My friend Cameron Atwood and I were talking about energy policy the other night, and I promised to get back to him about the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the energy return on investment (EROI) associated with each of …
Examining the Validity of Different Energy Resources Read More »
Here’s a comment to which I’d like to respond. A reader notes in connection with my post on wind energy: All wind and solar are only good up to a point. When they power flexible demand, they have some benefit. …
Here’s my first and long overdue post on the energy think tank Post Carbon Institute, whose work I think readers will admire. In brief, it’s a group intent on providing an objective analysis on energy resources on this planet, and pointing …
Untangling the Contradictions that Surround Our Energy Future Read More »
Here’s a fantastic piece in the New Yorker. There are probably 20 posts here related to the bizarre repulsion for science maintained by the common American, but none handles it with panache like this.
There are two important takeaways from the graphic here: • We Americans use huge amounts of energy, and feel completely entitled to do so. Insofar as there are no pressures that would militate away from this level of overconsumption, it’s …
In many cases, the challenges of sustainability are made more difficult by various vicious cycles, where certain bad phenomena feed on themselves and thus enter a pattern of ever-increasing acceleration. A good example of this effect is ocean acidification, which …
When you hear about the Internet Of Things, or IoT as it’s commonly abbreviated, it’s usually with regard to convenience and knowledge. We’re using advanced exercise trackers to gain better understandings of our own fitness, integrating with cloud technologies to …
From Guest Blogger Charles Bell: Three Ways The IoT Can Help The Environment Read More »
Here’s a post intended for physicists like Glenn Doty to comment upon. A reader asks: Say we make a circumnavigating coil of conductor material, wouldn’t you generate a current? I am not into big money investments in risky ventures, but …
Using the Earth’s Magnetic Field To Generate Electricity? Read More »
In response to my piece on the ongoing deterioration of the world’s coral reefs, frequent commenter MarcoPolo suggests that the principal authors of the study are motivated by a political agenda. I respond:
It’s the birthday of physicist Richard Feynman, a gentleman who left us many important breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and electrodynamics, but is best remembered for his personable character and warmth, and his belief that science is a thing of beauty. …
