Renewables Vs. Coal – Can’t We All Just Get Along?

October 4, 2009

PhotobucketFrequent contributor Sonny Carri wrote a long and eloquent comment about the coal industry, which I summarize here:

Let’s work to get them on board, not be an adversary. Change requires coming together, not schism.

Very thoughtful stuff as always, Sonny.  In response, let me say that I honestly don’t see change without push-back; I see entrenched interests that are braced for the fight of a lifetime, and I doubt there is any sincere interest in “coming together” whatsoever.  It’s funny you mention this, as we’ve had numerous internal discussions about not positioning the HyPEG as a replacement for coal, so as not to create any more enmity than possible.  After going ’round and ’round on the subject, I just don’t see this.  It’s not that I’m a combative person by nature; I’m not. It’s just this:  The coal industry may be evil (or whatever you would call “profits first, people a distant second”), but they’re most definitely not idiots.  In fact, big energy has hired some of the brightest minds on the planet — and guess whom they’re gunning for?  

As I may have told you, I moderated a panel at the AltCarExpo out here in CA, and I stayed on the floor both days, talking ultimately with hundreds of people.  Most telling to me were conversations I had with expatriated Europeans about electric vehicles, several of whom told me, “Sorry, not for me.  As long as your power here in the US is so heavily rooted in coal — and even worse, nuclear — EVs really aren’t green at all.”  Now that’s not completely correct, but it sure does show the difference between the Europeans — who are working hard to clean up the energy business — and us in the US, who, while we may we working hard, have yet to make much progress.

Let’s just call a spade a spade, and get everyone to pay the true cost of his power source. I don’t want subsidies for hydrokinetics; I just want coal to pay the true cost of ripping up our planet and poisoning our people. Once that’s in place, I’m happy to just let the chips fall where they may.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments (7)

Green Energy Blog

August 16, 2009

I want to call readers’ attention to some of the other blogs on the subject that seem particularly complete and insightful. Here’s one: Green Energy Blog.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Business | Tagged , | Comment (1)

Readers’ Reaction to Brass Tack #1 on Electric Transportation

August 2, 2009

I want to thank readers for their enthusiasm for Brass Tack #1 on Electric Transportation. As I knew I would, I see an incredible spirit of devotion and commitment to ecological stewardship, and a positive attitude that something can be done to correct the mistakes we’ve made in the past.

I feel more strongly than ever that 2GreenEnergy will become a forum for meaningful discussions and a meeting place for likeminded people to share their ideas that will ultimately change the course of the entire civilization with respect to the health of our environment.

In the coming days, I will post my views on some of the concepts that have been raised in the comments, and so I encourage readers to post their viewpoints.

Again, please accept my sincere thanks.

 

By Craig Shields | Posted in Electric Vehicles | Tagged , | Comment (1)

Forbes Bagatelle-Black: Renewable Energy Renaissance Man

July 28, 2009

bicycle-nuclearI had the good fortune to connect to an old friend just now, Forbes Bagatelle-Black, one of these “Renaissance men” who’s as good with the language (he’s a professional author) as he is with the sciences (he hold a master’s degree in engineering).

I called him because of his passion for renewable energy. His blog called “Cycloculture” is about cycling, and he’s quite adamant that everyone should substitute a bicycle for a car wherever they possibly can.

The gating issue, Forbes tells me, is public relations. “We’re in the PR phase of the migration to renewable energy. People don’t get it. They drive a Highlander hybrid that gets 23 miles per gallon, and they think they’re being green. We’ll never get where we need to be with that type of thinking.”

Forbes sees two major snags, both largely built around our market economy. “First you have the supply and demand issues. We have abundant dirty energy that appears to be inexpensive. It’s actually horribly expensive in terms of long-term environmental damage, but those costs are hidden, and no one’s paying them. We’re billing them to our children and our grandchildren. If we were confronting the true costs of what we’re doing right now, gasoline and coal-based electricity would be astronomically expensive.”

“And there’s another market-based issue?” I asked.

“Right. The other issue is politics. We live in a market-driven democracy, by which I mean we can vote for whoever makes us feel good. You can run for office on the platform that “You can’t drive your Hummer” but you’ll never get elected.”

“Do you see any hope?” I wanted to know.

“Well, I’m delighted that we’ve taken the first step, i.e., voting in an administration whose president and vice president are not oil company executives. But from here, I think we just have to hope that Obama administration imposes tariffs that cause gasoline users to pay the true cost of the fuel. If it does, things will change very quickly.”

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Politics | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Conversation with Jake Stewart – Commitment to Renewable Energy

July 27, 2009

Austin-Energy-LogoI just spoke with a fantastic young man by the name of Jake Stewart. Not to devaluate anyone’s commitment and importance in the movement, but no credentials are required to be an advocate of renewable energy. By contrast, Jake brings a level of sophistication that really makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

Stewart currently directs the ground-breaking Austin Climate Protection Program at Austin Energy, where he is active in integrated distributed generation innovation, smart grid deployment and carbon reduction strategy development. He has been involved with the renewable energy and renewable fuels industries for almost a decade and was formerly an international renewable energy consultant and Executive Vice President at Organic Fuels International, Inc. He has received international recognition for his contributions to the broader renewable energy industry. Stewart is widely known for his development of world’s first renewably powered biofuel production facility—the first time a municipality had embarked on such an effort to produce its own fuel from waste and has garnered international attention as a decentralized renewable energy model.

With his dizzying array of patents, awards, degrees and his advanced background in R.E. technologies including bioenergy, distributed solar, biogas, 2nd generation biofuels, fuel cells, micro-wind, algae oil development and renewable hydrogen production, Stewart is a real joy to talk with.

Perhaps Stewart’s area of deepest passion at this point is the PR that entrenched interests are bringing to bear to create doubt about the reality of global warming. Here’s an except from the conversation:

Craig Shields: I know you’re aware of my position on renewable energy, i.e., that the gating factors are more political than they are technologicial. Do you agree?

Jake Stewart: 100%. I particularly liked your recent post on ‘RE versus its powerful competitors.’ Do you know, they say sunshine is the best disinfectant and fossilized carbon interests are putting out a very steady flow of shady but effective propaganda. The junk must be constantly illuminated. Kudos for you for opening such a streamlined and informed forum for that.

CS: Thanks for the kind words. But please tell me specifically where and how you see this so-called ‘junk.’

JS: We are dealing with a lot of this in the climate change arena where the ‘climate skeptic’ campaign has managed to garner a remarkable (and sad) amount of public penetration — predominately on AM radio and the likes, of course. In any case, I’m hopeful that science and truth will ultimately come out on top thanks to efforts like yours focused on getting accurate and palatable information out through the smoke.

CS: To be sure. And I’ll try to make sure this blog is a never-ending source of truth in this space. But can you recommend other good sources?

JS: Some of your readers may not have come across something that came out a couple years ago; the CBC did a fantastic piece on the inner-workings of this effort. It’s very worth watching. It’s a brilliant piece that pulls back the curtain on the makings of the ‘counter climate’ campaign, which, of course, was funded by our friends in the oil and coal industries, a sample of which includes:

‘ExxonMobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer,” said Alden Meyer, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Director of Strategy & Policy. “A modest but effective investment has allowed the oil giant to fuel doubt about global warming to delay government action just as Big Tobacco did for over 40 years.’

CS: Yes, good point. Coinicidentally, I’ve mentioned that exact piece in a recent article I’m publishing on cold fusion as part of me “Three Brass Tacks of Renewable Energy” series.

JS: Great. On the topic of simplifying the complexity of climate change and bringing it to the masses, another piece that your readers will want to watch is one that ABC did a couple months ago called ‘Earth 2100.’ They interviewed the world’s top climate/energy minds and generated an artist’s rendition of what it might be like for a child born today based on the latest modeling. They follow the fictional character through her life in dealing with the effects that are now underway. It’s in two parts — and fairly heavy at times — but it’s based in the latest projections/trajectory and leaves the viewer with a sense of empowerment to make a better future. I was impressed by what they produced; your readers might also find it interesting.

CS: Thanks so much, Jake. You’re one of the good guys.

JS: I was glad to.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Politics | Tagged , , , , | Comment (1)

Department of Energy – Funding Renewable Energy

July 27, 2009

green-energy-moneyI do not claim to be an expert in the process of petitioning the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy for grant money in renewable energy. However, I very much realize that this is important to a great many readers. For that reason, I will post links to important sites on this subject. This article called “Show Me the Money — And How To Get It” from Renewable Energy World.com is a fabulous piece that I came across this morning.

The article begins, “The U.S. departments of Energy and Treasury announced on July 9 that guidelines would be available for companies wishing to apply for $3 billion in stimulus payments” — a considerable chunk of change.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Politics | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Renewable Energy in the Third World

July 27, 2009

turimiquire-logoSadly, only a few of us who grow up in our western civilization really consider an alternative to becoming a part of the traditional economic machine. While we try to choose a career path about which we feel a certain spark—a spark that may come from helping others—only a few of us make enormous sacrifices and take on lives of pure compassion.

For a moment, I’d like you to reflect on the story of Steven Bloomstein and his friend Bob Albert who met as classmates at Harvard in the late 1960s. Like all products of top universities, the boys realized they had been groomed to become legislators, doctors, captains of industry, etc.—but when they recognized that none of these pursuits held any real attraction, they decided to go in another direction altogether.

After graduation they bought an abandoned hacienda in a remote part of Sucre, a state in the eastern part of Venezuela—a 3½-hour hike from the nearest road. They built an organic farm, and hired on the local campesinos (rural slash-and-burn subsistence farmers) who were uniformly illiterate, unspeakably poor, and previously unaware of sustainable agriculture practices.

In 1995, Steven and Bob registered a Massachusetts-based non-profit organization that they named The Turimiquire Foundation, after the nearby mountain range, and began to formalize the delivery of a variety of services in education, medical care, and reproductive counseling. Along with dozens of devoted volunteers, including Steven’s younger brother Willie, who runs the administrative operations in the U.S., they’ve dedicated themselves to helping tens of thousands of poorest of the poor to lead healthier, happier lives.

From the standpoint of renewable energy and environmental stewardship, the relevance is obvious: slash and burn, as the name implies, is horribly debilitating to the environment. Not only does it reduce the amount of vegetation that consumes CO2 and produces oxygen, but it pumps CO2 and other far more noxious chemicals into the atmosphere. Thus the presence of Turimiquire has been a considerable boon to the world in which we live in a great number of ways.

To me, the story of Turimiquire serves as a reminder that there are hundreds of different equally valid ways of life. We’re not here forever, and we shouldn’t waste our time foolishly conforming to other people’s ideas of success and meaning.

Please visit http://www.turimiquire.org/. I know you’ll be as impressed as I am by this story of passion and beauty. Unfortunately, the meager donations that my wife and I have been able to make over the past six or so years haven’t been terribly meaningful, but we’re proud to be supporters nonetheless.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Renewables - Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)