A friend sent me this piece on the environmentally disastrous coal ash accident that occurred earlier this year.
I wrote in return: Yes. I saw that recent “60 Minutes” piece in which Leslie Stahl (and the editors) totally barbecued the CEO of Duke Energy, Lynn Good. I’m sure that Duke somehow mis-estimated how vituperative the piece was going to be, or they would have immediately declined the interview, like they characteristically do. (more…)
Over the years, I’ve reviewed many thousands of ideas in cleantech and renewable energy more specifically, and I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to tell someone: “Is this physically possible? Yes. Is it potentially of any practical worth? Sorry, not in a million years.” I know I haven’t won many friends with this phrase, but I know I’ve kept lots of good people from wasting money developing something of no value. (more…)
Here’s a conversation that I thought readers may enjoy:
Craig: (Writing to a reader who claims that wind and solar would require all the lands in PA, OH, and VA in order to achieve 99.9% reliability.) No one advocates using wind and solar to do that. Wind contributed 4.18% to the U.S. grid-mix in 2013, displacing about 500 billion pounds of CO2. That’s a very, very good thing. Why are you and the other so-called “scientists” in your group trying so hard to invalidate the concept of wind? And, if you really are scientists, why are you going about this in such a childish way?
Reader: Sarcasm (which includes extrapolating things to absurd limits to make a point that even non-scientists can grasp) and childishness are two very different things. (more…)
If you are striving to live a green life, you are likely a habitual recycler. If you are an all-star recycler at home, you should know about the awesome recycling projects out there for recycling enthusiasts. Many companies and organizations have popped up over the years, instituting creative programs that promote recycling. Take a look at a few of the best resources out there to help you make a real difference in protecting the environment, and keep unneeded waste out of landfills: (more…)
Another fellow from the pro-nuclear energy group writes more on his “anti-wind” viewpoints:
I crunched a lot of numbers relating to the Budischak & Kempton 2013 study of cost minimization using wind, solar and storage technologies, which study was well received by renewables advocates. My number-crunching came to a startling conclusion about land use: To supply the entire USA electric grid with 99.9% up-time, using the recommended Budischak & Kempton overbuild strategy, would cover ALL of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio with wind & solar farms.
You should understand that no one who knows anything about the subject whatsoever would advocate trying to supply the entire U.S. electrical grid with 99.9% up-time using nothing but wind and solar energy, any more than they would try to feed all 317 million Americans with nothing but lobster tails. (more…)
There are well over 4500 blog posts here at 2GreenEnergy, but, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first one on solar cooking.
Like so many other elements of solar energy and sustainable living, this is a subject that has been around for many decades, but the technology gets better every year: devices are lighter, more convenient, less expensive, and more efficient than ever before. This one comes with its own sun tracking, and can maintain a temperature of 450 degrees F all day long. These campers are making a paella–pretty sophisticated stuff.
Perhaps a great Christmas gift?
Global warming continues to be a growing threat in 2014, despite several years of effort to diminish the effect our energy usage has on the environment. It is vital that each household does as much as possible to reduce its carbon footprint.
There are a number of ways to reduce your energy consumption within the home and the kitchen is probably the best place to start. (more…)
I wrote a post recently on nuclear energy and how its advocates tend to denigrate wind and solar. Commenting on it, my colleague Mario Gottfried offers a note about nuclear reactors’ lasting 100 years.
100 years? Obviously, neither Mario nor I will be here to verify this, but I can’t imagine that Earth’s civilization of the year 2114 (if it exists at all) will have the vaguest resemblance to the world of today. (more…)
A reader notes: “Fossil fuels (and nuclear fuels) provide energy storage. To replace them with renewable energy sources like wind we’ll need to incorporate a means of storing the energy.”
This isn’t completely incorrect, but it’s misleading, and it provides me an opportunity to clarify, in a summary fashion, the whole issue of energy generation, storage and consumption.
(more…)
Here’s a good article on wave energy, i.e., the conversion of the mechanical energy from ocean waves into electricity. For what it’s worth, I’m hoping that this arena will one day succeed, and I agree that if it does, this “Pelamis” technology will most likely be the thing that gets it there. In fact, one of these devices is on our list of “renewable energy investment opportunities” for anyone who wants to get behind what I think is the “best in class” of this form of hydrokinetic energy. (more…)
