Blog – Page 1496 – 2GreenEnergy.com

From a Guest Blogger on Nuclear Energy: Godzilla, Fukushima, and Our Not-Quite-All-of-the-Above Energy Policy

craigshieldsPosted on June 12, 2014 Posted in Nuclear

Godzilla is returning. The 60-year-old monster is responding to the call of a world that is once again grappling with questions raised by the fearsome power of the atom. But while he was born to comment on the destructive capabilities of atomic weapons, he has now arisen to join the conversation about what role nuclear energy should play in our future energy mix as the US attempts to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy independence. (more…)

Tagged with: nuclear energy, nuclear power

Oil Exploration, the Amazon Rain Forest, and the Migration to Renewable Energy

craigshieldsPosted on June 11, 2014 Posted in Fossil Fuels

Those of us who had hoped for agreements that would leave some of the Earth’s fossil fuels safely in the planet’s crust are a little less confident in the success of such arrangements today than we were last week, before this story broke. Apparently, Ecuador has pulled the plug on a deal it had made to refrain from oil exploration in the Amazon rain forest in exchange for cash that was to have come from developed countries all over the world. (more…)

From Guest Blogger Dana: How to Make a Sustainable Home

craigshieldsPosted on June 10, 2014 Posted in Sustainable Building

Today most people are aware of the importance of trying to build an energy saving home. With all the pollution humanity is creating, with no signs of slowing down, it is up to the individual to do their part in saving our home planet. (more…)

Tagged with: green home, sustainable home, sustainable living

Sustainability and the Attack on Net Neutrality

craigshieldsPosted on June 9, 2014 Posted in Sustainability

I’ve asked a very large number of people who are concerned about sustainability if they are essentially optimistic or pessimistic that humankind will find a way out of its numerous dilemmas in which it finds itself: social injustice, the long-term environmental damage associated with fossil energy, water and food shortages, sea level rise, loss of bio-diversity, harm to human respiratory systems, etc. Statistically, my informal poll is roughly equally divided. (more…)

Tagged with: Attack on Net Neutrality, concerned about sustainability, long-term environmental damage associated with fossil energy, loss of bio-diversity, sea level rise, water and food shortages

Climate Change Denial and Anti-Intellectualism

craigshieldsPosted on June 9, 2014 Posted in Climate Change

Paul Krugman’s op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times gets at a point that I’ve been making off and on for several years: the anti-intellectualism that pervades a huge swath of our voter population here in the United States. Large numbers of people believe that the reason that our scientists almost unanimously agree on the realities of human-caused climate change is that all these researchers wish to enable a vast power-grab by which big government can enslave us; (more…)

Tagged with: Climate Change Denial and Anti-Intellectualism, Paul Krugman’s op-ed New York Times, scientists almost unanimously agree on the realities of human-caused climate change, studying Earth’s climate

Those Whose “Hearts Are Open” See the Need for Clean Energy

craigshieldsPosted on June 9, 2014 Posted in Renewables - Politics

The emcee at a dance recital I attended yesterday began by calling for the audience to observe a moment of silence to honor our fallen war heroes. “Please open your hearts,” he asked us as he closed his eyes and solemnly bowed his head. When he concluded his introductory remarks a few moments later, he asked, “Are your hearts still open? I hope so, for that’s the best way to receive what you’re about to experience here this afternoon.”

I was quite moved by this, (more…)

Tagged with: clean energy movement, dependence on fossil fuels empowers evil people, economic success in the 21st Century, fossil fuel-based approach to energy will cause water and food shortages, global political destabilization, lung disease associated with the aromatics of coal-fired power plants, migration to renewable energy

Latest Marine Hydro Technologies at the Energy Ocean Show

craigshieldsPosted on June 8, 2014 Posted in Hydrokinetics

Attendees at the Energy Ocean show in Atlantic City, NJ last week received a snapshot of some of the latest technology for extracting the energy from moving ocean water, and a glimpse into how all this is improving year-to-year. This rapid rate of change is a double-edged sword however, insofar as it means certain doom for companies that obstinately hang onto first-generation technologies, when the second and third generations come along.

That, in a nutshell, is what happened to OPT, an Oregon-based developer of an ocean-buoy-to-electricity solution. The whole concept of buoys is still alive, but the actual technology by which all this takes place has been improved substantially since it was initially conceived, and OPT, unable to adopt the new approach, sank like a stone.

Tagged with: Energy Ocean show, extracting energy from moving ocean water, Marine Hydro Technology, ocean-buoy-to-electricity, OPT

Cleantech Entrepreneurs: Check Out the NY Venture Summit

craigshieldsPosted on June 8, 2014 Posted in Renewables - Business

You already know that we at 2GreenEnergy remain hard at work in our quest to bring cleantech entrepreneurs together with the sources of investment capital they need to take their business concepts forward. You’re also aware that we’re certainly not the only people working towards this purpose. Let me introduce the folks behind the New York Venture Summit, and ask if you might be interested in attending. (more…)

Tagged with: bring cleantech entrepreneurs together with the sources of investment capital, connecting emerging growth companies with venture capitalists angel investors, New York Venture Summit, take business concepts forward

Solar PV on New Jersey Telephone Poles Is More Symbolic than Practical — But Symbolic of What?

craigshieldsPosted on June 7, 2014 Posted in Photovoltaics

I spent an uncharacteristically long time in the state of New Jersey last week, during which time I realized that, apparently, these people actually did make good on their threat to install little PV panels on each of 175,000 telephone poles. Here’s a shot I took from my cell phone from a speeding train; miraculously it’s not too blurry.

When you do the math associated with the cost of acquisition, installation and maintenance, this is a terrible idea; it’s a ridiculous use of funds that provides a great tool our numerous enemies can use to show that renewable energy advocates have no grasp on basic economics and mathematics. I can’t imagine the discussions and political wranglings that culminated in such a farce. But I guess that’s what politicians do for a living.

Tagged with: cost of acquisition installation maintenance solar PV, install little PV panels on each of 175000 telephone poles, New Jersey, renewable energy advocates

Guest Blogger Anne Kristine Offers a Post on Climate Change: After a Winter of Flooding, The UK Ponders How to Manage Water

craigshieldsPosted on June 6, 2014 Posted in Climate Change

In recent times the UK has dealt with its fair share of flooding, and while the government response has been questioned by some (a majority of poll responders felt the government did a poor job responding to the flooding), the UK government ensures their citizens that they are doing all they can to manage water and flooding in the future. Along with the Flood and Water Management Act that was implemented in 2010, the government continues to update their flood plans with different schemes for different regions within the country. (more…)