I was flattered to be asked to participate in another Zoom call (this our eighth) with about 12 members of my high school class of 1973. A few take-aways I thought I’d share. For the first time since the end …
Search results for: externalities
This Is What Mass Transit Looks Like
All the innovations in transportation are good, but we still haven’t shattered the basic paradigm of carting around 4000 pounds of steel to get us to work and back. The issue, of course, is profit. Selling steel and oil makes …
Why Has Wave Power Been Slow to Take Off?
Here are excerpts from the article linked below that attempts to answer the question posed above. After each, I’ll add my own comments. Article: Why has wave power lagged behind other renewable energy sources?
Things Look Bright for Renewables, But There’s a Catch
According to the American Energy Society, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for solar (large scale PV) and wind (onshore) has fallen 13% and 7% in the last year, respectively.
White House “Rejects” Study on Immigrants’ Value
From the New York Times: Trump administration officials, under pressure from the White House to provide a rationale for reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year, rejected a study by the Department of Health and …
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Learning from Iceland’s Development of Geothermal Energy
Cheap energy has created enormous wealth on this planet; in fact, this is the underlying reason for the boom in affluence experienced in the developed world over the last century.
ABB on Energy Storage
The industrial giant ABB was a client of mine in the late 1990s. I have a distinct fondness for them, though they represent the only business trip I regret not being able to make; due to a conflict in my …
What Will Happen With Oil?
Here’s another article that speculates on the ultimate disposition of oil in our civilization. Prices are going up, which usually means more revenues and earnings for the oil companies. But what happens in an environment where consumers can jump to …
Oil and Violence: What’s New?
From the current edition of “Energy Matters” from the American Energy Society: There is a correlation between oil prices and geopolitical unrest: low prices creates tension; conversely, tension can lead to contracting supply and rising prices.
The Validity of Wind — More
My school friend “isn’t having” my contention that wind energy makes sense, but instead of refuting my point about the attractive EROI (energy return on investment), he writes:
