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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Like it or not, our civilization finds itself past the point of cheap energy and easy credit — confronted with a future that simply will not look like the past.

Here’s a short video in which I mention that we as a society need to redefine ourselves, that the “rich getting richer” is not sustainable. Moreover, this isn’t a bad — or even a painful thing, since when we are able to look past the thin veil of materialistic pleasures and begin to see our lives in grander terms, we find joys that we never knew existed.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h4W0fYcYrY]

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

This month’s webinar is a parade of good, solid concepts in renewable energy and electric transportation, and a discussion of the criteria that qualify a business plan as such. 2GreenEnergy co-founder George Alger will interview me, enabling me to discuss the process by which I’ve  reviewed more than 700 cleantech business plans over the past 24 months, from which I’ve selected 19 opportunities I consider to be excellent. Each has a solid team, proven technology, and a large, protectable target market.

We hope you can join us on Tuesday, November 22 at 10 AM PST, for this fast-paced discussion, during which we’ll field your questions live.

Here’s the sign-up form.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Earth Policy Institute’s Lester R. Brown credits the Sierra Club and other activist groups for creating the conditions under which U.S. carbon emissions have fallen precipitously over the last couple of years – largely due to our new-found distaste for coal. The campaign Beyond Coal has resulted in an environment in which virtually no new coal plants are being built, and the oldest and dirtiest are likely to be decommissioned soon. Simultaneously, wind energy has grown dramatically, to over 40 gigawatts, lead by Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota, and Illinois.

The obvious question, however, is this: If the U.S. economy heats back up, what precisely will we do to power it? Depending on the degree to which coal is regulated and taxed, it’s still the least expensive form of energy – and by far the least expensive form of non-intermittent “baseload” energy. If we do not force ourselves to pay for the externalities of coal (and other forms of energy), we will never create a climate in which renewable energy ultimately dominates our energy policy. But do we have the political will to do this?

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC-mpravdgw&w=420&h=315]

Here’s a radio interview I did the other day on a station in Cedar Rapids, IA. The show is cleverly called “Clean Up Your Act,” and deals with hundreds of different issues associated with sustainability and clean energy, in particular. I thought this gentleman did a good job at peppering me with sharp, relevant questions.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

“Sustainability” is such an important concept in our world today, and it’s magnificent to see so many people and corporate entities working hard to contemplate the effects their actions have on posterity. On the other hand, we come across atrocities every day that demonstrate how a great many of our deeds and policies run 180 degrees counter to this notion.

Here’s a good example, revealed in this interview on Democracy Now in which medical ethicist Harriet Washington  discusses the situation of Monsanto’s dealings with the desperately poor, disaster-ravaged farmers of Haiti. If you’re able to read this without your heart pounding in anger and disgust, you’re a stronger person than I. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

There is nothing magic about the number 7 billion, which, according to the United Nations, became the population of planet Earth sometime earlier today. The resources available to feed, clothe, house and transport the world’s people aren’t stretched far thinner today than they were yesterday. But it’s good to have milestones like this to cause us to think about where we’re going.

As discussed in this NPR segment, the critical pinch points of a growing population are not so much associated with running out of room, but running out of stuff. The populations that are growing fastest, those in India and Africa, are going to want to live like we do here in the US, i.e., as mega-consumers.

So what’s the big deal? Well, it’s that delivering on that promise of lots of stuff requires vast amounts of energy that currently can come only from fossil fuels and nuclear, all of which come with significant costs to the health and safety of our environment – as well as to us personally.

As physicist Dan Kammen, head of an energy laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley notes, “What’s needed is renewable energy that’s cheap and won’t run out. But by essentially every measure, we’re not moving fast enough.”

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

In my quest to keep up with great thinking in terms of small business, I’m having lunch tomorrow with one of the top people at Catalyst for Thought, a group that seeks to “unlock the entrepreneur in each of us.” Here’s an organization that believes as I do, that all our actions, good or bad, have a terrific ripple-effect on others:

Society is positively impacted when individuals are empowered to identify and address their own problems, and create solutions. This process impacts society. That impact inspires others, and the process is repeated when you connect like-minded people. The possibilities are exponential!

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

John Petersen is one of the most thoughtful critics of the electric vehicle industry. In a phone conversation I had with him a few weeks ago, he laid out a few reasons why he thinks the whole idea needs to be scrapped. Here, in his column on AltEnergyStocks.com, he further defends his position, pointing out the folly of the plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma, and suggesting that those who invest in the glutted lithium-ion battery market are imbeciles.

Although there is a lot of truth here, as there is to everything John writes, I point out a few things: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business


Thanks to all those who made suggestions for the title for my next book. There were several hundred, most of them fabulously creative, some deadpan, others hilarious. Tentatively, I’ve chosen:

RENEWABLE AND DOABLE
Our Transition to a Clean Energy Economy
that Won’t Cost Us the Earth

I like the concept for its clever rhyme, and also for its brave optimism, i.e., the suggestion that significant penetration of renewable energy and reduction in consumption of fossil fuels truly is an achievable goal. Fortunately, it jibes with the content of the book; in fact, there is a reasonable degree of hope to be found in various passages.

But having said that, the book is fundamentally an attempt to answer a single question: If this is such a critically important mission here on Earth, what are the forces that are making this transition so horribly difficult and slow? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfQd3Qhbdho]In October’s webinar provided here, I interviewed Eutricity CEO Brent Marsh who described the process by which Onsite Utility Services (OSUS) are replacing Energy Service Companies (ESCOs).  This will represent savings and peace of mind for managers of commercial and industrial real estate, while opening up an important opportunity in the market for OSUS providers.

Part of Eutricity’s unique approach is its implementation of high voltage (low current) DC (325V) for lighting and HVAC. This reduces customers’ expenses associated with AC-DC (power supplies for digital devices) and DC-AC (PV inverters). It also removes power factor losses.

Sounds like a light-bulb of an idea to me — an LED light, of course.

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