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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Reader Jacob Silver writes:

Non-absorbed carbon in the atmosphere is thickening the carbon filter of solar energy. With the loss of hundreds of thousands of acres of forest cut down in Indonesia and Brazil, the result is a gap of 25% non-absorbed carbon. This has already created an atmospheric carbon index of 390 ppm, with an increase of 2 ppm each year.

It’s coincidental that you mention the importance of the rainforests.  As it turns out, my wife, who recently exited with the world of horse breeding, will soon be speaking with the good people of Amazon Watch re: a new career as environmental guardian.  I truly hope it works out, as advocating for eco-stewardship is a great chance to make the big bucks.  (Just kidding.)

I’m reminded of the magical night I had in Los Angeles a few months ago at a screening of the movie Crude (which I heartily recommend), and meeting a few of the filmmakers. It was a great honor to hang out with people who have dedicated their lives to such an honest and beautiful cause. I’m reminded in particular of Amazon Watch’s Atossa Soltani (pictured here) whom I’ve described as “a fierce but kind fireball of passion and energy for the cause of the Ecuadorian people.”

For those who may not be aware of the story, Crude is a documentary that lays out the history of one of the world’s most horrible tragedies – tragic mostly insofar as it did not have to happen. In brief, oil giant Texaco began looking for oil in Ecuador in 1964 and pursued that goal for decades, with dirty, low-cost processes that would have landed anyone associated with them in jail had they been performed in the US. The company knowingly ruined a huge part of the rainforest, resulting in the sickness and death of tens of thousands of innocent indiginous people. Now, Chevron, who acquired Texaco in 2001, has focused its throng of lawyers on the task of evading responsibility for the crimes.

Those wishing to learn more can do so at Amazon Watch. It would certainly be a happy day for us at the Shields family to have one of on the staff of such a fabulous team of people.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

PhotobucketI deeply appreciate the hundreds of comments to the posts that my guests and I have written this year.  Here are the five posts that received the most comments: 

The True Cost of Fossil Fuels

Big Energy and Campaign Finance Reform

Renewables and Cutting-Edge Physics

The True Cost of Electric Power

The “Business of Plugging In” Conference

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

A reader writes:

What about the Quantum vacuum, which isn’t a vacuum at all. Zero Point energy is available now.

To which I respond:

I’m very interestested in this, but most people tell me it’s poppycock.  (I.e., zero point energy is real, of course, but the idea that it’s available for use is poppycock.) Can you point me to a website that presents this in a clear and compelling way? 

It’s true that a particle at absolute zero still has some energy, due to the Heisenberg Uncertainly Principle.  I.e., if a particle had no momentum, we’d know exactly where it was, which is impossible.  However, is there any possible application of that in terms of harnessing useful work?  Most people, and I’ve spoken with a heck of a lot of extremely senior and fair-minded people, say no.

I post this to stimulate conversation on the subject; I hope readers will please feel free to add clarification.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI have to say that I’m quite happy to be part of the Renewable Energy World blog.  They’re in their 11th year, and their community is quite large — the site’s subscriber base numbers in the hundreds of thousands and grows daily.  I’m being quite sincere what I write about their journalistic breadth and excellence; I’m honored to be part of such high-level company. 

Here’s something else I notice:  they’ve kept the whole discussion about renewables quite completely positive; they advocate for clean energy, and against….nothing. 

I see nothing wrong with that; in fact, I see a great deal of value in keeping the whole discussion positive.  But readers here know that I’ve taken a different tack; I’m vehemently against a lot of things (read: corruption), and I’m more than willing to say so — at the admitted expense of turning many people off.  My mother told me when I was a little boy that you can’t please everyone, and she sure nailed that one.  I got an “unsubscribe” yesterday from someone yelling that I had no common sense and that I did not live in the real world.  It comes with the territory. 

Unfortunately for us all, regardless of our political persuasions, the “real world” is chock full of forces that are quite indifferent (at best) to your and my happiness, health, and safety.  Want an example?

Until the (GW) Bush Administration was taken to task for it a  few years ago, the Bureau of Land Management formalized a policy that made cleanup at oil and gas drilling sites purely voluntary for the corporations that drill on public lands. Cleanup at drilling sites, known as “offsite mitigation,” had previously been required. 

Want 50 or so more? Here you are. Take your pick.

Sorry if I’m off the beam re: common sense, but I’m afraid that if no one notices things like this, these forces will bite us in the backside.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

PhotobucketNot to harp on the obvious, but without vigorous grassroots efforts to the contrary, the migration to renewable energy and clean transportation will be slow and arduous. In news that underscores this point, Toyota unveiled its new plug-in hybrid, promising sales in 2011 at an “affordable” price. Executive vice president Takeshi Uchiyamada told an eager audience that Toyota’s plug-in travels 14.5 miles as an electric vehicle on a single charge.

Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I find this product — and the timing of its launch — a considerable snooze. Toyota could have had a plug-in hybrid with 30 – 50 mile electric-only range in the market many years ago. Why didn’t they? Because it wasn’t in their interest to do so. They were already perceived as “green” (with the Prius), and there was nothing in it for them to move this along until they absolutely had to.

This offering is good for Toyota in every way. The small battery pack will be easy to build, support, sell – and ultimately replace with new technology as soon as it comes along. The fact that most drivers will be disappointed in that they will continue to use gasoline on a daily basis is apparently not a significant part of the equation.

I’m reminded of shopping at Costco, the experience of which always leaves we thinking: I’m not buying what’s good for me; I’m buying what’s good for Costco to sell me – whatever they can source inexpensively, and sell in quantities that are almost always far greater than its customers want. Need a canister of salt? Think you can get it at Costco? No, if you want salt, you get a 25-pound sack – sufficient to last a family of four about 30 years.

But is it fair to expect altruism from Toyota — or any other corporation, when their sole purpose is to make money? Today’s corporate titans think of themselves as “customer-focused,”  though that’s for business reasons, not out of true concern for fulfilling customers’ needs.  If that weren’t the case, we woudn’t have planned obsolescence — products that are built to wear out and fall apart, necessitating replacement by new ones. 

The bottom line is this: at the end of the day, electric transportation will not come from the “push” of the OEMs; the only thing we have going for us is the “pull” from customers like me (and, I hope, like you) who simply refuse to buy another 25 MPG planet-buster.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI don’t think too many of us had high hopes for definitive negotiations emanating from Copenhagen. Today we learned of China’s announcement that the developing world won’t commit to greenhouse gas emissions reductions until the developed world leads the way – a stalemate that is regrettable but hardly surprising.

What is perhaps more interesting is the timing of ExxonMobil’s purchase of domestic oil and gas giant XTO Energy for $31 billion. In the media, it was reported as a bet on natural gas (as a lower emission energy source than oil), showing that Exxon anticipates growing restrictions on CO2 emissions. To me, it looks like the precise opposite – i.e., a bet that Copenhagen will not produce a binding result, and that fossil fuels will remain alive and well for the foreseeable future.

In any case, I think we all need to be aware of the fact that, without vigorous grassroots efforts to the contrary, the migration to renewable energy will be a slow and arduous one.

by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

In a typical week, I receive half a dozen or so business plans with requests for funding.  I find all of these intriguing in one way or another — even the ones that I can see instantly have no chance.

As I’ve mentioned before, I get the occasional perpetual motion machine.  I’m never rude or catty with anyone, and I’m always happy to provide advice. But I remind such inventors that the investment community has been taught since they were toddlers that anyone claiming to have built a machine that delivers more power than it consumes is either a liar or an idiot.   If you have a working model, great — I want to see it.  If you don’t, brace yourself for scorn.

Many of the other plans are simply bad ideas coming from nice, well-meaning people.  A very pleasant lady (apparently young — she writes with exclamation points) has an idea for wind farms in the mountains.  But why?  Why go to the expense of building an even higher tech turbine to capture the energy from wind that is not blowing parallel to the earth’s surface, and installing and grid-tying it in hard-to-access areas — when there are zillions of square miles of flat windy plains?  She seems like a charming and honest young person with a good heart, but I can’t see investors rushing to her with money to develop this technology.

Among these, however, are some real gems.  I’m working hard on behalf of quite a number of inventors and entrepreneurs to get them the funding they will need to get their companies launched.  Again, it’s fascinating stuff; I open each new email with great hope and anticipation.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketI don’t know the extent to which most readers are aware of the frequent comments of Dan Conine, whom I would characterize as irreverent but incredibly bright. Here, in response to my piece on James Woolsey, he writes:

Ask him about shadow government agencies, Iran Contra connections to 9/11, and why he thinks Obama has not followed through on releasing government documents. Nothing is more renewable than ex-gov employees’ hot air.

LOL, as usual. Sorry, but I think I’ll take another tack with this interview. Yet you suggest a good point that I do intend to pursue — one that will make this such a fascinating experience for me: How does it happen that a true patriot comes to hold a position that seems to challenge the very integrity of an entire presidential administration — or maybe several? Unless I’m missing something, Mr. Woolsey is saying — or at least implying — that our leaders have acted more in their personal interests (as oilmen) than in the national interest, protecting the safety and security of the people who elected them.

In my opinion, what makes Mr. Woolsey so valuable to the cause of sustainability is his position as a frequent presidential appointee — combined with his lack of willingness to blunt his words. It’s easy for people (like me) on the outside to take potshots; it’s quite another thing for such assertions to come from within.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

PhotobucketI want my book on renewables to feature a few chapters on the public sector – what our government at various levels is doing to promote clean transportation and energy. To knock out the piece on municipalities, this morning I’m on my way to interview Rick Sikes, the manager of the fleet of the city of Santa Monica (CA).

I may have mentioned that I moderated a panel discussion at the AltCarExpo this fall. Rick was assigned a different panel — and he certainly has the “creds”: 87% of the fleet he controls is alternative fueled. He was recommended to me as something of a legend among city planners and managers; I’m certainly looking forward to the interview.

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by Craig ShieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

PhotobucketThe trajectory for completing my book on renewables just received a major shot in the arm this morning as James Woolsey, one of the most vocal and credible proponents of alternative energy, agreed to an interview for my chapter on oil independence and national security. Mr. Woolsey’s role as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1993 to 1995 was one of his four Presidential appointments across two Republican and two Democratic administrations.  In my mind, he is the best-qualified person on the planet to speak to these issues. 

Over the past few years, I’ve availed myself of a great deal of Mr. Woolsey’s writing and speaking, so I can anticipate what I think he’ll probably say on these issues – the manifold threats to US interests that oil addiction represents: the funding of enemy states, possible terrorists strikes, embargoes, and other potential disruptions in supply, the economic duress created by our borrowing $2 billion per day, etc. I also expect to hear about the remedies – many of which I’ve tried to cover in this blog over the past many months: alternative fueled vehicles (especially electric transportation) and renewable energy.

The current “debate” about global warming underscores the importance of having people like James Woolsey present in our world – people who cut through the political gamesmanship that is so common in public discourse, dispense with opinion and rhetoric, and focus on hard-hitting, well-researched facts.  I eagerly anticipate the conversation.

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