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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

2GreenEnergy Has A Broad FocusI had a wonderful conversation with my old friend Jon LeSage yesterday, in which we talked about our respective business foci.  Jon spends most of his time writing about and consulting on the adoption of alternative fuel transportation, which is a fairly broad subject, when you think about it.  Lots of different types of government and private sector customers, ever-changing regulations that drive change, and, of course, the fuels themselves: hydrogen, CNG, propane, and so forth.

As I explained, my focus is on helping to advance good ideas in cleantech, which, of course, is even broader.  It can mean raising investment capital, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

EcoVim – Waste-Food to CompostHere’s a device that devours uneaten food from restaurants, and, with the input of energy, creates top-grade compost from that waste stream in just a few hours.  Apparently, the Hawaiians have created a cycle in which the farmer delivers the food, and receives back the compost to help him grow his next batch.  Unfortunately, it required the input of energy, which, to me at least, appears to defeat any eco-benefits associated with the rapid processing of the compost.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Take a COOL Guess – the Fun Quiz on Clean Energy. Today’s Topic: Sequestering Carbon

Question: What role can (and should) basalt play in the subject of carbon sequestration?

Answer: Can be found at Clean Energy Answers.

Relevance: Our civilization, as denizens of planet Earth, is badly losing the battle to hold the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere at a level that will not cause runaway global warming (thus the name “350.org”). (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Environmentally, Why It's Time to Make a Switch to E-ReadingE-reading is gradually becoming more popular in today’s society, with some reading enthusiasts preferring an e-book reader to their conventional book collection. E-reading is much more environmentally friendly, with many other benefits too, and it is because of this that e-reading is more prevalent than ever before.

What is e-reading?
(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Uncategorized

photo 320px-020xRP_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946_zpsp3pdlvdi.jpgI wrote earlier that the entire system whereby power utilities operate under regulation here in the U.S. faces a considerable challenge as an ever-growing number of solar users defect from the grid, thus raising the price of power for those who remain.  Yet we can’t simply say, “Oh well, poor people won’t be able to afford electricity anymore.”

I’m reminded of the conversation on (U.S. passenger railway) Amtrak that comes up every couple of years. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

“Utilities Wage Campaign Against Rooftop Solar” – But It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That

A friend sent me this piece from The Washington Post with the title above. He writes: I think you know this, but it’s an interesting article.

Yes, this is a challenging issue. It’s hard to argue that solar owners should be able to use the grid as their own battery free of charge. But charging them a fee that encourages them to defect from the grid entirely isn’t helping either, as it raises the price of power for those who remain.

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. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Renewable Energy: Lots of Parameters to ConsiderPart of the challenge in favoring one energy-related technology over another is that there are so many parameters that affect the calculation. Obviously, it needs to be “clean,” in terms of CO2 and the active poisons: oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, heavy metals, radioactive isotopes, etc.  If we didn’t care about that, there would be no point in having the conversation in the first place; we have plenty of coal to last us hundreds of years. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Tips on Buying Green Light BulbsIn times of increasing environmental awareness, it is always good to make changes. One big change is to gain better control over the use of your household. While you are home, you know that lights are turned on and off constantly. When you are not home, you are less likely to know how often people are wasting the electricity. That is why many people have thought about the importance of switching old incandescent light bulbs with new, improved LED or fluorescent varieties. Make a change that is big enough to affect the green movement by investing in green light bulbs. Start by considering a variety of simple tips to point you in the right direction. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Philosophic Questions on “Free Choice and Morality” Get at Issues of SustainabilityI tutor a number of local students of all ages on a variety of subjects.  Such encounters are always rewarding to me at some level, though some cause me to think and learn more than others.

Currently, I’m helping a young man with his first college philosophy class, and coincidentally, my discussion with him here touches on the fundamental obligations we have toward our fellows.  This gets at the notion of sustainability: our duties to provide a habitable planet for one another and to future generations, and, because of that tie-in to the 2GreenEnergy theme, I thought I’d publish this email I just sent to him.  For those in a hurry, the only real relevant part is underlined in the text below.

OK, so you need to write about free choice and morality.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Four Careers to Consider for the Environmentally-Conscious StudentGreen careers are difficult to categorize because they can range from forestry to environmentally-friendly production methods. Taking a look at these degree programs and careers, you’ll see they’re just the tip of the iceberg on green options for the environmentally-conscious student.
(more…)

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