A colleague whose expertise lies in advanced nuclear sent me this earlier today—a comment a reader had written on his blog:
“How sad is it that we continue to debate renewables vs. dated nuclear technology, when we should be leading the world in developing all promising technologies. (more…)
I sure like the way Dr. Ken Caldeira thinks. Those of you familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test will recognize the man as an “N,” meaning “intuitive”; he forms abstractions that are useful for creating a high level of understanding. Check this out:
Dr. Ken Caldeira has argued for a policy goal of zero carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)
It’s hard to understand public apathy on important issues, when we’re constantly bombarded with proof that our voices actually matter.
Over the last 50 years, Lego, one of the most revered brands on the planet, has been ensconced in a co-marketing deal with Shell Oil. Not no more. (more…)
We at 2GreenEnergy are lucky enough to have super-intern Louis de Saint Phalle working for us, vigorously researching and writing on important matters in the renewable energy arena. I was delighted that Louis actually moved out to Santa Barbara (from Paris) for several months, to facilitate interaction with me; we enjoyed many interesting conversations, and he even came up for dinner with my wife and some other friends. Best of all, he’s the “gift that keeps on giving,” in that he continues to produce excellent reports, like this one. -ed.
About a month ago, the Solar Energy Industries Association released its report for the second quarter of 2014, in collaboration with Green Tech Media Research. Although the full report comes at a price not affordable by many (probably best not to know how much exactly), the publicly available executive summary provides really interesting numbers that give an idea of where solar is at right now. Here are some main points if you haven’t checked it out. (more…)
Apparently, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said recently that the U.S. is considering making a major contribution to a fund that would help developing countries deal with both the causes and the effects of climate disruption. Money would go to developing methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving methods of handling droughts and floods. (more…)
Here’s a conversation I have about once a month, this one with a fellow in Bulgaria, who writes:
We are a Bulgarian company, working on R&D projects for OxyHydrogen-based Power Plants.
Our plants use only Distilled Water as a “fuel” and produce low cost power and heat and also cheap Gases – Oxygen, Hydrogen, and OxyHydrogen mixture. The Energy produced is 100% carbon-free, clean and renewable. No sun, no wind needed – just water…….
We are looking for investors to help us develop this project in the range of USD 300,000 – 500,000.
I respond: Sorry. You need to pitch this to people who dropped out of school before they got to 7th or 8th grade science. Btw, I don’t know anything about the securities/fraud laws in Bulgaria, but if you come to the U.S. to raise money for this, there’s a very good chance you’ll wind up on the wrong side of the barbed wire shown above.
Here’s an article that reports a startling rise in the concentration of methane in the atmosphere, due largely to the farming of cows and pigs.
My colleague Dr. Alex Cannara writes:
“Our penchant for raising animals to eat is our major U.S. source of CH4……The lack of a comprehensive energy/emissions plan will be this administration’s legacy – ‘all of the above’ meaning ‘we’re too lazy to figure out what to do.’ Not a proud legacy.”
Here’s an article describing an invention at the Ohio State University, which OSU professor Yiying Wu says will reduce the costs of renewable energy. “The state of the art is to use a solar panel to capture the light, and then use a cheap battery to store the energy,” Wu said. “We’ve integrated both functions into one device. Any time you can do that, you reduce cost.”
I’m excited by the concept, but unconvinced that this will truly make solar energy less expensive. In particular, Dr. Wu is incorrect that hybridizing functions necessarily brings down costs. I could build a hair drier that also makes toast, but I doubt I could reduce the cost of providing both those activities.
Those interested in global warming and the consequent rising of sea levels will want to check out this video on the calving of glaciers in Greenland. The footage is unique; it’s by far the largest such event ever recorded.
I’m one of these people who loves infographics, like those we created a few years back to explain some of the basics of renewable energy. Here’s one that I just came across that (accidentally) illustrates one of the most important issues associated with the energy industry: there are so many different parameters to be considered, that it’s hard, if not impossible, to compare apples to apples.
The creator of this piece starts with coal, and points out that 714 pounds of coal are required to produce the same electrical energy as 0.035 pounds of uranium. (more…)
