Home › Blog › Page 1743

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Tomorrow my daughter and I will spend the afternoon on a project for her science class at school: building a model house whose electrical power is delivered with solar photovoltaics.  I have a small solar panel that (I believe) will put out about 5 Watts in the full sun, and a couple of flashlight batteries of different types.  I think I’m going to have to experiment with series vs. parallel circuits, different bulbs, etc., before I get this right.  Should be fun.

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I think we’ve all had experiences that were such unmitigated disasters that they were actually funny. That’s the bottom line on today’s book signing at Roblar, a very nice local winery with which friends had made arrangements for me.

Not only did I not sell a single book, but I was heckled by a couple of the wine-tasters. This is a very “God and Country” part of the world, so, sadly, the whole concept of clean energy is met with a degree of skepticism and even derision.

I had a guy exclaim from halfway across a crowded room, “I don’t believe in global warming.” (more…)

Tagged with:

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I’d like to ask a favor, if I may. We have a quick survey up on the 2GreenEnergy website – one that, interestingly enough,  calls for you to predict the future. Given our current energy policies and the rate at which they’re changing, what do you think the world will be like five years from now? What events do you believe are likely to occur between now and the year 2017? Which do you think are improbable?

As usual, we’ll tabulate the results and offer you a free copy of the report that comes as a result.

And as always, we appreciate your help.

Here’s the link:

http://2greenenergy.com/survey-what-will-happen-in-the-next-five-years/

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

For those who predict a smooth, predictable adoption of renewable energy, electric transportation, or anything at all, I enter into evidence this graphic showing the importance of social media in our world today.

As this is the day of Facebook’s IPO, it seems fitting to write a few words on the subject and ask: Did anyone forecast that social media would come to this position of cultural and financial dominance a few years ago? (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Frequent commenter Len Novarro is part of a magnificent organization called BOOST (an acronym for Business, Organized global education and Opportunity in Science and Technology). Together with the Asian Heritage Society and Alliant International, the group informs, educates and mentors Asian girls, 12-16, principally in science and technology, in pursuit of careers as entrepreneurs.

I invite readers to check out the great work that Len and his team does – linked above.

 

 

Tagged with: , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Rogelio writes:

I think that anybody contemplating a career in clean energy has always to take a look at the engineering and scientific aspects of the field to find a very demanding and yet rewarding career, why because we live in a technical field….There will always be better ways to extract energy from the sun, the wind, earth and the water…. Lawyers, accountants as well as marketers cannot lead the way; they lack the tools and the vision to understand and unleash the forces of nature in our benefit. Cheers, Mate.

Rogelio, thanks very much for this  great insight. It reminds me of (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Here’s another episode of the television show “Our Ventura” in which host George Alger interviews me with respect to the adoption of renewable energy. I tried to answer as many questions as the 15-minute time-slot would allow. How far have we come? How far do we have to go? What are the consequences of success? Failure? What are the imperatives? The challenges? Who are the supporters? The detractors?

I’ll be interested in your feedback.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT2YULs6wHc]

Tagged with: , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Petrina Sharp, my good friend and director of the 2GreenEnergy Video Report, set up this attractive display of “Is Renewable Really Doable?” for an Earth Day celebration in Ventura, CA a few weeks ago. (more…)

Tagged with: ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

Ryan Radecki, from The Green Room at Ohio University, writes:

I agree with some of your proposed ideas on the problems with environmentally friendly forms of energy, and I used your comments about having no free lunch for energy in my essay. I also feel that renewable energy forms by themselves are not helping, but the combination of many types of renewable sources is our future. Would you mind reading my blog at http://ryansfuturefuels.blogspot.com I would like to have your perspective.

 

Ryan:

I agree with the basic idea, i.e., the pros and cons / no free lunch concept. But I think your perspective here is too harsh and a little unfair. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

I had a lovely phone chat last evening with a young lady, a high school senior who was working on a paper for school and wanted to ask a few questions about solar energy.  In particular, she wanted to know the cost of  converting her entire town (Arcadia, CA — 56,000 people, let’s say 20,000 households) to 100% solar.

Understandably, she hadn’t thought through some of the implications. (more…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,