[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqZ90f1L7P8&w=425&h=349]
Here’s a brief discussion of a biomass-to-energy business plan that involves pelletizing babassu, which is the fruit of a palm tree, not unlike a coconut, grown for its high density of chemical energy. For biomass projects to be attractive, they need rock solid feedstock agreements, technology, and take-off agreements — and this has all three, which is the reason that I hold it in high esteem..
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzoBcEzi8rk&w=420&h=345]
Here’s a short discussion of a business plan that contemplates the processing of enormous quantities of construction and demolition waste, and the generation of clean energy from the wood and other biomass it contains. I’ve spent some time getting to know the organization’s CEO over the last six months or so — quite an impressive gentleman, with a truly excellent cleantech business plan.
Did you know that paper doesn’t have to come from trees? Here’s a piece about extremely high-quality paper from bagasse (sugarcane waste) as embodied in a cleantech business plan that I think has a great deal of merit.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyQ2_HnAHU&w=420&h=345]
Here’s a short video in which I discuss a business plan that I favor; this one contemplates the fabrication of building products from coal ash. This is of obvious importance in that we have recently discovered that coal ash is not completely benign — and it’s not going away anytime soon.
Here’ s a short presentation on hydrokinetics, in particular, a few clean energy business plans that are based on run-of-river, ocean current, wave, tidal, ocean thermal, etc. This is of particular interest to me as I go about recommending a solution for my friends in Bermuda, which doesn’t really have the land mass to support some of the other renewable energy technolgies.
Although China may be a recent arrival in the “Big Power Club,” it is a very old, and WISE culture. They have developed their nation to this point on the profound understanding that the average voter in the western world is basically a moron whose main life interest is in next week’s pay-packet. Why should you let this person have any say in the long-term strategic interests of your country?
So, they don’t. And unlike our politicians, who have to pretend they listen to highly unqualified opinions, they are free to get on with the job of running their country.
The Chinese, unlike us in the West, are running with a long-term plan, ably enacted by highly intelligent and practical visionaries (in a population of 1.3 billion, there are plenty; contrary to the popular image of China being a country of aggrestic peasants) unencumbered by democracy (read: lowest common denominator). Therefore, China knows that there is an absolute shitload of money to be made from the conversion to a sustainable world economy, and they are investing heavily in this technology. Sooner or later we will be paying big money to buy this technology from them. (We already are, but the snowball has only just got rolling.)
In the meantime, the US government has to bow down to the ossified thinking of the corporations that own it. And those of us who want to change to a sustainable economy have to tread water while the US Government oscillates between (Democrat) Tweedledum, and (Republican) Tweedledumber.
Petra Kelly (Founder of German Greens) had an interesting observation to make in an interview once: she was asked if the Greens had ever made any major mistakes. Her reply was unequivocal: yes, they had made one very big mistake; that was to waste their time going national. She said that if they had focused their energy at the local and state level, the Greens would have achieved far more, far faster, than they ever did in the national government. And therein lies the answer to the US political dilemna: let Tweedledum and Tweedledumber waste their time in Washington; but let not us Greens do the same.
“Think globallly; act locally” is the perfect mantra for us. GO TO IT GREENS!!!!!!
I’ve driven a few high-performance sports cars in my day. I never owned anything more powerful than my current (ancient) BMW 540i, but I drove several of the Maseratis of the 1990s, before their regrettable hiatus on importing them to the US. Trust me, in terms of performance, the Tesla (0-60 in 3.7 seconds) that I test drove this afternoon is absolutely ridiculous.
I don’t have the chops for writing car reviews, so I won’t even try. But the quality of the Tesla is impressive, and the torque is downright frightening. Terry Ribb, 2Greenenergy Associate and lifelong friend who rode along with me, screamed like a schoolgirl with a frog down her back whenever I nailed the accelerator.
This was never intended to be a car for everyone. At $109K, how could it be? But I can imagine that those in the market for a Ferrari would have to give this a long look. In a word: Exhilarating.
I decided to take the train to Los Angeles this morning, rather than driving. Even though this takes a bit longer, it has numerous benefits: I certainly did right by the world by not using the gas, and I was able to work the whole time; it’s really a very pleasant, safe, low-anxiety way to travel. I probably even saved a few dollars, when you consider all the costs in driving.
I’m here to test drive a Tesla and hang out with 2GreenEnergy Associate Terry Ribb, who’s been a close friend for almost 30 years. Terry was one of my first clients; she’s brilliant, life-affirming, and infinitely valuable as a sounding board for business ideas.
More of the test drive soon; I’m looking forward to zipping around the streets here.
I’ve spent the last couple of days editing the transcripts of the interviews I’ve conducted for my next book. Although this is tedious work, it gives me the opportunity to relive some moments I’ve greatly enjoyed, and re-absorb some of the fantastic thoughts that these incredible people have laid at my feet.
This process has also reminded me that I need a title and a theme that fits the content of the new book, not unlike “Facts and Fantasies” and “Tough Realities” fit the last one.
The book is really a deeper exploration of the so-called “Tough Realities.” If this is something our society has to do, why is it taking so long? Why is the US lagging the rest of the world in implementation? Are there large, powerful political and economic forces that conspire against it? What does our future look like, and why?
If you wouldn’t mind helping, please let me know which of the titles below you most favor:
Renewable Energy — How Do We Get There from Here?
Renewable Energy — Versus the Powers That Be
Renewable Energy — Can the Good Guys Win One?
Renewable Energy and the Big Money We Wish Were Behind It
Renewable Energy — The Tough Realities of Technology, Economics, and Politics
Renewable Energy — Why the US Is Walking Away from the Challenge of the Century
Also, if you have any original suggestions on the subject, please add them as well. Thanks very much.
I try not to comment on political issues that have no direct bearing on clean energy, or sustainability more generally. Having said that, I have indeed taken up the mantle of MoveToAmend.org, in its fight to overturn corporations’ recently granted rights to spend as much as they wish to influence our elections. The tragic US Supreme Court decision granting this right, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, is, in my mind, the single most important, and, in this case, disastrous opinion to come from the High Court in more than 150 years (Dred Scott, 1857).
At least Romney had the decency to tell us where he stood. As the MoveToAmend people put it, “He’s taking a lot of flak for it, but we want to thank Mitt for being honest about his true loyalties in a time when so many politicians are trying to hide the truth. Americans deserve to know where candidates stand on the illegitimate doctrine of Corporate Personhood.”
