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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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.
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…)
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.
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…)
Here’s an article that speaks to two basic truths on our discourse on the environment, at least here in the U.S.:
b) these predictions, historically, have uniformly proven to be incorrect. (more…)
When you’re trying to make the home more energy-efficient, consider replacing the doors and windows. Installing energy efficient fixtures will help you lower utility bills while maintaining more stable temperatures inside the house. Here are seven ways that new doors and windows outperform their predecessors. (more…)
