Blog – Page 1390 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Growing Organic Produce Indoors: An Amazing Use of Space, Water, Nutrients–And Human Capital

craigshieldsPosted on September 27, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

When 2GreenEnergy supporter Brian McGowan sent me this wonderful piece on aeroponics and vertical harvesting, I realized in horror that it’s been over a year since I wrote anything on the subject. I think I’ll let the ladies in the video linked here do most of the talking, but suffice it to say that this is a mode of growing fruits and vegetables that combines several different improvements in horticulture:

• Eliminates all chemical fertilizers and pesticides

• Increases the nutritional content of our food

• Provides food locally, within a few feet (or at most a couple of miles) from where it will be consumed

• Doesn’t rely on soil that is mineral-depleted and drought-stricken (more…)

Tagged with: 2GreenEnergy supporter, aeroponics and vertical harvesting, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Growing Organic Produce Indoors

How Will Our Civilization Deal with Hundreds of Millions of Climate Refugees?

craigshieldsPosted on September 27, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

It’s amazing that the heartbreaking stories of the Syrian refugees haven’t prompted more discussion of the ultimate tragedy associated with people being forced to flee their homes, which will be playing itself out in spades over the coming decades: climate refugees, driven to distant lands that aren’t flooded or parched and barren with drought. This is a point that is certainly not lost on billionaire Elon Musk (pictured), who claims that the current scene in the Middle East and Europe is just a “a glimpse” of what’s about to occur if we fail to address climate change.

One thing you have to admit about Musk: he hasn’t gotten to many things wrong so far.

Tagged with: climate refugees, fail to address climate change, Hundreds of Millions of Climate Refugees, lands flooded or parched and barren with drought, people forced to flee their homes, Syrian refugees

Big Oil Faces Big Legal Trouble

craigshieldsPosted on September 26, 2015 Posted in Fossil Fuels

As I predicted a few years ago, the oil companies are headed in the direction that the tobacco industry took 50 years ago. They:

• Conducted research that confirms the damage that its product causes

• Aggressively denyied the truth

• Find themselves on the wrong end of a torrent of civil and criminal complaints (more…)

Tagged with: Big Oil Faces Big Legal Trouble, climate hawks, ExxonMobil, oil companies tobacco industry

Alternative Energy Is Making Some Decent Progress

craigshieldsPosted on September 26, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

When was the last time you read a blog post that combined data on alternative energy with notes on English grammar? Here’s a discussion on Quora.com in which I’m participating:

Question: Why has alternative energy failed?

First Answer: SolarCity IPOed less than two years ago at $8 a share. Today it closed at $51.11. Wish I could fail like that. (more…)

Tagged with: alternative energy, Alternative Energy Making Progress, renewable energy industry employs 6.5 million people, Solar PV is CAGR, SolarCity IPO, Why has alternative energy failed?

From a Guest Blogger: Seven Simple Ways to Create a More Eco-friendly Home

craigshieldsPosted on September 26, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

Transforming your living space to make it more eco-friendly can save you money, as well as help preserve the planet for future generations. In a rented apartment, it makes sense to start small and gradually work your way up to making larger changes. Here are a few ideas which can be attempted without any specialized knowledge or skills.

Create a veggie garden (more…)

Tagged with: conserving water, grow vegetables and herbs, low-flow shower heads, preserve the planet for future generations, sustainable furniture

From Guest Blogger Lizzie Weakly: Five Ways to Take Control of Your Energy Bills This Fall

craigshieldsPosted on September 26, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

We all want to save money, and home energy costs are one area where many people struggle. Keeping your home at a comfortable temperature throughout the year can be expensive. Fall is a great time to make some change and adjustments in order to see significant savings. You don’t have to invest in major home renovations or purchase new equipment in order to make a difference. Take a look at these five ways to take control of your energy bills this fall. (more…)

Tagged with: energy efficiency, energy efficient, reducing home energy consumption, seal air leaks

A Sane Position On Nuclear Energy

craigshieldsPosted on September 25, 2015 Posted in Nuclear

I’ll let James Hansen explain it.

This is a critically important topic, and most liberals, as they have ingested massive amounts of misinformation, get it completely wrong. Again, Dr. Hansen is far more qualified to address this than I will ever be, so I won’t even try, though there is a chapter on advanced nuclear in Bullish on Renewable Energy.

Hansen presented his first paper numeric climate models in 1974, a year in my life characterized more by marijuana in the dorm, softball on the quad, undergraduate physics courses, and falling in love with pretty girls (most of whom told me to buzz off).

Tagged with: advanced nuclear, Bullish on Renewable Energy, James Hansen, Our Position On Nuclear Energy

Pope Francis Gets Most of It Right, Some of It Wrong

craigshieldsPosted on September 25, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

There is no doubt that Pope Francis and His humanitarian messages rank at the very top of the forces of good in the world at this point. But is He right on everything? Sadly, no. Unfortunately, He’s constrained by 1600 years of church policy that calls upon Him to reject anything that could possibly control the Earth’s population, which is currently sprinting its way from 7.3 billion to an estimated 9.7 billion by 2050. (more…)

Tagged with: 1600 years of church policy, control the Earth’s population, end human suffering, energy-hungry population, Pope Francis and his humanitarian messages

Exactly, How Does Dead Soil Produce Unhealthy Food?

craigshieldsPosted on September 25, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

It’s common knowledge that drought, monoculture, overuse of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and excessive plowing have created “dead soil” in which growing nutritious food crops is becoming increasing difficult. But exactly how? (more…)

Tagged with: Aeroponics, bioaeroponics, cleantech investment opportunities, dead soil, Drought, growing nutritious food crops increasing difficult, monoculture, overuse of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, Science Magazine

Solar, Wind, and Nuclear: Different Strengths and Weaknesses

craigshieldsPosted on September 25, 2015 Posted in Nuclear

Some of my colleagues in my “pro-nuke” discussion group are, sadly, fond of bashing renewables; the top players seem to take joy in spreading data that supports their hypothesis that solar and wind are a waste of time and resources. Here’s a chart that presents the capacity factor (the ratio of the actual power delivered to the potential or “nameplate” power capacity) of various energy resources, as they are in use around the globe: (more…)

Tagged with: bashing renewables, capacity factor, precipitous decline in solar prices, solar and wind are a waste of time and resources, Strengths and Weaknesses of Solar Wind Nuclear, wind is already almost five percent of the U.S. grid-mix