Blog – Page 1458 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Oil, Coal, and Electric Transportation

craigshieldsPosted on April 28, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

A reader points out:

To replace coal we do not have to also displace oil. It is a common misunderstanding to equate oil companies with our general energy needs. 70% of refined oil products are used in transportation. 20% for heating and 10% for other petrochemicals like fertilizer and pesticides (approx.). So while it may be true that the world “runs” on oil, it gets most of its work done on electricity. 40% of carbon emissions come from making electricity. Although the electrical energy mix varies a great deal, overall less than 1% comes from oil. (more…)

Are "Good Ideas" in Energy Necessarily "Big?"

craigshieldsPosted on April 28, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

On my piece: “Good Ideas in Clean Energy Are Actually Quite Rare,” longtime 2GreenEnergy supporter “BreathOnTheWind” notes:

We seem to expect renewable resources to be a plug and play replacement for fossil fuels. On the contrary, renewable energy gathers energy from and depends upon the local environment and our current age. (more…)

Tagged with: energy slashing and burning local forests, fossil fuels are an ancient concentrated source of energy, Good Ideas in Clean Energy Are Actually Quite Rare, more than 80% of our energy comes from burning hydrocarbons, replacement for fossil fuels, Turimiquire Foundation

From Guest Blogger Anita Ginsburg: Eco-Friendly Landscaping Ideas For A Green Yard And Home

craigshieldsPosted on April 28, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

The most conscientious among us are determined to treat our world the way it deserves and adopt an eco-friendly attitude. This approach applies especially to the front lines of greenery that are within our domain, the gardens we landscape to increase curb appeal. Here are some ideas to maximize that environmentally benign style of living. (more…)

Tagged with: eco-friendly gardening, green landscaping

From Guest Blogger Izzie: Which Household Materials Are Best for the Environment?

craigshieldsPosted on April 28, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

It’s safe to say that a lot of people in society are starting to become more sensitive towards their environmental footprint. While not every has jumped on the “save the Earth” bandwagon, a lot of people who wouldn’t have been recycling just a few years ago now are. (more…)

Tagged with: ecofriendly, environment, environmental footprint

From Guest Blogger James Timpton: The Upcycling Effect at Home

craigshieldsPosted on April 28, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

We all want to improve our green credentials and one of the key ways we can do this is by preventing items, which still have valuable life, ending up in landfill. We are moving away from being a throwaway society and instead embracing values which make for more eco-friendly living. (more…)

Tagged with: recycling, reusung, upcycling

Government Subsidies for Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy

craigshieldsPosted on April 27, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

In response to my piece: Government Subsidies for the Energy Industry in the U.S., senior energy analyst Glenn Doty makes these points which I’ve greatly abbreviated; I encourage readers to click on the link and read the whole enchilada. (more…)

Doing What Comes Naturally

craigshieldsPosted on April 27, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

I’m a huge fan of Annie Leonard (pictured) and her wonderful project “The Story of Stuff”; it has successfully communicated the follies of our robo-consumer society to many millions of people around the world in an elegant and charming way. I had the pleasure of listening to her speak a couple of years ago, and we had a nice chat after she left the stage. (more…)

Tagged with: Annie Leonard, eco friendly cars, organize pro-environmental groups, planet destroying itself environmentally, protest against stupidity and corruption in government, The Story of Stuff

From a Guest Blogger: Motorized Blinds Are Greener than the World Thinks

craigshieldsPosted on April 27, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

Think motorized blinds, think electricity. Think electricity, don’t think green. This is the equation that has been drilled into most of us although surprisingly, it doesn’t always have to happen like this.

Let’s start with an introduction to motorized blinds. (more…)

Tagged with: green world

Energy Efficiency and the Negawatt

craigshieldsPosted on April 26, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

The concept of the “negawatt” has been in our vocabulary for several decades now; I believe it was the creation of environmental scientist Amory Lovins (pictured). The idea is simply that the cheapest and most environmentally friendly kilowatt-hour of electricity is the one we don’t generate in the first place. (more…)

Tagged with: environmental scientist Amory Lovins, negawatt, reducing power consumption with energy efficiency costs roughly one-third as much as the least expensive way of generating electricity

Larger Lessons Can Be Learned From the Garden

craigshieldsPosted on April 26, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

My brother and sister- in-law both retired from their respective careers last year and moved to a rural part of Kauai. They have a lovely home on three acres and dedicate a great deal of their time to the pursuit of organic gardening nirvana. The property features several different types of wonderful fruit trees, and probably a few dozen different types of vegetables growing at any given time.

(more…)

Tagged with: fragile environment, natural environment, onslaught against the natural world, organic gardening, uninintended consequences