I tend to be critical of the U.S. government’s failure to take on a leadership role in promoting renewable energy, but I forget how far we’ve come.  This piece describing the U.S. Department of Interior opening up public lands for geothermal, and assisting in the development of 20 gigawatts of this clean, baseload power by 2020, reminds me that it was only a few years ago, under the previous administration, that the activities of this group were essentially confined to rubber-stamping land leased for the oil companies at advantages rates — far below their fair market value.  The Obama people tend to be far more progressive in this space, and deserve credit accordingly.

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As I mentioned when I posted this satirical piece on “Exxon Hates Your Kids,” I thought I had a knack for insulting the oil companies; these people make me look like Mr. Rogers (pictured left).  Apparently, they’re at it again, with this funny and (slightly) less abrasive piece.

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The U.S solar industry keeps putt-putting along instead of moving full steam ahead. Why? The go-to answer is soft costs. But that doesn’t tell us much.

The term “soft costs” doesn’t even have a universally accepted definition. What does it mean? We can say for sure it doesn’t mean hardware or mounting systems. Soft costs are usually intangible expenses, like marketing, labor, design, installation, and permitting.

So why are they so expensive? (more…)

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It’s never too early to start teaching environmental awareness, and while preschools and nursery schools are teaching it, they can go green at the same time.

Parents invest far beyond the tuition costs by sending their children to preschool and nursery school – they want them to be safe and healthy.

Here are some things schools can do to be green and some things the kids and families can do as well. (more…)

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Contrary to popular belief, the Philippines has four kinds of weather, namely: hot, very hot, rainy, and very rainy.

To say that the Philippine weather is unpredictable is an understatement. It may be hot and dry in one minute and rainy and flooding in the next.

It’s these kinds of weather changes that can be termed as “hell” for the local construction and architectural businesses. They’re faced with opposing obstacles that raises their stakes on quality and sustainability for housing and any other property developments. It may be a challenge but it’s not exactly impossible. (more…)

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I may have mentioned that I own some stock in Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation — the runaway leader in OTEC technology as far as I can discern.  For those who may have missed it, here’s the webinar that I did on the subject with their OTECorp’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Jim Greenberg last year.

Jim  happens to be in town for a few days, and I’ll be meeting with him later this afternoon to discuss the two arenas in which he’s focused, i.e., strategy and marketing.  He’s a terrific guy, and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can’t add value to what he’s thinking in terms of corporate development and expansion.

I believe that OTEC has a brilliant future.  There are over one billion people who live near tropical ocean waters that can provide an enormous amount of free fuel that now, for the first time, can be cost-effectively converted into electricity.

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Readers who may be wondering about the cost-competitiveness of renewable energy will be interested in this piece on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) associated with wind. Hint #1: It’s very good news, and it provides real hope that wind, currently at about 4% of the total generation capacity here in the U.S., can – and will – go much higher. Hint #2: It’s why investors like Warren Buffet and Google are jumping in with both feet.

Of the dozen or so renewable energy investment opportunities that I vigorously promote, four are focused on wind. Why? Clean, affordable energy. What’s not to like?

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The driver of the taxi who took me from a meeting I had last week in Los Angeles to the Amtrak station hailed from Mogadishu, Somalia.  I asked, as I normally do, “What’s it like there?”  I love to get a sense for how people live in these exotic parts of the world. What’s important to them?  Are people optimistic that the future will be better than the past?  I was anxious to know, but insofar as Mogadishu has seen such violence, I was a little concerned about bringing up a sore subject.  (more…)

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Here’s the latest project of a civil servant, Dana Rohrabacher, pictured here, whose education includes degrees in history and American studies.  His life’s work at this point is his commitment to proving that global climate change is a fraud, i.e., that the tens of thousands of scientists, virtually all of whom concur with the theory and the physics behind it, have conspired to suck down tax-payers’ money and, what’s more, are hell-bent on creating a one-world government.

No, Rohrabacher’s not a deputy sheriff of some cow town in Oklahoma; he’s one of our 435 U.S. Representatives.  (more…)

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Writing for Smart Grid News, Jesse Berst explains that the Obama administration’s call for a multi-billion-dollar grid upgrade could backfire, as his opponents are so aggressive with their attacks, and will be quick to label this more governmental waste.  That’s a perfectly possible — even probable response; no one doubts that the political atmosphere in Washington is poisonous, to say the least. (more…)

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