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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

The scientists at Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia have collected the draft genome of a marine algae sequence to support the researchers all over the United States in a project which aspires to find out the best algae species for creating biodiesel fuel. The need to develop an alternative and renewable fuel sources is to avert any energy crisis in the future along with reducing the greenhouse gas production. Researchers want to produce large quality of bio fuel in some small amount of space employing minimal resources. This will therefore to address the world’s fuel requirements.

Algae bio fuels is both promising and unique

Algae are simple microscopic organism which is generally seen in water and grows hydroponically. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

I just got an email from the Sierra Club, wanting me to get on board for a piece of environmentalism that goes like this:

This year, Assembly member Felipe Fuentes has a bill that would allow the Calico Solar Project, a solar project in California that will cover 4,613 acres—four times the size of the Golden Gate Park- within an area key to the survival of the desert tortoise- to bypass the environmental review process that almost all other projects are subject to.

I see no reason that anyone or anything should be exempt from the standard environmental review processes. Having said that, it’s always struck me as inflexible to refuse to make tough choices. Imagining 4,613 acres as all PV, we’d have about a gigawatt (after using a capacity factor of 0.2) , a replacement for a coal-fired power plant. I hate to sound insensitive, but considering the larger ecological and health-related issues of burning coal, I would think that the savings would justify exiling some desert tortoises.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

A quick note from the electric vehicle show in Los Angeles in early May:

It’s true that most of the credible car-makers have EV products scheduled for delivery in the not-too-distant future.  But they’re obviously hedging their bets, delaying their market entrance as long as possible, so as to maximize the penetration of their pipeline of gasoline powered vehicles.

It’s pretty clear that their hearts are not in this.  And why should this be otherwise?  If you’re an auto OEM, you see nothing but an ocean of downside: billions of dollars of R&D, tons of a dozen different kinds of risk including exposure to tort attorneys from hell, diminution of sales revenues, huge costs of customer support and education (that will STILL wind them up with upset customers), the expense of supporting multiple platforms, shotgun weddings with charger suppliers and standards, etc.   (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

On my way to the electric vehicle show in downtown Los Angeles this morning I dropped in to see 2GreenEnergy associate Dan Sturges.  I picked him up at his place in nearby Culver City, and chatted with him about the future of transportation while I had my 17-year-old BMW washed.  As I explained to Dan, “I hope you’re not shocked that I would drive a car with 247K miles on it, but, as I’ve said many times, I’m never buying another car that burns gas — and the cost/benefit equation of EVs are just starting to come into line.”

Btw, that statement was borne out by what’s on display here at the show.  Lots of new models, improving range, prices high, but, I believe, poised to come down.  Toyota unveiled their RAV4 Electric.  Nice looking  SUV, but it’s bigger than I need, 100 mile range, and MSRP just under $50,000.  This stuff needs to be less expensive, and I believe will be one day soon.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A friend asked me to evaluate the technology represented here.  “Is there something here?” she inquired?

“I wish there were. But alas, it’s a fraud,” I responded.

“You are soooo in the know!” she gushed.

“Ha! You’re too kind.  Btw, I like to keep an open mind about this stuff; not all weird ideas are fraudulent. In fact, ALL great ideas were consider weird — at best — when they were introduced.  

“But certain things are non-starters from the point of view of science principles that are extremely well established, like the laws of thermodynamics.  The idea of running a car on water, for example, is the same as fueling a fire with ashes. Ashes are the low-energy product of a fire that’s already happened, i.e., an event in which the chemical energy of the fuel was turned into heat energy. Similarly, water is the lower energy result of the oxidation of hydrogen; it’s what’s left after the energy of the fuel has been removed.

“Btw, if you want to see an even more obvious attempt at criminal fraud, it’s here. Why this guy isn’t making license plates, I cannot tell you.

“Please feel free to send me other stuff as well; I’m always looking for winners, while being amused at people’s attempts to pawn off bad ideas.”

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

Tomorrow I plan to take my daughter and one of her friends to a green home improvement show in San Luis Obispo, a charming little rural community a bit north of here.

In addition to product demos, there are lectures throughout the day. I’m reminded of various talks I’ve done at venues like this, where I would look out at the audience and notice someone trimming his nostril hairs with a weed-eater.

I’ll post some highlights after the show.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Bruce writes:

Wake up, if you want to stop pollution, stop polluting yourself and quit blaming the people that enable you to do the dirty work yourself. Take some personal responsibility. Environmental issues are never going to be solved as long as we concentrate on what others should do instead of what we ourselves can do. You have a choice. Stop talking and start doing or quit whining.

Ahem.

It’s certainly true that we form the world in which we live with our purchasing behavior. And I have to admit that, while I’m fairly decent in this department, I could be better.

But, Bruce, I did feel compelled to make a point here on behalf of the entire 2GreenEnergy team. We actually ARE doing; we ARE making a difference. In fact, we’ve helped hundreds of people in countries all over the world connect up and form businesses based around energy efficiency and renewables. I have emails from people in countries I didn’t know existed thanking us for our help. At the same time, we’ve communicated what we believe to be the truth in this space to many hundreds of thousands, creating a better informed, more energy-literate student population and electorate.  We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished — and we’re just getting started.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

We’re having a small gathering here tomorrow for the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby. I’ve prepared a few Kentucky-oriented dishes and drinks for the proceedings, including my inimitable recipe for the Mint Julep.

My wife and I bred Thoroughbreds for a couple of decades. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Oh my God. Please tell me this isn’t true – that it’s a bad dream. I don’t live on the same planet with people who would run an ad like this one from the Heartland Institute, do I?

For those who may not know, Heartland (an appealing name for “real Americans,” isn’t it?) is an elite group of the wealthiest, most powerful and most ruthless people on Earth.  And this ad is the level of abuse they’re willing to perpetrate on “commoners” — people who lack the luxury of an education that would be necessary to recognize it for the pure garbage it is.  

I’ve seen a lot of disgraceful behavior in my 56 years crawling around this sad planet, but I honestly cannot recall anything more shameful.   

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

The reader who asked me about this article on renewable energy from RealClearScience poses this follow-up:

So the article didn’t stress the importance of a “level playing field” which I understand is of major importance. So, your overall impression is that the article mentioned obvious problems in green energy without emphasizing the most important one. Correct?

Thanks for your note, and yes.  The article’s purpose was to bring new people up to speed on renewable energy in the least offensive way possible, which required talking around the central issue, which I would summarize as follows: (more…)

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