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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

If you haven’t jumped on the green bandwagon yet, it’s time to start.

Small changes can really add up and make a huge difference in our environment. Benefits of going green go further than just protecting the environment, though. Going green saves you money, it’s good for your health and it’s even good for the economy as a whole.

Let’s look at ways in which you can make your office more green and start reaping some of the benefits: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Medical practices have an opportunity to make a big difference in the environment by going green.

Not only will going green save the environment, it can also save medical practices a lot of money.

Benefits of Going Green

Hospitals are the second largest producers of waste, right after the food industry, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Hospitals and doctor’s (doctors’? – ed.) offices throw away everything from latex gloves to operating tools. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Here’s a headline from the syndicated news show “Democracy Now” along with a few comments:

The Obama administration is preparing to unveil what it calls a major initiative on tackling climate change. The White House says President Obama will soon announce the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants. At his speech Wednesday in Berlin, President Obama pledged action on global warming.

President Obama: “The effort to slow climate change requires bold action. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Those of us who follow renewable energy would like to think that participants in the industry are of a higher moral character than those in the 20th Century forms of energy that are now being replaced.  While that may be true in general, it’s not uniformly the case.  For some, solar, wind, etc., are “just another job,” like making Rice Krispies or selling shoes.  For others, as illustrated here, the clean energy business is fertile territory for scams, cons, and rip-offs.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ve written so often on true costs of fossil fuels that I usually keep these posts short, at the risk of boring readers who have seen so much on the topic.   In any case, the author of the article linked above really gets it.

The concept of paying for cleaning up the waste from the way we generate and consume energy, or “internalizing the externalities” as it’s called in the parlance of the economists, is really catching on.  When I started talking about this years ago I was met with a blank stare.  Now we have numerous powerfully written articles like this one, helping share this extremely common sense-based idea.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I was flattered when my first book, “Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies,” was made required reading in an environmental sciences class at a college in Northern California a couple of years ago.  I remember the call I got from someone in the bookstore wondering if it would be possible for them to purchase a carton-load.  “I believe that can be arranged,” I responded coolly, as my heart leapt with joy.

And speaking of required reading, I only wish there were a way I could establish that status for this article on the Keystone XL pipeline.  In a few short paragraphs, readers will understand why this is a disaster, and why protesters are running into such aggressive reprisals.  This is a full-on American disaster of epic proportion, unfolding right in front of our eyes.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I’ve been speaking with my old friend Tom Konrad of AltEnergyStocks.com and I happened to ask him if he’s bullish on anything in particular within the clean energy sector.  In response, he sent me the very thoughtful piece that he wrote for Forbes a few days ago (linked above) that I thought I’d share.

I bought a bit of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure (NYSE:HASI) this morning. I have to think that providing debt and equity financing of renewable energy projects has to be a solid market that can only expand over time, and these people look very capable.   They just IPO’d in April.  We’ll see how we fare.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Those of us who worry about climate change have a great deal of heartburn about the melting of the ice on top of Greenland, which scientists say will be the “dominant contributor to global sea level change over the next 100 to 1,000 years,” as discussed in the article linked above. As the author explains, there are a number of different theories — including a brand new one — as to the exact mechanisms that are at work here.

At the risk of stating the obvious, all the mechanisms stem from our civilization’s callously thumbing its nose at the notion of a sustainable energy policy.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Humanitarian agency WorldWatch sure seems to be barking up the right tree when it comes to bringing clean energy to the developing world.  As I’ve often said, this is arguably the single greatest philanthropic cause on earth, insofar as it accomplishes so many tasks with one action:

• Reduces deforestation and pollution caused by burning biomass for cooking, heating, and lighting

• Improves human health, providing refrigeration, purified water, and medical equipment

• Increases literacy, meaning more productivity and smaller, stronger families

Linked above is their donation page, for anyone who cares to make a gift.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’ve been in correspondence with a fellow in the UK about his invention: an eco-friendly shower using electrically heated water.  The good news: it uses 80% less  energy and 80% less water than the conventional approach.  The bad news is that it recirculates the water until you’re ready for your final rinse, then it recirculates the rinse water until you’re ready to get out.

This calls to mind a simple truth of eco-friendliness generally: it normally comes at a cost – and the question then becomes: Are we willing to pay that cost?  In this case, given the current price of water and energy in the developed world, the answer is probably no, but there may be places – and times – where this changes.

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