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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

We tend to be acutely aware that the quality of so much of the “stuff” we have in our lives is deteriorating.  As I’ve written in connection with the wonderful series The Story of Stuff, this is due in large measure to planned obsolescence; manufacturers go to great pains to build things that will fall apart, but not so  soon that customers will become so furious as to never buy from them again.  I’ve come to learn that this is a modern-day art-form.

On the other hand, since I’ve promised to put on a happier face, let me point out that the quality of other things in our lives is actually going through the roof. The example most people might think of first in this connection is technology, especially health care and communications. We live longer, healthier, and far more connected lives than anytime in the past. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Soon we’ll be getting started with a blog that I propose to call “Corporate Role Models,” in which we herald some of the good things corporate citizens are doing in lowering carbon footprint, and aiming at sustainability more generally. We’re trying to focus especially in lifecycle analysis, looking backwards at all parts of the supply chains, and looking forward at the use and ultimate disposal of products.

There are many reasons I want to do this:

1) A great deal of the content here might suggest, at least at the surface, that corporations are bad. Starting with the oil companies and branching out from there, I often write about corporate malfeasance, or about our broken legal system, which has wrong-headedly bestowed corporations with far more rights than were intended under the U.S. Constitution. But in truth, there is nothing bad about corporations per se; in fact, they’ve played a critically important role in the entire development of Western civilization, beginning in the days of ancient Rome, when they were the vehicles by which the aqueducts, roads, and universities were built. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJuSNOQX4Ng&w=420&h=315]

It’s been 130 years since Edison and Tesla did their thing in the late 19th Century, putting the theoretical work of Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell to practical use.  No offense to those who’ve made contributions during the intervening years, but there have been astonishingly few breakthroughs in this field over an enormous period of time.   

Here, I  discuss something that I do, in fact, believe to be a major breakthrough.  

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Are you trying to raise investment capital for your cleantech business idea? Perhaps you’re looking for the easiest, friendliest way to get your concept in front of someone who can help move it forward.  We at 2GreenEnergy may be that “someone.”

Speaking for me personally, I like to think of myself as a “big picture guy.” I don’t have too much patience for 85-page business plans, but I absolutely love analyzing concepts at a 50,000-foot level. It takes me just a few seconds to wrap my wits around the highlights, and determine if I can help – which I sometimes can, by tapping into relationships that I maintain with VCs, angels, private equity, and institutional investors. (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

One can argue that the Tesla Roadster is just too much: too fast, too small, and way too expensive, for starters. It’s harder to make the same claim about the Tesla Model S, due out next year. A full-sized sedan that seats seven, it boasts terrific range and gorgeous styling. It’s still pricey — $57,400 before rebates — but this will be a fabulous car.  

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Xc7VM957U]
Here’s a brief video in which I discuss a software platform that, for the first time, provides users — both consumers and businesses — the capability of specifying electricity that was generated from renewable resources. The result? Over time, the power utilities will be able to depend more heavily on clean energy sources, and plan their purchases accordingly, thus bringing more renewables onto the grid.

In my opinion, this is exciting stuff. The company is looking for investor, btw; if you’re interested, please let me know.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmI-Y8EGQnc]
Here’s a short video in which I discuss a unique approach that applies nicely to hydrokinetics in high head conditions, e.g., waterfalls or steep rapids.

Does this scale to the point that it can replace terawatts of fossil fuels? Nope. But in the right conditions, it’s a wonderful solution, and thus, in my opinion, the company represents an interesting investment opportunity.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I honestly don’t know what to make of supposedly honest and professional reporters who write articles that deliberately misrepresent the case for electric vehicles. Here’s Forbes Magazine’s recent piece Electric Cars Are An Extraordinarily Bad Idea, by Louis Woodhill. And here’s the truth, a rebuttal in which Plug-In America co-founder Paul Scott exposes Woodhill’s article for what it is: a litany of disinformation.  

Always the gentleman, Scott’s tone is polite and respectful.  Mine isn’t.  I’m infuriated that millions of people were exposed to this concatenation of distortions and outright lies.  If I were Forbes, I’d be deeply ashamed, and I’d certainly refuse to accept another syllable from Woodhill. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When we look at some of the bad actors in Corporate America, it’s possible to reason that nothing good – in the ethical sense – even comes from this quarter. But this is a horribly shortsighted and unfair conclusion. Of course, there are acts of humanitarianism and philanthropy that take the form of corporate giving, which happens to the tune of about $10 billion per year. But more germane – at least to our purposes here at 2GreenEnergy – are corporate sustainability initiatives – many of which are completely sincere, and utterly massive in scope.

Coming soon at 2GreenEnergy will be a special blog to highlight the work of “Corporate Role Models” – those whose efforts in reducing carbon footprint, (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In the course of the radio show I recorded yesterday the interviewer asked me, “Craig, what do you think college students can do to lead ‘greener’ lives?”

“Wow,” I responded. “It’s hard to know where to begin. Obviously, we’re all trying to ‘reduce, re-use, and recycle.’ But certainly the way we eat has a great deal to do with our impact on the environment.”

“Is that true? How could that be?” came the response.

A bit stunned that this might be news to people, I explained the basic thermodynamics associated with raising animals for food — how horribly inefficient these processes are. (more…)

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