It’s hard to imagine the content of the conversations that are going on in the boardrooms of the power utilities. Perhaps it’s not too different from those happening at the oil companies: The very conditions by which we exist are rapidly eroding.
2GreenEnergy supporter Brian McGowan sent me this article on microgrids springing up in New York, which explains quite clearly why the subject should be horrifying to utility investors. (more…)
Today is the 75th anniversary of the discovery of the caves in Lascaux, France, whose art, drawn by our short, hairy ancestors, dates back approximately 17,000 years. According to popular art historian Sister Wendy, this is the proof that these primitive people were “like us in all the ways that really matter.” This commonality of being human is something to think about when we behold the challenges that mankind faces today, whether they’re manifesting themselves in Syria or in Ferguson, Missouri.
I wrote a post yesterday to the effect that we live in a world in which the oil companies are systematically destroying the environment, all the while using their enormous wealth to prevent the citizenry from passing laws that would protect itself against this aggression. On a planet as depraved as this, could anything be happening that indicates humankind still maintains some level of kindness and compassion?
Check out what Sweden just did for the Syrian refugees. All such people fleeing this area that is “generally marked by violence” are granted permanent residency, and are invited to bring the members of their families, who will be granted the same. To prevent them from being isolated when they arrive, they will receive free bus passes.
The Swedish girl in the photo seems to approve of what’s going on in front of her. Young lady, with this decision on the part of your country, the world sends its approval right back to you. My hat’s off to Sweden, and I’m sure all people of decency around the globe feel the same way.
The “bottomless war chest” of the oil companies has succeeded in gutting the State of California’s proposed Senate Bill 350, a measure calling for a 50 percent cut in petroleum use by 2030. On Wednesday, state law-makers announced that a key component of California’s sweeping climate change bill had been scrapped as a result of an intense campaign from Big Oil, which had poured money into advertising and lobbying campaigns against the bill. (more…)
The driverless cars that Google is developing seem to fit perfectly into the ride-sharing industry, so it comes as no surprise at all that the search giant is looking to enter this business. The immense growth in popularity that ride-sharing services have seen lately is the reason behind Google’s decision to invest in Uber – the largest ride-sharing company in the world – a few years back, forming a partnership that seemed like a match made in heaven at that time. (more…)
One of the unfortunate consequences of our robo-consumer society is that people who take the concept of “utopia” seriously are immediately branded as worthless dreamers. “Hey, we’re not trying to achieve world peace here,” one commonly hears as a metaphor for “we’re not trying to do the impossible; our feet are firmly planted in the real world.” In truth, of course, it is only the dreamers of the world who have created anything of any real value here on Earth.
That’s why I salute my colleague Walter Feuchs and freely pass along his newsletter, this one focusing on a U.S.-Chinese partnership to address climate change and the other disastrous ecological consequences of our current throw-away society. Walter knows something important, and it’s a basic element of success in life that perhaps most of us have forgotten: an idea has to be conceptualized before it can become a reality.
Here’s a discussion about pumped hydro energy storage I had with 2GreenEnergy super—supporter Gary Tulie:
Gary: Hi Craig. Here is a proposal to create the world’s largest pumped hydro storage facility – with a potential capacity of up to 6,800 GWh and a peak power output as high as 255 GW, using sea water. (more…)
Reducing waste, recycling and reusing whenever possible is incredibly important in keeping our lands and oceans clean. At Wheels For Wishes, we run a car recycling program that helps to keep automobiles out of landfills. Instead, vehicles are recycled and reused to build new vehicles. Thousands of tons of waste and trash are dumped into oceans on a daily basis, which is why recycling as much as possible is so incredibly important. (more…)
When I was in Las Vegas last week for the National Clean Energy Summit, I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderfully talented journalist in the person of Craig Ruark. He and I were both similarly respectful, perhaps even reverential, of the talk President Obama gave at its conclusion in which he laid out his hopes for the emerging U.S. energy policy, rooted as it is in a rapid migration from fossil fuels to renewables.
Craig writes: (Here’s) my recap of the event appeared in this week’s business press. I tried not to repeat everything that the dailies were writing.
I respond: That’s truly excellent. And you identified a key point from Obama’s speech, i.e., his calling out the hypocrites: “It’s one thing if you’re consistent in being (in favor of the) free market,” Obama said. “It’s another thing if you’re free market until it’s solar that’s working, and people want to buy it, and suddenly you’re not for it any more. That’s a problem.”
In fact, I remember snorting with laughter when he said that, because I thought he was making a joke. A problem? That’s pretty charitable. How about a blatant exhibition of moral depravity? In any case, great going. Hope to see you again soon.
Here’s my recent submission to the Hedge Connection, where I contribute a monthly article on some cleantech investment opportunity that I happen to be particularly “hot” on.
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As we’ve all observed, the idea of energy efficiency generally often lacks sex appeal. The concept of the negawatt, i.e., “the cheapest watt-hour of energy is the one you don’t use,” is normally invisible; it may be insulation tucked inside the walls of your house, or the aluminum components under the paint of the car you drive. Yet those of us who are searching for a sustainable approach to providing energy to the world’s growing and increasingly power-hungry civilization regard efficiency as the “low-hanging fruit.”
