actually home to over 100,000 titles, including a decent section on renewable energy, as suggested below. (more…)
It is true that humankind may be the beneficiary of a radical new approach to energy that will come along and save us from the vast environmental damage that our use of fossil fuels is wreaking upon our planet. (more…)
