Solar energy has officially hit mainstream. What was once a limited luxury to those with strong environmental concerns or the money to spend is now a cost-effective and realistic option for many consumers. As solar panels drop in price and become a viable option, the fast growing appeal amongst business and homeowners has boomed incredibly. (more…)
Mike Bernard asks: Given that the rate of the move from fossil fuel derived energy to renewable energy is constantly accelerating. How long until renewable energy gets to 80% across all sectors?
This is an interesting, albeit unanswerable question. I wish I didn’t have to equivocate like this, but there are a number of reasons that providing a date is impossible: (more…)
Building your home is a once in a life time opportunity for majority of people. Everyone has their idea of what a perfect home should look like and there are no universal solutions that can be suggested and applied. Still, why not use that opportunity to build a home that would not be solely a place to live but something that leaves a mark on the environment, not only in an architectural sense? By building a greener home one would certainly make a strong contribution to preserving the beautiful world we live in. Here are a couple of suggestions on how to do this. (more…)
In a few hours, I’ll get into my 2009 VW Jetta diesel and make my way to Los Angeles for three meetings with some very interesting people associated with cleantech investments. I’m looking forward to all aspects of the day—except for the knowledge that my car’s emissions are far greater than what I had been promised by the manufacturer/criminal.
VW’s CEO says, “We totally screwed up.” No kidding? Some of these folks are headed for prison, and that’s just fine with me.
Volkswagen said it would also make “efforts to win back the trust of our customers.” Good luck with that. “We are working to develop a remedy that meets emissions standards and satisfies our loyal … customers.” News flash: You don’t have any.
Environmental awareness is, thankfully, a steadily growing trend among consumers. As the most ecologically friendly option, LED lighting has begun to see true market penetration. More and more property owners are seeking to save energy and costs by upgrading to LED lighting. State rebates for upgrading certainly don’t hurt, either. However, saving the world requires more than the installation of a few light-emitting diodes. What should you do with the old fixtures you just replaced? (more…)
Healthcare today is suffering due to a severe lack of finances. There are not enough doctors and nurses to go around and when it comes to a need for an immediate diagnosis or treatment, this lack of qualified medical professionals can significantly limit the way in which patients are being treated. GPs are over-booked all over the country and this limits the number of urgent care patients they can treat. With recent advances in technology as well as improvements in communications, more and more patients are getting the healthcare services they need. Here are three ways in which technology and communications work together. (more…)
Here’s an interesting article that analyses the schizophrenic nature of our society. We know that climate change is caused in large measure by the consumption of fossil fuels, but we spend $200 billion per year subsidizing them. Spoiler alert: The article doesn’t suggest a good reason that we’re doing this, because there is none.
In a world where money is everything, we can’t expect any changes that damage the interests of the largest and most powerful industry in the history of humankind. Fortunately, help is on its way, in the form of cheap wind, cheap solar, cheap storage, etc. Soon, the big money people in the traditional energy space will have been beaten at their own game, as described in detail in Bullish on Renewable Energy.
Heating your home is so second nature now, and it always was very important. Today we rarely think about anything other than the bottom line cost of the fuel we are using. The simple flick of the switch and the bill at the end of the month is the only thing we think about.
But for the environmentally conscious among us, there are some questions that bear pondering. For example, the topic of our article today – is it better to use fireplaces or central heating when it comes to heating our homes? (more…)
Here’s the current newsletter of my colleague Jon LeSage, Editor and Publisher of Green Auto Market. I respond:
This is very interesting; thanks very much for all you do in this space. About the autonomous car, I’ve always said: We’re getting rid of the driver? Let me suggest that we keep the driver, but get rid of the gasoline. At this point, it looks like this is happening whether the automakers like it or not, with the trends in personal transportation that include a reduction in car ownership, and certainly a decrease in VMT (vehicle miles traveled).
My mom suggested that I check out George Will’s scathing remarks in his editorial: Pope Francis’ Fact Free Flamboyance. She notes: Read it and weep.
George Will doesn’t make me weep, though he does cause me to scratch my head. Why does anyone care what this man thinks on matters that lie entirely outside his field of expertise? There’s a reason I don’t write articles on baseball: I don’t know anything about the subject. (more…)
