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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

With enough solar energy to power almost 12,000 homes and employ 3,200 Texans, deregulation in the state policy since 2002, you might think the Lone Star State is at the forefront of the solar energy industry. However, the sunny state only ranks 13th in the nation for its installed solar capacity, outpaced by even small states New Jersey and Maryland. For many, Texas’ ranking may not make much sense. With more clear than cloudy days Texas has excellent potential for solar energy. In fact, if all of Texas’ usable land was equipped with solar panels, the state would have twice the solar potential of any other state, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.  So why doesn’t the Texas solar industry shine? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Insulating your home is one of the most effective steps you can take towards becoming more energy efficient. With energy prices on the rise, it is time to take steps to prevent heat literally leaving through your walls and ceilings.

Cavity insulation is cheap and will pay for itself in less than two years through the savings you will make on your heating bills. With more than 50% of homes in the United Kingdom inadequately insulated, it may be time to get your home assessed.

Insulating your home provides many benefits: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Though I’m obviously not a fan of Big Oil, I try to stay somewhat conversant with the issues that these behemoth entities face, and so I read a number of articles like this one on Chevron’s commitment to harvesting the shale oil in Argentina.

The points of focus here aren’t what readers may think:

• The morality of ripping the last molecule of crude from the ground and burning it, an enterprise that is essentially certain to ruin the only planet we have, or

• The fact that Chevron owes $19 billion in restitution to the people of Ecuador for the criminal destruction that Texaco (which Chevron acquired in 2001) perpetrated there (though this subject is mentioned — albeit incorrectly).

Rather, it’s the cat-and-mouse game that huge corporate entities in the oil industry play against the reign of big government. Interesting reading; hope you enjoy.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

I attend frequent fund-raisers for U2U, a fantastic humanitarian group run by close friends Jez and Lynzi Blacker.  I was lucky enough to have their son Joel (pictured here with his mom) on a boys 14-and-under soccer team I coached six years ago, and we’ve been hanging out together ever since.

U2U’s current focus is Haiti – in particular, building a 40-bed hospital from the ground up on a densely populated island where health care is currently almost completely nonexistent. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m on my way out for lunch with a new-found friend, environmentalist Jen Boulder.  As I wrote in an email in preface to our meeting:

Wow.  I love your site.  Btw, I’m told I’m a half-decent public speaker; you, in contrast, are a FABULOUS public speaker. 

I’m hoping there is some sort of long-term connection, perhaps business-related, that I can cook up between her and what we’re doing here at 2GreenEnergy.   This will require a bit of creativity, but it seems like a reasonable possibility. It won’t be the first time a good idea came to me over a meal at this quaint and relaxing little place: The Vineyard House.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Why is the stock market doing so well when prospects for economic strength in the U.S. are so scary?  It’s because the market – or even the set of large companies that happen to be headed here in the U.S. — doesn’t really care too much about America’s economic future.  General Motors generates most of its profits selling in Asia, and General Electric, with its ever-widening array of renewable energy solutions, understandably believes the U.S. market is something of a joke. (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I don’t know what percentage of our readers here are on the Sierra Club’s email lists, but let me tell you something:  they write really well.  I get something at least a few times a week, and I’m always impressed with how clearly and forcefully their representatives communicate with the written language.

Of course, I happen to agree with most of the stuff I get from them, so I suppose it’s easy for me to like their style.  But check out the beginning of this piece, which just arrived with subject line: Fractivate!

(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s an article based upon a recently conducted survey performed by Gallup on behalf of insurance giant Swiss Re that suggests that the world’s population cares a great deal about climate change — that, in fact, global warming is humankind’s number one worry today — even ranking above jobs and the economy.

Living in the U.S. and encountering climate change deniers in our Congress as I do, this came as a considerable surprise to me.  It also inspired a thought: the will of the people all over the world is being badly frustrated by government. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

As an author, I’m always happy to receive good reviews of my books.  Having said that, I’m not too sure what to make of this review of “Is Renewable Really Doable?” (2012), as it’s in Spanish.  I’m reminded of the time I told a dozen different parties (poor people to whom my daughter and I were delivering groceries for Thanksgiving) “I have two bags of groceries and a turkey for you,” which I expressed to the Hispanic families as, “Tengo dos bolsas de comita y un polvo,” only to be told by the last group that I was saying “I have two bags of food and some dust.” Of course, this did explain the somewhat quizzical look on all those people’s faces.

Perhaps someone with a greater facility with the language can tell me if this is generally positive — or if the reviewer thought my book was una pavo (a turkey).

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Yesterday saw the publication of a paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society to the effect that climate change caused by human use of fossil fuels played a role in about a half dozen extreme weather events last year.  The paper was written by a team of experts who had examined 12 wild weather episodes in 2012, from droughts in the United States and Africa to heavy rainfall in Europe, Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand.  The peer-reviewed study, called “Explaining Extreme Events of 2012 from a Climate Perspective,” was based on and included 18 research teams from around the world.

What now?  Easy.  The 100-or-so climate change deniers in the U.S. House of Representatives, whose campaign funding comes predominantly from the oil companies, will call the members of these 18 research teams “frauds” and “liars,” and our de facto energy policy, based on fossil fuels, will continue along unabated.

“So it goes,” as Kurt Vonnegut used to say.

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