Posts Tagged by externalities
Considering the Externalities of Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy Is the Bargain of the Century
| March 4, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
As readers may have noticed, I’ve begun promoting the launch of my second book, Is Renewable Really Doable? (available March 15th) using the 32-page report “Insights into LCOE – The Levelized Cost of Energy” as a give-away.
In response to my mentioning the LCOE concept, Henk Daalder responds:
No, we do not need to know what it costs to get sustainable energy, because the fossil route is always more expensive than the sustainable route. Read More
Book Launch: “Is Renewable Really Doable?”
| February 29, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
It’s time to launch my second book, Is Renewable Really Doable? on Amazon.com. The big day: March 15, 2012. I hope you will mark your calendar, and buy the book on that date.
To help generate interest in the subject, we have a giveaway: a hot new report called “Insights in LCOE – The Levelized Cost of Energy,” by industry analyst Mike Hess.
Before our society can decide on a certain course for its energy policy, we need to ask ourselves a central question: What Does It Cost?
Here’s a 32-page study, dealing with tough questions about land use, externalities, the safety of fracking, food and water shortages, climate change, transmission rights, smart-grid, efficiency, conservation, consumer incentives, carbon taxes, energy storage, health hazards, feed-in tariffs, subsidies – you name it. Read More
This Morning’s Interview with Jerry Taylor at the Cato Institute
| February 14, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
I just interviewed Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute for my next book, Renewable Energy – Following the Money. This was a wonderfully engaging talk of about 90 minutes with a brilliant person, which I have time only to summarize here.
In one way, I can say that there were no real surprises. Jerry calmly explained that clean energy either becomes affordable, and capitalists invest, or it’s not, and it sits on the sidelines. And given the fact that Cato’s mission statement is the forwarding of Libertarianism, how can anyone be shocked by that position?
The interesting part, of course, whether you’re a Libertarian or a Communist, is understanding the damage that fossil fuels are doing, and using government protection of the people to step in and make a difference. Libertarians believe in minimal government, though they acknowledge its role in protecting individual’s rights. E.g., I have no more right to pollute the air over your house than I do to throw my garbage in your front yard.
So, with all this philosophic agreement in place, why is the Cato Institute so bearish on renewable energy? First, it’s about pinning down the damage. They seem to believe that the externalities of oil and coal are minimal, as compared to most of the reports I’ve read. Jerry says, for instance, that the recent report from the Harvard Medical School estimating the health and environmental damage of oil and coal at $700 billion annually was “a bad study.” Also, though he acknowledges that industrial activities are causing global climate change, he thinks that the effects of this will be minimal, and not felt until far in the future. In addition, he finds it even harder to know who is benefiting and who is suffering.
Really? Do we have to split hairs here? What’s the matter with looking at this and concluding the obvious, like the oil companies are the most profitable industry on Earth, and the other seven billion of us are suffering. Not so fast, says Jerry. The developing countries near the equator are likely to be hit hardest by global warming, but they have also benefited the most from industrialization.
I don’t know, Jerry. I enjoyed the conversation, but this sounds like sophistry to me.
Thanksgiving – An Appropriate Time to Appreciate Mankind’s Benefactors
| November 24, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
Albert Einstein left us a number of gifts, most obviously his landmark breakthroughs in theoretical physics. The other, in my estimation, is the utter truckload of pithy philosophic quotes about mankind’s role in the universe. If you’re looking for something that will keep you out of trouble for a few hours, check this out – there are ten full pages of them.
Perhaps the most often quoted is this:
We can’t solve problems with the same kind of thinking we used to create them.
… which is often invoked by environmentalists to suggest that we’re foolish to count on the fossil fuel and nuclear industries to deal with the pollution and other externalities that come along with their products.
I’m with you all the way, good sir, and suggest that a combination of new modes of thinking are in order here:
1) Environmentalism itself, inspiring more and more people to act responsibly vis-a-vis the natural world
2) Energy conservation per se, making wholesale reductions in consumption, driven by building retrofits, mass transit, electric vehicles, etc.
3) Renewable energy – biting the bullet and making the investment in a clean energy future
Again, thanks to the ultimate man of ideas.
“The Price of Gas” Explores the True Costs of Our Oil Addiction
| July 8, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
Here’s a short animated video aptly called “The Price of Gas” that takes the viewer through the comprehensive costs to the environment of exploration, extraction, shipping, refinement of crude, and the distribution and consumption of gasoline. Very nicely done, IMHO.
It’s the work of the nonprofit organization Center for Investigative Reporting, who, since their inception in 1977, has worked to reveal injustice and strengthen democracy through journalism.
The Hydrogen Economy and the Migration from Fossil Fuels
| April 13, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
Here, 2GreenEnergy Video Report host George Alger interviews me on the hydrogen economy: what it means, its validity, and its ramifications.
2GreenEnergy Report – Peak Oil
| April 11, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
In this episode of the 2GreenEnergy Video Report, host George Alger interviews me on the phenomenon known as “peak oil,” i.e., that the world has peaked in terms of its oil production capacity. I discuss my take on this, as well as its many social, financial, and political ramifications.
2GreenEnergy Video Report — Peak Oil
| March 19, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
Here’s another episode of the 2GreenEnergy Report, in which I’m interviewed on the subject of peak oil. I manage to squeeze in references to related subjects as well: the consequences of our addiction to foreign oil, the externalities associated with fossil fuels, long-term environmental damage, the associated costs of healthcare, ocean acidification, and global climate change.
Externalities of the Oil Industry — Great Comments
| February 12, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Fossil Fuels |
There have been some fantastic comments to my piece on the externalities of fossil fuels the other day. I encourage folks to check out the response of frequent blogger Cameron Atwood in particular, to whom I reply:
Unfortunately, this corporatocracy has gotten so strong that it’s really tough to refocus people on what’s happening at the macro level which, you’ve nailed with 100% accuracy in your excellent remarks. There’s a great deal of mainstream coverage of the perils of Lindsay Lohan, but very little insight into the true cost of oil and gas. So when you write: Read More
Bringing Fairness to the Discussion on Energy
| December 28, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I was going through some old blog posts here at 2GreenEnergy in an effort to make sure that we’re emphasizing the most important elements of the discussion on renewables. One theme that is central to the conversation, of course, is the need to understand and account for the externalities of our current system of generating energy, based, as it is, more than 80% on fossil fuels. For those looking for a solid but fairly high-level treatment of the subject, check out this marvelous summary: What’s The Real Cost of Fossil Fuels?
I understand the frustrations of those who say we’re about a million miles from a world that forces these costs onto the energy industry, but I point out that we may be closer that many people believe.
When I interviewed James Woolsey (Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency from February 5, 1993 until January 10, 1995) for my book, he called my attention to Boyden Gray’s piece in the Texas Review of Law and Politics, putting the cost in damage to peoples’ health and medical costs total at approximately $250 billion a year from the aromatics. It’s only a matter of time in this data-rich world in which we live before the we have complete quantification of each of the major externalities, forcing even the most unreasonable people to demand fairness here. Read More
