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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

It appears that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will significantly delay the formal publication of climate-change rules for power plants — rules that could force some coal plants to close. Whether it’s an attempt on the part of Democrats to get past the 2014 elections, or whether it’s rooted in the Republicans friendly relationship with Big Energy, no one seems to know.  Either way, as my colleague Jesse Berst of SmartGridNews reports, “It seems that coal plants will have a reprieve in 2014.”

Unfortunately, this type of behavior is to be expected; there is no reason to think that Washington has the least interest in serving the will of the people, who, according to this report from US News, overwhelming support a rapid migration away from fossil fuels in the direction of renewable energy.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Earlier today, a friend from the U.K sent me a business plan on a bold new idea in sustainability.  It’s a clever attempt to use the strengths of media in our pop culture to forward a unified voice from “We the People” to the effect that we’re all concerned about the fate of humankind, and that we need to come together to develop and implement solutions to the challenges that stand in the way of a viable future.   (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

One of the biggest arguments anti-electric vehicle protesters make is the fact that many batteries only allow you to travel 300 miles on a single charge. For many, 300 miles may not seem like a very long distance. However, it may be much longer than you may think. The entire aspect of the distance is nothing more than a desperate attempt to argue against electric vehicles for no other reason than to argue. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

When I received this from my colleague Fritz Maffrey, it occurred to me that others might be interested in it too.

Well a milestone has been reached, Nissan has now globally sold over 100k units of the Nissan Leaf (pictured).  That is a profound proof statement; as I write this I note that outside a Nissan Leaf is charging. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

It never ceases to amaze me how 2Greenenergy’s relatively tiny Internet presence has reconnected me with old friends I haven’t seen in 40 years.  Bruce Wilson, whom I met in the sandbox in kindergarten in 1960, reconnected with me fairly recently, based on something I wrote that referred to our old school (William Penn Charter).   Fast-forward to 2014:  Bruce has 37 years’ experience in renovation, restoration, energy efficient construction and retrofitting, and he specializes in high performance green building and building performance upgrades, as well as deep energy retrofits and lighting improvements. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s an interesting piece a friend sent me on gaining people’s trust, a key ingredient in which is letting people express themselves, and accepting what they say about themselves and their ideas without judgment. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t work too well in some of the situations I face here at 2GreenEnergy, where half a dozen or so people per week send me some sort of clean energy concept to review, most of which don’t hold water.  I suppose I could be non-committal in cases like these, or even encouraging, but I can’t bring myself to do that, even at the expense of driving a few angry “unsubscribes” to the website.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

A few minutes ago, I came across a reference to “second-degree murder,” which led me to the Wikipedia article on the subject for a quick refresher on the difference between that and involuntary manslaughter.  While I thought this would have been completely straightforward, it really wasn’t at all.  As I read along, I was reminded how strange it is that the 50 U.S. states have 50 different ways of defining and punishing crimes.  Isn’t a barroom fight that ends in a death pretty much as repugnant in Rhode Island as it is in Oregon?  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I’ve mentioned several times over the past few years that, though I don’t normally bet against my own longevity, I sincerely doubt that I’ll still be on this planet when Chevron pays a nickel of the $9.8 billion judgment against it, even though the order was upheld in an appellate court, as restitution for the vicious crimes it committed against the people of Ecuador. 

Chevron’s current tack?  Blame the victims? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s a good article, selected from the ton of them I see, on how to analyze the value of Tesla Motors.  The author argues, as many others have before, that those who ridicule Tesla’s astronomical market cap are missing the point that Tesla is more than just a “car company.”  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

West Virginia’s secretary of Health and Human Resources, Karen Bowling, said, “It’s hard to instill confidence when there’s little known about the chemical, but at the same time we have to trust in the science of what’s happening.” …in other words, we need to trust the science we don’t have.

I researched this stuff a bit, and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on this chemical – 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol – states that it has been banned from everything but R&D purposes across Canada, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. (more…)

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