Pope Francis Receives Praise from People of All Religious PerspectivesI’m thrilled to see the scores of op-eds extolling Pope Francis’ humanitarian mission, some of which are written by people who have no love for organized religion whatsoever. Linked above is one that begins:

I’m not a fan of the Catholic Church as an institution. I have a number of bones to pick with it right down to its core mythology. That said, I have a great deal of respect, and even admiration, for the incumbent Pope.

If you can get past those sarcastic first two sentences, however, the article goes on to explain exactly why the recent encyclical, Laudato Si, is such an important document for all of us, from whatever religious viewpoints, who honestly care about the world around us and the ultimate fate of our civilization.

 

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A Simple 6-Step Energy AuditA DIY energy audit is a quick and simple way to find out how much energy you are using in your home, and you can then make changes that can help you to reduce your bills. There could be many areas of the home where you are wasting energy, so follow these six simple steps to seek out problem areas and improve them.

1. Check the Loft Insulation

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Are Hospital Green Initiatives Really Saving Money?Sustainability is known as the ability to continue something indefinitely and is a widespread theory that many industries are taking to protect and support our fragile environment. Though this isn’t possible for everyone, greener, more environmentally friendly ways of doing business are encouraged and often thought as cost reducing as well. Is this true? Could going green honestly save a substantial amount of money?

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Coming Soon for Those Who Who Believe the Oil Companies Face Smooth Sailing: A Haircut of Epic ProportionsIt’s amusing to me how many people are being led along by the nose by the propaganda of the traditional energy industry.  Think of all those investors and bankers who believe that the oil companies are going to dominate the 21st Century just as they did the 20th–all of them soon to get a haircut of epic proportions. (more…)

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New Discovery in Hybrid-Electric DrivetrainsMy life’s work is finding good ideas in cleantech and moving them forward, a deeply rewarding mission, but one that comes with numerous thorny challenges, especially a) sorting through literally thousands of business concepts that come my way in order to find those that hold the greatest potential, and then b) assisting this tiny subset in getting across some of the hurdles that face them: raising investment capital, establishment of strategic business partners, telling their story in public relations venues, demand generation, etc.

Here’s something I came across the other day that I fell instantly in love with: the best, most innovative hybrid electric drive train in the known universe.  (more…)

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The Real Cost of Our Increasing Energy ConsumptionMaking the world a better, healthier, and more sustainable place for future generations is certainly no easy task; if you’re researching environmental law programs, you’ve taken the first step toward making a difference. There are myriad environmental issues fighting for our attention – one of the biggest being energy consumption and its environmental impact. See the details about this important issue in the below infographic: (more…)

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How To Get More Green Energy In Your HomeWith the cost of electricity going up in most places, and people becoming more concerned about their carbon footprints, it makes sense that you’d want to take some steps to make your home more green.

There are many thinks that you can do to create a greener home, both inside and outside. It may not be cheap to get started, but you’ll make your money back in savings over time. (more…)

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How Sincere Is Toyota in Position as a “Green” Automaker?In response to my post: Flagship Green Car Toyota Prius Faces Diminishing Influence, frequent commenter Glenn Doty notes: As for the Tundra…  Yes, that’s a pretty horrible purchase for those that don’t actually need the functionality of a pickup.  But those buyers are buying a pickup, not a sensible car… so whether they need it or not, there’s not a choice between a Tundra and a Prius… it’s between the F-150, the Ram and the Tundra… which are all pretty much the same (poor) efficiency.  If Toyota refused to sell the Tundra, then you’d just have more sales of the Ram and F-150… you wouldn’t have more sales of more efficient vehicles.

You are 100% correct.  My point is (more…)

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Flagship Green Car Toyota Prius Faces Diminishing Influence

In his weekly newsletter, my colleague Jon LeSage notes:

The Toyota Prius has been a flagship for Toyota Motor Co. for about 15 years – and the automaker is counting on the redesigned 2016 model to restore its image as the leading green car on the market. Toyota faces steep challenges in getting Prius sales back toward upward trending with gasoline prices being where they are; and stiff competition coming from small, fuel-efficient cars and competing alternative technologies. (more…)

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Brian McGowan, the Ultimate Renewable Energy DIY GuyI keep meaning to take an extra day during one of my excursions to the East Coast and hang out with Brian McGowan, hands-on renewable energy guy extraordinaire, who lives near Philadelphia.  Pictured left is a wall of his garage; I could spend a couple of happy hours just studying the way all these storage components work together.

Brian writes:  (more…)

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