“Any fool can despise what he can’t have” is the moral of the most famous of the Aesop’s fables (“The Fox and the Grapes“).
Sadly, Big Oil is incapable of participating in the rapid migration to renewable energy; oil and gas exploration is an extremely specific core competency, one that is extremely expensive to develop—and one whose capabilities don’t carry over into solar, wind, and the rest. (more…)
I was just telling my daughter’s best friend (pictured here facing my camera, perhaps seven years ago) about Linus Pauling, how remarkable he was, and what we can all learn from his incredible life. One important lesson is that we shouldn’t rule out the validity and importance of an idea, simply on the basis that it didn’t come from an expert in the field. (more…)
A reader notes (and I paraphrase): The oil companies are the strongest force on the planet, and they are the problem with respect to a path toward a sustainable approach to energy. I don’t think we can expect oil companies to simply walk into the renewable sunset.
No, we most certainly cannot expect that; (more…)
I often kid my mother on her political views. She’s a Republican, though she’s a kind and sensitive person who believes that what we’re doing to our environment is “deplorable” (one of her favorite words). I wrote just now:
Mom: Looks like George Pataki (ex-Governor of New York) is a candidate for U.S. president, albeit a long shot. What do you think of this guy? A Republican environmentalist! I thought unicorns were more numerous. Love, Craig
With his characteristically lucid writing style, frequent commenter BreathOnTheWind asks me to clarify my position on fracking. It’s largely the result of conversations I’ve had with energy analyst Glenn Doty and other senior scientists. I’m convinced that:
• Despite widespread belief to the contrary, there is no evidence that fracking causes any measurable level of harm to our health or our environment in terms of overuse of water, injection of toxic chemicals into the regions 15K feet deep, pollution of aquifers/drinking water, earthquakes, etc. (more…)
Here’s a tome (700 pages!) on bio-energy for anyone looking for a comprehensive study on the subject; an enormous amount of time must have gone into this. Personally, I don’t see the reason to get excited about any of this. (more…)
A reader notes: I want to share with you my recent appointment at (a leading management and technology university) as an Adjunct Professor. I will be charged with teaching and mentoring students in their doctoral and graduate management programs, and I plan to implement concentrations on clean energy. In that regard, I believe your publications will provide solid reading fundamentals. I’ll keep you posted. (more…)
In 2011, I did a talk on clean energy and transportation at the incredibly palatial Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles (pictured), at the conclusion of which a gentleman introduced himself and told me about a zero-emissions vehicle he was building. We stayed in touch, and just now he wrote to me regarding my post “Heard It At the Low Carbon Investors Conference” as follows: (more…)
Frequent commenter MarcoPolo objects to my recent post on a progressive energy policy for two central reasons:
• It would be disastrous economically. He writes, “The fossil fuel industry represents 28% of the US economy….Your plan would immediately lessen confidence in the only industry propping up the US economy. Even a small reduction in confidence would cause a negative reaction to US capital markets.”
• Leftist “ideology-driven government green initiatives” and investment in “green industries” are doomed to failure. The public sector needs to place less emphasis on moral opinions and “ideological principles and more on responsible economic management.”
I respond: (more…)
I often write about the importance of young peoples’ contributions to planet Earth’s environmental solutions. I’ll be long gone from this planet before the final tapestry here is woven, but with the enthusiasm of people like Jason Silva, featured in this fabulous video sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area’s Chapter of 350.org, there certainly is a great deal of room for optimism.
Coincidentally, Monday was the birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who left us with this: “Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.”
