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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Wonderful To See that John Paul Stevens Is Still Active in American JurisprudenceHere’s a paper I wrote in 2010 when U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retired, praising him for his wisdom and for the courage he demonstrated on important issues throughout his tenure. And here, to my delight, is a set of six proposed amendments to the Constitution that Stevens wrote recently.

He may be gone from the bench, but he certainly has not disappeared from the American people; John Paul Stevens continues to serve the interests of decent people everywhere.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Aggravating PeopleSome regard (American whistleblower) Edward Snowden as a hero, others as a traitor.  In either case, we all must admit that he comes from a long line of people in the past who have infuriated the powers of the time.  I’m reminded of this insofar as it’s the birthday of Voltaire, one of my favorite characters in history; I hope readers will read through this colorful summary of his achievements when it came to irritating the living bejesus out of the great forces of 18th Century France, which I reprint from today’s edition of the Writer’s Almanac: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Tom Steyer – Using His Money for the Good of the World Around HimIn response to my piece about ExxonMobil and climate change, frequent commenter MarcoPolo indicates that there are people on both sides of the fossil fuel/global warming issue whose motives are impure, and some who lie, cheat and steal.

I know for a fact that some people (probably most) involved in renewable energy are there for the money; I meet them at conferences constantly, and they’re completely unabashed about it.  “We’re here because this is where the money is,” they tell me proudly.  Personally, I don’t see anything there about which to be proud, but there is certainly no evil associated with trying to make money as long as it’s done with honesty and decency.

The fact that renewable energy has captured the interests of Big Money is actually a good thing. 10 years ago this was a hobby; now it’s an industry.  That’s an important step in the right direction. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Ford Upgrades to LED Lights, Save Big on Electricity ConsumptionI’m always happy to receive updates on Ford from my colleague Daria Baxter, an account executive at Ogilvy Public Relations, who handles Ford’s PR.  She writes:

Hi Craig,  Hope you had a great week! I wanted to make sure you knew that earlier this week, Ford announced its plan to invest $5 Million to upgrade to LED lighting across its Asia Pacific facilities. Benefits derived from this switch include:  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

“SALt” TechnologyWe live in a world in which more and more people need electricity to light their homes, and the demand always seems to be greater than the supply.  Several billion people on the planet need lighting and electricity but do not have access.

Indeed, access to electricity is distributed unevenly in the world, meaning that it’s time to find new solutions. Among the proposals to illuminate the house with no grid access there is SALt, a lamp that works with water and salt. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

How Is It Possible That So Many of Us Forgot the Very Basics of Decency That We Learned as Children?In addition to his brilliance in matters of math and science, my friend and colleague Glenn Doty has a huge heart.  The pic here is from his Facebook page.

It’s funny; when I see people do horrible things, like building and selling 11 million cars that are designed to cheat on emissions requirements and thus over-pollute the world’s air (Volkswagen), or conspiring to hide the truth about climate change for 37 years, until it’s possibly too late to address the issue effectively (ExxonMobil), I often ask, “Didn’t you learn about that in Sunday School when you were a little kid?”

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Bias in US MediaFair-minded people everywhere blanch when we see our media going out of its way to ridicule conservatives, e.g., waiting for Jeb Bush to say something that makes him appear dim-witted, while refusing to do the same to Bernie Sanders.  Yet I challenge conservatives everywhere to take a peek at this article and explain how they continue to believe that there is a consistent liberal bias.   (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

 

Making the Case for Affordable Grid-Scale Energy StorageThose of us who concern ourselves with the challenges associated with integrating variable resources (solar and wind) into the grid-mix are paying close attention to developments in various battery chemistries, particularly those that invoke extremely common (and thus inexpensive) electrodes.  After all, energy storage concepts that are doomed to remain expensive are also doomed to play no important role in generating the level of scale required to make a real difference here. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

BMW Introduces Traffic Light-Timing App “Enlighten”Driver inattention is one of the most common causes of car accidents at intersections. Speeding while trying to cross an intersection before the light turns red increases the risk of crashes, presenting a serious threat to road safety. Improving intersection safety is one of the goals that German car maker BMW is trying to achieve by releasing an app that offers a countdown timer for traffic lights, that can help drivers anticipate traffic light changes, making it easier for them to determine whether there is enough time for them to beat a red light by accelerating or they need to start slowing down and stop. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

We’re Luckier Than We ThinkThough it’s hardly a new idea, I’d like to take a moment and point out how incredibly unlikely it is that we’re having this “conversation” right now.  We’re all aware that we live on a “Goldilocks” planet, i.e., one that’s just the right distance from the sun such that the temperature ranges support liquid water; that its rotation allows its surface to cool off nicely at night; that it has lots of carbon on board (an atom that can form more molecules necessary to life than all other elements combined); that it has large planets in its solar system that protect it from comets; (more…)

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