Blog – Page 1410 – 2GreenEnergy.com

The Rapid Migration to Renewable Energy Is Happening Right In Front of Our Eyes

craigshieldsPosted on July 21, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

There are many different cooperating forces that are bringing an end to fossil fuel consumption on this planet far more swiftly than most people understand. In fact, as I enumerated in Bullish on Renewable Energy, there are 14 reasons that clean energy investors can’t fail, each tied to the ever-growing effectiveness and ever-shrinking cost of solar, wind, storage, electric transportation, smart-grid, etc., as well as other economic pressures, e.g., the need to rewrite the relationship we have with our power utilities. (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, clean energy investors can’t fail, end of fossil fuel consumption, ever-growing effectiveness and ever-shrinking cost of solar wind storage electric transportation smart-grid, Marshall Islands, need to rewrite the relationship we have with our power utilities, public awareness of the environmental and health-related issues associated with coal oil gas, rapid migration to renewable energy, renewable energy and climate change mitigation

From Guest Blogger Christopher Britton: Eight Things You Can Do Tomorrow To Achieve A Greener And Smarter Home

craigshieldsPosted on July 21, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

Sustainability and going green are buzzwords that have been going around for years now. But “buzz” should not be all there is to it. For sustainability to be achieved and realized, people must actually do something about it, from their personal choices to their homes. Others who have yet to live in a sustainable home can find inspiration from green homeowners who are greatly satisfied with the benefits of green living. In the 2014 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, the National Association of Home Builders shared the results of a survey that found an overwhelming 94% of owners of green homes content and remorse-free over choosing to live in a sustainable home. They agree that the benefits outweigh additional costs and would enthusiastically recommend sustainable home living to friends and family. (more…)

Tagged with: Greener And Smarter Home

We All Want To Think of Ourselves as “Environmental Pragmatists"

craigshieldsPosted on July 20, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

In response to my post Scientists Should Actively Try To Disprove the Theory of Global Warming and Climate Change, frequent commenter MarcoPolo writes: Extremism, whether by rightist troglodytes, or barking mad leftist ideologues, serves no useful purpose. Only pragmatism and co-operation will ensure disruption is kept to a minimum, and real progress can be achieved. But, that’s just my opinion……….

As it’s expressed, it’s an opinion with which no sane person can disagree. “Extremism” is by definition a bad thing, as it denotes hysteria and irrationality. Conversely, “pragmatism” is by definition a good thing, as it implies a calm level-headedness.

But personally, I don’t think being terrified of the consequences of modern human behavior on this planet is at all irrational. You obviously disagree. That’s fine; needless to say, not everyone agrees with me. (Pictured: William James, father of the philosophy of pragmatism–one of my heroes as a young man.)

Tagged with: Environmental Pragmatists, modern human behavior, Scientists Should Actively Try To Disprove the Theory of Global Warming and Climate Change

Scientists Should Actively Try To Disprove the Theory of Global Warming and Climate Change

craigshieldsPosted on July 20, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Re: my post pointing out that 10,883 out of 10,885 peer-reviewed scientific studies in 2013 concluded that global warming is real and caused by humans, frequent commenter MarcoPolo writes: I’m sure it’s not your intention, but what you are suggesting would censor, or deter all debate, whether scientific or political.

I don’t resent climate scientists’ exploring this issue and trying to disprove the theory; that’s the way that all science is advanced. I’m no more in favor of doggedly holding on to a broken theory re: the climate than I am to a broken theory about the cause or treatment of cancer. I do, however, resent people who know nothing about the subject, e.g., the climate deniers in the U.S. Congress, shills for the oil companies, disseminating gibberish that has the effect of blocking progress to solutions to a problem that has the potential to cause mass extinction on the planet.

As a person of conscience, you should hold the same resentment.

Tagged with: climate deniers in the U.S. Congress, climate scientists, peer-reviewed scientific studies concluded that global warming is real and caused by humans, Scientists Should Actively Try To Disprove the Theory of Global Warming and Climate Change, shills for the oil companies

More on Floating Solar PV Power Plants

craigshieldsPosted on July 20, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

Yesterday, a reader expressed interest in creating solar PV plants that float on large bodies of water that act to stem evaporation as they generate electrical power, and I directed him to an article my friend Gary Tulie had written on the subject: Saving the Salton Sea with Solar Arrays.

Below are the calcs that the reader provides on the subject. My only comments are:

• Indeed, there are horrific consequences if the volume of water in Lake Mead falls to the point that Hoover Dam needs to be shuttered. However,

• Huge PV installations are not equivalent in value to hydroelectric facilities that offer dispatchable power, and

• Huge PV installations that are far from population centers pose additional challenges.

He writes: Thanks, Craig. Looking at Gary’s article, I realized I had seen it when it came out. Probably that’s what triggered my thinking this time. (more…)

Tagged with: Gary Tulie, huge PV installations far from population centers, hydroelectric facilities offer dispatchable power, Saving the Salton Sea with Solar Arrays, solar PV plants that float on large bodies of water that act to stem evaporation as they generate electrical power

Quite a Moment: Pope Francis To Address Impressive Phalanx of Climate Change Deniers in U.S. Congress

craigshieldsPosted on July 19, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

In September, Pope Francis will deliver an address to the U.S. Congress on humankind’s responsibilities vis-à-vis the environment. I have to say that the very concept of this presentation to a room packed with a large number of climate change deniers, each one a dancing monkey, a shill for the oil companies, makes me smile. I can just visualize (adamant denier) James Inhofe (R-OK, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works–pictured left) and all the others, sitting there scowling.

On a more serious note, (more…)

Tagged with: chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works), climate change deniers, injustice of the globalization of indifference, James Inhofe (R-OK, Pope Francis To Address U.S. Climate Change Deniers, shill for the oil companies, Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility, Workshop on Sustainable Humanity, WorldWatch

Floating Solar PV Power Plants

craigshieldsPosted on July 19, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

A reader notes: Craig – pretty neat that someone is turning unused golf courses into solar farms, but the idea in this story that really caught my eye was a proposal to “develop and operate a 13.4 megawatt floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir.” Got me thinking: How much of the water loss in, say, Lake Meade is from evaporation? How much would that be reduced per acre by floating solar farms? How much of a win-win floating solar farm would it take to make Lake Meade start gaining ground again (or is that even possible)?

It’s possible, though I’m not sure how feasible. My friend Gary Tulie of scenic Buckinghamshire England (pictured) knows more about this than I do, as proven in his excellent article: Saving the Salton Sea with Solar Arrays.

Tagged with: floating solar farms, Gary Tulie, Lake Meade evaporation, proposal to "develop and operate a 13.4 megawatt floating solar power plant on the Yamakura Dam reservoir, Salton Sea, turning unused golf courses into solar farms

Humankind’s Appreciation for the Environment Is Becoming Less Superficial

craigshieldsPosted on July 19, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Part of the reason I’m optimistic about our civilization’s approach to sustainability is that more people care about the subject each year, and, at the same time, our understanding and appreciation of the subject continues to grow more profound. We’re increasingly aware that the progress we’ve made in terms of wealth has come at the expense of the Earth’s finite resources, and that this cannot continue indefinitely; this, of course, is why many scientists argue that we’ve entered a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene.

We’re starting to view all this as a holistic problem, examining the interplay between fossil fuel consumption, consumerism, climate change, the quantity and quality of food and water, human health, international hostility, the loss of biodiversity, and so forth. (more…)

Tagged with: Anthropocene, civilization’s approach to sustainability, Climate Change, Earth’s finite resources, fossil fuel consumption, Humankind’s Appreciation for the Environment, loss of biodiversity, the quantity and quality of food and water

More on Solar PV Market Research

craigshieldsPosted on July 18, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

The folks with the front-lawn-mounted solar PV device described here are not sanguine with my suggestion that they should begin with market research. They respond: We have a target market ready to buy our product and able to buy our product. As in any great commercial breakthrough, the target market is unaware of what it needs until it is given what it needs.

Well, if I were trying to answer the market demand question, I would walk around a sample neighborhood with a clipboard and my cell phone, asking permission to survey people. To those who assented, I would show a shortened version of your video, and then ask:

What do you like best about the concept?
Do you see any drawbacks?
Would you pay $15K for this?
Why? (Why not?)

If you do that as few as 20 times, you’ll learn an inestimable amount about the receptivity of the market.

Tagged with: front-lawn-mounted solar PV device, market demand, More on Solar PV Market Research

So Much To Love About Electric Bikes

craigshieldsPosted on July 18, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

A friend writes: electric bikes are becoming amazing; check this out.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to see all this attention flowing into the e-bike space, as there are so many good things it accomplishes simultaneously. Not only does it reduce car and light-truck VMT (vehicle miles traveled), but it gets a ton of people out there bicycling who wouldn’t have considered it before. (more…)

Tagged with: clean energy investment opportunities, e-bike space, electric bikes are becoming amazing, reduce car and light-truck VMT, Seattle E-bikes, So Much To Love About Electric Bikes