How is it possible to be a brilliant neurosurgeon and a thoroughgoing crackpot at the same time? I honestly don’t have a clue, but almost everything that comes out of Ben Carson’s mouth should alarm the living hell out of every American, especially now that he’s the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 2016.
If someone can explain how any of this is possible, I’d deeply appreciate it.
Here’s a presentation from the US Department of Energy on microgrids, which I offer mainly because it makes a point I bring up constantly: there was nothing wrong with the approach we took to energy in the 20th Century; the problems arose only when we deployed this into the 21st Century.
I’ve heard Dr. Cheung speak, btw, and he’s brilliant. (more…)
A reader on Quora.com asked the question in the title above and adds: I was just curious to know if we have the energy to support it and if not, what would need to happen in order to meet the demands if even half our population drove electric.
Arnis Tarassu, Professional Leaf user and mechanical engineering student answers: Yes. Short answer: 96% of all charging is done at home at night. Grid has very low load at night.
I respond: (more…)
I’m still in touch with a decent number of my friends from college, and my communication lines here are further strengthened by my service as “class secretary,” meaning that I collect and edit submissions from my classmates for the school’s magazine.
I take a fair amount of abuse from people who make fun of my overt environmentalism, which ribbing, to be honest, I actually kind of enjoy. It’s all good-natured, e.g., when my friend from the Boston area, Rob Buffum (pictured lower right — we don’t look like that anymore) , invited me to stay at his place and wrote me, “Sure thing! Just rent a hybrid at Logan and shoot on over.”
Some of this ragging is downright hilarious, e.g., this piece that another old friend sent on the role of government in auto design; I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Here’s a question I was asked earlier today. If the average ocean depth is two miles, and 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, that means that there are tens of millions of cubic miles of water bobbing up and down due to the tides. Doesn’t that represent far more energy than we need?
There are two issues here. (more…)
Here’s a vision of the house of the future that I wanted to share, largely to make this point: it’s 399 square feet. That’s only a little larger than the size of a prison cell for the top white collar criminals favored by our “justice” system. People don’t like being confined to small spaces; that’s why we use this as punishment. Are we expecting this aspect of human nature to change? (Read more, and see larger version of graphic below.) (more…)
The constant battle to reduce greenhouse gases has resulted in a constant search for more environmentally focused waste disposal systems – from an influx of recycled materials being crafted into other useful objects, through to sourcing eco-friendly treatment systems for our waste water – finding new ways to protect the environment is high on everybody’s radar. (more…)
(Note: Why not ask the owner of the place pictured here, whose pool is normally 8 – 10 feet above sea level? -ed)
When you are searching for prime real estate property in the United States, you will certainly not lack for opportunities to discover plenty of them. Many of the world’s finest and most renowned property developers are located here. (more…)
To their shame, many pro-nuclear groups spend more of their resources tearing apart the wind and solar industries than promoting their own. Here’s a great example, a graph that shows that solar and wind are too expensive.
But there are two problems with this: (more…)
A fire in your building can have a devastating effect on your property and the surrounding area; and can even place people’s lives in danger. When a building blaze occurs, the fire produces not only heat and smoke, but also toxic emissions and gases harmful to the environment. Buildings contain a wide variety of synthetic materials, including insulation, electrical equipment, carpeting, and soft furnishings and, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the potential for severe health impacts from smoke inhalation during building fires is continuously increasing. (more…)
