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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Seattle Tops List of Sustainable CitiesHere’s an article that lays out exactly why Seattle is named as the most sustainable city in the U.S.   There are numerous ingredients that go into this calculation, but among them, of course, are energy and transportation.  From the article: “Seattle is one of only five cities in the nation where less than half of commuters are driving alone to work. Since 2011, Seattle has seen a 59% increase in bicycling and a 27% increase in pedestrian traffic.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biofuels

Could a Variety of Jatropha Play an Important Role in Biofuels?Those of you keeping track of the evolution of biofuels may be interested in this piece on a hybrid variety of jatropha.

Personally, I view the whole biofuels enterprise as a snooze.  We’re trying to replace the source of the 15 terawatts of energy we Earthlings consume, 80% of which currently comes from burning hydrocarbons, a process that is rapidly destroying our planet. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage (UW-CAES)Here’s an idea that shows the enormous range of thinking outside the box of which clean energy inventors are capable.  Use off-peak energy to compress air into a submerged bag.   My reaction: Can this be done?  Sure.  Can it be done cost-effectively?  Not in a million years.

Frequent commenter and senior energy analyst Glenn Doty should be along here any minute.  I’m sure he’ll agree, given his position on even the best-case scenarios for CAES.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

What We Can Learn About Solar Tech From Big BusinessApple is a well-known consumer tech company, but it is also a corporation that has its stakes in major areas of solar tech. On the one hand, the company has been working hard at figuring out how to embed solar tech into its consumer products to make them better. At the same time, the company is also focused on developing working power grids, starting with singular solar farms and then expanding to networked farms. So how is it that Apple is doing something with solar power better than what others have done? After all, solar tech has been around for a while; it’s not a new invention just created a few months ago.

What Makes Apple Shine (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

How to Stay Green at UniversityIt’s one of the most exciting times of anyone’s life, that moment you go to university and start to live the life of an adult, with all its freedom and responsibilities. Going green might not be at the top of the agenda as you get to know all your new friends and come to terms with your chosen course, but, with a little thought, you can still maintain those eco-friendly credentials that you were so used to at home. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

How To Stay Green While Doing A Home Renovation ProjectHome renovations can be exciting and demanding, but with the right steps, it can be done exactly the way you envisioned. No matter what the size of your dream project, you may want it to be an environmentally-conscious one. Here are some tips to ensure that your endeavor is friendly to our earth and its inhabitants. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

2GreenEnergy Intern Poses Questions on Organic Food, Climate DisruptionA young lady who served one of our famous internships here at 2GreenEnergy (and did a fabulous job, btw) wrote me this morning, asking for answers to two questions:

Hello Mr. Shields.  I had a question for you that I thought was interesting. It’s not completely about energy efficiency in a business but it does have to do with the environmental issues many of those companies face. The organic food movement is huge right now and I wanted to get your stance on something. The organic food industry makes its money by stating the fact that their food is grown pesticide free and not tainted, basically. However, how organic can food really be when our soil has such a legacy of pesticides ingrained in it already and when not one place on earth, where these foods are grown, is probably completely void of pollutants? I just thought it was interesting because we put so much emphasis and we are willing to spend so much extra money on food deemed organic, yet how organic can something be in today’s world? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Energy PragmatismReader Jerry Nolan writes: “Most greens who advocate wind, solar, and conservation are anti-nuclear,” and he’s 100% correct in this.  However, like my friend, GreenTech Media’s Stephen Lacy (pictured), I think of myself as an “energy pragmatist.”  This means, at a minimum, that I keep an open mind about the pros and cons of all forms of energy—especially nuclear, since it can take on so many radically different forms.

It also means that we need to confront the cold, hard truth about the enormity of the problem we’re trying to solve, i.e., finding a new source for 15 terawatts of power, 80% of which currently comes from burning hydrocarbons.  Very few people who are rabidly anti-nuclear have any idea how much damage coal causes each day.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Random Discussions on Climate DisruptionWhen a flight I’m getting ready to board is cancelled for a mechanical issue, as happened yesterday, I try not to be angry, but to remain positive, and keep two things in mind:

• It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky than being in the sky wishing you were on the ground,

and (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Water Conservation BreakthroughHere’s a unique application of the “Internet of Things” to the challenges facing civilization with respect to conserving water. It’s a “smart-home” network that can be quickly, easily and economically retrofitted in existing multifamily housing complexes that monitors the use of the major points of water usage: toilets, showers, and washers.

It’s rare that I find a company so well-positioned for success.  These guys’ strength is based on the fact that financially, this is a huge win for everyone concerned: the building owner (who gets his investment back quickly via savings on his water bill), the tenant (who saves money by conserving water), the company selling the product (and services to support it—wait till you see this business model), as well as our civilization as a whole (which just found an extremely effective tool to deal with one of its thorniest issues).

More info is available here.

They’re looking for an accredited cleantech investor to come on board and help accelerate their progress.  If you happen to know of someone who may be interested, please call or write, and I’ll connect them directly with the principles.

 

 

 

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