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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Frequent commenter Cameron Atwood writes: For those concerned about how messaging is communicated, I’d suggest that people need to replace the ambiguous and lukewarm phrases “climate change” and “global warming” with the far more accurate, evocative and impactful words “anthropogenic climate disruption.”

I know you feel that we need the new moniker “anthropogenic climate disruption,” and I agree with your reasoning. However–and this may sound cowardly–but I refrain from using that phrase until Bill McKibben, James Hansen, et al., are calling it that. In other words, I let the climate scientists name the phenomena they are studying.

I’m reminded of my soccer coaching days, when my son would complain about a ref’s call, and I’d yell to him from the sideline, “Jake. Knock it off. He’s the ref.  You play. He refs.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Paperless Alternatives in the WorkplaceEvery business has a huge obligation to reduce the carbon footprint of their operation. Thankfully many businesses are starting to take that seriously and realise the financial benefits of doing so from good brand PR and cost saving benefits. One of the areas in which all businesses can easily improve upon is their usage of paper, most of which is unnecessary. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Sustainable Wildlife: Ethical Behavior on the Part of Large Corporations Makes a Huge DifferenceLast spring, many of us petitioned Delta Airlines, as the major air transportation provider between Africa and the US, to refuse to ship the carcasses of lions, elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, etc., as a deterrent to those, tragically born without consciences, who would shoot the few remaining members of these species and take their corpses back home to stuff and mount as trophies.

The good news: we won.  Better said: Delta, regardless of the degree to which public pressure was a factor, did the right thing and has set in place new policy to the effect that it will not accept such cargo. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Believe it or not, there is a law on the books in Canada that stipulates: No person who does not reside in Canada shall…induce electors to….vote for or refrain from voting for a particular candidate. Violators are subject to a $5000 fine, up to six months in prison, or both.

I don’t wish to flout the law, so I’ll skirt it instead. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Filling Out Forms, Standing In LineHere’s a discussion on the use of “intake forms,” i.e., questionnaires that certain investment groups and lenders use as a preliminary step on an entrepreneur’s path toward receiving the funding required to move his business concept forward.  Billy Joel fans will recognize the title here as a line from “Allentown,” a tale of economic woe, worsened by the prospect of wasting time in a bureaucratic morass.    (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Keiretsu Forums Last week I functioned as a panelist at one of the so-called “Keiretsu Forums” here in Southern California, in which entrepreneurs pitch their business plans to potential investors. I really enjoy this, as it gives me practice on thinking on my feet and having something reasonably intelligent to say when confronted with a business concept, regardless of its nature and its relative worth.

Carinda Bourgeous (pictured), Keiretsu’s ‎Regional Director, Membership & Operations, invited me, I presume because she had seen me in action before, at the Clean Business Investment Summit, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Do Fossil Fuels Pose a Risk To Our Civilization?Here’s a debate between Dr. Bill McKibben, arguably the world’s best-known environmentalist, debating Alex Epstein (pictured), devotee of Ayn Rand, on the value of fossil fuels in today’s world.

We all appreciate that coal, oil, and natural gas played a crucial role in creating the advanced society we have today. But astonishingly, some people, Mr. Epstein among them, assert that they pose no risk to the health and safety of the world of the 21st Century.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Zero Emissions Vehicles--Environmentally Clean and Fuel SavingGlobal warming and the energy crisis has become big news and is one of the biggest motivators for car manufacturers to start producing more environmentally friendly vehicles.  The electric car has become the first mass produced alternative to the combustion engine. An electrically powered vehicle produces zero emissions although there may be some produced during the process of making the electricity to power the car. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

How to Make Your Home or Business More Eco-FriendlyFact: Mother Nature is suffering, no thanks to human’s abusive practices. Because of this, people are starting to look for ways to save the Earth and slowly jumping into the eco-friendly bandwagon. However, adopting green and eco-friendly practices is more than just turning off the lights and using solar panels.

Here are important things you should know about making your home or business eco-friendly before you (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Climate Change and Sea-Level RiseHere’s an interactive map that enables users to see the sea-level rise associated with different scenarios.  Of course, such predictions contemplate the more distant future; it’s likely that only minor climate change-related damage will take place, due to rising oceans at least, over the next 50 years or so. (more…)

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