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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Although the overall consequences of climate change are terrible (desertification, sea level rise, floods, storms, wildfires, more disease-carrying insects, loss of biodiversity, etc.), there are some accidental consequences that are positive, e.g., lower heating fuel bills in certain parts of the world and longer growing seasons for Canadian farmers. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Can anyone look at this graphic and conclude that the U.S. is going the right way in terms of economic leadership?  Fortunately, the subject matter here is cars – admittedly an important component of world industry now, but (I predict) soon to slowly lose meaning as the 21st Century brings along paradigm shifts in both transportation and energy.

Here’s a recommendation to the U.S. – the country I love: get with the program.  Economic success means leading the world in bold new concepts in personal mobility and renewable energy.  Perhaps we could recognize this and shake off our slumber.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

In response to my recent piece on electric transportation in Seeking Alpha, EV naysayer Glenn Doty writes a response that concludes: “I just don’t get how any environmentalist could support these.  If the people who buy solar panels and a Tesla would instead buy a Prius and MORE solar panels, they would eliminate many times as much CO2, SO2, NOx, Hg, Cd, Pb, and other emissions for the same amount of money.”  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Maybe I’m the only member of an aging population who grimaces when young people today show that they don’t really understand the metaphors that had meaning in the 20th Century.  Here are two:

An “elephant in the room” and an “800-pound gorilla.”  The former means an obvious but awkward truth that the people present would rather ignore than address.  The latter simply means a powerful force; it’s the subject of the riddle: “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?” Punch line: “Anywhere it wants.”

Here’s an important article about super-polluting coal-fired power plants that was sent to me with the (incorrect) subject line: “This power plant is the elephant in the room.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I just got back from a great day at the University of California at Santa Barbara, host of the 14th annual Clean Business Investment Summit.  “CBIS” is an enterprise, not unlike our own here at 2GreenEnergy, which is an attempt to bring together good ideas in cleantech with sources of investment capital.

Overall, not to blow our own horns, that was darn near perfect execution.  Of the few hundred people there, I honestly don’t think a single one came away disappointed.  I certainly didn’t: I helped a bunch of good folks with good cleantech ideas take their next step – and in the process met dozens of fantastic people.  Hard to complain about a day like that.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s an “InstaBlog” I wrote on SeekingAlpha.com, in which I explain why I think EV naysayer-from-hell John Petersen is wrong, and that electric transportation generally, and Tesla Motors in particular, are not doomed because of a shortage of some obsolete battery.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Apparently, the power needs of Turkmenistan are going through the roof, and GE will be building facilities to use their “aeroderivative” natural gas turbines to supply this need.  This leaves the reader wondering: were any renewable resources at least considered?  The concept isn’t mentioned once in the entire article.

Obviously, there is no path to the rapid reduction in the use of fossil fuels, but I do predict a change in public consciousness where renewable resources are the first choice for the development of new power plants.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

When winter comes around, most households and offices need to use more energy to stay warm.

Increased use of energy does not only raise utility bills; it can also have a negative impact on the environment. The production of energy results in the emission of greenhouse gases and the depletion of natural resources, and you can do your part to save the environment by reducing your energy consumption.

Here are a number of things you can do to go green while heating up your home or office during winter. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

The people of Testa Produce, Inc. have started to do what they can to reduce their company’s carbon footprint. For example, two of the delivery trucks that they purchased this year are all-electric vehicles, but they don’t plan to stop there. They also have plans to purchase 10 more trucks that use compressed natural gas (CNG), and CNG is a cleaner fuel that costs less than gasoline or diesel.   (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Of all the articles I read on the subject of energy and sustainability, I can’t think of any I more eagerly anticipate than those of Michael T. Klare.  Like the one linked above, they’re not generally good news; they tend to be measured, sober looks at the future of humankind.  Today’s happens to be an analysis of a new report by the International Energy Outlook and the consideration of four critical trends: (more…)

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