Clean Energy and Its Potential Effect on the Repo & Recovery Business
When I started out on a career path, I never expected that path to lead here. I’m one of the few folks in town who still makes house calls in the middle of the night. I am a repo man, towing away all kinds of cars (when I can find ’em), from expensive foreign sports cars to energy efficient economy cars. It amazes me how many people don’t factor in the cost to operate a vehicle before they buy or lease one.
After doing this for a while, you learn to look for patterns. I notice people’s parking habits and how far they travel on a daily basis. Whether they stop at Crispy Creme on the way to work or if they text when they drive. I’ve also come to realize how very few hybrid and electric vehicles I tow compared to conventional cars. (more…)
The public relations machine that works so hard to generate doubt about climate change and the extreme weather events it causes must have its hands full at this point. 2012 was a year in which the United States had no winter, a March with most of the country above 80 degrees F, floods in its three largest rivers, a horrific drought all summer, and now Hurricane Sandy, with its loss of life, tens of billions of dollars in damages, and incredible expense and inconvenience to many millions of people. I’m not sure how you get people not to notice something as obvious.
The fossil fuel industry is by far the most profitable in the history of humankind, and thus can afford the very best and loudest of voices to protect its interests. They’ve spent an utter fortune obscuring the facts concerning climate change, and they’ve been fantastically successful in confusing a huge segment of the American public. But at a certain point, they’ll find themselves unable to fend off a rising tide of public opinion that screams to its government, “Do something! Help us! You’re suppose to be our leaders!”
Keep in mind that we as a species are not powerless to deal with environmental issues on a global scale, as evidenced by the effectiveness with which we repaired the hole in the ozone layer when we discovered it in 1985. Granted, that fix (a ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)) was far easier than dealing with the current crisis. Having said that, the moment we agree to price in the externalities of the energy we produce and consume, e.g., the costs to human health and the natural environment, you’ll see an instantaneous explosion in the development of clean energy and efficiency solutions, along with stunning levels of conservation.
We could even emulate the Chinese, who, unlike the U.S., have a 21st Century Energy Plan, and are busily making it happen. They have decided that it’s tantamount to national suicide to sit around and act like us Americans, bickering about renewable energy, or, in the case of the presidential debates, pretending it doesn’t exist and ignoring it altogether. The Chinese are hard at work, implementing all kinds of cleantech wonders: ultra-high voltage electricity transmission, electric transportation, smart-grid, and dozens of other cutting-edge solutions that will propel them swiftly and irreversibly into the position of world economic leader.
But I predict that Americans will not tolerate this indefinitely. Many of us can observe things for ourselves, and ignore the garbage we’re being told. The people telling us to “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” are rapidly running just as low on credibility as did the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
I took a few hours off and helped my daughter study for her poli-sci mid-term, which will cover the formation of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the philosophical precepts that underlie all this: John Locke’s notion of natural rights, Rousseau’s social contract, etc. I always enjoy teaching the concept of a “republic,” i.e., a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter,” not the private concern or property of the rulers. (more…)
Here’s an article from Auto News that describes the automobile industry outlook under a Romney presidency. Those aggressive CAFE (fuel economy) standards will go the same place that the Republicans have promised to take all the other progress the U.S. has made in terms of the environment, i.e., out the window. Another good reason to get out and vote.
Here’s a short article from Dr. David Katz, an MD from Yale University, who writes on a topic quite familiar to me: we human beings may be running out of time. In particular, we’re in a race that has evolved over a period of tens of thousands of years that now needs to make plans that will affect our very survival as a civilization. But are we equipped to deal with this challenge effectively?
I know I’ve mentioned that occasionally, we’re lucky enough here at 2GreenEnergy to be the beneficiary of work done by interns – normally young people anxious to participate in a true “win-win-win.” 2GreenEnergy is empowered with more content, the intern learns about the industry, and the world is a better place as a result of having more attention focused on clean energy. I’m happy to report that currently, we have four people at various stages of participation in this program.
Of course, the nature of the activity that an intern performs is a function of his/her interests and strengths. I wouldn’t ask a wallflower to make cold phone calls, and I wouldn’t expect a quantum physicist to be a great business writer. Having said that, this clean energy field is broad enough that I’ll never run out of ideas with respect to focusing the energies of a willing person toward doing something that’s both edifying and fun. (more…)
Late this morning, I made my 100th call to the 100 top financial planners in the United States. Now I can say that at least one person in each of these organizations knows who 2GreenEnergy is, and the value proposition we represent to wealth management professionals whose clients have an appetite for clean energy, or cleantech more generally.
The concept now is to stay in front of them, such that, when the timing’s right, I get a call with an immediate interest in making an investment. Every month, I’ll send them something: perhaps a free electronic copy of Renewable Energy — Facts and Fantasies, perhaps a white paper, or a report. “You have to give something to get something,” as we say in marketing.
I just had a chat with Sara Chiguer, a terrific young lady in Morocco. Sara is involved in a great number of “green” activities, including her support of some advocacy groups that are extremely active in bringing about a sustainable approach to living in Northern Africa. Readers will want to check out the Moroccan Organization for Sustainable Development.
She writes:
I do appreciate this (2GreenEnergy) initiative. I would like to inform you that there are many projects in Morocco in the field of renewable energies and sustainable development. They encourage investors from foreign countries. Morocco has a number of collaborative programs, called Implementing Agreements, managed under the umbrella of the International Energy Agency to help find solutions to worldwide energy problems.
I also want you to know that I am the team leader of SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) and we have to work on economic, environmental and social projects in order to help people in need.
I asked Sara about the plan to build an enormous amount of concentrated solar power (CSP, aka solar thermal) and transmit the power to Europe, under the Mediterranean Sea. Obviously this is a long-term plan, but I’ve come across the notion several times. Where does it stand? Sara will hunt something up for me and send it. When she does, I’ll happily write a post on it.
We could even emulate the Chinese, who, 
It was an afternoon of ironies.
