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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

According to the Writer’s Almanac on Monday:

It was on this day in 1754 that the word “serendipity” was first coined. It’s defined by Merriam-Webster as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”

…. The invention of many wonderful things have been attributed to “serendipity,” including Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Charles Goodyear’s vulcanization of rubber, inkjet printers, Silly Putty, the Slinky, and chocolate chip cookies…..Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin after he left for vacation without disinfecting some of his petri dishes filled with bacteria cultures; when he got back to his lab, he found that the penicillium mold had killed the bacteria…..The principles of radioactivity, X-rays, and infrared radiation were all found when researchers were looking for something else. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

One thing I like about the French is the fiercely independent stances they take on important matters.  They tend not to ask permission, but rather to use their own wits and take tough positions on key matters. 

As one might expect, energy policy a perfect example of this characteristic in action.  I don’t recall the French soliciting world opinion when they went big with nuclear in the 20th Century.  And here they are, making long-term policies on renewables that will act as firm commitments, enabling everyone: investors, developers, and private citizens to be a part of a plan that will span decades, and ultimately take France to what I have long predicted will be a position of world leadership in this space.

The fact that the U.S. doesn’t have an energy policy is disgusting.  Big Energy owns our Congress, and thus we can expect an indefinite continuation of the status quo: a playing field that favors fossil fuels, with an ongoing sprinkling of confusing, on-again/off-again legislation to bring waves of intermittent hope and despair to clean energy.  It’s revolting.

In the meanwhile, France boldly and confidently charts its course of commitment and responsibility. 

Now, if I could just get those Parisians to treat me a bit better, I’d be a true Francophile. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

In response to my piece about a recent reduction in VMT (vehicle miles traveled), frequent commenter Larry Lemmert writes:

I don’t think that this decline has anything to do with altruistic motives. People are driving less because their income is going down on the average due to less people working now than 10 years ago……

You raise a good point, Larry.  Is altruism behind this thought process?  For some, yes.  For others, hell no; it’s a matter of personal micro-economics; in some cases, they simply need less mobility, or they see car ownership as offering declining utility and rising cost, while the alternatives are becoming more viable every year.

I believe young people in particular are starting to question the value of owning a big piece of super-expensive steel that they may not really need, not unlike the phenomenon 10 years ago when 20-somethings rethought the assumption that they needed a land-line-connected telephone in their homes.

As other folks have commented, VMT is really only about 3% from its peak, so it’s a bit premature to assert what if anything this means, but I look at this as the harbinger of a significant trend.  Look at this in terms of a macro-trend in transportation.  How confident are we that mobility in 2050 will be accomplished predominantly with individual car ownership?  I find it perfectly credible that we’re wisely beginning to question the validity of  having a  4000-pound piece of steel, declining in value every day, parked 23 hours a day, with a single occupant 75% of the time it’s in operation.

Some will see this as “doing the right thing,” where others will view it as common sense.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Say Solar Panels

For decades now, we have caused massive destruction to the planet earth. We have depleted its resources without thinking twice and polluted the atmosphere to an extent where it becomes difficult to find fresh air to breathe. Now our magnanimous planet earth is also taking its toll on us, there are different kinds of diseases coming up, natural disasters occurring like tsunamis, cyclones, hurricanes etc. all caused due to cyclical effects of climatic change caused by the sudden rise in the temperature of the earth. The poles are melting and there are holes being found in the ozone layer, and we have to blame no one else but ourselves for this. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

You probably know that making your home more energy-efficient can cut back your heating and cooling costs, but many homeowners don’t realize how much they could stand to save through tax credits while increasing their home’s value at the same time. Eco-friendly homes are the future, especially if you live or own property in an affluent neighborhood where people are concerned about the environment and on top of new technology. Common minor fixes like using LED lightbulbs and non-toxic paint are important, but what are some other, more major steps to saving money? Whether you invest in property or you’re just a concerned homeowner, looking into ways to make your house greener shouldn’t be something you think about doing one day. It should be an important priority.

1. Get an Energy Audit

It is estimated that 30 percent of a home’s energy costs are due to pockets of air leakage, and there’s no real way to tell where your leaks are without an energy auditor. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When entrepreneurs set out to create businesses, we are for the most part aiming to make a difference. Whether that’s a difference in a small community, an industry, or a market segment, to entrepreneurs it’s all about making that impact. But sometimes we think too small in terms of our reach. However small, businesses have an opportunity to make a worldwide impact.

In addition to making our intended impacts, small business owners also make an impact on the environment. It can be difficult to see these effects, because they happen so gradually. But that doesn’t make entrepreneurs any less responsible for the effects they do have on the environment, however little — especially because there are means for all entrepreneurs to create positive environmental impacts.

What can companies do to minimize their damage to the environment that we all share? It starts with product delivery.
(more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s an interesting graphic that suggests a phenomenon that my colleague Jeff Siegel calls “peak car” – a definitive decline in the number of vehicle miles traveled in the U.S.  Granted, there are numerous factors that come together to push a change like this, and there is no guarantee that the trend will continue.

But it sure makes one wonder: Is the “bloom off the rose” for the concept of individual vehicle ownership?  Has the combined impact of concepts such as mass transit, car-sharing, ride-sharing, micro-rentals, small urban commuter and package-delivery vehicles, redesigned cities, environmentalism – perhaps even the health aspects of biking and walking – begun to touch a chord in the American psyche?

We’ll see.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Here’s an article that suggests that concentrated solar power (aka solar thermal) may be on its way to greatness in Africa, and discusses the path by which CSP can achieve that stature.  In terms of renewables generally, the author points out, “Africa attracted about $4.3 billion of the $268.7 billion invested worldwide in renewable energy last year. It signed up 36 projects, 28 of which were in South Africa, with Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe accounting for the rest.”

If our civilization is to adopt a sustainable energy policy, it’s especially important that the developing world leapfrog the fossil fuel “experience” and go immediately to solar, wind, etc.  At the same time, this deployment should bypass the old paradigm of centralized generation from power generation monopolies, and implement distributed generation and microgrids. 

This is by far the best and most immediate way to bring electrification to the rural parts of the developing world, which is so essential in bringing along better healthcare and education.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Here’s an article by Peter Lehner, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), who writes on the levels of air pollution in Beijing, which last week reached a level of 755–on a scale of 0 to 500 (the  scale on which our Environmental Protection Agency here in the U.S. rates anything over 300 as “hazardous.”)  The Internet is littered with vivid descriptions and photographs of the viscous brown haze that hung over the city (this taken from the BBC), the terrifying statistics of people of all ages who became acutely sick from the pollution, and of the dire predictions for a future in which China’s consumption of coal (currently half that of the entire planet) continues to grow unchecked.

Lehner suggests: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

I just had a terrific conversation on the subject of energy efficiency, where the caller wanted to know why businesses don’t invest in capital improvements that will lower their utility bills at such rapid and proven rates that the pay-back period is incredibly attractive.  CalTech is getting a 22% IRR (internal rate of return), simply by ”doing the right thing” with respect to the efficiency of their buildings here in Southern California, but they’re one of few businesses/institutions that have taken the plunge.  Why is this so hard to sell?

Well, obviously, many businesses don’t own the real estate in which they operate, so you have an issue there.  The only other answer I can discern is a matter of priorities.  Regardless of the IRR, some companies would rather invest in their core businesses than in capital equipment that lies outside what they actually do.  Energy efficiency isn’t a visible, top-of-mind subject.  Yet. 

I think we’re close to a huge boom in efficiency, as more of the case studies like CalTech make the rounds.  Let’s hope so, anyway.

 

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