Home › Blog › Page 1634

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

In response to my post on (former U.S. President) Dwight D. Eisenhower and my suggestion that current U.S. President Obama should build out the public infrastructure in the same way, Warren Weisman writes: “Ha ha. Love to see it happen, but Obama ain’t no Eisenhower.”

Thanks, Warren — and good point.  It’s certainly true that Obama doesn’t have the public support that Eisenhower did. But in fact, even Eisenhower himself didn’t have the support he needed at the time; in large measure, he sold the Highway Act to the American people on the basis that he claimed it was necessary to move troops and supplies around in the interior of the U.S. in order to protect us citizens from the prospect of foreign invasion.

20th Century fear. There was plenty of it to go around, and it motivated (in addition to some good things like the highway system) some of the great atrocities in the history of humankind. An eerie parallel to today’s world, perhaps.

Tagged with: ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Smart Grid

On this day in 1956, a few days before my first birthday, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act, which established the Interstate Highway System.  I think of the implications of our vast network of highways frequently, normally in connection with the challenges we face in building out our aging and woefully inadequate national electricity grid.

When I tell people that we have a profound and urgent need to connect various regions of the country, bringing solar energy into our population centers from the deserts, wind energy from the plains, hydrokinetic energy from the Pacific Northwest, etc., people roll their eyes and explain that there will be legal objections that will keep this idea held up in court until the next Ice Age.  While they may be right, we do have several legal precedents for using eminent domain for the public good, and the Federal Highway Act is just one among them.  In fact, we’re pretty good at moving cars – and trains – and fossil fuels – all over this great land of ours.  Do you suppose this could be extended to renewable energy? We’ll see.

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Frequent commenter and colleague Tom Konrad of AltEnergyStocks.com writes on my post in which I express my approval of the nomination of Ron Binz to head up the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

I was an expert witness (for the Energy Efficiency Business Coalition) in a couple of demand side management cases before Binz when he was the Colorado PUC chair. He’s no knee-jerk enviro, but carefully considers the arguments from both sides.  I thought he was open-minded and intelligent. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

It appears that another one of my wishes was just granted: a progressive force in the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  If FERC chief nominee Ron Binz lives up to what I’ve read about him, he really is the man for the job, as he appears to be both willing and able to rewrite the way utilities are regulated, paving the way for a far more aggressive tack vis-à-vis energy efficiency and renewables.

One of Binz’ recent projects, “Utilities 2020” is summarized: (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Apparently, McDonald’s is deploying a ton of solar PV in the form of canopies to protect their customers’ cars.  That’s good.  But I’m less sanguine on ridiculous statements from company spokespersons like: “We continuously commit to reducing the environmental impact of our restaurants as much as possible….”

McDonald’s itself is an unmitigated disaster for the health of the environment, not to mention for the seven billion people who live in it.  We’re talking about a combination of:

1) deforestation to create cattle yards,

2) dependence on unsustainable farming methods, and

3) products that cause childhood obesity and diabetes.

Three strikes and you’re out.

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

You have to admire the bravado of an author who would give such a title to an article: Could Concentrating Solar Energy Save Humanity? Normally, a religious extremist is required to pose a question like that.

Kidding aside, it’s clear that the first technology that offers low-cost, abundant, and clean energy does, in fact, have the potential to save humanity – at least from some of the brink-of-catastrophe positions in which he’s put himself.

Not everyone agrees, but I believe that the cost of CSP will fall dramatically as the R&D advances and the scale increases.

Tagged with: ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s an article on the snows in Armenia’s mountains (including Mount Ararat, the putative resting place of Noah’s Ark — pictured left) that are steadily melting due to climate change, and the country’s abortive attempts to do something about the unwelcome phenomenon.  The author suggests that the issue is a lack of international cooperation, as Armenia is land-locked and has no formal ties with any of its neighbors.  Of course, he’s correct, but I would say…. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

In this article from SmartGridNews, we see what anyone could have predicted from the incumbent industries in response to U.S. President Obama’s speech on climate policy: instant attack, including the threat of litigation.  Of course, the concept that the content of any speech will translate directly and quickly into action that negatively affects a powerful interest is really a fantasy. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

As noted in this article from SmartGridNews, any plan to limit power plant emissions is a plan that will offer a boost to renewables – and, by extension, the value of all solid clean energy investment opportunities.  Yes, the process by which all this works itself out may take many years to work its way through the system, as it’s bound to be fought by a variety of players, of which the utilities are only one.  Yet the handwriting is on the wall.

This explains why representatives of formerly recalcitrant groups like Duke Energy are starting to show up at green energy conferences and demonstrations of new technology at which they were noticeably absent just a few years ago.  In fact, I sat next to a young Duke Energy guy at the dinner that followed the demo of the Advanced Rail Energy Storage last week.  It’s a sign things are definitely in flux, and trending in a positive direction.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

U.S. President Obama’s speech this morning on addressing climate change impressed the many millions of us who follow the subject and view it as the single biggest threat confronting humankind in the 21st Century.  For that reason, it came as no surprise when I received this link from the Sierra Club, inviting me to thank the president, which I did immediately.   The request for a donation to keep the ball rolling didn’t exactly astonish me either.

Tagged with: , , ,