For SmartPlanet this week, I took a fresh look at how large percentages of renewable power are affecting Europe’s grids, and reviewed some new academic research on grid management strategies. Most of the typical objections to using more renewable power on the grid are simply wrong. Read it here: Designing the grid for renewables
(more…)
For SmartPlanet this week, I did another deep data dive to check the claim that improved vehicle efficiency has been largely responsible for the decline in U.S. oil consumption since 2005. My conclusion: Probably not. Read it here: Has vehicle efficiency really curbed U.S. oil demand?
An administrative note: My SmartPlanet column has been moved to a different section called The Take, under the Technology tab instead of the Energy tab. My older pieces there are still located under the Energy Futurist section. But you can find all of my SmartPlanet articles in both sections by searching by my name.
(more…)
For SmartPlanet this week, I evaluated the energy policies of President Obama and Governor Romney. The U.S. presidential candidates offer two radically different directions into the future. Which one would take us into prosperity? Read it here: Obama vs. Romney: Who has the best energy plan?
(more…)
Plenty of ink has already been spilled about Mitt Romney’s so-called energy plan, released yesterday, so I will not offer a comprehensive critique of it. But a few additional observations are in order.
For SmartPlanet this week, I detailed the water demands of power production and the power demands of water production as power plants are forced to shut down in the drought and record heat of 2012. Read it here: The energy-water nexus, 2012 edition
(more…)
This is a guest post from my pals at Open4Energy, a site dedicated to exposing consumer energy scams and offering good, vetted energy information to consumers. I almost never allow guests posts here, but this is an important subject that’s outside the bounds of my usual work and I think it’s worth highlighting, particularly as we are seeing a fresh bloom of consumer energy scams sprouting up online. If you see something online about some magical device (or worse, a book and DVD set that offers to tell you how to build one) that promises to make your household energy independent for under $100, save yourself some grief: Go to Open4Energy and do a little homework before being suckered!
I made a guest appearance on the Extraenvironmentalist podcast this week, to talk about how the oil and gas industry works, peak oil, and my larger vision of the future of energy and energy transition. My friend Gregor Macdonald was also featured on the show.
I’ve been a big fan of this podcast for quite some time now, with its “doom without the gloom” focus. They really zero in on the important subjects and the best thinkers and writers on them, with excellent production values. (They also make some really fun “mixtapes” of hip music and clips from great speakers of the past.) The hosts are Justin Ritchie, who is finishing his Masters degree in nanotechnology materials engineering at the University of British Columbia and headed for a PhD in resource management and environmental systems, and Seth Moser-Katz, a multimedia journalist who works at Duke University in Chapel Hill, NC. These guys really show how the current generation of university students are far more tuned in to our challenges and coming to grips with them in a fearless, clear-eyed way than older generations are, without losing their optimism or sense of humor. (Don’t miss their faux 6-Hour Energy commercial at the end of this episode.) If there is hope for our future, it’s in the hands of people like them. In addition to the Twitter accounts of the hosts, linked above, you can follow the Twitter account for the show at xenvironmental.
I encourage you to fire up this podcast and check it out, along with their archive of past episodes. (If the inline player quits halfway on you, as it did for me, try downloading it or listening to it on iTunes.) It’s here: Extraenvironmentalist Episode #47: Power Transition
For SmartPlanet this week, I dug up some data on lobbying spending by the fossil fuel industry and the renewable energy industry, along with a few recent reports about additional efforts by the fossil fuel industry to tear down renewables and subvert the debate and the science on climate change. In conclusion, I speculated that the renewables industry is probably being outspent by around 100 to 1. Read it here: Energy policy: Follow the money
For SmartPlanet this week, I discussed the European market for North American wood pellets, which they are increasingly using for power generation. It’s a fascinating market that gets very little coverage in the American press, but exploiting our full export potential will require infrastructure investment in freight rail and ports, which in turn will create jobs and enable a more general transport infrastructure that uses less energy and delivers a wide spectrum of ancillary benefits to the U.S. economy. Read it here: The missing link to a $7 billion market
I had a longish critique published at FT Alphaville (an online publication of the Financial Times) today, of the widely-heralded recent report by Harvard’s Leonardo Maugeri, “Oil: The Next Revolution.” It’s unavoidably technical and wonky, but hopefully still readable by non-wonks.
Read it here: Is peak oil dead?
Postscript, August 6, 2012: Rich Turcotte assembled a useful, if tongue-in-cheek summary of links to the credulous mainstream media coverage of the Maugeri report, as well as the responses from the peak oil camp. It’s a fine snapshot of the peak oil debate at this point in time.
(more…)
