Blog – Page 1447 – 2GreenEnergy.com

The Folly of Biofuels Is Only Made More Obvious When Crude Oil Prices Are Low

craigshieldsPosted on March 27, 2015 Posted in Biofuels

A reporter has asked me for a 300-word submission on the following: “Ethanol and biomass: what’s the state of the biofuels industry in the face of the oil crash?” My viewpoint is below, and I’ll send it along, though it’s almost certainly not what he/she is hoping to hear.

From a 50,000-foot viewpoint, biofuels are essentially a waste of time and effort, a point that is only exaggerated when the price of crude oil is abnormally low (as it happens to be today). In 2014, Chevron abandoned its attempts to focus some of its traditional plants onto alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production. Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson reported, (more…)

Tagged with: chemical compounds that are damaging to our health and environment, chemical energy refined and transported, Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson, Crude Oil Prices Are Low, Folly of Biofuels, internal combustion engines convert over 80% of that energy in heat and other forms of waste energy, replace every ounce of gasoline and diesel in the 230 million cars and track on U.S. roads with a 14% increase in electricity production, solar PV standing passive and inert in the desert

The Hedge Connection: Making the Courtship Between “Allocators” and Hedge Fund Managers Less Awkward

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

We all remember our teen years, and how uncomfortably self-conscious we were with members of the opposite sex, perhaps asking someone to dance.

Of course, awkward situations don’t just vanish once we’re grown and out in the business world. Take the challenge of creating a new relationship between a hedge fund manager and an “allocator” (apparently a new term for “professional investor of relatively large amounts of capital”). If the relationship is to happen at all, someone needs to make the first move, but no one’s easy making or receiving cold calls or other unsolicited introductions. (more…)

Some Basic Q&A on Renewable Energy

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

On average, I spend a few hours a month helping young people, from grade-schoolers to master’s candidates, on the papers they’re writing by proving my viewpoints on renewable energy. Here’s a typical example:

Mr. Shields: I’m …. a senior at Mountain Vista High School. I am currently working on my senior project about the implementation and use of renewable energy resources. I am sort of a movie buff and one day would like to become a scriptwriter. I also am sort of an environmentalist which is why I chose to do my senior project on this particular topic. Currently my plan is to obtain an engineering degree that will help me expand the use of renewable energy. (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, cost per kWh from renewables coming into parity with conventional sources, environmental footprint associated with renewables, extravagance with fossil fuel energy, geothermal in Iceland, hydro in Nepal, Solar PV and wind have huge advantages, sources of renewable energy

What Is the U.S. Congress Doing To Implement Renewable Energy? The Same Thing It’s Doing on Gun Control

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

We’ve seen a few pieces here recently discussing the sad fact that the will of the American people and the laws enacted by the Congress that voters elected are orthogonal to one another—a fancy word that simply means statistically independent to one other, or having no bearing on one another.

There are wonderful examples of this in the arena of renewable energy, of course, where the U.S. Senate is currently doing everything in its power to disembowel the Environmental Protection Agency (more…)

Tagged with: almost 90 percent of Democrats and even 68 percent of Republicans support more solar power because of their concern that fossil fuels damage the environment, arena of renewable energy, disemboweling the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA placing regulations n emissions coal-fired power plants, laws enacted by Congress and the will of voters

Where There’s Renewable Energy There’s Inexpensive Energy – But Is There a Causal Relationship?

craigshieldsPosted on March 25, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s a good article that points out that places that have lots of solar, wind, etc. have inexpensive energy generally, meaning that there is some sort of correlation between renewables and cheap energy. The important word here (as the author makes clear) is “correlation”; there’s no implication that one causes the other, i.e., the author did not commit the logical fallacy of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc,” (after that, therefore because of that). (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, cheap wind energy, correlation between renewables and cheap energy, energy supply and demand, Inexpensive Renewable Energy, post hoc ergo propter hoc

The True Driver of Climate Change Denialism

craigshieldsPosted on March 25, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Here’s another quick post on the tenuous position in which our democracy here in the U.S. finds itself: an article that explains the corruptive action of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) upon the law-making process, specifically on laws that pertain to environmental regulation and climate change. I hope you’ll take a few minutes and learn how the fossil fuel industry is earnestly funding groups that promote denialism, and see that their actions are astonishingly effective. (more…)

Tagged with: American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Clean Power Plan, environmental regulation and climate change, fossil fuel industry funding groups that promote denialism, True of Driver of Climate Change Denialism, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), undercut climate science, undermine climate progress at the state level

The Demise of American Democracy and its Ramifications

craigshieldsPosted on March 25, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

I get notes from readers quite frequently expressing their anguish about GMOs and the labelling thereof. Frankly, I’m not as amped up about this subject as most people seem to be, at least from a scientific perspective. What we’ve been doing via selective breeding for 8000 years in the field (literally) we’re now doing in the laboratory.

Again, solely from the viewpoint of science, after many years of testing, it’s very likely that soon all of the top people studying the subject will agree that GMOs pose little or no real risk to human health. (more…)

Tagged with: beliefs of the voters on the matter have exactly zero statistical bearing on the way Congress votes, Label Genetically-modified Food, law-makers vote in lock-step with the interests of those who have given them enormous campaign contributions, population in the process of quintupling, recent report from Princeton University, U.S. democracy is dead

Understanding 21st Energy Policy Requires Speaking with Everyone and his Dog

craigshieldsPosted on March 24, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

This afternoon, I’m preparing for an upcoming energy conference at which I’ll be speaking; I’m just sitting here, dusting off my various PowerPoint presentations and thinking where I’d like to take this audience.

I like to introduce myself as a guy with at least as many questions as answers, which is why I have this slide (below) early in my “deck.” (more…)

Tagged with: energy conferences, energy in the developing world, growing population of urban (energy-hogging) consumers, reduce our eco-footprint, technically risky, trillions of dollars of existing energy infrastructure, workable energy solution

Does a Pro-Coal Agenda “Border on the Immoral?”

craigshieldsPosted on March 24, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

Every time I cite an article where one U.S. politician goes after another with angry rhetoric, I feel, at a certain level, I’m being played. Isn’t all this scripted? Can functioning grown-ups actually think and act this way in real life? (more…)

Tagged with: California Governor Jerry Brown, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, Pro-Coal Agenda, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, reject the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce emissions from existing power plants, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

From Guest Blogger Dr. Bulb: LED Tube Lamps – Advantage to Non-integrated Retrofits?

craigshieldsPosted on March 23, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

When it comes to linear tube lighting, converting from conventional T12 fluorescents to a T8 LED is not just sensible, it’s necessary. As of July 2010, magnetic ballasts commonly used in the operation of T12 fluorescent lamps are no longer in production for commercial or industrial applications. In July 2012, many T12 lamps themselves were also phased out of production. Even if these lighting dinosaurs were still widely available on the market, the energy savings of switching to T8 LED tube lamps (TLEDs) would make a compelling reason to convert. For those seeking to make the switch there still remains a decision: use an integrated TLED or one that requires a T8 ballast to operate? (more…)

Tagged with: LED lighting, LED tube lamps