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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

Historical Invention of Briquetting Plant Lets You Recycle Agriculture WasteThe agriculture sector and our forests are producing excessive waste materials that may lead to environment degradation and adversely affect public health. To protect people from these adverse effects, government is making special efforts to generate awareness about scientific methods to dispose these residues safely without harming environment or human health. Biomass briquetting machine technology is an innovative idea to use and recycle agro waste and forest waste in most efficient eco-friendly way. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Video on Fracking and the Release of Toxic Chemicals Make a Broader PointI recommend the piece on VOCs (toxic volatile organic compounds: acetone, benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, etc.) not to suggest that fracking represents net damage to humankind, but to point out a few things that everyone should know.  In particular:

• The oil and gas industry routinely lies about this subject, denying that these chemicals are released into our skies and waterways, and that they are being absorbed into our bodies.  And, speaking of lies, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The Rise of Asia and What It Means for the EnvironmentHere are a couple of graphs from “The Economist” that illustrate China’s rise to dominance in the manufacturing sector and suggest where this may go from here. We need also to keep in mind that the average factory worker in China earns $27.50 per day compared with $8.60 in Indonesia and $6.70 in Vietnam, meaning that there are other places in Asia that represent even greener pastures for global manufacturers. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Poverty in the UK and the Rapid Growth of the FoodCycle MovementSupermarkets and other food retailers have historically been renowned to throw away food that is perfectly edible. The charity FoodCycle are attempting to solve this widespread problem, to benefit the environment and people at risk of food poverty and social isolation. In true ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ style, volunteers of this charity whip up surplus ingredients into a three-course meal.

Inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project (a US food-waste initiative), a ragtag group of London University students came together with a shared vision – that everyone should have access to a nutritious meal and no good food should go to waste. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

Do We Need a Coral Ark?(Note:  I’m always happy to see my colleague Gary Tulie involve himself in our discussions, and I hope readers will find his words here on the subject of coral reefs to be valuable. – Ed.)

In this recent post, we talked about the threat posed to coral reefs by climate change, and as was rightly pointed out by frequent 2GreenEnergy commenter Glenn Doty, the associated risk posed by ocean acidification.

Coral is a vitally important and hugely biodiverse habitat with great value to humanity as a source of food, protection from storm surges, sheltered anchorage, and the inherent value of a beautiful and diverse ecosystem. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Pope Francis: A Breath of Fresh AirFrom the Writer’s Almanac:

It was on this day in 1633 that Galileo Galilei was put on trial by the Inquisition, for supporting the theory that the Earth revolves around the sun. In late April 1633, Galileo agreed to plead guilty and was sentenced to an unlimited period of house arrest in his home in Florence. He gradually went blind and died in 1641. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Catholic Church formally admitted that Galileo’s views on the solar system are correct.

Had the church not retracted its position 23 years ago, it would have taken the current pope about 15 seconds to make that happen. Francis is a friend of science, honesty, reason, truth, and humanism. His presence in the world is one of the most progressive things that’s happened in the last 1600 years.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Clean Electricity Generator?A reader offers this message and video linked here:

I am using the same water again and again.   my technology water is flowing not falling, tail discharge is used again and again. All independent turbine-generators erected in series are rotated with equal RPM.  Please see how much water is in each bottle. The first bottle is having head and rest have just tail discharge to rotate the turbine. A humble request. 

I complied with your humble request.  🙂  Re-using the water doesn’t challenge your credibility.  But trying to convince me that this apparatus generates more energy than it consumes does–in a big way.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Good Ideas in Clean Energy Are Actually Quite RareA reader commented on my post “The Hedge Connection” – Bringing Together Investors (“Allocators”) with Hedge Fund Managers:  “ideas are a dime a dozen.”

It is true that ideas are a dime a dozen.  The same can’t be said about “good ideas,” however–and especially in the clean energy space.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

The Health of Our Coral ReefsQuestion:  What percentage of our planet’s coral reefs have died over the last 30 years due to the warming of the oceans?  What percentage of ocean species live on these reefs?

Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.

Relevance:  According to New Scientist:  These reefs create a microcosm story: they are a metaphor for where the world is going, and one of the strongest signs of an impact of climate change on ecosystems.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

New Concept in Ocean Current Hydrokinetics

A colleague sent me this piece on a Dutch company’s introduction of a floating apparatus that generates electricity from tidal currents (pictured), and asked for my opinion. Here goes:

I admit that this device offers an advantage over those that are anchored into or tethered to the seabed, i.e., ease of maintenance. Having said that, there is obviously an unavoidably huge BoM (bill of materials) associated with this device, and I seriously doubt that the cost of all this stuff will be justified by that advantage.

I’m still a fan of these guys, in terms of over all cost-effectiveness in ocean current hydrokinetics, which is why I consider them a good clean energy investment opportunity.

 

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