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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Frequent commenter Cameron Atwood called my attention to a report from MIT predicting ‘global economic collapse’ by 2030.

A new study from researchers at Jay W. Forrester’s institute at MIT says that the world could suffer from “global economic collapse” and “precipitous population decline” if people continue to consume the world’s resources at the current pace.

Smithsonian Magazine writes that Australian physicist Graham Turner says, “the world is on track for disaster” and that current evidence coincides with a famous, and in some quarters, infamous, academic report from 1972 entitled, “The Limits to Growth.” (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

A friend just sent me this article describing the new EPA regulations on coal-fired power plants.

I respond:

Thanks. Kind of moot, though, don’t you think? The regulations  don’t apply to currently existing or already permitted plants? It’s not as if we’re in a hurry to build more coal plants with natural gas prices so low. I think I’ll file this under “hoopla.” 🙂

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

Here’s a terrific article written by 2GreenEnergy associate Dan Sturges, who specializes in the future of transportation. I’m in the process of lining up consulting projects for Dan with forward-thinking municipalities who may want to be a beacon of leadership in terms of sustainable transportation.

As I told Dan on the phone yesterday, “I’m bullish on this, but I wouldn’t expect dozens of clients. Sadly, most cities don’t think this way. They’re not going to become leaders because they never have been in the past, and there is no reason to think they’re going to change magically in the year 2012. But that doesn’t matter. All the world really needs at this point is a few progressive, visionary mayors to stand up and say, ‘The average car on the road in this city weighs 4000 pounds and has 1.1 passengers in it, and that’s a level of waste we can no longer afford. We’re going to rethink the way we commute to work and the way we deliver packages; we’re going to reinvent every aspect of the way we move our bodies and our goods around.’ Once the world has a few of these in place, the case studies in terms of public health, safety, and happiness will speak for themselves.”

I have to think I’m right here.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

According to environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and author Paul Hawken, the environmentalist and social justice movement is by far the largest on Earth. Although groups like Greenpeace and the Sierra Club get the most ink, there are literally hundreds of thousands of smaller groups that help ameliorate the complex and eroding relationship between mankind and the natural world.

And in addition to its sheer size, it boasts other unique characteristics, e.g., it has no leader (though it has spokespeople) and it undergoes no schisms, since, according to Hawken, it’s already “fully atomized.” In fact, it’s undergoing a sort of reverse schism, in which various people and groups are hooking up.

Here, Hawken discusses all this and his latest book “Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It.” It’s a fascinating talk.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here’s an ad for a seminar on sustainability.

Waste. It’s more than an environmental taboo; it’s a total disregard of valuable resources. And that affects everyone’s bottom line. Brand reputations, market share and valuation depend on meeting objectives. How do you achieve optimal energy, environmental, and fiscal practices?

And here’s the issue I have with it: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Here’s a short video in which I speak about the overall trajectory for integrating large amounts of renewable energy onto the grid. It’s a discussion of my book, Is Renewable Really Doable? on the local cable access channel in Ventura, CA.

As I like to say, this is a subject that has a great number of “moving parts.” Sure, there are technological issues, as we develop better and less expensive ways of harvesting the energy from solar, wind, geothermal, hydrokinetics and biomass. But there is a complex and ever-changing set of economic and political issues as well.

I hope you enjoy the video.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhOwKQIOCK8]

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Soon we’ll publish another in our continuing series of free reports in which we aspire to provide an understanding of the most important trends that face civilization today. Based on a survey conducted in January 2012, we attempt to answer the question: How sustainable is our way of life? As always, I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to each of the participants.

As I go about my work in preparing the report, it’s obvious that we really DO live in interesting times. At the risk of oversimplifying:  What a horserace this is: ignorance and greed vs. enlightenment and technology — and they’re neck-and-neck. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I’m in the process of preparing my report on the latest 2GreenEnergy survey, in which participants were asked to provide their viewpoints on sustainability, and predict the future concerning the most probable scenario facing mankind. In the process, I noted that Clifford Goudey provided this wonderful website on the changes in Earth’s sea levels through history. Thanks, Clifford.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

In connection to climate change, I often warn that, where people can make compromises, physics doesn’t.  From there, I sometimes find myself going off into long-winded explanations and examples. But I recently found that Voltaire, one of my favorite people in history, had said this 200+ years ago with his own inimitable brevity: “Men argue; nature acts.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Renewable energy is becoming a catch word. Green is becoming trendier color. Every odd product is claiming greenness and energy efficiency. Why should we care about green energies? How they make our life worth living? Is it just another marketing gimmickry or does it make sense in life?

No doubt, there are controversies. Few people despise green energy products. They claim such products are ineffective and nonviable. However, others praise and try to adore anything with even a faintest relation to green energies. We will see 5 undeniable advantages any green energy product can offer. (more…)

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