Joy
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: Concerts, Videos Leave a comment »Although no Merriweather dates this time around.
Just Because You Have It
Posted: February 27, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Germany has 5% of the world's coal, yet they still choose wind & solar instead. Just 'cause you have it, doesn't mean you have to burn it.—
Zoë Caron (@ZoeCaron) February 27, 2012
The First Hotel Built Entirely with Straw Bales
Posted: February 26, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »The Maya Project:
We will construct the Maya Guesthouse in such a way, that we will be energetically self-sufficient. For instance, we will produce fresh hot water for the showers, the washing machines, the dishwashers etc. by absorbing the excess heat in the Maya Guesthouse (wood fired oven and stoves) and with the use of a solar thermal system, which will be in charge of this task from April till October.
Humanity’s Odds, According to OMG
Posted: February 25, 2012 Filed under: Deep Leave a comment »There’s a 95% chance of human extinction in the next 9000 years! –> omgf.ac/ts/og3—
OMG Facts (@OMGFacts) February 25, 2012
My Prius V
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: Consumer products, Environment, Photography Leave a comment »I’ve owned the car since the end of October. So far, it’s been great.
Solid Waste as Resource
Posted: February 23, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Videos Leave a comment »Via CrispGreen.
A Massive Fuel Cell Farm
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: Environment, Technology Leave a comment »Apple also says it plans to build a massive fuel cell farm at its data center that will use biogas (gas captured from decomposing biomass), which is an even more rare move for an Internet company. Apple’s planned fuel cell farm will be 5 MW when it goes online later in 2012, and Apple calls the project “the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country.” Apple notes that it already has a small 500 kilowatt biogas-powered fuel cell at its Cupertino facility.
1000 Euros Over 20 Years: The Horror
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Environment Leave a comment »Roesler’s position is supported by the pro-industry Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research, or RWI, which has calculated that solar panels installed in Germany between 2000 and 2011 will cost consumers a staggering 100 billion euros ($130 billion) over 20 years. “The most important reason to cut the solar subsidies is that from an economic perspective, they are simply a waste of money,” RWI expert Manuel Frondel told GlobalPost. “We estimate that the average German household will have to pay 1,000 euros over the next 20 years as a result of the photovoltaic panels installed in Germany up to now.”
So that rings up to 50 euros per year, or €4.17 ($5.52) per month.
And then I think of another number. Reuters:
The government panel has estimated that cleaning up the Fukushima disaster and compensating its victims could cost as much as 20 trillion yen ($257 billion)…
Thoughts on Michael Graetz’ The End of Energy
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Books, Environment, Washington Leave a comment »Overall, this book passed my test – it was worth the purchase price.
On the negative side, I felt as though Graetz occasionally leans too heavily on a few stereotypes. For example, he repeatedly dredges up the view of environmentalists as being ‘think small’ and anti-growth. But he fails to mention that a number of prominent environmentalists, notably William McDonough, celebrate sustainable economic growth. On a related note, beyond passing mentions of electric cars and recent growth in solar and wind, Graetz doesn’t spend much time at all on recent business activity in clean energy tech. I didn’t see any reference to companies like BrightSource Energy or SolarCity, for example.
LIke I said, though, the book was worth it for me. I particularly appreciated his discussion on taxes as the obvious and rational choice for dealing with carbon pollution and climate change. In that vein, I also liked his hammering away at policymakers who are hamstrung by anti-tax mania and a fear of asking Americans to sacrifice anything. “Congress is especially bad at addressing long-term problems,” Graetz writes. Depressing.
