Blog – Page 1398 – 2GreenEnergy.com

We’re Alone, But Strangely Connected To One Another

craigshieldsPosted on October 14, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Existentialism is the concept that we live in a universe that is indifferent to our happiness and general welfare, that we are free to make our own choices, and that we are, in fact, defined by the totality of those choices. Some say that’s a gloomy proposition because it implies that we must act in the complete absence of any leadership or guidelines, but I prefer to view it in the opposite fashion: wouldn’t you rather be the captain of your ship than one of the deck-hands?

In any case, I bring this up as it’s the 113th birthday of the 20th Century American poet e. e. cummings, (more…)

Tagged with: e. e. cummings, Existentialism, We’re Strangely Connected To One Another

Big Oil, Like Big Tobacco, Faces Tough Times Ahead

craigshieldsPosted on October 13, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

In the 1960s, when the tobacco industry learned that its product caused cancer and that millions of its customers would suffer agonizing deaths as a result of smoking cigarettes, its leaders conspired to suppress this finding, so as to protect their profit stream. Now we’re confronting another shocking truth: it was only a decade later that Big Oil (Exxon in particular) followed the identical path. In the late 1970s the company’s own scientists proved that the consumption of fossil fuels was rapidly warming the Earth’s atmosphere and irreparably altering its climate, but the firm, (now ExxonMobil) made a decision to hide this conclusion and work to discredit anyone whose research pointed in the direction of anthropogenic climate change. (more…)

Tagged with: anthropogenic climate change, Big Oil Big Tobacco, Big Oil Exxon, environmental movements, ExxonMobil, irreparably altering its climate

2GreenEnergy Interns Writes Posts on Batteries

craigshieldsPosted on October 12, 2015 Posted in Energy Storage

Our intern, Fabio Porcu asks: I’m writing about batteries but it’s a very large topic. Do you prefer that I write about the physics behind it, or about the different technologies used today?

I think this should be broken down into several areas, about which you could write short posts: (more…)

Tagged with: energy storage

Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility (CSR) Programs Have Taken It On the Jaw

craigshieldsPosted on October 12, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Long-time reader Bill O’Hearn sent me two wonderful articles he wrote on corporate sustainability that I offer here and here. He makes some really good and unassailable points, namely, that the recent criminality in the private sector, especially the cases of Volkswagen and ExxonMobil, has put an enormous spear through the public trust in the subject of corporate sustainability efforts generally. (more…)

Tagged with: climate denialism, corporate sustainability, Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility (CSR) Programs, criminality in the private sector, Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), fossil fuels’ effect on global warming, Natural Resources Defense Council, Volkswagen and ExxonMobil, VW’s sustainability report reviewed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Keystone Pipeline Protests Aren't the Only Visible Aspect of Downtown Santa Barbara

craigshieldsPosted on October 12, 2015 Posted in Fossil Fuels

Outside of tourists, the most common thing you’ll see on the main drag in Santa Barbara (State St.) is protest marchers. In 2013, my wife, my daughter and I did our thing re: the KXL Pipeline.

A less common sight: pianos. Once a year, there are 15 – 20 upright pianos wheeled out for those willing to perform. I played the easy parts of Chopin’s Berceuse and one of his mazurkas at four or five of the instruments. Nobody threw tomatoes, so I count that as a success.

Tagged with: Keystone Pipeline Protests, KXL Pipeline

Re: Corruption in US Politics, Would You Rather Look at the Lighter or the Darker Side? Why Not Both?

craigshieldsPosted on October 12, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

I hope readers will check this out, especially the video at the bottom of the page. Perhaps my favorite line: “Here’s a lady with problems. I promise to fix those problems if I’m elected president with the money I received from the special interests that caused those problems.”

These people really get it.

Tagged with: political corruption, special interests

Manoj Bhargava: A Billionaire Who Truly “Gets It”

craigshieldsPosted on October 11, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Glenn Hastings asks: My team pitches at the Cleantech Open in Denver next Wednesday. Maybe we can get some funding to get some help from 2GreenEnergy. Craig, have you heard any information on “billionsinchange.com” or Manoj Bhargava (pictured) other than what is on his web page?

No, sorry. But I have to say that I love the way the guy thinks. First of all, it’s hard not to like someone who’s investing 99% of his net worth into the development of ideas that alleviate suffering. (more…)

Tagged with: billionsinchange.com, Cleantech Open, Manoj Bhargava

New Ideas in Wind Turbines

craigshieldsPosted on October 11, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

A friend writes: Just came across this in a shared LinkedIn post … re: a wind turbine with blades shaped like a Nautilus shell. Yet another wind turbine idea … is it a good one?

No, but I love stuff like this, though; if nothing else, it shows that people are thinking about the subject. (more…)

Tagged with: a wind turbine with blades shaped like a Nautilus shell, Betz Limit, reason that we can’t extract 100% of the energy from the wind is that this would mean slowing its velocity to zero, theoretically available wind energy, wind turbine idea

Sometimes We Can Be Proud To Be Human Beings

craigshieldsPosted on October 10, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

When you encounter stupidity, greed, cold-heartedness and cruelty, don’t you sometimes feel embarrassment for the entire human race? I sure do. Here’s something, however, that gives me the precise opposite reaction; in fact, I defy anyone to watch this and not feel some level of pride in our species.

Tagged with: embarrassed for the entire human race, pride in our species, Proud To Be Human Beings