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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

Craig Rainey writes:

I just arrived back from a trip to Maui, HI and it continues to amaze me that they have 7000 acres of sugar cane, producing two crops/year, 90% refined into alcohol on island, over half of the cars on the road are flex fuel and they are importing gasoline from off island. Am I the only person out there that thinks that it just might be better for the island to adopt the Brazilian model?

I’ve spent a fair amount of time on Maui, and if I were they, I’d investigate skipping the carbon model altogether. They have an enormous amount of run-of-river hydro, with their huge elevations and incredible rainfall, as well as ocean thermal at their disposal. I believe that a truly fair-minded look at their energy and transportation scene would yield an attractive return on these renewables and electric transportation.

In fact, one of the dozen or so clean energy investment opportunities that I happen to favor is just perfect for the high head conditions that occur when rain falls in the mountains and runs quickly to the sea.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m sure many of you have seen the inspiring video below (it has over 5 million views), in which boaters free a humpback whale from a fishing net in which it had been caught. It makes the following passage from Beyond the Limits by Donella Meadows et al all the more outrageous. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

Frequent commenter/author Frank Eggers writes on my piece on subsidies for nuclear:

Nuclear power has been demonstrated to be far safer than fossil fuel power. Coal plants cause health problems that, while severe, are difficult to pinpoint because generally they simply greatly increase the health problems which would exist anyway whereas nuclear accidents, though infrequent, have a more concentrated and obvious effect.

Frank:  I’m not one of the hysterical anti-nuke people who grossly over-estimates the danger. Having said that: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Patrick OLeary of Futura Solar writes:

Renewable energy faces an institutional bias. Upfront costs mean upfront tax payments. No stream of bills to pay means no stream of tax revenues to collect.

Also consider the impact of solar on peaking power electric rates. Without that spike of money, Electric Utilities go back to being sleepy industries, sans the corporate bonuses.

You make some excellent points here. The “institutional bias” is exactly what makes this so tough; outside of the health and safety of all living things now and in the future, there is little incentive to make a shift in our energy policy. (I know that sounds sarcastic, but I don’t mean it that way.)

Creating that incentive means making some extremely high-level changes in the way we buy and sell energy. And the big boys don’t want to see that (or any other) change, thus making this a bit difficult.  Fortunately, it’s worth the struggle.  

Btw, the ideas on your website look cool. Keep up the good work.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I hope you’ll check out our newest piece of functionality: http://2greenenergy.com/express-yourself/. 

Most thoughtful Americans wonder why the United States is more a roadblock than a leader in energy-related technology.  It really IS a strange phenomenon, isn’t it?  There are numerous, obvious reasons that we need to move steadily away from fossil fuels: respiratory disease and environmental issues are two of them — but what about national security?  Why precisely are we so steadfast in borrowing an incremental billion dollars a day and handing it over to empower our own enemies, so that we can sustain our addiction to oil?   (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Nuclear

We speak often about ending the subsidies for Big Oil, in an effort to create a level playing field for renewable energy, and simply to stop transferring wealth from the U.S. tax-payer to the captains of the most profitable industry on Earth. And the discussion is heating up even further, now that America is $15 trillion in debt.

Here’s an article that points out that the federal government has spent more than $95 billion (in 2011 dollars) on nuclear energy research and development (R&D). That is more than four times the amount spent on solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, and hydropower combined.

Its authors note:

Many in Congress talk of getting big government off the back of private industry. Here’s an industry we’d like to get off the backs of the taxpayers. …..One thing we strongly agree on is the need to end wasteful subsidies that prop up the nuclear industry. After 60 years, this industry should not require continued and massive corporate welfare. It is time for the nuclear power industry to stand on its own two feet.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Part of the beauty of attending talks like the one environmentalist Annie Leonard (“The Story of Stuff”) gave last night lies not on the stage, but rather in the audience.

I sat in the front row (for some strange reason unappealing to most people), and right next to me was Marc McGinnes, one of the top contributors to the sustainability movement over the last 40 years. We chatted amiably for about 20 minutes before Annie took the stage.

Wow. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this opportunity.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When Annie Leonard (“The Story of Stuff”) spoke last night, she made it clear that, with all the bad news in the world in terms of resource depletion, toxicity, population growth, injustice, etc., there is some fabulous news: the vast majority of people both understand these issues and want to do something about them. 85% of Americans think corporations have too much control over our lives. 85%!  — that’s six out of every seven. Three-quarters (74%) think we need more environmental controls.

Annie thinks this is huge, and it’s hard to disagree. She asked the audience, “Do you know how many people agreed with Dr. Martin Luther King’s position when he made his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Anyone who’s ever been to Vermont recognizes that these people think and act differently from the rest of the country.  Fiercely brave and unapologetically independent, Vermont cuts to the chase, unafraid to take clear and decisive action when it’s demanded.

Yesterday, the Vermont State Senate voted 26-3 (that’s pretty decisive, I would say) in favor of an amendment to the Constitution that would make clear that corporations should not be afforded the right of free speech that people enjoy under the First Amendment.

State Senator Virginia Lyons (D) led the charge. Nice going, Vermont!

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Last night I had the pleasure of coming face to face with one of my true heroes: Annie Leonard (of “The Story of Stuff” fame) at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Annie commanded the riveted attention of a packed audience, before taking audience questions and then entertaining one-on-one conversations with people like me. What a fabulous human being! So alive, so dedicated, with an intellect and a sense of humor that are literally breath taking.

Like so many of the world’s top environmentalists, Annie never dreamed of the level of penetration her ideas would have. (more…)

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