Posts Tagged by Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies
About Bill Paul, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Business and Finance
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Renewable energy legend Bill Paul has recently agreed to write financial reports and newsletters for us at 2GreenEnergy. We’re delighted to have come across such good fortune, as there really is no one more qualified for the task. Bill retired from the Wall Street Journal after a 20-year stint as a staff writer covering the energy sector, and gave a great interview of the book’s chapter on business and finance.
According to Bill:
Energy is at the crux of all things financial. There is not a single business that does not have energy as a significant cost factor, there is not a single country that does not have energy as a significant national security factor, and there is not a single household that does not have energy as an important budgetary factor. With energy, you are operating on all levels in terms of finance, as well as national security, as well as health consequences. You have privacy issues, property rights issues, basically any personal choice issue on lifestyle and you have a perfect storm of political, economic, and social interests — all competing for “the right” approach.
About Rona Fried, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Activism and the Media in Clean Energy
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Politics |
For 14 years, Rona Fried has worked hard to tell an important story: there are numerous, potentially profitable businesses and investment opportunities built around sustainable living practices. Her website, SustainableBusiness.com boasts over 100,000 unique visitors per month – each coming to learn more about this exciting subject. The interview here was the book’s chapter called “Activism and the Media in Clean Energy.”
Sustainable Business started in 1996, as one of the first websites at the dawn of the Internet. At that time, the state of the industry was completely different than it is now; it was fairly small, fragmented community of people spread around the world that were interested in this. What was most useful about using the Internet at that time was its ability to find people all over the planet who were not connecting with each other and bringing them together.
About Steve Nguyen, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Intelligent Energy Management in Buildings
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Sustainable Building |
If you believe that “The best way to clean energy is not to use it in the first place,” I can’t image that you’ll find a company doing a better job along these lines than Echelon — and its spokesperson Steve Nguyen, who helped me with this chapter of the book, called ”Intelligent Energy Management in Buildings.”
Steve explores the subject of using information technology to drive up the energy efficiency of the world’s buildings.
About Rick Sikes, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Renewables and Clean Transportation at the Municipal Level
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Rick Sikes manages the vehicle fleet for the City of Santa Monica – a municipality that has taken quite a progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship. Rick did a great job in our conversation that became the book’s chapter called: Renewables and Clean Transportation at the Municipal Level.
Back in the late 1970′s early 1980′s the oil embargo from OPEC hit — there were actually two incidents way back then — everybody was affected by the same things, lines at the gas stations, and so forth. And yes, Santa Monica is progressive, and wanted to do its part. So we started looking at alternative fuel vehicles and REFP — Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy. They started buying some propane as a lot of people did, and natural gas, ethanol and whatever else was out there. In 1984 we had the first city Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy, and then about 1998, the city began a sustainability plan. And what you see here today is simply an extension of that plan.
About Matt Simmons, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies”
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Matthew Simmons contributed to the book’s chapter on Peak Oil. Simmons served as energy adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush. His landmark book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy points to the idea of “Peak Oil” – the concept that we’ve passed the peak at which the world’s supply of oil can be extracted.
I’m deeply saddened that industry colleague and true visionary, Matt Simmons, passed away August 8th, 2010. He will be sorely missed by all of us who follow this industry and care about the quality of the planet we will leave to our children.
About Brian Wynne, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Electric Drive Transportation Association
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
The Electric Drive Transportation Association’s president Brian Wynne contributed to the book’s chapter called “Lobbying for Electric Transportation.”
EDTA is a membership-based, not-for-profit, organization headquartered in Washington, DC. Its primary function is to advocate for, i.e. lobby for, federal policies. Its members are inter-industry; the group has members from the vehicle-manufacturing sector, utility companies and other energy providers, and component manufacturers such as battery makers. Also included are some of the newer business model folks like Better Place and GridPoint in the Smart Grid area, Coulomb in the charger area.
About Mark Duvall, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Electric Transportation and Its Impacts on our Power Grid
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
The Electric Power Research Institute’s Mark Duvall helped out with the book’s chapter: Electric Transportation and Its Impacts on our Power Grid. EPRI is an independent, non-profit company performing research, development and demonstration in the electricity sector for the benefit of the public. EPRI’s broad array of collaborative programs focuses on the many specific technology challenges of helping its members provide society with reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible electricity.
About Jay Friedland, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Advocating for EVs
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Plug-In America spokesperson Jay Friedland contributed the chapter on EV advocacy, discussing numerous thorny challenges it faces in the real world of politics.
Jay points out, “Big oil is trying to preserve the status quo. They are now the largest supporters of the hydrogen economy. They see hydrogen as a mechanism for them to continue to have a service station — to continue to provide a consumer with something they can pump.”
About Steve Ellis, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Hydrogen Fuel Cells
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Steve is one of the most important spokespeople for hydrogen, and I was pleased to get his take on fuel-cell vehicles.
A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can be a zero CO2 emission vehicle — just like a battery electric vehicle. A battery electric vehicle advocate should be saying, “Battery electric vehicles can be zero carbon emission vehicles…just like a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle can be too.” There is no reason that the two should be attacking one another.
About Michael Kearl, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Sociology of Driving
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Dr. Michael Kearl, Professor of Sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, helped out with the chapter on the sociology of driving.
For years, he’s been interested in the relationships and the social structures for the road — how different communities develop different kind of cultures with regards to driving etiquette, honking and so forth. In particular, he’s intrigued by the whole element of conspicuous consumption and displays even though everyone’s in gridlock and you in your Maserati are going no faster than the beat up VW in front.
He points out, “The whole idea of the car and the open road is just so firmly ingrained in our cultural identity in the 20th century that it will be hard to wean. Our car is one of the few zones of solitude we have — next to the bathroom, I might add. And that’s why bathrooms have gotten so much larger over time.”
