Blog – Page 1467 – 2GreenEnergy.com

“Externalities” of Fossil Fuels

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Renewables - Business

Externalities are the costs associated with a certain transaction that are not captured in the transaction itself, but are passed along unaccounted for (“externalized”) onto other parties who are often unaware of what’s hitting them, or, at best, unable to do anything about it.

With respect to energy generated from fossil fuels, this means costs like lung disease, climate change, ocean acidification, and loss of biodiversity that are ignored in the price we pay for the energy that comes from coal, oil, and natural gas. (more…)

Tagged with: BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Climate Change, coal lung disease, CSX train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude, energy generated from fossil fuels, externalities, Exxon Valdez, long-term environmental damage, loss of biodiversity, ocean acidification

From Guest Blogger Pano: Wind Farms for Renewable Energy: Is It Worth Investing in for the UK?

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Wind Energy

The UK Government has just backed £315 million worth of renewable energy projects and earlier this year it was announced that the UK is on track to hit our green targets. So it’s evident that providing a sustainable energy source is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But wind farms have long been causing debate amongst environmentalists, with many believing that they are simply too expensive to build, others claiming that they are an eyesore in Britain’s natural sites, and some questioning whether they could actually have an adverse effect on global warming. (more…)

Tagged with: green energy, renewables, Wind Energy, wind power

From Guest Blogger Ann Shirley: How to Build the Most Energy Efficient Home

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

When planning for a new home or a next phase, one of the most important considerations should be the overall cost of ownership. It can be easy to overlook the cost of utilities when you fall in love with a neighborhood or a floor plan. But as utility costs continue to rise, the second largest monthly expense associated with home ownership is the cost of powering it – heat, electricity, gas, and water. With the right questions and the right builder, you can make a smart purchase that won’t eat away at your wallet month after month. (more…)

Tagged with: clean energy, energy efficiency, energy efficient home

From Guest Blogger Anita Ginsberg: How You Can Stay Green at Home and Waste Less

craigshieldsPosted on March 12, 2015 Posted in Efficiency

To solve the problems of climate change and harmful pollution, everyone needs to do their part to contribute, and that includes homeowners. Below are several great tips you can use to stay green at home and waste less.

Program Your Thermostat

One simple way to make your own home greener is by programming your thermostat. (more…)

Tagged with: energy efficient home, green home

Wishing Cutting-Edge Technology in Transportation Were Being Applied to Efficiency, Sustainability

craigshieldsPosted on March 11, 2015 Posted in Electric Vehicles

I have a friend in Kansas City (skyline pictured here) I’ve known for many years through my connection to the world of electric vehicles, and he likes to keep me apprised of the developments in technology as it’s applied to transportation generally. Here, for instance, is an article he sent me on developments from BMW that make driving safer by projecting an image of the dashboard such that the driver does not have to take his eyes off the road, and this one, offering the latest in communications technology within the confines of a motorcyclist’s helmet.

I write: Cool stuff. I hate to whine about this, but you know where I stand on all this: it’s disappointing that so little of this technology is focused on the things that matter most in terms of sustainability: better fuel efficiency, alternative fuels (especially electricity generated from renewable resources), and a reduction in VMT (vehicle miles traveled) via mass transit and cities designed for walking and bicycling.

Tagged with: alternative fuels (especially electricity generated from renewable resources), BMW projecting an image of the dashboard, cities designed for walking and bicycling, communications technology motorcyclist’s helmet, reduction in VMT

The World’s Dedication to Phase Out Fossil Fuels Is Symbolized In Modifications Made To its Most Beloved Structures

craigshieldsPosted on March 11, 2015 Posted in Sustainable Building

Though I’ve never read it cover-to-cover, I have to love what Mark Twain wrote in “The Innocents Abroad”:

“The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate ass. If the case be otherwise, I beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother. I shall always delight to meet an ass after my own heart when I have finished my travels.”

It is for this reason, i.e., wishing to avoid coming off as an ass, that I make very few references to my travels. (more…)

Tagged with: Mark Twain “The Innocents Abroad”, modernity honestly cares about the quality of the environment, Parisians retrofit the Eiffel Tower with tastefully constructed wind turbines and high-efficiency lighting, phase out fossil fuels

Senator Calls For Investigation Into The Climate Change 'Denial-For-Hire Scheme'

craigshieldsPosted on March 11, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

All those of us who follow the three-ring circus that is the U.S. government when it comes to the discussion on climate change and possible steps towards mitigation must be laughing at the article linked above. This guy happens to be on the right side of the issue of climate change denialism and the way reports on the subject are bought by the pound by the fossil fuel industry. (more…)

Tagged with: climate change denialism, climate change mitigation, fossil fuel industry

From Guest Blogger Dixie Somers: Why the Latest Boost in the Manufacturing Industry will Be Much More Clean, Sustainable, and Eco-Friendly

craigshieldsPosted on March 11, 2015 Posted in Sustainability

Revolutionizing manufacturing industries has long been tied to the cost of maintaining compliance with clean, sustainable and eco-friendly implementation of manufacturing processes. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, little thought was given to the effects of manufacturing processes ecologically or environmentally. After several major environmental disasters from Love Canal, NY to the Horizon Deep Water Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the depth of the impact on quality of life has been placed in the bright spotlight of public awareness. (more…)

Tagged with: Eco-Friendly Manufacturing, environmentally responsible position manufacturing, Horizon Deep Water Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sustainable and eco-friendly implementation of manufacturing processes

Beer Brewers Unite To Call For Action On Climate Change

craigshieldsPosted on March 10, 2015 Posted in Climate Change

You gotta love this piece (see title above).

I’m reminded of the project I did last year for a client, promoting the idea of building-integrated solar thermal hot water heating. Part of the effort was a day or so in which I spoke with key players in the largest 20-or-so U.S. microbreweries. Obviously, making beer requires a large amount of energy to heat up all that water, and my offer was simply this: the next time you extend your facilities, instead of building a roof with solar thermal on top of it, use this stuff; it IS the roof. (more…)

Tagged with: Beer Brewers Unite To Call For Action On Climate Change, building-integrated solar thermal hot water heating, Director of Sustainability, Dr. Jason Scorse, heat-exchangers

Uprooting Our Relationships with Our Power Utilities

craigshieldsPosted on March 10, 2015 Posted in Photovoltaics

As I wrote in my post called Utilities Wage Campaign Against Rooftop Solar – But It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That: 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.

A friend from the southeast portion of the U.S. writes:

You are 100% correct Craig. (more…)

Tagged with: Alabama Public Service Commission, distributed generation means reduced loads at or near peak, Georgia Power, utilities bill back to the rate payers at a profit, utilities cannot justify construction of new power plants, Utilities Wage Campaign Against Rooftop Solar, Vogtle nuclear plant