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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

My thanks to all who provided an opinion on my (admittedly pessimistic) title for my new book. In all my years of market research, I’ve never seen anything like the near complete unanimity of viewpoint that came back in that survey, i.e., that the title is too negative, and therefore unappealing.

And in truth, though the book does grapple with the tough realities associated with the migration to renewables, it certainly suggests that there is hope for mankind. So… GONE! I’m dropping that title like a hot potato. Thanks again.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Whether your strengths and interests lie in technology, or in the economic and political issues that sit at the core of the migration to renewable energy, if you’re in a position to volunteer your time to research and write clean energy content, we should talk.

An internship at 2GreenEnergy is richly rewarding – not only for you, but for the rest of the world as well.

I’ll personally direct you in researching and creating reports, articles, and infographics that will serve to illuminate the truth about mankind’s journey to clean energy – arguably our most critical challenge. It’s pretty cool stuff, and we’d love to have your help.

CLICK HERE for more information.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Sure, clean energy is under fire in our current political and economic environment.  But here’s a post I wrote on Renewable Energy World, in which I point out that its competitors are facing some tough times as well. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I have decided that I need a last-minute course correction on the title for my next book, due out in early January. I had tentatively decided on the title “RENEWABLE AND DOABLE – Our Transition to a Clean Energy Economy that Won’t Cost Us the Earth” (later revised to “Is Renewable Really Doable?”  But the more I thought about this and its spunky optimism, the more I realized that it didn’t properly reflect the actual content of the book, which, though not exactly pessimistic, is a frank treatment of the many “tough realities” facing the industry that are presented by the current political and economic scene.

To that end, I’ve tentatively chosen:

Why Renewable Energy May Never Arrive on Planet Earth
An In-Depth Look at Clean Energy’s Tough Realities

Do you mind commenting on this new title? Do you like it? Why or why not? Any further suggestions?

Thanks very much in advance.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In the course of a given day, the typical human has approximately 60,000 independent thoughts – some in our waking hours, others in our dreams. This seems like re-enforcement of the idea that we make our own heaven (or hell) right here on Earth.

Not to state the obvious, but this appears to be a good reason to try to aspire to a life that produces happy thoughts – perhaps thoughts of love, charity, peace, and general good will to our fellows. I wonder if there is a case to be made that the folks involved in the sustainability movement, those who honestly and actively care what type of world we’re creating for the seven billion others around us, have happier thoughts than those who are indifferent to their neighbors.

Of course, one could argue that there is a great deal of heartbreak in failed efforts, that ignorance is bliss, and that, in the words of Emerson: “You can have truth or repose, but you cannot have both.”

I’d be interested in readers’ comments.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbJYGg9VjiI&w=420&h=315]

Here’s a short video in which I discuss how a sustainable future for our civilization could come about. To the degree to which people a) understand the issues, and b) care about them, I believe there is hope.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkc1d0ATA1s]

Here’s a short video (under one minute) in which I suggest that the end of cheap energy and easy credit will force us to change our habits as super-consumers. Though this sounds painful, it doesn’t have to be, as it will ultimately cause us to see our lives in grander terms and look beyond the thin veil of materialistic pleasures.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

“Why would anyone be interested in that?” some (super-candid) person asked me recently during a conversation about renewable energy and how it costs more than burning coal.  I could see what was implied: that our rights and obligations begin and end with making money any legal way, and pursuing happiness and prosperity as vigorously as possible, here and now.

Yet the question was a bit awkward.  “Why would anyone be interested in that?” I paused, wishing to avoid a difficult conversation. Either the answer is obvious, or it’s unsatisfactory. Have you ever noticed how seldom you change another’s mind on matters of politics or personal philosophy? I just smiled. “That’s a tough question,” I responded, and moved on to another subject.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a quick conversation I had at the Opportunity Green with the folks from Steaz, who offer a truly healthy and good-tasting carbonated beverage. I happened to be sipping the blueberry pomegranate flavor, when I began:

Craig: Wow, this is good. Please tell me about it.

Steaz rep: Well, it’s all natural.

Craig: So there’s fruit, water, and essentially nothing else?

Steaz rep: Well, there’s actually no fruit.

Craig: You mean there is not a molecule of blueberry or pomegranate in what I’m drinking?

Steaz rep: That’s right.

Craig: Well, not to be combative, but exactly in what sense is this “all natural?”

Steaz rep: (silence) Um, that’s a good question.

Craig: Hey, don’t feel bad. In my estimation, the word “natural” lost all meaning in our language a long time ago. Regardless of how you define the term, this is a hell of a lot closer to “natural” than the chemicals that are in most of what we eat and drink.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

At the heart of the adoption curve for clean energy, electric transportation, and sustainability more generally is consumer behavior. If consumers don’t vote in favor of green products with their wallets, the world will remain mired in dirty and abusive practices until the pain associated with that reaches a point that we literally cannot maintain the status quo. By that point, of course, inestimable damage will have been done to our ecosystem, not to mention our very humanity. (more…)

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