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From Guest Blogger Gary Tulie: Cars in England 2045

craigshieldsPosted on March 13, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

Editor’s Note: Here’s a fun little piece from my friend Gary Tulie, the fellow who was so helpful on my most recent book (“Bullish on Renewable Energy“). I hope he’s right about his predictions here, and I hope Buckinghamshire still looks like it does today (pictured left and below).

The year is 2045, my name is James Prescott, and I live in Buckinghamshire, England. I am 15 years old, and on the weekends, I like to swim with my friends at the local public pool followed by a snack of lentils and crispy fried locust in Thai sweet chili sauce. (more…)

Tagged with: autonomous electric vehicles, biofuels, Cars in England 2045, catastrophic climate change, Gary Tulie, internal combustion engine vehicles, lightweight ceramic carbon composites, ultra-capacitors for power

Great E-Bike Designs Are Not All Trendy

craigshieldsPosted on March 13, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

I don’t claim to have a particular eye for product design that addresses the sensibilities of millennials, but I have to think that this may be on target: an e-bike that is the antimatter of the ultra-chic futurism that’s so prevalent today. Not only is the design itself reminiscent of the 1950s, but its glaring lack of communications technology is also a bit jarring: there’s not even a GPS to guide you to the closest latte bar. (more…)

Tagged with: Amsterdam, Brian Nordwall, E-Bike Designs, e-bike ultra-chic futurism, Seattle E-bikes

Keystone Pipeline Myopia

craigshieldsPosted on March 13, 2015 Posted in Fossil Fuels

Senior energy analyst Glenn Doty makes this point regarding the Keystone Pipeline:

We won’t have one drop of oil less being sold in the global market because the Keystone was rejected… we’ll just have a lot more oil in the groundwater from spills along the train tracks rather than a more efficient and safer pipeline. (more…)

Tagged with: #1 contributor to pollution in California is natural seepage of oil and methane, Keystone Pipeline Myopia, Keystone rejected, off-shore drilling is a solution to an environmental problem, oil in the groundwater, oil spills along the train tracks, SOS (Stop Oil Seeps) California

From Guest Blogger Rob in the UK: Wood Durability & Making Wood A Green Source

craigshieldsPosted on March 13, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

Poor forestry management can have a devastating effect on the earth’s environment and it has been reported as having a significant contribution to the greenhouse effect and climate change. The reduction and great deforestation of the amazon rainforest is well documented but poor practices being carried out there are also being carried out in forests throughout the world. (more…)

Tagged with: sustainable building products, sustainable wood

Another Viewpoint on the Keystone Pipeline

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s another thought on the Keystone pipeline (and similar projects in the past and future), though I’m sure I’m not the first to express it. Let’s try to project what an advanced extra-terrestrial would think of the job that humankind has done here on Earth, if, when he gets here, he observes that either:

A) The planet is a crisscross of pipelines and other devices designed to suck that pesky hard-to-get last drop of petroleum out of the ground and send it to a refinery—all the while the most developed species’ scientific community was begging them to stop, on the basis that they were ruining the quality of the environment in a dozen different ways. (more…)

Tagged with: Another Viewpoint on the Keystone Pipeline, last drop of petroleum out of the ground, local star 6000 times more power than required, planet crisscross of pipelines, ruining the environment, solar PV and wind, solar thermal (CSP)

The Validity of the Keystone Pipeline Environmentally

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Fossil Fuels

Senior Energy Analyst Glenn Doty remarks that rejecting the Keystone pipeline is a net negative for the environment: The percentage of transported oil that is spilled when transported by train is hundreds-fold that when it is transported by pipeline. By making a symbolic stand that does absolutely nothing to impact oil production and nothing to impact oil consumption, the rejection of the Keystone pipeline has absolutely resulted in an increase in the amount of oil spilled, because it’s still being produced and sold, it’s just transported by train instead of pipeline. (more…)

Tagged with: impact oil consumption, Keystone Pipeline Environmentally, Oil Companies Be Damned, rejection of the Keystone pipeline, U.S. needs to establish an energy policy, We're Phasing Out Fossil Fuels

“Externalities” of Fossil Fuels

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Externalities are the costs associated with a certain transaction that are not captured in the transaction itself, but are passed along unaccounted for (“externalized”) onto other parties who are often unaware of what’s hitting them, or, at best, unable to do anything about it.

With respect to energy generated from fossil fuels, this means costs like lung disease, climate change, ocean acidification, and loss of biodiversity that are ignored in the price we pay for the energy that comes from coal, oil, and natural gas. (more…)

Tagged with: BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Climate Change, coal lung disease, CSX train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude, energy generated from fossil fuels, externalities, Exxon Valdez, long-term environmental damage, loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification

From Guest Blogger Pano: Wind Farms for Renewable Energy: Is It Worth Investing in for the UK?

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

The UK Government has just backed £315 million worth of renewable energy projects and earlier this year it was announced that the UK is on track to hit our green targets. So it’s evident that providing a sustainable energy source is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But wind farms have long been causing debate amongst environmentalists, with many believing that they are simply too expensive to build, others claiming that they are an eyesore in Britain’s natural sites, and some questioning whether they could actually have an adverse effect on global warming. (more…)

Tagged with: green energy, renewables, Wind Energy, wind power

From Guest Blogger Ann Shirley: How to Build the Most Energy Efficient Home

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

When planning for a new home or a next phase, one of the most important considerations should be the overall cost of ownership. It can be easy to overlook the cost of utilities when you fall in love with a neighborhood or a floor plan. But as utility costs continue to rise, the second largest monthly expense associated with home ownership is the cost of powering it – heat, electricity, gas, and water. With the right questions and the right builder, you can make a smart purchase that won’t eat away at your wallet month after month. (more…)

Tagged with: clean energy, energy efficiency, energy efficient home

From Guest Blogger Anita Ginsberg: How You Can Stay Green at Home and Waste Less

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

To solve the problems of climate change and harmful pollution, everyone needs to do their part to contribute, and that includes homeowners. Below are several great tips you can use to stay green at home and waste less.

Program Your Thermostat

One simple way to make your own home greener is by programming your thermostat. (more…)

Tagged with: energy efficient home, green home