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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

This week I’m taking a break from the ideal Southern California weather, and traveling on one of my regular East Coast tours.  Today, I’m in Washington DC for the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s annual conference, where one of the day’s events was a press conference in which a few dozen of the currently- and soon-to-be-available EVs were displayed outside the Department of Energy Building.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and a few others spoke to an enthusiastic audience.  I was in the front row. 

Markey is obviously very bright, and has the quick wit one expects of a Congressman who thinks of himself as progressive.  “Many people have a theological belief in our abundance of oil.  The problem is that oil isn’t about THEology; it’s about GEology.  We have less than 2% of the world’s oil, while consuming about 25% of it.”

He also reminded us of the trip that George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice made to Saudi Arabia a few years ago, the purpose of which was to make a request for an increase in oil production, thus a reduction in price on the world markets.  In exchange for the Saudis’ agreement to consider the idea, we agreed to sell them nuclear energy generation equipment (as if they need it, sitting on all that oil, with their own gasoline at 9 cents a gallon). 

“This was one of the low points in US history,” Markey told us, looking at his feet solemnly. “When Kennedy was president, he told Khrushchev, ‘We will use technology to dominate you in the Space Race.’ Why couldn’t Bush have done something like that?  Why can’t we simply commit to innovating and developing technology that will establish US leadership in the field of energy?  So much of this is right here, in our hands right now.  The electric vehicles you see here today are a lethal weapon in our fight to end our oil addiction.”

Something to think about.

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Just arrived at my hotel at 12th and K.  It’s a bit past 2 AM EDT, and in a few hours it will be time to head out for the breakfast “networking” session prior to the start of the conference.   I’m psyched. Should be a good couple of days. 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

This year’s Electric Drive Transportation Association conference in Washington DC is shaping up to be a good one. Great agenda, lots of sponsors, and tons of high-level exhibitors. I’ll be there for two days, for a host of different reasons – one of which is the sheer joy of seeing all this moving forward.  Steven Chu’s the keynote speaker, and I always enjoy listening to him, as well. 

My hat’s off to the EDTA and its president Brian Wynne (whom I interviewed in Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies); they’ve done terrific work in pulling together causes that have disparate agendas, and moving the industry along as a cohesive unit.

I encourage anyone in town wishing to say hello to let me know.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

I’m headed back East on Monday for meetings in Washington DC and NYC this week; I’ll try to write from the road. Among my stops is the Environmental Law Institute, where spokesperson Jay Predergrass has generously agreed to let me interview him for my next book.

From our initial conversations, these people sound extremely sharp and dedicated. I’ll be interested to learn things like how they differ in mission and function from the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), whom I interviewed for Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies. Apparently, both use the legal process as their core tool to keep environmental causes moving forward, or, to say it differently, from allowing unbridled industrialization from running roughshod over the environment.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I just came across this article on Chrysler’s plan to offer a natural gas-based car in 2017. 

I know this sounds like a strange reaction, but personally, this cheeses me off.  I see it is an attempt to confuse and distract the consumer from alternate fuel vehicles, so Big Auto can sell more internal combusion engines and Big Oil can pump more gasoline for a few more years while the market scratches its head and tries to sort this out. 

Of course, Chrysler is free to choose whatever product marketing strategy it cares to.  But the net of this decision will be only two things:

a) An ultimate failure for Chrysler (and the tax-payers who bailed them out after their last many decades of failure).  There is no way in the universe that CNG (even though it’s cheap now) will become a viable fuel for the US long-term.  How much more will they need from us to cover this fiasco?  

and

b) A short-term confusion and turn-off for the consumer, as it will serve to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the evolution to EVs.

As always, not everyone sees it the way I do.  I just spoke with Plug-in America co-founder and heavy-duty EV advocate Paul Scott.  Paul welcomes Chrysler’s idea, and (though he didn’t say it) clearly thought I was half crazy for my reaction to the news. 

But hey — it’s a difference of opinion that makes horseraces. 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

2GreenEnergy Associate Bruce Allen spends a great deal of time in Washington D.C., advising Congressmen on energy policy. Recently, when he told me his clients included people “at the highest levels of government,” I asked the natural question: “Oh really – who would that be?” At the time, Bruce demurred. “Sorry, Craig, but I can’t tell you right this minute.”

Well, as suggested here, it’s House Speaker John Boehner. Keep up the good work, Bruce. I can’t think of a better representative of a good, common sense approach to an energy policy built around sustainability.  I can only hope the client is receptive to your ideas.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

In yesterday’s webinar on electric vehicles (EVs) I used the same metaphor that the author of this article did: no car buyer wants to invest in the auto equivalent of the next Betamax (a standard for videotapes that became obsolete a few decades ago).

Sure, we all face the reality that perhaps EVs (or any of the dozens of other solutions we’re trying to deploy to avert imminent real-world disasters) will be replaced by newer technology. But the metaphor only goes so far.

The world did not become a better place in which to live when VHS somehow beat out Betamax as the video standard. Here, we’re talking about the health and safety of everyone living on Earth – as our dependence on oil deepens and we slip ever further into the associated issues: national security, lung disease, and environmental damage.

It’s true that the consumer doesn’t want to risk buying a Betamax. And I freely confess that very few consumers will make sacrifices for the larger good. But fortunately, we have gas prices rising, and an ever-increasing resentment of the oil companies – along with, of course, a few lonely folks who want to do the right thing.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

San Jose State University and SolarTech conducted a study recently in Silicon Valley to understand consumer attitudes toward solar energy and solar power for home use. Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County) is considered a bell-weather county in a state that is more aware of solar and alternative energy than the typical American.

The goal of the survey was to analyze consumer awareness, preferences, perceptions and ultimate attitude to adoption of solar energy by homeowners.

A brief profile of the respondents: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Ruohvz6_o]

Here, 2GreenEnergy Video Report host George Alger interviews me on the hydrogen economy: what it means, its validity, and its ramifications.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

The other day, a friend forwarded me an invitation to audition for a space in the Ted Talks. Wow! The notion that I have any “Ideas Worth Sharing” (their tagline) is more than little flattering.

In my mind, the only concept I have that is even remotely worthy of the Ted Talks is the concept I’m developing for my next book: the true reason that renewable energy really isn’t happening in the US. Without a doubt, the answer to that one would be quite worth sharing.

Yet, from what I’ve been able to gather, it seems that the answer is simple; in fact, it is summed up in a word: corruption.

The reason our energy mix is dominated by sources that carry with them environment ruin, never-ending wars, lung disease, and ballooning national debt is nothing other than the unlovely effect that Big Money has on the political landscape. It’s the same reason we can’t have meaningful reform in banking or healthcare. It’s what lies behind the declining levels of nutrition in our food, and the degradation of pop entertainment: money.

Again, I’m flattered that someone thinks I have a Ted Talk in the making. But even if I do, I’m not sure how the judges would respond to a talk whose answer to the question is exactly one word in length.

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