Blog – Page 1462 – 2GreenEnergy.com

Are We Ready for the Next Step in the Evolution Toward (Or Away From) Eco-Consciousness?

craigshieldsPosted on March 28, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

I had a funny little experience the other day that I thought I’d share.

I was pushing my shopping cart though our local Trader Joe’s, an American grocery store chain known for its high quality, low prices, and a reasonable attempt to offer wholesome, nutritious foods, when I noticed an attractive woman in her early 30s with her daughter, perhaps four, in front of me. I started to pass around them when the woman ran into a friend and had begun what I could see was to be a brief hello, but I noticed that the girl, instantly bored, had immediately pulled a plastic bag intended for fruits and vegetables off the dispenser and began to play with it. (more…)

Tagged with: 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Cruz clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, environmental protection, global catastrophe in the making, loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification, progress in terms of the environment, safeguard people against climate change, Ted Cruz becomes the U.S. president

Our Society Is Headed in the Direction of Eco-Consciousness, But the Path Is Indirect

craigshieldsPosted on March 28, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

We all know the famous lines from the sermon that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered at the Baccalaureate at the commencement exercises for Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he told us: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I would add, for what it’s worth, that it’s not a smooth arc; it’s full of short-term triumphs and depressions.

I’ve written often that the very large percentage of red meat that exists in the typical Western diet isn’t part of a sustainable future. (more…)

Tagged with: Burger King Flame Grilled, but it bends toward justice.”, Dr. Martin Luther King, eco-consciousness, factory farming, sustainable future, The arc of the moral universe is long

Reducing the Number of Fiery Crashes from Derailed Trains Transporting Oil Is…a Debatable/Partisan Issue?

craigshieldsPosted on March 27, 2015 Posted in Fossil Fuels

I’m always amused by articles that start the way this one does: “A group of Democratic senators wants to improve the safety of transporting oil by rail in the United States, following a series of high-profile derailments that led to fires and explosions.”

Republicans are in favor of deadly explosions?

Perhaps this is just unfair reporting, or maybe it illustrates something we hear every day: if one side is for something, the other side has to be against it—even if taking that latter side makes you and your group look like a bunch of sociopathic dolts.

Tagged with: Derailed Trains Transporting Oil, improve the safety of transporting oil by rail, series of high-profile derailments that led to fires and explosions, sociopathic dolts

The Cleantech Opportunity of the Month: Wind Energy + Compressed Air Energy Storage = High-Value, Dispatchable Power

craigshieldsPosted on March 27, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

As I’ve mentioned, I write a monthly piece for the Hedge Connection’s blog “The Edge,” in which I discuss a certain investment opportunity that I believe has merit. Here’s what I propose to offer for April.

Here’s another installment from Hedge Connection contributor Craig Shields, a senior consultant to the cleantech industry, in which he discusses one of the most exciting business opportunities he’s come across recently in his field of engagement. You may recall that Craig finds himself in a unique position to make such a submission: via his website, 2GreenEnergy.com, he reviews many hundreds of business plans annually from cleantech entrepreneurs all around the globe. (more…)

Tagged with: Alabama, Craig Shields senior consultant to the cleantech industry, electricity is less expensive than the price of electricity from coal plants, Hedge Connection contributor Craig Shields, Huntorf Germany, McIntosh, myth of “cheap” coal, The Cleantech Opportunity of the Month, Wind Energy + Compressed Air Energy Storage = High-Value Dispatchable Power, Wind Farm in the Southern U.S. Will Implement Compressed Air Energy Storage, Wind/CAES has far greater value than wind-only

The Folly of Biofuels Is Only Made More Obvious When Crude Oil Prices Are Low

craigshieldsPosted on March 27, 2015 Posted in Biofuels

A reporter has asked me for a 300-word submission on the following: “Ethanol and biomass: what’s the state of the biofuels industry in the face of the oil crash?” My viewpoint is below, and I’ll send it along, though it’s almost certainly not what he/she is hoping to hear.

From a 50,000-foot viewpoint, biofuels are essentially a waste of time and effort, a point that is only exaggerated when the price of crude oil is abnormally low (as it happens to be today). In 2014, Chevron abandoned its attempts to focus some of its traditional plants onto alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production. Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson reported, (more…)

Tagged with: chemical compounds that are damaging to our health and environment, chemical energy refined and transported, Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson, Crude Oil Prices Are Low, Folly of Biofuels, internal combustion engines convert over 80% of that energy in heat and other forms of waste energy, replace every ounce of gasoline and diesel in the 230 million cars and track on U.S. roads with a 14% increase in electricity production, solar PV standing passive and inert in the desert

The Hedge Connection: Making the Courtship Between “Allocators” and Hedge Fund Managers Less Awkward

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Uncategorized

We all remember our teen years, and how uncomfortably self-conscious we were with members of the opposite sex, perhaps asking someone to dance.

Of course, awkward situations don’t just vanish once we’re grown and out in the business world. Take the challenge of creating a new relationship between a hedge fund manager and an “allocator” (apparently a new term for “professional investor of relatively large amounts of capital”). If the relationship is to happen at all, someone needs to make the first move, but no one’s easy making or receiving cold calls or other unsolicited introductions. (more…)

Some Basic Q&A on Renewable Energy

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Science

On average, I spend a few hours a month helping young people, from grade-schoolers to master’s candidates, on the papers they’re writing by proving my viewpoints on renewable energy. Here’s a typical example:

Mr. Shields: I’m …. a senior at Mountain Vista High School. I am currently working on my senior project about the implementation and use of renewable energy resources. I am sort of a movie buff and one day would like to become a scriptwriter. I also am sort of an environmentalist which is why I chose to do my senior project on this particular topic. Currently my plan is to obtain an engineering degree that will help me expand the use of renewable energy. (more…)

Tagged with: Bullish on Renewable Energy, cost per kWh from renewables coming into parity with conventional sources, environmental footprint associated with renewables, extravagance with fossil fuel energy, geothermal in Iceland, hydro in Nepal, Solar PV and wind have huge advantages, sources of renewable energy

What Is the U.S. Congress Doing To Implement Renewable Energy? The Same Thing It’s Doing on Gun Control

craigshieldsPosted on March 26, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Politics

We’ve seen a few pieces here recently discussing the sad fact that the will of the American people and the laws enacted by the Congress that voters elected are orthogonal to one another—a fancy word that simply means statistically independent to one other, or having no bearing on one another.

There are wonderful examples of this in the arena of renewable energy, of course, where the U.S. Senate is currently doing everything in its power to disembowel the Environmental Protection Agency (more…)

Tagged with: almost 90 percent of Democrats and even 68 percent of Republicans support more solar power because of their concern that fossil fuels damage the environment, arena of renewable energy, disemboweling the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA placing regulations n emissions coal-fired power plants, laws enacted by Congress and the will of voters

Where There’s Renewable Energy There’s Inexpensive Energy – But Is There a Causal Relationship?

craigshieldsPosted on March 25, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s a good article that points out that places that have lots of solar, wind, etc. have inexpensive energy generally, meaning that there is some sort of correlation between renewables and cheap energy. The important word here (as the author makes clear) is “correlation”; there’s no implication that one causes the other, i.e., the author did not commit the logical fallacy of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc,” (after that, therefore because of that). (more…)