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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

A reader sent me this article in Scientific American that suggests the possibility that wind turbines contribute to global warming and requested my response.

It seems to me that the first commenter nailed it: “the article also seems to forget warmist theory discounts the concept of local climate having any affect on the globe, only the average global temperature matters.”  Moreover, let’s do a bit of math here.  Could the waste heat produced by a wind-driven generator offset the benefit derived from not burning that amount of coal?  Forget about the negative effects of mining and transporting the coal, and think of the thermodynamics in the coal plant itself, where you have waste heat from both the burning of the coal and the generation of electricity.

Also keep in mind that climate change is only one of half a dozen reasons to migrate away from fossil fuels.

Overall, this sounds silly.  But apparently, Scientific American isn’t held in the esteem I thought it was; those comments really shredded them.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Germany has installed enough photovoltaics that, at this point, coal-fired power plants are beginning to become unprofitable. This is driven by a combination of factors, e.g., that coal isn’t asked to provide power at the peak of the day, when both the sun and the price of electricity are at their zenith. Of course, most of us cheer when coal runs into trouble, but issues like this raise some fantastically interesting questions about the future of power generation – and transportation – as we migrate from fossil fuels into more sustainable modalities. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a local newscast on aeroponics, featuring Doug Jacobs, Rafael Quezada’s business partner at Tower Harvest. The segment did a good job at getting at some of the key benefits: organic growing, eco-friendliness, locally grown, and bringing high quality food to blighted urban areas.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

The responsible states, the responsible investors and the responsible citizens are the three pillars for renewable energy development all over the world. The responsible state creates a conducive investment climate for renewable energy enterprise and investors returns, in which citizens invest anticipating good returns. The nations with good investment climate maximize numerical capital growth and quicker formation of renewable energy corporations. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

It’s hard to believe that respect for our natural environment can be such a bone of contention, but, as reported here, certain sectors of the population fiercely attack green initiatives at every turn. It seems unthinkable to me.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

With all our recent discussions on aeroponics and locally grown food, I’m delighted to note that, according to the Writer’s Almanac, it’s the birthday of chef and author Alice Waters. Waters is best known for her books on the use of fresh, local ingredients; her most recent was In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart, in which she wrote:

“Our full humanity is contingent on our hospitality; we can be complete only when we are giving something away.”

What a lovely thought that is – and, no offense to other authors in this genre, but that’s certainly more profundity than one expects to find in a cookbook.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Patricia A. Holden of West Dennis, MA writes:

I am concerned about the big push for industrial wind turbines in this country. I frequently visit a friend in Falmouth, Massachusetts who has had three of these turbines installed within in a mile (one is less than 1/2 mile) away from his home. He and his neighbors are having health issues as a result of the operation of these turbines so close to their homes……Please be sure that your research and understanding is all-encompassing before you continue to advocate wind energy.

Thanks for this, Patricia. Though I’m certainly not an expert on the subject, I am aware of Wind Turbine Syndrome (WTS), controversial as it is. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Yesterday’s webinar on aeroponics went very well. Unless I’m mistaken, every single one of the participants wrote in at least one question in the course of the hour-long dialog between my guest Rafael Quezada and me. There were so many, in fact, we couldn’t get to all of them.

We’ll have the archived version on the site soon for those who missed it.

The more I learn about the subject, the more enthralled I become. I can’t think of another discipline that addresses as many social ills with a single technology. Sure, there is the subject of better nutrition itself and all that this entails: childhood obesity, diabetes, and the numerous forms of damage we’re doing to ourselves with our increasing toxic food supply. But aeroponics also addresses:

• The locally grown issue, eliminating the delays and the carbon footprint associated with agribusiness, and the trucking of food thousands of miles from harvest to destination.

• The chemical run-off issue, where our pesticides and herbicides are polluting our rivers and oceans.

• The challenge of bringing nutritious food to desert areas, or to blighted urban areas where grocers will not set up shop.

“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”

– Victor Hugo, French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802 – 1885)

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

When I was much younger I recall telling a friend that if I had to live the rest of my life on exactly three foodstuffs, I would select oysters, mangoes, and beer. Of course, that was before I developed a love for renewable energy.

Where could I possibly be going with this?

Check this out: a project submitted by Chris Rene, a terrific contributor to what we’re doing at 2GreenEnergy, that combines solar energy and shellfish farming, using solar energy to grow oyster seed that will then sequester ocean CO2.

That’s a lot of goodness rolled into one. Onshore, just add a few mango trees and a microbrewery, and I think you’ve nailed it.

Seriously, if anyone’s interested in speaking with Chris, please let me know and I’ll arrange a conversation.

 

More info here:

www.condofish.com
http://hermosa-bay-oyster.yolasite.com/links.php
http://condofish.wordpress.com/about-2/committee-members/
http://condofish.wordpress.com/

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Ocean Thermal

Here’s a piece in The Economist on ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) that points out the sad truth about the development of alternative energy technologies, i.e., that interest is strong when oil is expensive, but wanes to zero when oil prices fall. Witness the U.S. response to the oil embargoes in the 1970s, and the near-immediate abandonment of all that when it appeared the crisis was over. And, of course, the story repeats itself into the 21st Century with our current “drill baby drill” mentality (more…)

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