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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m aware that some readers find many of my posts rather depressing, insofar as I frequently point out the terrible jam in which humankind finds itself vis-à-vis energy policy, climate change, etc. Yet I feel compelled to communicate in that vein nonetheless. I just came across a couple of quotes on The Writer’s Almanac that speak to my reasoning here:

“Do it now — write nothing but what your conviction of its truth inspires you to write.”

– Percy Bysshe Shelly

and

“Good writing is always about things that are important to you, things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.”

– John Edgar Wideman

Trust me, this stuff “eats me up.” How anyone can look upon this spectacle without being eaten up amazes me.

Yet, as I constantly remind myself and others, we are not powerless to work our way out of this. 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s another article by frequent commenter Glenn Doty on the drought in the United States. Its publication roughly coincides with physicist Dr. Richard Muller’s op-ed in the New York Times, in which he summarizes the work performed over the past few years by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project. Until this point, Muller had been perhaps the most credible skeptic regarding studies connecting human activity to climate change; now, however, he concludes that “humans are almost entirely the cause” of global warming. “Call me a converted skeptic,” he says. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Shell Oil is sponsoring an educational video project called Rational Middle. I invite you to check it out; it’s very good. As the title suggests, the point is that both the far left wing (advocating for an immediate abandonment of fossil fuels) and the far right wing (suggesting that the issues associated with fossil fuels are fabricated by communists) are taking extreme, unworkable positions. The truth and the optimum strategy lie somewhere in the middle.

So far, so good. In fact, this is essentially the premise of everything I write; there is no doubt that the correct approach to energy contemplates the “tough realities” – the evolving technologies, the economic challenges, and the divisive political issues, all of which combine to make this a very difficult calculus.

But the fact that an oil company sponsors the project is raising some eyebrows – and Shell itself acknowledges this. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s a video in which Michio Kaku, physics professor at City College of New York, talks on global climate change. I’ve read a couple of his books, and I have to say that he has a wonderfully accessible writing style, but without condescending or dumbing things down to the point that they’re useless.  As I think you’ll agree, he has a similarly charming command of the spoken language.

　

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

In connection with climate change and our energy policy, I recently heard someone say, “21st Century problems demand 21st Century solutions.” I laughed derisively at the time, as it sounded like any one of hundreds of political slogans of yesteryear, like “Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream,” or perhaps a truism like “Plant your corn early.” But I wonder if there isn’t something more substantive here.

It’s beginning to look like climate change may be the defining phenomenon of the 21st Century. By the year 2050, the effects of rising sea levels and extreme weather events, coupled with a world population that will have exceeded 10 billion, could be causing hardship for nearly everyone on the planet in one way or another. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Question: Has there been a point in the history of the world that the total private investment in research and development for renewable energy exceeded that for fossil fuels?

Answer: Can be found at http://2greenenergy.com/cool-guess-answers/8732 .

Relevance: The more money and other resources we invest in clean energy, the faster we’ll be able to migrate from fossil fuels. Countries like Israel are investing enormous financial and human capital into making this happen.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I did an interview last Friday morning for a consultant to the government of Israel who is amassing the viewpoints of folks in the clean energy industry. Apparently, Israel is on a mission to rid themselves of fossil fuels (especially oil, for obvious reasons) over a fairly short period of time, perhaps 10 years.

Bravo. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

I write often on the folly of nuclear energy. If it were cheap, I guess we could have a conversation about how we could deal with the safety issues. But it isn’t; it’s fantastically expensive.

Apparently General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt sees this similarly; here’s an article on what he said yesterday on the subject, including the already famous quote: “It’s hard to justify nuclear. Really hard.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Garth asks:

Craig, just a question concerning fossil fuel subsidies. EXACTLY what is paid or tax credited in the fossil fuel industry?

I have two ways of answering this:

1) If you want an extremely carefully done and conservative approach, here’s your man: a report that I quote frequently done by the Environmental Law Institute, and its accompanying graphic.

2) If you want a more expansive though less specific laundry list (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ll be at the Clean Business Investment Summit, coming up Friday, August 10th at the incredible campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara. I’m on the Advisory Board, and each year I volunteer to perform some sort of function. This year I was one of the mentors at their “boot camp” in which the speakers fine-tuned their PowerPoint and the presentation that surrounds it. I’m also a moderator at the show itself, facilitating the conversations between the entrepreneurs and cleantech investors.

I encourage anyone who’s local to consider attending; it’s a very engaging way to spend the day.

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