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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

My wife and I had dinner last night with fine friends, a married couple who never disappoint us with their conversation; they’re both extremely well-rounded and intelligent people who care deeply about the plight of their fellow travelers here on 21st Century Earth.  But sure enough, the guy brought up a topic that I recalled from a previous conversation:  wind turbines are ugly. 

I’m always a little surprised when well-educated people carry on like this.  To me, it goes without saying that our wide-open spaces are more attractive in their virgin state.  But we need to understand that a wind farm of 1000-or-so machines provides as much electricity as a coal-fired power plant.  As in most of our dealings, it comes down to the trade-offs we’re willing (or unwilling) to make.  In my book, lung cancer is uglier than wind turbines.  So are climate change, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, etc.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Climate Change

Here’s a report from Yale University that sheds light on the politics of global climate change.  Highlights include:

• “A majority of all registered voters (55%) say they will consider candidates’ views on global warming when deciding how to vote.”

So almost half of our voters don’t care a lick about this issue?  That’s not good.

• “Independents lean toward ‘climate action.’”

That’s because people who register as independents are thinkers.

• “Policies to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels and promote renewable energy are favored by a majority of registered voters across party lines.”

I’m glad to hear that, though it makes one wonder how the “drill baby drill” mentality could have come to pervade the U.S. energy agenda.  I’m reminded of the story that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter told us last fall at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum, where both senators from his state overtly defied the clearly expressed will of the people and voted for pro-oil legislation.  There is a word for this, and I use it advisedly: corruption.

Having presented this admitted oversimplification of Yale’s report, I urge you to read it in its entirety.

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Frequent commenter Arlene does not share the guarded optimism I expressed in my recent piece in which I predict a renaissance in environmentalism.  She writes:

The political landscape is terrible, in that the progressives are playing defense on so many subjects that sustainability and new energy economies are in last place. If we get an administration change, well you can wave goodbye to just about everything on the environmental and stewardship slate. …

The most disheartening reality for me is that climate change necessitates execution on a global scale. Anything else is a no-op, practically speaking.

I’m not sure about the results of an administration change. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

2012 sales of plug-in vehicles in the U.S. as of July 31st were 20,546, out of 8,398,746 total vehicles, under 0.25%, according to Jon LeSage’s Green Auto Market.  Concerned about this figure and looking for an explanation, I called my friend Paul Scott, who sells the Nissan Leaf at a dealership in Los Angeles.  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Green roofs are engineered vegetated roofing systems where plants and soil have replaced, or been put on top of, traditional concrete, roof tiles or shingles. 

The breathing living roofs provide numerous benefits to buildings including protection against stormwater runoff, conservation of energy and noise reduction. They provide a good ecosystem for plants and bugs, which further enhance the benefits. In fact, green roofs have also been shown to increase people`s productivity. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

I’m a big fan of renewable energy in all its forms, but, as I’ve often commented, efficiency is really the low-hanging fruit in terms of reducing the environmental footprint associated with energy.  In the U.S. alone, the efficiency technologies we’ve deployed reduced our energy consumption by 112 terawatt-hours last year.  That’s sufficient to drive a Nissan Leaf 400 billion miles, 13% of our overall vehicle miles traveled.  

I get the sense that more people every day are catching on to the importance of being better consumers of energy; in fact, it strikes me as credible that we will see something of a renaissance in terms of caring for our Earth.  Yes, there are still people driving Chevy Tahoes, Cadillac Escalades, and Hummers, but I think you’re going to see fewer of them each year, as public awareness of and concern for the environment continues to rise.  At the point it becomes “cool to be green,” the whole subject of eco-consciousness could really explode.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

One of the elements of new technology that investors hate is “technical risk,” the chance that a certain concept, when deployed in the real world, will simply fail to work.  I run across things like this all the time and dismiss them without commenting publically.  Here’s one that’s noteworthy, if only for its sheer size.  As I just told the entrepreneur, “Wow, this is the poster child for technical risk. You want investors to back a project that will cost billions of dollars, and there is no working model, regardless of how small, showing that it will work? My hat is off to you!”

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

In reference to my post on the lifecycle analysis (LCA) of wind turbines, Peter Leach writes:

The LCA of fossil fuel (or nuclear) powered electricity production presumably shows a good return in terms of direct power out vs. power consumed.  Until, that is, you start to quantify the externalities – pollution, climate impact, resource depletion, security, legacy management, etc – which is no mean feat and open to dispute on every point.  It would be very interesting to see a calculation that attempts this challenge.

You have nailed it, Peter.  If you can successfully get someone else to pay the costs you name there (and I would include the cost of waging wars to maintain access to oil), fossil fuels remain cheap.   As far as the calculation is concerned, I often cite this recent report from Harvard Medical School, a scholarly piece that pegs the externalities of burning coal at $500 billion annually. 

That’s pretty hefty, when you think about it.  And it doesn’t contemplate other key ingredients in the cost equation.  How many extreme weather events will be caused by global climate change, and what will be their price in terms of property damage and human fatalities? What will be the cost of dealing with tens of millions of “climate refugees?” Droughts that cause food and water shortages? Loss of biodiversity? Ocean acidification?

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I’m delighted to announce that I’m going to be interviewing Dr. Raj Pachauri during his upcoming trip to the U.S., in preparation for my next book, Renewable Energy — Following the Money.   For those who may be unfamiliar with Dr. Pachauri, below is an excerpt from the website of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).  Thanks to my friend and 2GreenEnergy “Associate” Vijay Rochlani for suggesting the idea, and arranging the meeting.  I’m really looking forward to this one.

Dr Rajendra K Pachauri assumed his current responsibilities as the Chief Executive of TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) in 1982, first as Director and, since April 2001, as Director-General. TERI does original research and provides knowledge in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology, and the conservation of natural resources to governments, institutions, and corporate organizations worldwide. Since August 1998 he has also been Chancellor,TERIUniversity. In April 2002, Dr Pachauri was elected the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988 (Re-elected in September 2008). IPCC along with former Vice President Al Gore has been awarded the “Nobel Peace Prize” for the year 2007. He was the Founding Director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI) from July 2009 till June 2012 following which he has been appointed as Senior Adviser to YCEI. He has been active in several international forums dealing with the subject of climate change and its policy dimensions.

More here:

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Question:  What’s a 501(c)(4)?

Answer: Can be found at http://2greenenergy.com/cool-guess-answers/8732 .

Relevance:  Political organizations that don’t have to disclose their donors to the public have proven immensely popular – and powerful. Two conservative nonprofits, Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, have poured almost $60 million into TV ads to influence the presidential race so far, outgunning all super PACs put together.

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