Blog – Page 1460 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Environmental Benefits of Wind

craigshieldsPosted on February 12, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

I’m part of a large email group that promotes the concept of “advanced nuclear.” Most of these people are extremely well-informed, intelligent, and kind people. Some, however, have a bizarre hatred for renewables, like the guy who started this conversation:

Guy: Raping nature to save nature.

Craig: I have to say that you people keep my guessing. There are so many smart people in this email group, and then I get this (linked below) baseless anti-intellectual hogcrap that even the idiots watching Fox News right now wouldn’t buy. I never cease to be amazed…. (more…)

Tagged with: advanced nuclear, AGW anthropogenic global warming, energy return on investment, Glenn Beck, hatred of renewables, Heartland Institute, life cycle analysis of wind, renewable energy job killer, trust the fossil fuel companies, wind energy birds bats, wind industry

Carbon Sequestration

craigshieldsPosted on February 12, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

A smart and considerate reader sent me this earlier:

Craig – First off, please let me know if I am sending you too many emails.

I’ve been following news on carbon sequestration, including a recent article about a proof of concept in Iceland where CO2 together with water is injected into volcanic rock and becomes part of the rock. Which seems better than basically inflating a large balloon deep under the surface and hoping it doesn’t ever leak, but still not that good, because (1) Iceland, which has lots of volcanic rock, doesn’t need to sequester carbon, and (2) it uses a LOT of water. (more…)

Tagged with: carbon sequestration, CO2 together with water is injected into volcanic rock, nature's scheme for carbon sequestration

Short Note on Writing

craigshieldsPosted on February 11, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Of the 4363 previous posts I’ve written here, a few have no connection to clean energy or sustainability at all—and this one is an example. Occasionally I like to communicate something on the subject of writing itself, not that I believe I’m any good at it, but rather that I spend a good deal of time doing it, and so I’m more tuned into it than the average person.

Novelist and travel writer Pico Iyer said: (more…)

Tagged with: Pico Iyer, W. H. Auden, writers need to find their “voice”

Graphs Show Falling Pricing for Solar PV, Wind

craigshieldsPosted on February 11, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Peter Buck sent me another article just now, accompanied by a few words: Here’s another article (which I coincidentally also found yesterday). This one includes graphs that seem to show that onshore wind prices aren’t falling very much but are already cheaper than most fossil generation, and that PV is falling fast and if it keeps on doing so will soon be in the fossil range.

Thanks very much, Peter. Of course, this will ultimately put a spear through the entire fossil industry. (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, cost of wind energy, fossil industry, power purchase agreements, wind curtailed, wind negative pricing, Windfuels

From Guest Blogger Jenny Richards: How Car Title Loan Lenders Can Help Save Eco/Green Businesses

craigshieldsPosted on February 11, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

There are many eco/green businesses looking for funding in order to start or grow their businesses. The problem is that most financial institutions, like banks, shy away from lending such businesses because they consider green businesses risky.

Fortunately, there is a solution in form of car title loans that provide funding for eco/green businesses. (more…)

Tagged with: San Jose car title loans Ca

From Guest Blogger Izzie: How to Buy Greener Valentine’s Day Gifts

craigshieldsPosted on February 11, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

It’s difficult to find a way to stay carbon neutral when the romantic season comes upon us. You don’t want to disappoint the love of your life even if you really do have plans to save the planet and live more sustainably. The truth is that Valentine’s Day gets us spending billions each year and most of it is going on very un-green products, from chocolates to cards, and even that special set of underwear, tradition bids us to buy in ever greater quantities.

So if you are truly trying to cut down on your carbon footprint this February 14^th, then here are some tips from the Renewable Energy Hub to help you out. (more…)

Tagged with: going green, green gifts, protect the planet

According to Science Daily, the Costs of Solar and Wind Continue to Plummet, and Renewable Energy Is Rapidly Replacing Fossil Fuels

craigshieldsPosted on February 10, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

Peter Buck writes: I found this article interesting–along the lines you propose in “Bullish” (on Renewable Energy) i.e., that solar and wind power will be the cheapest forms of energy in the future.

Thanks very much, Peter. Yes, this really is happening, and for the exact reasons I lay out in the book; it’s gratifying to see them printed in such an august publication. (more…)

Tagged with: Boltzmann’s equation, Bullish on Renewable Energy, capture energy from the sun, Costs of Solar and Wind Plummet, Science Daily

Emcycle Likely To Become a Reality

craigshieldsPosted on February 10, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

I’m happy to note that the Emcycle (pictured below), an electric bicycle whose design I think is really cool, will probably be going into production soon in Europe. Longtime 2GreenEnergy readers know that I think the world of Emcycle CEO Michael Scholey, that I featured him in a series of video interviews, and that I’ve suggested to many hundreds of thousands of visitors to our website that I think Emcycle is a potentially attractive cleantech business investment opportunity.

It’s good news that Europe will be the focus of this innovative firm’s activities; I’ve always thought that the big cities in the EU are the very best targets for the product. They’re both frustrating and terrifying to drive through and park in, and they get a lot of rain; if you don’t have precipitation, you’ve lost a great deal of the value of this product. (more…)

Tagged with: e-bikes, EMCycle, Emcycle Likely To Become a Reality

Keeping Track of the Earth’s Climate

craigshieldsPosted on February 9, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

Today is the 145^th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. National Weather Service. Thus, when we say, “2014 was the hottest year on record,” what we really mean is that it was the hottest year in the last century or so.

It’s amazing how many of our human inventions came along fairly recently. (more…)

Tagged with: 2014 was the hottest year on record, rising temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere, U.S. National Weather Service

India: Thinking Big on Solar Energy

craigshieldsPosted on February 9, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

Here’s a fellow in India building a 10 GW solar farm. That’s an impressive number, but by my quick calcs, that’s almost 200 square miles at 20% efficiency. That’s a lot of real estate.

Of course, India is comprised of 1.15 million square miles, and 10 GW offsets a ton of fossil fuel. In addition, India loves solar generally. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) for India has identified solar off-grid as one of the key aspects of rural electrification.

Tagged with: 10 GW solar farm, Middle East, solar energy, solar pv