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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Environmental Aspects of Showers vs. Baths--Myths and FactsWhen remodeling your bathroom, you may be focused on improving the aesthetic look of the space. For example, you may update the tile back splash around the tub and in the shower. Perhaps you will replace the counter top and cabinetry in the bathroom. While these are common remodeling steps to take for a bathroom renovation project, there are some steps that could make your bathroom green and that could make your home more energy efficient. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

How Much Energy Is Needed To Produce Solar Panels?What’s the carbon footprint of solar panels? Do they need more energy to produce than what they would produce in their entire life?

Readers who aren’t familiar with the website Quora.com should check it out.  Linked above is a really good article on the above-named subject.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Pope Francis: A Real LeaderHere’s a conversation I just had with my sister-in-law (Kim) that I thought I’d publish:

Kim: Nice to have Pope Francis as an advocate! Maybe you could interview him for your next book! Make it a great day. 🙂

Craig: Yes, the Pope is my man. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Lots of Good News in the Renewable Energy SpaceHere’s a post that’s strictly about the pic I’ve used (left).  It’s a screen shot from the sidebar of GreenTechMedia.com as it exists right this minute (probably won’t last).  But just look at these headlines (and Google them if you want to read the articles).  “Solar Will Become the Default Technology of the Future.”  Absolutely true.

And everyone and his dog has heard what the Pope is telling the world.

What a great time to be alive.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Locally Generated Energy…. And Automobile Design?Distributed generation is a big deal when we contemplate the future of energy, as it provides so many benefits, e.g., no transmission costs and voltage drops, reduced reliance on coal, less bureaucracy, local jobs, facilitation of smart-grid technologies, and integration of renewable resources that happen to be abundant in each particular region.

But here’s a question: Does this concept extend beyond energy into other important sectors of our economy?  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Frequent contributor MarcoPolo who comments on my post about Annie Leonard (pictured) and her concern about our “robo-consumer” society:

The “consume less,” ”back to nature”, reductionist philosophy, is usually accompanied by a covert loathing of mankind, disingenuously presented as a love for mankind…..All human endevour has upsides and downsides…. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Pope Hits Hard on Climate Change in Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’’A reader notes:  I haven’t yet read the 178 page text of Laudato Si, but I’ve read a great deal of highlights…  This is a watershed moment.  It could change everything.  It could also spell the end of the Republican party, as they have typically split the Catholic vote 50/50 with the Democrats… and after this day that will be extremely hard for them to maintain. This is VERY exciting stuff! (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Concept in “Small Wind”I’ve been having a discussion with an inventor of a product in the “small wind” energy space (i.e., anything under 100KW) whose website is linked above.  He had asked my advice about his concept, which is summarized as follows:

The hanging windmill doesn’t require a tower. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Wearable Solar PV?

Frequent commenter and senior energy analyst Glenn Doty writes about an earlier post on wearable solar PV (see picture on left featuring the obligatory pretty girl).  He notes: (This) is likely a fad that will contribute absolutely nothing to the net emissions problem. 

Oh, you’re 100% right about the emissions issue, but wearable PV can make a huge difference to those in the rural parts of the developing world who have to spend hours per day walking to the nearest city to charge their cell phones. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

The reader who asked earlier about wearable solar PV clarifies:

I agree with you that the direction for these threads for wearable power generation is a dead end or at least a very low power, niche market.

My thought has to do with using short threads, 3-5 in. in length, in very high volume to construct a “solar tree.” Nature got solar collection right long before humans ever tried.  A tree gathers more light, direct and ambient, per square meter of land space than a flat panel ever will. (more…)

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