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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

One of the benefits of my position at 2GreenEnergy is that it enables me to do hundreds of quick and easy actions that help people learn about renewable energy, and, at some level, forward the cause of sustainability all over the world.  Later this week, I’m doing an interview for a journalist who writes for a magazine in England.  I also have a call set up with an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University, where I’ve offered to help her and a couple of her classmates with their class “Engineering Management 221: Technology Strategy,” in which they pick a company, and develop a strategy for their newest technology.  Oh, to be young again….

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Frequent commenter Larry Lemmert writes:

It makes sense to replace some things before they quit working. Computers, light bulbs, water heaters and power plants of all kinds come to mind. At what point should a newer technology replace a functioning older technology? From a business perspective, it is logical to replace old equipment when it is less expensive to amortize the cost of the new technology than to continue to pay to operate the old technology.

The bugaboo that brings out political rants is the hidden costs of air pollution and other environmental degradation brought on by continued use or disposal of the old stuff.

The compromise which is acceptable to many folks is to retrofit, upgrade, or renew older systems to mitigate at least some of the environmental consequences of continued use. Extension of the life cycle benefits the technology investors as well as the rate payers. Everyone wins if level heads prevail.

I think you’ve nailed the basic elements of the discussion in your first two paragraphs; the problem I see is in the last one. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Frequent commenter Dr. James Gover writes:

It is my understanding that because of: (1) the cost of new coal plants due in part to EPA enforcement of air pollution standards, (2) the lower cost (in comparison to coal) of new (natural gas) NG plants and (3) the low cost of NG, new coal plants are not being built in the US. As old coal plants reach end of life and are phased out, these are being replaced with NG plants, wind and solar. The issue is almost entirely what will China and India do. I don’t think that the U.S. will have much influence on either; rather, their directions will be determined by domestic politics. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

On my piece on EVs earlier today, my friend Tom Konrad of AltEnergyStocks.com writes:

Given the extra demand from a large number of EVs, how will the utilities supply the extra power? (This could be anything, not just renewables or fossil generation, but also possibly through demand side management (DSM) – better efficiency elsewhere freeing up power to charge cars.)  Personally, my preference is to charge my car with DSM. 

There is no doubt that energy efficiency and conservation are where the real low-hanging fruit lie in terms of the planet’s energy picture.  Having said that, I think it could be argued that, regardless of how much power we’re consuming at any point now or in the future, anytime an incremental load on the grid is met with coal, this militates away from EVs as green transportation.  This is the point that energy analyst Glenn Doty makes, and I think he’s exactly correct.

The issue is putting an end to coal, not only here in the U.S., but in the rest of the world, particularly China.  This will take an effort of huge proportion that will require governments that have lukewarm relations with one another to work together in trust and harmony.  All this, of course, is unprecedented.  The driver is that it’s absolutely required if our civilization is to avoid the brunt of the climate change catastrophe that is so clearly headed its way.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s an overly simplistic article that questions the validity of electric vehicles as “green” transportation on the basis that coal is used to charge EVs.  And here is one of the comments: “I power my electric car totally from solar PV panels. This article should be citing coal-fired power plants, not electric cars.” He has an excellent point, but, since most EV drivers charge their cars from the grid, this too over-simplifies the matter.

Here are several items to consider, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few myself:

• Many supporters of electric transportation point to the declining percentage of coal in our grid-mix.  But to understand how clean the fuel is, the question is not: “What is the average grid-mix?” but rather, “Exactly what happens when I put additional load on the grid when I charge my car?”  At night, in the U.S. in 2012, that almost always means that someone somewhere will be burning more coal.  And, to the degree that’s true, EVs are a terrible solution environmentally.

However, the situation is more complicated and dynamic than that, as: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A friend just sent me this piece on ocean acidification and asks: “The tipping point has tipped?”

I respond:

Could be.  In truth, no one knows. 

I’ve been writing about this for years.  In fact, when I’m on a radio show and a climate change denier calls in and wants to duke it out with me, I normally say something like, “I’ll tell you what.  I know there are people who rail against the 98% of climate scientists who have spent their careers studying the subject and ultimately support the global warming theory.  You should know that ‘deniers’ are far more numerous outside the scientific community than within it – a point that should mean something to you.  So yes, there are people who don’t believe this theory.  But are there people who don’t believe in lung cancer?  Terrorism?  War?  Ocean acidification?  I urge you to pick one of the many other independent reasons to migrate away from fossil fuels.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Last Friday was the birthday of French philosopher Denis Diderot, who said, “Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”  Holy cow, that’s some powerful language.  It appears to summarize the zeitgeist of Europe in the late Eighteenth Century, celebrating the Age of Reason and boldly announcing the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the U.S. Constitution with its separation of church and state. 

I’m often reminded that there was no analogous event in the Muslim world, where theocracy has been the unchallenged social and political paradigm since Islam came into existence 1500 years ago.  The world has so many problems, but to me, this seems to be at the core of a great number of them.     

Comments?

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I went to a party last night in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, to celebrate the grand opening of a hair salon.  A dear friend, whom I’ve known since kindergarten, married a wonderful Japanese woman who owns and manages salons, now numbering three, that serve to teach new practioners, many of whom come from Japan, as well as deliver hair and other beauty services.

To say that the crowd and atmosphere was trendy would be a horrific understatement.  I felt like (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I have every confidence that the next decade will see the introduction of numerous kinds of urban commuter electric vehicles that shatter the paradigm of the automobile as we know it now.  For obvious reasons, the auto companies – and to an even larger extent, the oil companies – are in no real rush to make this happen, as the current paradigm is quite profitable. Having said that, here’s a rendering of something that Toyota is working on. 

At $10,000 MSRP, it’s hard to know how this will be received.  That’s why I’m such a fan of the EmCycle, a product that will be available for a fraction – probably one quarter – of that.  The EmCycle may not have all the bells and whistles, but for a vehicle in this category, I don’t think that’s an issue.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

My colleague Alan Tratner has asked me to play some sort of yet-to-be-determined role in the California Space Enterprise Center, a project that would develop an 100-acre parcel in Lompoc, CA (near Vandenberg Air Force Base) into a world-class attraction promoting space-related businesses, including a home for incubators for private space enterprises, educational programs, and a museum.  I’ve just written a letter of support, as follows:

 

To Whom It May Concern:

I have an extremely positive opinion of the effort to develop the California Space Enterprise Center, as I believe it will be a critical component in the nurturing of innovation in private enterprise in space-related business arenas, while stimulating the flow of well-educated people and new businesses into the State of California, and in the Lompoc / Vandenberg area in particular.

I’ve known Alan Tratner, one of the project’s key sponsors, for several years now, and he has consistently impressed me with his level of vision and sophistication vis-à-vis creative business concepts.  I have every belief that this initiative will represent a powerful and positive force, driving success for the region. 

 

Best regards,

 

Craig Shields

Editor

2GreenEnergy.com

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