Blog – Page 1393 – 2GreenEnergy.com

From Guest Blogger Brooke Chaplan: Green Waste Technology – Three Alternatives to Messy Landfills

craigshieldsPosted on January 6, 2016 Posted in Biomass

As growing populations result in the inevitable larger, messier landfills, more aggressive and viable solutions are being developed and implemented through three major channels: organic recycling, technology, and other creative forms of recycling at every level. While admittedly not totally effective by any means, when combined with other available methods, they can make a noticeable dent in the landfill dilemma. (more…)

Tagged with: alternative energy, biofuel, Landfill, Renewable Energy

Hydro and Solar PV Have Different Levels of Visceral Appeal

craigshieldsPosted on January 5, 2016 Posted in Hydrokinetics

I’m having discussions with a start-up in the New England section of the U.S. that offers a unique approach and capability to hydrokinetics; they’re interested in having my team and me deliver a set of “biz dev” actions aimed at helping them advance their concept into real-world projects. (more…)

Tagged with: Hydro and Solar PV, Let It Shine – The 6000 Year Story of Solar Energy, solar pv, unique approach and capability to hydrokinetics, University of California at Santa Barbara

More on Oil's Dominance in the World

craigshieldsPosted on January 4, 2016 Posted in Fossil Fuels

Re: My recent post Making the Transition from Oil, my friend from Germany writes: Wow, thank you for this insightful response to my question. It is my hope that oil will lose its economic advantage in the near future.

It’s going to take time. As you know, oil isn’t used for electricity, but for transportation. Thus it competes with EV batteries. As long as we don’t care about the consequences of oil (like terrorism, in addition to the health and environmental aspects), it will be around for quite a while. And the world political issues, e.g., the U.S. relationship with the royal family and the mega-wealthy of Saudi Arabia (i.e., the funders of ISIS) doesn’t help.

Tagged with: consequences of oil terrorism, Making the Transition from Oil, oil isn’t used for electricity, royal family and the mega-wealthy of Saudi Arabia

The World Since Newton, and What It Means To Us, Today and Tomorrow

craigshieldsPosted on January 4, 2016 Posted in Renewables - Science

It’s the birthday of Isaac Newton, perhaps the best-known person in the history of science. Though there was other genius to his credit, Newton’s celebrity derived mainly from his insight into universal gravitation and thus the Laws of Motion that apply to all things on Earth as well as celestial objects. Ironically, his fame was amplified even further because of the stunning nature by which this paradigm was shattered in the 20th Century, not once, but twice. (more…)

Tagged with: Earth receives 6000 times for power from the sun that we’re using, fossil fuels environmental, Isaac Newton, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, quantum mechanics, radioactive isotopes, theory of relativity, universal gravitation and thus the Laws of Motion

Making the Transition from Oil

craigshieldsPosted on January 4, 2016 Posted in Fossil Fuels

A friend from Germany writes: My boyfriend and I were discussing offshore drilling last night, he thinks this will gain momentum once oil prices go up. I am optimistic about renewables and a phasing out of fossil fuels within the next 20 years. As an energy expert, what are your thoughts about the future of offshore drilling in the USA? Thank you for your expert opinion!

What a great question. (more…)

In This Month’s Scientific American: "The Carbon Capture Fallacy"

craigshieldsPosted on January 3, 2016 Posted in Fossil Fuels

I don’t yet have access to the full version of the article whose “teasers” are here, but I infer from its title that its reasoning is consistent with the position that Scientific American has taken on CCS (carbon capture and sequestration) over the years, i.e., that, for a blend of technological and economic reasons, it’s a fool’s errand.

It appears that we need to adjust our thinking according to words of the smart folks who brought us observations like: (more…)

Tagged with: carbon capture and sequestration, prevent the incineration of coal, Scientific American, The Carbon Capture Fallacy, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” ― Aldous Huxley, “Our preferences do not determine what’s true.” — Carl Sagan

The Designers of Our Electricity Grids Couldn't Foretell the Future

craigshieldsPosted on January 2, 2016 Posted in Fossil Fuels

In response to my post on Thomas Edision, Frequent commenter Brian McGowan notes that, in the early days of electrification, the Wizard felt that many American households should employ batteries powered by wind turbines to be entirely self sufficient in terms of energy. Of course, this calls to mind all the decisions our society made over the last century or so, most of which, in retrospect, turned out to have significantly negative environmental consequences.

(more…)

Tagged with: Designers of Our Electricity Grids

From Guest Blogger Joel Smith: Six Benefits of an Energy Efficient Home Every Owner Should Know

craigshieldsPosted on January 1, 2016 Posted in Sustainable Building

In the modern world today, people are connected to each other virtually. From ordering food, to getting a mode of entertainment, to making business deals, or even booking tickets, everything can be done using the internet and a smartphone/computer. Hence majority of the people spend time indoors, whether it’s their workplace or home. Using energy efficient appliances not only reduces the electricity intake, but also has less greenhouse-gas emissions, higher longevity, and also costs less to operate. (more…)

Tagged with: Benefits of Energy Efficient, energy efficient