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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Wanted: “New and Unique Ideas” to Address World Energy PolicyAccording to the Writer’s Almanac:  It was on this day in 1837 that Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered a speech titled “The American Scholar” to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard University.  The speech was the first time he explained his transcendentalist philosophy in front of a large public audience. He said that scholars had become too obsessed with ideas of the past, that they were bookworms rather than thinkers. He told the audience to break from the past, to pay attention to the present, and to create their own new, unique ideas. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Trader Joe'sClick “read more” for a shot I took in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s. Needless to say, there’s a wonderful correlation of demographics between TJ’s shoppers and renewable energy advocates; it’s the same reason that one sees lots of Volvos and very few pick-up trucks with gun racks.
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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

Materials Science Breakthrough at MIT Will Greatly Improve Efficiencies of All Thermal Power PlantsHere’s a video made by a PhD student at MIT that illustrates how rapidly energy-related technology is evolving, and how this will effect a migration to renewables far faster than most people believe to be possible. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

The Evolution of Electric Car ConversionsElectric and hybrid vehicles have significantly increased in popularity over the last decade. It’s no wonder, since their great gas mileage and eco-friendly nature are desirable qualities for anyone looking to purchase a new vehicle. However, the price point of the average electric vehicle is still high enough to deter many from being able to afford them. Another option, though, that many fail to recognize is the possibility of converting an old gas vehicle to electric power – which is actually simpler than you’d think. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Sustainable Politics: We Want Our Democracy Back – And It Appears We May Get ItHere’s the brand new video from Mayday, the crowd-funded PAC (political action committee) to end all PACs, issued the day after we had our first major victory. I have to admit that there are tears of joy in my eyes as I type this, as I’m thrilled to be one of over 45,000 people who chipped in a few bucks to advance the cause; you can be one too.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Will Google Sit Around And Watch the World of 20th Century Fossil Fuels Destroy the Planet? My colleague Gary Tulie is helping me with some of the research and writing surrounding my current book project (working title: “Bullish on Renewable Energy – Eleven Reasons Why Clean Energy Investors Can’t Lose”).  To that end, he recently sent me his input on Google as part of the chapter I’ve tentatively called “Google, Tesla, Apple, and the Other Forces of Super-Innovation Will Not Sit Around While the World of 20th Century Energy Destroys the Planet.”

I responded: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Turning Wind Energy in Baseload with Compressed Air Energy StorageQuestion:  We all know that power-purchase agreements are being signed in various parts of the world, e.g., the plains states of the U.S. –at under three cents/kWh, far less than the cost of producing energy from coal.  But wind is a variable resource, where coal isn’t.  What would be the price of wind energy if we are to add storage from Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Those keeping track of the law suit against Chevron in response to the damages it caused in Ecuador will be interested in this recent article in Rolling Stone magazine. The bottom line is that it’s extremely unlikely that I’ll still be on this planet to see the case resolved, insofar as Chevron has pulled out all the stops in its attempt to overturn the ruling, upheld by an appeals court, that it owes $9.8 billion in damages.

Having said this, I don’t want to dissuade readers from checking out the article; it’s very well prepared, and it’s full of human drama.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

British philosopher John Locke was born on this day in 1632.  Locke is best known today for his beliefs in private property and natural rights, as well as for his theory that the purpose of government is to protect those rights; all this paved the way for most of what, 350 years later, we refer to as “Western Civilization.”

Of course, as always, the “devil is in the details,” and this becomes obvious as the world population expands (there are 14 times more people on Earth today than there were in the 17th Century), and technology develops to the point that these “rights” begin to put pressure on one another.  Do people have a right to clean drinking water, or should water be private property?  To what degree do people have rights to behave in ways that have adverse effects on the environment?

One can argue that Locke’s ideas raise more questions than they answer, yet we nonetheless need to credit him with getting us started off in a productive and fair-minded direction.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Wind and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)One of our cleantech investors here at 2GreenEnergy has expressed a great deal of interest in playing a key role in our wind energy project that will implement CAES.  When I heard that news earlier this morning, I responded:

Good.  It’s exciting stuff.  When Wind/CAES takes off, it’s going to be a rocket-ride; I can tell you that much.  The gating factor to the integration of huge amounts of wind (already almost 5% of the U.S. grid mix) is cost-effective storage, and CAES just could be the answer. 

 

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