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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Few People Would Mourn the Disappearance of Koch IndustriesSomeone asked me recently to name some of the things I would miss most and miss least during my time here on Earth if I were to be hit by a bus this afternoon.  Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote him back:

Given the state of the world today, I have to say that the things I wouldn’t miss are too numerous to list, but I should mention, half in jest, the Koch Brothers.  People often remark that God must have a sense of humor.  I have to admit that it’s borderline amusing to think that you and I are all part of the same species as these people, freaks of nature, both tragically born without consciences.  They’re worth $40 billion apiece, and their life’s work is further enriching themselves by poisoning and choking everyone on the planet.  The tool at their disposal: buying up our government, quite rapidly in fact, as a means to achieving their evil ends. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

More on Carbon Tax and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeMy colleague Glenn Doty (pictured–sorry about the resolution–maybe Glenn can send me a better one) writes about my earlier post on international emissions reductions agreements that would mitigate climate disruption:

I hope you’re right on the international community coming together on this… but I fear China, SE Asia, and India will not play ball. It’s just in their greater interest to continue to modernize as quickly as possible and accept the damage from global warming, and they know it… (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s an article that discusses the concept of a carbon tax.  What most people don’t understand about this is that it must apply to all countries equally, or it will have disastrous unintended consequences.  Imagine the immediate result of a carbon tax in the U.S.: higher costs to American manufacturers, meaning higher prices for our goods, and thus more goods bought from China, where the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing is far worse than it is here.

This is why my colleague Glenn Doty recommends incentive-based emissions reductions.

This is also what makes the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both critically important and monstrously difficult.  I’m rooting hard for IPCC chairperson Dr. Raj Pachauri (pictured) to succeed.   What a fabulous person.  I have more hair, but he has far more brains.

My interview with him can be found in “Renewable Energy – Following the Money.”

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Go Green, Go Paperless - 5 Easy TipsGoing paperless is a great thing for your business for numerous reasons. The amount of paper spent in offices is more than enough to make eco-friendly people frown. Still, environmental awareness is not the only reason why most companies switch to a paperless practice. Going green and embracing a paperless practice saves a lot of money, time, space and nerves and increases the productivity of your business. Thankfully, technology provides us with an abundance of smart tools that can help with the transition to a slightly more “green” business. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

How to Prevent the Devastating Effects of Light Pollution on WildlifeAs they say, too much of a good thing can be bad. This is especially true for lighting.

Light pollution is the introduction of artificial light into the environment by humans. An excessive amount of artificial light can cause a variety of issues. For humans, it obscures the view of stars in the night sky, disrupts sleep, and can cause safety hazards for drivers. This past August, NPR even discussed light pollution in Light Pollution and ‘The End Of Night.’ But while most humans no longer rely on the stars, animals depend on them for survival. For animals, light pollution can alter their natural instincts and have a devastating effect. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biofuels

Here’s Why Chevron Couldn’t Make Biofuels WorkAccording to this article in Renewable Energy World, “Chevron Corp.’s attempts to turn plants into alternative fuels for profitable, large-scale production have failed.”  The author goes on to note:

The second-largest U.S. oil company by market value spent “significant sums” and assigned some of its best scientists to evaluate more than 100 kinds of feedstock and 50 techniques for converting them into fuels without success, Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson said during an address to the Economic Club of Minnesota in Minneapolis today.  The smartest minds in my company and others haven’t yet cracked the code on pairing the right feedstock conversion technology and logistics in an economic and scalable package,” Watson said. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Billionaire Peter Thiel on CleanTechHere’s a 45-minute podcast featuring billionaire/mega-entrepreneur Peter Thiel (pictured), whose point is that the development of technology has hit a plateau, and that this phenomenon is creating disastrous effects for humankind.  While I don’t agree completely, he’s certainly right in at least two of his observations:

• The rise of the financial industry over the past few decades came largely at the expense of science and technology, and (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor

As indicated here, Goldman Sachs is bullish on water, based on the fact that the obvious factors affecting supply and demand are already beginning to drive the price up. When you think about it, there are several factors conspiring to limit supply, e.g., pollution and climate disruption, and there are no substitute goods; it’s not like we can simply start drinking something else.

It’s possible, of course, that cost-effective technologies for desalination and purification will be evolved soon, but it’s hard to imagine such technologies that operate in the absence of fairly intense amounts of power. This is one of the many reasons that it sure would be terrific if, in addition to solar, wind, and the rest, we could develop advanced nuclear.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Best-Case Scenario for Nuclear Energy It’s the birthday of Enrico Fermi (pictured here), the physicist who first applied Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity to the conversion of a tiny amount of mass to a large amount of energy, in the form of the atomic bomb. Einstein is reported to have later commented, “If I had known what would happen with my discovery, I would have become a locksmith.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Are Koch Industies’ PR Campaigns Successful?I wrote recently that I was mystified about PBS’s “Ask This Old House” and how it so awkwardly avoids the issue of energy and the environment.  Several readers pointed out that the show is produced by WGBH in Boston, which is sponsored by Koch Industies, a group well-known for its vigorous public relations campaigns, aggressively misinforming Americans about the damage caused by fossil fuel emissions; mystery resolved.

These Koch boys are taking an awful drubbing in the press, though.  When one looks at articles like this one in Rolling Stone magazine, and the highly successful film documentary “Koch Brothers Exposed” one wonders how effective these PR campaigns could possibly be.

 

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