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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In his comment to my recent piece on global climate change, Cameron Atwood provides a wonderful analysis, which concludes:

This strikes me as very much like buying insurance – if nothing happens, you lose some money in exchange for peace of mind – if something does happen, and you’re not insured, God help you.

Do you have insurance?

Exactly right.  And actually, the case is stronger than you laid out, since most of the actions we need to take to mitigate climate change will result in better health for all life forms and a more civil, just and peaceful world.  Not a bad bargain.  

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Looks like electric vehicle sales are picking up.  What’s the attraction that lies behind the surge (pardon the pun)?  According to this, it’s HOV-lane access for EV drivers.  That may sound pretty dumb to you folks in Casper, Wyoming.  But if you’re in Washington, DC or Southern California, it’s a big deal.

I credit Brian Wynne, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), the lobby group, for having nailed this; when I spoke with him in preparation for my next book (Renewable Energy — Following the Money), he predicted that this would be big.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I make periodic references to all the perpetual motion machines to which people from all over the globe introduce to me at the rate of at least once a month. Because of the stigma attached to the term “perpetual motion,” most of them don’t use that term. But this one sure does; they’re quite unabashed about it. 500 watts in, 2000 watts out, using compressed air, getting more energy out of uncompressing the air than they put into compressing it. Pure gibberish. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Tomorrow night marks the start of a trip out of town for me. I’ll be headed to San Francisco for a couple of meetings, including coffee with my friend Fareed Sfard, CEO of solar thermal start-up Ahura Energy. Then it’s back east for my 35th college reunion (at which conservative columnist George Will is scheduled to speak) and an interview for my next book with clean energy investment guru Joe Duggan. Back in California Monday night for a round table “summit” on renewables in Carmel, in which I’ve been asked to participate.

Home Tuesday night.  I’ll post a few updates along the way.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Californians vote tomorrow on a number of measures and candidates for various state and local offices. I’ve tried to pay some level of attention to all the issues (not only those pertaining to energy) and stand ready to make each of the major choices.

I just noticed that one of the issues concerns mandatory vaccinations. I’ve always been intrigued by this issue, which I summarize as follows:

We all have a certain small probability of a bad reaction to a vaccination for a certain disease, but if society forces everyone to face that risk, the population as a whole will be healthier. However, if a large percentage of other people get the vaccination and you don’t, you personally have a greater probability of health than the population at large. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Those interested in climate change, and how the U.S. has become the only major country whose people seriously entertain a debate on the legitimacy of the subject, will want to read this piece by Bill McKibben; the article provides a great deal of insight into the cause of the controversy. 

On a personal note, at the 2012 graduation at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, McKibben spoke to an adoring audience.  In that group was  Garrett Shields (pictured here), my youngest nephew, one of our most recent Bachelors of Science, who moves on to graduate school in public health at George Washington University. Congratulations, my fine young friend.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

In advance of the 2012 U.S. elections, the Koch brothers and other supporters of the status quo in energy policy are spending $1 billion to throw dirt at those with more progressive ideas. That’s more than John McCain and Barack Obama spent combined in 2008—and that election shattered records.

If you think that’s obscene, as do I, you join 70% of Americans who want a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United that granted corporations the power to spend unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money influencing our elections. But such an amendment requires that three-quarters of state legislatures to be on board too.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that many state governors have not taken a stand on this – simply because they haven’t had to.

Here’s where you come in. Let your governor know that you’re a fan of democracy, of government by the people, not by the corporations. Here’s a handy way to make that happen.  I just tried it out for you. It works. And it feels good.

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

The spring season is a time of change and provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the problems humans are facing around the world and the actions we can take to improve the situation. As we think about what we can do to help those who are suffering from the spring famine in the Sahel region of Africa, it is also a time to reflect on other water related problems around the globe. The global water crisis impacts billons of men, women and children every day and there are actions we can take to help these individuals. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Frequent commenter Larry Lemmert writes:

Is government intervention the way to change the hearts and minds of the consumers of energy? Look at prohibition of alcohol. See the NYT article that was published today.  This is a case study that should be studied by every interventionist before embarking on a legal framework of prohibition of anything.

Larry, you raise a good point about government and unintended consequences. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

As environmentalist Paul Hawken points out in this video of his presentation to the Bioneers, there are at least 200,000 organizations in our world today whose mission is some combination of environmentalism, sustainability, and social justice. I know I face some level of ridicule when I make points like this, but that really is a heck of a lot of effort being exerted to correcting some of the world’s thorniest problems.

I know that a lot of readers think that the purity of capitalism and market forces is the best way to solve problems, but even they need to admit that 200,000 is a considerable number, and that the horsepower of the countless millions of people behind these groups will continue to have a beneficial effect on our civilization.

 

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