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How Concerned Should our Government Be about Climate Change? That Depends — Where Do You Live?

craigshieldsPosted on September 1, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Regular readers recognize the name of my colleague Dr. Alex Cannara; they remember his virulent pro-nuke position, which he touts as the only viable way to deal with climate change. At many points over the years I’ve known him, I’ve debated him on the validity of renewables, but all the while I’ve been careful to absorb everything he publishes on global warming and anthropogenic climate disruption. (more…)

Tagged with: anthropogenic climate disruption, Concerned Government Climate Change, deal with climate change, Dr. Alex Cannara, global warming, ice ages, loss of ice masses, sea level rise, solar mass ejections, sunspots, the apparent hiatus in atmospheric temperature increase

When Will We See a Huge Penetration of Eco-Friendly Vehicles?

craigshieldsPosted on August 31, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

My friend Jon LeSage, senior journalist in the green vehicle space, writes: In this year of declining plug-in and hybrid sales (and small cars losing share to pickups and SUVs), there’s been a lot of interest in exploring ways to reach consumers. A special report released last week by research firm Shelton Group delved into what’s working in reaching consumers with an interest in green products – marketing buzzwords that are effective with consumers. It’s been interesting to view the study’s findings, and to have first-hand experience with how market research firms are structuring their studies for automaker clients.

I wouldn’t overthink this. (more…)

Tagged with: additional incentives for clean transportation solutions, Clean Transportation Solutions, EVs expensive and inconvenient, EVs provide limited range, forcing the users of gasoline and diesel to pay its full costs, fuel-efficient cars seem tinny and cheap, green vehicle space, Jon LeSage, subsidies we pay to the oil companies removed

Creating Our Energy Future

craigshieldsPosted on August 31, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

According to the Writers Almanac: It was on this day in 1837 that Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered a speech entitled “The American Scholar” to the Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard University. …. (It) was the first time he explained his transcendentalist philosophy in front of a large public audience. He said that scholars had become too obsessed with ideas of the past, that they were bookworms rather than thinkers. He told the audience to break from the past, to pay attention to the present, and to create their own new, unique ideas. (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, Creating Our Energy Future, Koch brothers, National Clean Energy Summit, renewable energy is a serious threat to the fossil interests, The American Scholar

Desalination and Global Water Scarcity

craigshieldsPosted on August 31, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Josh Velson, a chemical engineer with a self-described “nerd rage problem” writes: Will water desalination be a global solution for water scarcity?

I really don’t understand what a nerd rage problem is, but fortunately, I do have an answer to your question. It’s no, unless our civilization develops clean and extremely inexpensive sources of energy, which is needed in enormous quantities to separate the water from the salt. (more…)

Tagged with: clean and inexpensive sources of energy, Desalination and Global Water Scarcity, global approach to sustainability, inland parts of the world that have no access to water of any kind, mitigate the climate change that is causing desertification, Mongolia, water-energy nexus, Will water desalination be a global solution for water scarcity?

Really Bummed About George Will

craigshieldsPosted on August 31, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Here’s a quick discussion on my piece Even the Elites Can’t Escape the Global Community, Living As It Does on One Small Planet, in which I made reference to my disappointment in my fellow college alum George Will as follows: (more…)

Tagged with: George Will, Michael Chrichton's climate change denial, we all breathe the same air and drink the same water

From Guest Blogger Auvisa.org: Mallow-Biofuel–Diesel from a Tough Wildflower

craigshieldsPosted on August 30, 2015 Posted in Biofuels

Diesel vehicle usage is growing in the United States, with 60 diesel model cars and trucks expected to be available to American buyers in 2017. Biofuel use is also on the rise. The U.S. consumed 244 thousand barrels of biodiesel in 2001, by 2011 that figure was over 21 million barrels, and in 2014 the amount surpassed 33 million barrels. The federal Renewable Fuel Standard requires renewable fuel to be blended into transportation fuel in increasing amounts each year with a goal of 36 billion gallons in 2022. (more…)

Tagged with: biodiesel, biofuel, Mallow-Biofuel

When Will the Hydrogen Economy Arrive? We’ll Colonize Mars First

craigshieldsPosted on August 30, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

I noticed in this post from guest blogger Jordan: “Technically, we (at BMW are) ready to put fuel-cell cars on the road, but so far it remains too expensive,” said Axel Ruecker, who works in BMW’s fuel-cell technology development team. “Making fuel-cell technology a reality is a task not just for car makers, but for the whole of society.”

I got news. It isn’t happening. And is it possible that Mr. Ruecker somehow doesn’t know that? (more…)

Tagged with: battery EVs, Colonize Mars, electricity is ubiquitous, hydrogen economy, re-outfitting our 3.5 million square mail landmass with a deliver system for hydrogen

From Guest Blogger Jordan: BMW Showcases The Hydrogen-Powered i8 It Has Developed Together With Toyota

craigshieldsPosted on August 30, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

Over the past four years, BMW has been collaborating with Toyota on different projects that have to do with development of fuel-cell technologies, in an effort to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Among other things, this collaboration has been focused on the development of a high-performance fuel-cell car, which would be able to compete with the all-electric models offered by Tesla Motors. (more…)

Tagged with: 2015 BMW Innovation Days, Fuel cell, Fuel cell vehicle, Hydrogen

The Destruction of Our Environment Will Stop, Simply Because You and I Demand It

craigshieldsPosted on August 29, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Here’s a wonderful article that summarizes nicely the state of our planet vis-à-vis climate change and the politics that surrounds it. Note: It wasn’t government that abolished slavery and apartheid; it was people like you and I who had simply had enough, and left the governments of the day no choice but to implement the changes that the citizens demanded.

The situation is the same here. If we’re going to survive this crisis, it will happen precisely because we insist upon the cessation of the ever-escalating eco-demolition that defines our world of today.

Tagged with: abolition of slavery and apartheid, cessation of the ever-escalating eco-demolition that defines our world of today, climate change and the politics that surrounds it, Destruction of Our Environment

Positioning: Still an Important Subject, Albeit Frequently Overlooked

craigshieldsPosted on August 28, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

I just came across an amusing reminder on the subject of market positioning in cleantech. We all remember the notion of positioning from its emergence in the 1970s. In brief, it means communicating a new idea via a comparison to something that is already well-established and much-loved in the customer’s mind.

A good example in today’s world might be the energy beverage “Rockstar.” Its target audience loves rock stars; young people aspire to party like them, travel like them, have sex like them, drive fast cars like them, and just exude a kind of high-frequency “zap.” (more…)

Tagged with: Induction Energy Feed Water Re-Heat Steam Waste Heat Recovery Regenerative Steam Cycle Electric Power – Evaporative Fresh Water Production CoGen Facility, market positioning in cleantech, positioning, power plant