For those who predict a smooth, predictable adoption of renewable energy, electric transportation, or anything at all, I enter into evidence this graphic showing the importance of social media in our world today.
As this is the day of Facebook’s IPO, it seems fitting to write a few words on the subject and ask: Did anyone forecast that social media would come to this position of cultural and financial dominance a few years ago? (more…)
Frequent commenter Len Novarro is part of a magnificent organization called BOOST (an acronym for Business, Organized global education and Opportunity in Science and Technology). Together with the Asian Heritage Society and Alliant International, the group informs, educates and mentors Asian girls, 12-16, principally in science and technology, in pursuit of careers as entrepreneurs.
I invite readers to check out the great work that Len and his team does – linked above.
Rogelio writes:
I think that anybody contemplating a career in clean energy has always to take a look at the engineering and scientific aspects of the field to find a very demanding and yet rewarding career, why because we live in a technical field….There will always be better ways to extract energy from the sun, the wind, earth and the water…. Lawyers, accountants as well as marketers cannot lead the way; they lack the tools and the vision to understand and unleash the forces of nature in our benefit. Cheers, Mate.
Rogelio, thanks very much for this great insight. It reminds me of (more…)
Here’s another episode of the television show “Our Ventura” in which host George Alger interviews me with respect to the adoption of renewable energy. I tried to answer as many questions as the 15-minute time-slot would allow. How far have we come? How far do we have to go? What are the consequences of success? Failure? What are the imperatives? The challenges? Who are the supporters? The detractors?
I’ll be interested in your feedback.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT2YULs6wHc]
Petrina Sharp, my good friend and director of the 2GreenEnergy Video Report, set up this attractive display of “Is Renewable Really Doable?” for an Earth Day celebration in Ventura, CA a few weeks ago. (more…)
Ryan Radecki, from The Green Room at Ohio University, writes:
I agree with some of your proposed ideas on the problems with environmentally friendly forms of energy, and I used your comments about having no free lunch for energy in my essay. I also feel that renewable energy forms by themselves are not helping, but the combination of many types of renewable sources is our future. Would you mind reading my blog at http://ryansfuturefuels.blogspot.com I would like to have your perspective.
Ryan:
I agree with the basic idea, i.e., the pros and cons / no free lunch concept. But I think your perspective here is too harsh and a little unfair. (more…)
I had a lovely phone chat last evening with a young lady, a high school senior who was working on a paper for school and wanted to ask a few questions about solar energy. In particular, she wanted to know the cost of converting her entire town (Arcadia, CA — 56,000 people, let’s say 20,000 households) to 100% solar.
Understandably, she hadn’t thought through some of the implications. (more…)
Our short attention span for news caused us long ago to bid goodbye to Fukushima as a story of interest and importance, yet the situation is quite dire – in fact, probably more so now than it was a few months ago. Here’s a good summary, including a piece on Fukushima Reactor #4 — well worth the six minutes.
Traditional methods of generating energy are giving way to new environmentally-friendly ideas. Instead of stripping the land for coal mining and clearing miles of land for oil fields or natural gas pipelines, the concept of renewable energy is evolving. The term “renewable energy” is an often-used buzzword, but how does using green energy affect animals in their native habitat?
Global warming is the biggest threat facing the planet today but sustainable energy is a cleaner and safer way to generate needed power. Everyone has seen the sad images of birds living near the ocean with their feathers matted with slick black oil after an oil spill, or thousands of dead fish washed up on the shore because of water pollution. The use of renewable energy from the sun and wind gives animals a second chance at life. (more…)
Here’s a good article on the solar photovoltaics industry by consulting giant McKinsey and Company. Not to give anything away, but they share my belief that the PV industry is in a momentary lull, not a swan song. Best of all, they defend this belief in an extremely cogent and well-reasoned way. I hope you’ll check it out.
