Posts Tagged by Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Frauds Abound
| May 6, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
A friend asked me to evaluate the technology represented here. “Is there something here?” she inquired?
“I wish there were. But alas, it’s a fraud,” I responded.
“You are soooo in the know!” she gushed.
“Ha! You’re too kind. Btw, I like to keep an open mind about this stuff; not all weird ideas are fraudulent. In fact, ALL great ideas were consider weird — at best — when they were introduced.
“But certain things are non-starters from the point of view of science principles that are extremely well established, like the laws of thermodynamics. The idea of running a car on water, for example, is the same as fueling a fire with ashes. Ashes are the low-energy product of a fire that’s already happened, i.e., an event in which the chemical energy of the fuel was turned into heat energy. Similarly, water is the lower energy result of the oxidation of hydrogen; it’s what’s left after the energy of the fuel has been removed.
“Btw, if you want to see an even more obvious attempt at criminal fraud, it’s here. Why this guy isn’t making license plates, I cannot tell you.
“Please feel free to send me other stuff as well; I’m always looking for winners, while being amused at people’s attempts to pawn off bad ideas.”
Is “Business As Usual” with Respect to the Natural Environment an Acceptable Strategy?
| April 22, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
I’m delighted to see real progress being made in the public discourse surrounding sustainability. While most people still have the idea that continuing with “business as usual” with respect to our environment is an acceptable strategy, more of us are questioning this concept with each passing month. Here’s an example: a PBS special called The Journey to Planet Earth, featuring one of my personal heroes, Lester R. Brown, environmental visionary and author of “Plan B.”
It also features Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman (oops – Mom’s not going to like this one), Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, and former Governor and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.
I caught the first part of this incredible series last night; it’s beautifully done.
Basics of Renewable Energy
| April 20, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
Just a quick note to let you know that our project to assemble audio/visual learning aids aimed at renewable energy is complete (for now, at least), and ready for distribution to any young people or newcomers in the subject you feel may benefit. It’s a compilation of a few short videos, in which I lay out each of the five major “flavors” of clean energy (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydro), and briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Also included are “infographics” that further explore these technologies and the issues that surround them.
My aim, of course, is to introduce this subject to as many people as possible, in the hopes that we can drive up the number of informed discussions, so necessary to the success of the democratic process.
Please feel free to send this link to anyone in your life who you feel may benefit. Thanks.
Here’s the link: http://2greenenergy.com/renewable-energy-basic-concepts/
Basics of Renewable Energy
| April 12, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
Ross Guthrie, one of 2GreenEnergy’s web-programming superstars, has just completed this page that offers a compilation of the Basics of Renewable Energy, the videos and infographics that my team and I have been putting together over the past few months. It looks sharp to me, but I’d be interested in your opinion.
I encourage you to send this to young people or newcomers to the subject who may be looking for an accessible starting point.
Plug-In Hybrids: Now THAT’S Complexity
| April 11, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Here’s a wonderful video that explains the multiple drivetrains at work in the Chevy Volt. A couple of immediate impressions:
1) No wonder the price on this sucker is $41K, with all that going on. The bill of materials (costs of the individual components) must be enough to choke a horse. And the non-recurring engineering costs must have been staggering.
2) This further amplifies my belief that plug-in hybrids really are not the answer to transportation. It’s like using an elephant gun to kill mice. Electric transportation will succeed when we get the price, energy density, and power density of batteries into an acceptable range – and, of course, when we can get enough renewable energy on the grid that we’re not charging them with coal.
So when will this happen? The question is political will. If we rely 100% on market forces, especially while we continue to subsidize fossil fuels, it could be A Long Way to Tipperary.
Frontline on PBS: Nuclear Aftershocks
| April 11, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Nuclear |
I hope everyone gets the opportunity to catch this episode of Frontline on PBS: Nuclear Aftershocks – one that essentially claims that nuclear energy is both unacceptably dangerous but completely necessary. I’m reminded of the way Amory Lovins begins his current-day presentations: “Which would you rather die from? Nuclear holocaust, drowning from rising sea levels, respiratory disease, or terrorist attacks and social chaos from the demand for increasingly scarce oil?” I have to admit; it’s a great way to capture an audience’s attention.
“Aftershocks” did a great deal to explore the dangers of nuclear energy Read More
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Hydrokinetics
| April 10, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Hydrokinetics |
Here’s a continuation in our series of videos made for young people and newcomers to the subject who may benefit from an introduction to certain of the renewable energy technologies. This piece, less than five minutes in length, is a primer on hydrokenetics, i.e., extracting energy from moving water.
Is Renewable Energy Growing Stronger? It Depends on How You Look At It
| April 9, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
EVWorld has a wonderfully encouraging article on renewables that begins:
Pop quiz time. The fastest growing energy sector in terms of percentage of growth in the United States between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 was: A) natural gas, B) nuclear power, C) renewable energy?
The answer is C, renewable energy (RE) by a huge margin. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), RE grew by 27.12%. That includes biofuels, biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind. By comparison, natural gas production increased 13.66%, while crude oil grew 14.27%. Nuclear power, in contrast, shrunk 1.99% and coal dropped 7.16%.
All true, but one can find different facts that would support a different conclusion. E.g., under 5% of the U.S. grid mix is renewable energy (if you don’t count hydroelectric dams), so talking about percent growth of this small number may not be the most relevant stat.
Video: Unique Approach To Hydrokinetics
| April 8, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Hydrokinetics |
Here’s a video in which I speak to a unique approach and capability to hydrokinetics that applies in particular to large, predictable ocean currents like the Gulf Stream and the Mozambique Current off the coast of Eastern Africa. As I freely admit, there is no such thing as a free lunch, by which I mean all attempts at renewable energy come at an ecological cost — and ocean current is no exception. Having said that, and having studied more hydro-related ideas than I can count, I believe these guys have come across something extremely promising.
Island Nations Are a Good Fit for Renewable Energy
| April 6, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
Don Harmon of LiFeBatt, a long-time 2GreenEnergy reader, writes in about my recent video on clean energy:
Good interview. We are currently working on a project in the Caribbean Islands for solar and wind generation. The islands are a very ripe opportunity now for implementing green energy because they are mostly dependent on buying diesel fuel from Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the cost is atrocious. So, may we see these islands go green way before the U.S. does? Since there is virtually no infrastructure, we have a blank slate to work with, and of course battery storage backup will be a key ingredient.
Thanks, Don. Yes, I think we’ll absolutely see this, for the reasons you name and more. Read More
