I often mention FedEx and how impressed I am with some of their more progressive efforts in corporate sustainability. I should also mention that their rival, UPS, is working hard in the same direction. As noted here, “Brown” is currently in the process of octupling (a word you don’t see often) their solar power capacity from 360 kilowatts to 2.76 megawatts. Perhaps more interestingly, they like to own the PV on their roofs, rather than contract it out to a third party.
Frequent commenter and alternative fuels expert Ben Thorp responds to my piece on electric transportation the other day, noting:
Energy efficiency … may be the largest issue if saving fossil fuel or the global environment is a major concern. The US utility energy efficiency has been ~34% for decades as reported by the Department of Energy. When you add line losses and battery efficiency and driving losses there are huge efficiency challenges. Let’s focus on the major issues to see if anyone has solutions.
Ben: I think you’re right on here. (more…)
Last night, a friend of mine sent me a considerable laundry list of things he thinks everyone, certainly all U.S. citizens, are entitled to as basic human rights. I don’t know. I see providing all this stuff gratis to a society that includes millions of lazy screw-ups as really distasteful, not to mention unworkable. Having said that, here are a few broad strokes that should be made in the direction of an ideal civilization as I see it:
Universal healthcare. Taking this out of corporate control will result in far better outcomes for everyone (except those seeking to profit at the expense of others’ misery) — even for the doctors who are quitting in droves as more of them every day are realizing that what they’re doing does not align with their personal sensibilities. Such a move will also immediately focus healthcare on wellness, versus the invention and encouragement of disease so it can be treated profitably.
Taxing wealth. (more…)
Here’s an article called “Scientists Confirm: Arctic Sea Ice ‘Collapse’ at Our Door – Warming planet and new evidence portend future of ice-free Arctic. It’s quite worthwhile, but, perhaps because I come across several reports on the subject in the course of an average week, I found the comments more interesting than the piece itself. The report happens to be on a progressive website, CommonDreams, so I suppose that explains the fact that readers aren’t too skeptical, but are deeply concerned about the future of civilization. I found their discussions among themselves and their compassionate efforts to support one another quite touching.
Here’s a very good, objective and realistic treatment of our planet’s attempts at sustainable energy, from the combined perspectives of technology, economics, and politics. Here, in one document, readers will get “the whole nine yards” as to how difficult this subject is and how much work we have to do. The take-away, sadly, is a recognition of how unlikely it is that we’ll get there, given all the political infighting and obfuscations that get in the way of confronting the sheer magnitude of the challenge that lies in front of us.
If you think that climate change denial is a random event, or the natural result of a free-thinking society, you’re sadly mistaken. You may want to take a few minutes out of your day, and read this article, which covers the enormous outpouring of money to fund campaigns that aggressively twist the public’s perception of global warming.
Here’s a piece on cap and trade. Like every person who hopes that civilization will find its way towards sustainability, I’m rooting for success here. But frankly, I can’t imagine how cap and trade will accomplish its aims, given all the thousands of lawyers and their clients who are profiting mightily by building work-arounds.
If you really think we’re releasing too much carbon into the atmosphere, can’t you just put a tax on it? Force those who generate and consume energy based on fossil fuels to pay for what they’re doing; it’s just that simple. Immediately, people will find that renewable energy isn’t too expensive; they’ll realize that it’s the deal of the century.
Sometime later this evening, someone will post the 7000th comment here at 2GreenEnergy. My thanks to everyone who has participated so vociferously, and who continues to keep this site growing, both in size and importance.
When I go to conferences, even those at which I’m not speaking, I routinely ask questions of the presenters, and I always take the opportunity,when I’m handed the microphone, to introduce myself as the editor of 2GreenEnergy.com. It’s not uncommon for several people to approach me during the following “networking break” and congratulate us for the effort we’re making to tell the clean energy story in a positive but wholly fair and responsible manner.
Again, thanks to everyone who has helped in the quest to develop a sustainable future for our civilization. It’s gratifying to have made many hundreds of friends around the world who understand that it is up to all of us to create the quality of the world in which we and our descendants will live.
It’s been at least a year since I recommended this fabulous combination of education and entertainment, in which British comedian/historian Robert Newman presents “A History of Oil.
Please do yourself a favor and check it out. Then do us ALL a favor and leave a comment.
Those looking for ways to measure the progress the U.S. is making in renewable energy compared with the rest of the world may be interested in this infographic, comparing the installed amount of solar energy per capita by country.
Btw, this squares with the figure I came across at the Renewable Energy Policy Forum a couple of weeks ago, to the effect that Germany has 12 times more solar installed per person than we do here in America.
