When you encounter stupidity, greed, cold-heartedness and cruelty, don’t you sometimes feel embarrassment for the entire human race? I sure do. Here’s something, however, that gives me the precise opposite reaction; in fact, I defy anyone to watch this and not feel some level of pride in our species.
A visitor to quora.com writes: Please give me an example of light energy.
All light is energy. Visible light is a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e., electric and magnetic fields that oscillate back and forth, in this case between 430–770 trillion times a second. The higher the frequency, the higher the energy, so “light” that is invisible to the human eye is because its frequency is too high, e.g., X-rays and gamma rays, have much greater energy levels, and therefore cause injury to living tissue. That’s why they are used as cancer treatment; they are a type of radiation that damages whatever cells they collide with, and since cancer cells can’t repair themselves, they die.
I wanted to publish this little discussion I just had with Peter B. Meyer, Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Economics and Director Emeritus of the Center for Environmental Policy and Management (CEPM) at the University of Louisville, who currently resides in the quaint little town of New Hope, PA (pictured), near where I grew up. He submitted a link to this op-ed in the New York Times on ExxonMobil’s behaviour on climate change, which served as the basis for what I wrote on the subject. (more…)
I sometimes run across something, perhaps a piece of art, a poem, a movie, or, in this case, a piece of music, that calls to mind the powerful but normally unobserved connection that all human beings have for one another. I hope you’ll check out this heart-stopper by singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile (pictured).
It appears to be about her love for her adopted child, but clearly the concept could be generalized. The lyrics are below. (more…)
Are you thinking about building an eco-friendly home? Whether your primary concern is to reduce utility bills and save money in the future, or to preserve the environment, building an eco-friendly home might be just your thing. Here are some suggestions on how to make a cheap environmentally friendly home.
Use sustainable building materials (more…)
Adrian De Jong of LunarSolarPower writes: Craig: Please watch this short video and watch a whole new world of possibilities open up to you! More here.
Sorry, Adrian. That’s a truly preposterous concept, for a whole bunch of reasons (starting with the numbers the guy quotes) that I’ll explain in depth if you want to call me. Having said that, you’re obviously a good person with a fine heart. I would simply suggest that you focus your attention in a more practical direction.
Here’s a piece I commented on a few months ago on the ecological aspects of our meat-crazed culture. The producer claims that this renders everything that environmentalists are doing as meaningless, and, although she’s incorrect here, she makes many excellent points in this extremely well-done, fast-paced video. (more…)
The notion of the “hydrogen economy” has been around since the early 1970s, brought into play in the aftermath of the oil embargo. The concept is that pure hydrogen can be made by electrolyzing water or reforming methane with energy from any of a variety of resources (which can be variable in nature, e.g., solar and wind), and then that hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, thus replacing internal combustion engines powered by liquid hydrocarbons. (more…)
Here’s an interesting post on a new manufacturing process for solar PV cells. I note that I ran across a similar approach at the Solar Power International show a couple of weeks ago, under development at NREL (the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab), where a spokesperson told me about their work with perovskites, especially calcium titanium oxide, CaTiO3. Gary writes:
1366 Technologies is a company with a novel, lower cost and cleaner manufacturing process for solar wafers. (more…)
Three years ago I wrote: I look at Michael Klare (Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts) as a kind of Craig Shields on intellectual steroids. He and I agree on essentially everything; the only real difference is his super-extensive command of the facts, and his ability to draw bold and important conclusions from dozens of different data streams.
Here’s a recent article in which he discusses the concept of the “tipping point” as it applies to climate change, and where we are with respect to that tragic event. As always, it’s sobering, perhaps better suited to a Monday than a Friday, but it’s material that everyone should understand.
