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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Cheap Natural Gas May Be the Devil's BargainFrom the days in which I used to ply my trade as a marketing consultant to the Fortune 50 tech companies: IBM, H-P, Sony, Xerox, 3M, Microsoft, etc., I recall one particular client who rebuked “consultants” generally.  Although he and his team hired me eventually, I remember his telling me when we first met: “A consultant is a guy who will read your watch and tell you what time it is.”

Here’s an article that borders on that, i.e., presenting the results of a study that tells us what we already know: cheap natural gas is not the bargain we think it is, insofar as it creates an environment in which true decarbonization: solar, wind, advanced nuclear, etc. are not competitive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biofuels

DuPont’s $500 Million Biofuel Bet Is Bound To FailVerbs in Western languages have something called “voice”: active and passive.

“Bob hit the ball,” is in the active voice.  Here we have a subject, the active verb “hit,” and an object.  I could have written, “The ball was hit by Bob,” using “was hit” in the passive voice, though this would be a bit awkward, and for no real purpose. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

The U.S. Electorate Accepts the Reality of Climate DisruptionLast evening, I had a couple of beers with one of my favorite clients, who happens to be involved in ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), one of the cutting-edge renewable energy technologies.  Insofar as OTEC delivers baseload (uninterrupted, 24/7) power, it has the opportunity to replace other forms of baseload (mainly diesel) as a source of energy for the more than one billion people who live near tropical oceans.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

What Is The Next Chapter Of Green Building?Recently, seems like most of us have understood the importance of living green or at least greener than we are used to. We’ve become environment-friendly (or at least we are trying to be), we’re more aware of everything surrounding us and we are collectively trying to contribute to saving our wonderful planet the best we can. Still, old habits die hard. Instead of adopting “green rules” in our offices too, we’ve somehow decided to stay true to the old pattern of spending our entire day in a dingy, stuffy office disrupted by noise, usually sweating or shivering because of constantly on air-conditioning. This leads to health failure in both people and the planet. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

eco friendly lighting energy saving

Light emitting diode (LEDs) are type of semi-conductor light sources that were initially used as indicators lamps in devices such as telephones, TVs and in seven segment displays such as calculators and elevators. As technology advanced, they started to be used as alternatives of fluorescent and incandescent lighting. Due to their many benefits, LED lighting gained popularity all over the world. In this article, we will look at some of the main environmental benefits which are associated with LED lighting. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s what Bernie Sanders says on the subject.

Of course, I tend to focus on the energy side of things, and I fear that if they are successful in bringing the U.S. Senate back under Republican control, the Koch Brothers, who funded most of these campaigns, will have succeeded in eviscerating the enormous progress that has been made through Obama’s tenure, and return us to a point where fossil fuels continue ad infinitum to provide the vast majority of our energy.

What happens when the most regressive voices on Earth, e.g., that of Jim Inhofe, lead our country’s policy-making on energy and the environment? It won’t be pretty.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Telsa’s Model "D" Stands for "Disappointment"According to this article, Tesla’s announcement of its new Model D—and simultaneous statement that we’ll have to wait three more years for the affordable Model X, or whatever it will be called in 2017/18—was “received fairly well by automobile analysts.”  Really?

I’m not saying that it’s bad news for stock-holders.  Yes, the stock price is off sharply, but many believe it’s poised for an immediate rebound.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Tesla's “D” is an All-Wheel Drive Model S with Dual EngineWhen Elon Musk posted a tweet saying Tesla is about to “unveil the D” a couple of days ago, it kept millions of people guessing what that “D” might stand for, with most auto experts speculating that it either points to a driverless car, or an all-wheel drive vehicle. It turns out that those who predicted that Tesla is going for a new version of the Model S, one with an all-wheel drive, were right. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Seven Ways to Maintain a Clean EnvironmentEveryone is trying to benefit the environment, but it’s hard to know how one person can help. Whether you’re trying to save money, trees or animals, there are many ways to contribute to a greener tomorrow.

Reduce and Reuse

The best way to avoid unnecessary garbage is to not make it in the first place. When making a purchase, ask yourself if you really need the product. While the new version might be environmentally friendly and made with natural materials, you will actually have less impact by not owning it at all. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Sadly, the Subject of Fracking Is Tougher Than Most People Realize Man, life is tough sometimes.  One of my very best friends, a devout environmentalist, asked me today how involved I was on the 2014 California referendum that would ban fracking in our county (Santa Barbara, CA).  It’s called “Measure P.”

I began to explain, “The concept of fracking is far more complicated than most people understand.” No sooner were those words out of my mouth than I realized how condescending this was coming off.  Fortunately, we became distracted and we dropped the subject. (more…)

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