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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

People need direct and clear instructions, like road signs or charts in a doctors office.  A speed limit sign doesn’t say “Slow speed by 20%” when entering a school zone.  It says “Do not exceed 20 mph”.  If a doctor reports cholesterol is higher than it should be, he recommends how to cut enough get it down into a healthier range.  The blood test result is a number and the healthy target is a number.  Speed road signs and common health matters (cholesterol, heartbeat, breathing rate, blood pressure, etc) are always numbers.  We sometimes do not think about what they mean, but we often understand what’s better or worse.  For example, we might feel okay about going 22 in a 20 mph school zone, but probably not 35.  I might feel okay about a 105 cholesterol result but certainly not 150.

What might personal energy road signs be? The most important personal energy information would seem to be (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Renewable Energy World’s Steve Leone published an article today on solar and its attempts to go mainstream, in which he mentions a great number of developments that will ultimately make solar far more appealing to consumers than it is currently. Some of these notions include transparent PV on windows, as well as PV roof shingles and other forms of building-integrated solar.

It was good to see he noted the role of electric transportation in the equation. I.e., there is clearly a growing number of people who want to control the source of electricity that charges their cars – and what better way to do that than to install that source on their roofs?

If we still have a civilization here in 2050, we will have “gotten there.” The questions are how much damage we will have done, and who’s going to get rich in the process.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

At the conclusion of the last moonwalk that took place on this date in 1972, the astronauts unveiled a plaque, which read: “Here man completed his first explorations of the Moon, December 1972. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind.”

That’s beautiful writing, and causes one to wonder how it’s possible that war is such an omnipresent reality here on Earth. Maybe it’s that we seemed so divorced from its horrors; it’s something that just rolls along, with skirmishes that are hardly newsworthy, taking place in some foreign land, affecting people we don’t know. Thus we “support our troops,” meaning (to most people) we “support the war effort.”

At a certain point, perhaps people will simply change their minds, and tell their leaders, “No, I don’t support this – even a little bit.  Make this stop, or start looking for a new career.” Until then, war, supremely profitable, will remain our paradigm for settling differences.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

Very few people traipsing around this planet know more about energy efficiency than John Robbins. As he puts it: “Energy education for homeowners is my arena. I’ve thought, taught and written about it for a long time.” (Coming up on 30 years, to be exact.)

Efficiency and renewables are blood brothers; advocates of clean energy who aren’t pushing efficiency are completely missing the boat. And the fact that there is relatively little discussion of efficiency here is a sad truth that I’d like to rectify with great speed and force – which is why I’m encouraging John to put up more guest-blog posts soon.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

I’m delighted that Ben Thorp has become friendly with us here at 2GreenEnergy. Here’s a guy who’s forgotten more about biomass than 99% of professionals in this arena know, and who frequently sends me scholarly papers he’s penned on the subject, in a patient and thoughtful effort to bring me up to speed. Here’s one of his recent publications, An Efficient and Sustainable Use of Biomass for Heat and Power.  Hope you enjoy. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-9nHzXswwk]I spent yesterday afternoon in the local television studio, shooting a series of videos for a variety of different purposes. I thought I’d send you this short (under one minute) piece that explains the premise of my next book, whose title I later revised to “Is Renewable Really Doable?” which will be available next month. Thanks to 2GreenEnergy co-founder George Alger for his work here; I think these are some cool video effects.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Fast trucking the development of clean energy in Africa has been a major challenge for which African states have to render political and governance support, one of the fundamental strategy is intergovernmental organizations and programmes of Africa’s group of nations. There are intergovernmental institutions and programmes for clean energy governance in Africa. The African Union (AU) is the principal organization of African states. It includes 53 African member States. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

My great thanks to Seth Leitman, aka the Green Living Guy, for his article on Renewable Energy — Facts and Fantasies.   Nicely done, Seth!

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I just got home from the TV studio after shooting three hours of videos. Each time I do this, I come  away wondering if there could possibly be more exhausting work. I would have hoped that after all the time I’ve spent recently on radio and TV, I would have become fairly comfortable with a mic/camera in my face, but honestly, I was totally baked after three short hours. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Think we advocates of renewables in the U.S. have trouble? Our friends in the U.K. are running into a buzzsaw of misinformation, like the report “Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage”, published today by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report includes:

“Wind does little to reduce carbon emissions.”

and

“Nuclear and gas are the most viable energy sources for the near future.”

What a remarkable thing to say, when the U.K. has already installed enough wind turbines to provide clean electricity to more than 3.2 million homes, according to RenewableUK, the trade association representing the wind, wave, and tidal energy industries.  RenewableUK also makes the point that I always do about nuclear: even if you consider it safe, it takes a minimum of eight years to permit and build a reactor, and the cost overruns are legendary.  Referring to it as “viable” seems ridiculous.

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