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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Smart Grid

Here’s a free webinar on smart cities from research firm Frost and Sullivan that I think I’ll attend.  They see the subject growing in importance to a $3.3 trillion industry by 2025.

Needless to say, that’s a huge amount of money – yet, when you understand the hundreds of different sub-categories that all feed together into the overall “smart cities” concept, the number doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

I hope readers were able to catch the webinar that I did on smart cities in July with Jesse Berst, internationally known technology and business analyst, founder and chief analyst of  Smart Grid News.com, and founder and Chairman of the  Smart Cities Council.  If not, it’s archived here; I hope you’ll check this out, and discover what Jesse means when he says that the council’s motto is “Livability, Workability, and Sustainability.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

Of the many dozens of articles I’ve written on hydrokinetics over the past four years since the inception of 2GreenEnergy, I’ve expressed a whole bunch of skepticism.  Fans of run-of-river need to contend with the fact that, as least as far as when I do the math, the entire potential energy of the water that is falling downhill in U.S. rivers will give us about 1 terawatt (if we get every single watt), less than 20% of our total energy consumption (currently 5.4 terawatts).  Supporters of tidal and ocean current energy need to believe that we can somehow mitigate the unintended consequences of inserting our “stuff” into aquatic environments, and that we can deal effectively with the “survivability” issues that come from harsh salt water conditions.

In any case, here’s a new approach to hydro – underwater “kites” – that I though readers would find interesting.

In addition, I remind readers that I think the people at Cyclo-Ocean are barking up the right tree, which is why I include them in my list of renewable energy investment opportunities.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

To prove his case against global warming, which Glenn Beck labels a “load of socialist, communist crap,” the right-wing talk-show host announced his war against energy-efficient light bulbs – on the basis that people who believe in energy efficiency and conservation are anti-capitalist.

I normally try to pretend that ignorance at this level doesn’t exist in the country I love – or at least that it’s not wildly popular, but doing so is essentially dishonest.  Beck’s net worth is $150 million, derived from the fact that he had, at his peak, 3 million listeners/viewers per day (approximately 5,000 times that of 2GreenEnergy).  (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Plug-in hybrid cars have become quite popular among car buyers in the last decade or so, due in large part to extremely high gas prices and concerns over the negative effects that gasoline-powered vehicles have on the environment. That’s why plug-in hybrids, along with electric cars, are gaining momentum and sales of these types of vehicles are constantly on the rise. But, hybrid cars are relatively new to the market, and not everyone knows what they are all about. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I had the pleasure of speaking with Norfolk Southern’s corporate sustainability officer, Blair Wimbush, just now.  One of our interns who documents role models in corporate sustainability had done a nice piece on Norfolk Southern, a large freight railway operating in 22 states here in the U.S., and I was impressed with a great number of the company’s initiatives focused on efficiency, reduction of carbon footprint, and assumption of great levels of responsibility for its environmental impact generally.

In addition to simple corporate citizenship; there is business at stake here as well; some of Norfolk Southern’s sustainability initiatives, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Smart Grid

Here’s a wonderful article that explains how smart grid and the adoption of electric vehicles really depend upon one another.  Like so many of the other things we cover here on a daily basis, the question isn’t “Are we going in that direction?” but rather “How soon?” which itself is a function of “What is the calculus by which huge business interests that favor the status quo can be pushed into helping, rather than hindering, the effort?”  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Trees are a crucial factor in the filtration of our air, and absorb carbon dioxide from the environment, which is a key contributor to air pollution and global warming. Many people are pledging to plant trees to reduce the effects of pollution on our health as well. Here are a few key things to keep in mind when it comes to caring for your trees.

Don’t Forget to Mulch

Mulch is important for the health of your trees as much as it is for the health of your flower garden. It insulates the soil by providing a sort of buffer between the roots and severe temperatures, whether it’s extreme heat or extreme cold. It also retains water, which helps to maximize watering sessions by keeping roots moist for longer. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I often caution cleantech entrepreneurs to make sure they confine their business concepts to arenas in which much larger and moneyed competitors will not enter and immediately squash them.  An example I often give (or gave) was electric transportation.  If you offer a freeway-speed electric sedan, you’re competing with Nissan and the rest. However, it’s unlikely that these massive OEMs are going to want to enter the e-bike market.

Oops.  Got that wrong.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Siemens, the German industrial giant, just completed the installation of a platform in the North Sea that will link two large offshore wind farms and transmit the power (ultimately 6.2 gigawatts) to the mainland, powering 500,000 homes with wind energy.

To summarize:  While the Americans are saying that it can’t be done, or that it needn’t be done, the Germans are simply doing it.  Meanwhile, I would say: Wir sehen lustig aus (we look silly).

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a recent article by one of my true heroes, Annie Leonard, on How To Be a More Mindful Consumer.  I met Annie after a talk she gave a few years ago, and congratulated her on the incredible work she’s done in popularizing the ideas in her “Story of Stuff” project – which, believe it or not, just celebrated its 6th birthday.

The seminal video (linked above) has many millions of views on YouTube, and, I’m happy to announce, it’s been shown to millions of kids in schools.  (more…)

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