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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

photo 320px-020xRP_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946_zpsp3pdlvdi.jpgI wrote earlier that the entire system whereby power utilities operate under regulation here in the U.S. faces a considerable challenge as an ever-growing number of solar users defect from the grid, thus raising the price of power for those who remain.  Yet we can’t simply say, “Oh well, poor people won’t be able to afford electricity anymore.”

I’m reminded of the conversation on (U.S. passenger railway) Amtrak that comes up every couple of years. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

“Utilities Wage Campaign Against Rooftop Solar” – But It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That

A friend sent me this piece from The Washington Post with the title above. He writes: I think you know this, but it’s an interesting article.

Yes, this is a challenging issue. It’s hard to argue that solar owners should be able to use the grid as their own battery free of charge. But charging them a fee that encourages them to defect from the grid entirely isn’t helping either, as it raises the price of power for those who remain.

The subject is made even thornier because, as the author mentions, distributed generation means reduced loads at or near peak, which, given the perverse rules by which utilities are regulated, is actually bad for them; it means that the utilities cannot justify the construction of new power plants which they would bill back to the rate payers at a profit. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Renewable Energy: Lots of Parameters to ConsiderPart of the challenge in favoring one energy-related technology over another is that there are so many parameters that affect the calculation. Obviously, it needs to be “clean,” in terms of CO2 and the active poisons: oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, heavy metals, radioactive isotopes, etc.  If we didn’t care about that, there would be no point in having the conversation in the first place; we have plenty of coal to last us hundreds of years. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Tips on Buying Green Light BulbsIn times of increasing environmental awareness, it is always good to make changes. One big change is to gain better control over the use of your household. While you are home, you know that lights are turned on and off constantly. When you are not home, you are less likely to know how often people are wasting the electricity. That is why many people have thought about the importance of switching old incandescent light bulbs with new, improved LED or fluorescent varieties. Make a change that is big enough to affect the green movement by investing in green light bulbs. Start by considering a variety of simple tips to point you in the right direction. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Philosophic Questions on “Free Choice and Morality” Get at Issues of SustainabilityI tutor a number of local students of all ages on a variety of subjects.  Such encounters are always rewarding to me at some level, though some cause me to think and learn more than others.

Currently, I’m helping a young man with his first college philosophy class, and coincidentally, my discussion with him here touches on the fundamental obligations we have toward our fellows.  This gets at the notion of sustainability: our duties to provide a habitable planet for one another and to future generations, and, because of that tie-in to the 2GreenEnergy theme, I thought I’d publish this email I just sent to him.  For those in a hurry, the only real relevant part is underlined in the text below.

OK, so you need to write about free choice and morality.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Four Careers to Consider for the Environmentally-Conscious StudentGreen careers are difficult to categorize because they can range from forestry to environmentally-friendly production methods. Taking a look at these degree programs and careers, you’ll see they’re just the tip of the iceberg on green options for the environmentally-conscious student.
(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Obama's Budget Calls For Billions In Climate Funding“Climate funding?” Really?  Yes, according to this article, Obama’s budget calls for expenditures of $10 billion or so (out of the $3.99 trillion total) for things like renewable energy incentives, cleantech R&D, etc.  But who’s calling this “climate funding?”  Its opponents?

My advice:  recognize that, to the degree that the U.S. government’s investment in fostering cleantech innovation is successful, it will have dozens of far-reaching effects, only one of which is mitigating climate change.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Earth: A Pale Blue DotI’m extremely lucky to have a mother who remains quite active both mentally and physically, with whom I can have fun little conversations on subjects that few other people would possibly care a whit about, like the dictionary.com “word of the day.”  It’s common for one of us to write to the other upon checking our email when we get up in the morning, commenting on the featured word, like this one from earlier in the week: “circumvolve,” meaning to revolve or wind about.

I wrote: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Collusion Between Big Money and Law-Making Is Not Limited To the Oil IndustryI’ve mentioned the blatant corruption that exists between Big Oil and the United States Congress so many times that I may have given readers the impression that such criminality is limited to the petroleum industry. If so, I’m sorry; that’s not the case.

Below are a few lines on the telecommunications industry that I urge readers to explore further; based on what I’ve been able to find, they seem completely correct to me. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Geothermal

Five Benefits to Geothermal Heating for Your HomeOne option you should consider for heating your home is geothermal power. Geothermal energy comes from deep within the earth and is produced by things like molten magma. There are many great benefits to tapping this amazing source of energy to heat your home.  (Editor’s Note: This sense of the word “geothermal” is different from they type of geothermal that is used to heat a home.  As noted here, the engineering and scientific communities prefer the terms “geoexchange” or “ground source heat pumps” to avoid confusion with traditional geothermal power, which uses a high temperature heat source to generate electricity.) (more…)

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