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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

There are many components to the cost of growing food and shipping it to its final destination – a surprisingly large part of which is energy. Moving water around the state of California uses 18 percent of all the electricity and 31 percent of the natural gas consumed in the state.

And of course, pumping water is only one element of the energy that is part of the food supply chain. Think of the:

• Manufacturing and transportation of fertilizers and pesticides
• Sowing, harvesting, and processing
• Transporting the food to market

The average food item we consume in the U.S. travels 1200 miles to reach our supermarkets, and even “fresh” food is two weeks old (and far less nutritious than it was when it was harvested) by the time it gets to us. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Every once in a while there’s good news for those of us concerned that our liberties are being subjugated, and our democracy eroded away from under our feet.

As I had written previously:

The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides broad authority for the federal government to use the military in domestic operations in order to detain Americans indefinitely and without trial. This nullifies the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the natural rights of Americans. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

My mother wrote me this morning, suggesting that I “Check out the N.Y. Times article by David Brooks: ‘How Change Happens.’”

Thanks, Mom. David Brooks is an articulate advocate for free-market economics, and this is a perfect example. No surprise here. He’s a very bright guy.

In terms of the content of this particular piece, is it possible that the Obama ad is grossly unfair? Of course! That’s what most political ads do: deliberately misrepresent stories so as to mislead voters by inspiring   a misplaced hatred. No surprise here either. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In a note I just received from Ted Hoeller (pictured here), Chairman of the American Center For International Policy Studies, I learned that I’ve been honored to have been named a Research Fellow. One of the Center’s areas of interest is the “need for global sustainable development with regard to shelter, agriculture and enterprise.”

The group published my article on sustainable energy policy.

 

 

 

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

My thanks to everyone who has participated in the recent 2GreenEnergy survey.  I note that Dr. David Doty, one of the greatest intellects I’ve ever run across, boldly predicted the following for the coming five years:

Oil, coal, and gas will steadily become more expensive at a mean rate of ~20%/year. EVs will have negligible impact on oil usage – for decades.

Global economic growth will still continue at a rate of ~2%/yr, and inflation in the U.S. will remain low.

The gap between the rich and the poor will continue to widen. It will take 10-12 more years of this before something close to revolution (major rioting) comes to the U.S. We will not see another period of sustained strong growth in the U.S. until several years after that happens.

We will not see serious and effective commitment to reduced CO2 emissions until after we’ve seen several years of strong economic growth.

Much of what you’ve written here is so counter to most people’s thinking — not to say that this means it’s wrong.  20% CAGR?  (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

Perhaps the greatest single threat facing mankind today is our failure to apply reason to effect solutions. In fact, we appear to openly defy and ridicule the findings of our scientific community, writing them off as so many liars and frauds. At least here in the United States, a significant segment of our population has bought into the idea that science has conspired to fabricate the notion of global climate change, fudging the figures so as to create the appearance of a problem, in order to generate ongoing funding for additional research. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

When I find examples of steadfastness to truth and decency in a world that pulls us so forcefully in the opposite direction, I often remark: “That’s character.” To be honest, every time I write those words, as I did in this little piece on coaching soccer, I’m in a way plagiarizing this wonderful commentary of a man I much admire, Michael Josephson, who made these comments about what was perhaps the greatest moment in sports history.

I hope you’ll take a moment out of your day and check this out, and that you’ll pass it along to the young people in your life who so desperately need the reminder that character really does count.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s a great example of a pervasive trend in our consumer world: over-packaging. For a century or so, soap has come to us wrapped in a piece of paper that can be discarded or recycled, or perhaps a thin, light-duty cardboard box. Now, we have 7.5 ounces of liquid soap, sold in plastic bottles, each equipped with a pump that mixes the soap with air to form a pleasantly fragrant foam. The whole bottle-pump machine is disposable. In fact, even if you’re a reasonably eco-conscious consumer and wanted to re-use, CVS doesn’t even sell the soap in large bottles for those wishing to refill their pump bottles. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Tomorrow my daughter and I will spend the afternoon on a project for her science class at school: building a model house whose electrical power is delivered with solar photovoltaics.  I have a small solar panel that (I believe) will put out about 5 Watts in the full sun, and a couple of flashlight batteries of different types.  I think I’m going to have to experiment with series vs. parallel circuits, different bulbs, etc., before I get this right.  Should be fun.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

I think we’ve all had experiences that were such unmitigated disasters that they were actually funny. That’s the bottom line on today’s book signing at Roblar, a very nice local winery with which friends had made arrangements for me.

Not only did I not sell a single book, but I was heckled by a couple of the wine-tasters. This is a very “God and Country” part of the world, so, sadly, the whole concept of clean energy is met with a degree of skepticism and even derision.

I had a guy exclaim from halfway across a crowded room, “I don’t believe in global warming.” (more…)

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