Download Free Sample: VIEW THE MOST RECENT VIDEO NEWSLETTER: A PROJECT I DID FOR AND WITH ACTOR ROBERT REDFORDAnd it is about IN THIS TIME OF INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS IS THERE ANYTHING LEADING CITIZENS CAN DO TO HELP AMERICA? This project led to a cooperative research project between forest scientists in the USSR and the USA.Here, the forest scientists from both … [Read more...]
Solar Energy Where It’s COLD Outside
For most people, the very north of Michigan, the Keweenaw Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Superior, might seem an unlikely place to get electricity from solar energy. But Professor Rolf Peterson of Michigan Technical University, well-known for leading the long-term study of wolves of Isle Royale National Park, thought differently. He installed a photovoltaic system on his … [Read more...]
The Shifting Geography, Technology, and Politics of U.S. Energy Production
Guest article by Joe Browder.About the author: Joe Browder of Washington, DC, an active participant in Meeting of the Minds, is a consultant to global energy and automotive companies, NGOs and to Native American groups, chairs the Advisory Committee of China’s ChangCe Institute and is a member of the Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for the Study of the … [Read more...]
Is There Nuclear Power in Our Future?
Can We Build Enough Nuclear Power Plants Fast Enough?In a recent (May 22, 2013) Wall Street Journal article, Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger state that nuclear power “is the best chance we have to make big reductions in carbon emissions quickly.” In fact, however, “quickly” is impossible. A large number of new nuclear plants would have to be up and running in the … [Read more...]
Nuclear Power: More Evidence That It Is Not Environmentally Friendly
More evidence that nuclear power is not an environmentally friendly way to go came to light today. Six underground tanks holding radioactive waste are leaking at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington. (See this New York Times article, February 23, 2013)Hanford was built in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. As a primary … [Read more...]
The Risk of Losing Solar Manufacturing Abroad
Recently, Dan had an opportunity to sit down with students from the Energy: Today and Tomorrow class at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. The course, taught by Department of Geography lecturer Tracy Edwards, examines many of the questions and challenges of alternative energy discussed in Dan's book Powering The Future: A Scientist's Guide to Energy … [Read more...]
Ocean Power Gets A Jolt With A New Turbine
UPDATE: On Tuesday, August 14, 2012, the ocean electric generating turbine was successfully lowered into the Bay of Fundy, just off of Eastport, Maine. Costing $21 million, and benefitting from $10 million in U.S. Dept. Of Energy subsidy, Ocean Renewable Power Company will begin generating some 180 kilowatts, enough to power about 30 homes, according to The New York … [Read more...]
Alternative Energy That Works For People
Click here for a demonstration Home Wind Turbine, Boca Raton, FLThis is a new section of my website. It tells about people’s experiences with alternative energy.Here is the first:Amherst, Massachusetts home, not the sunniest of locations. On a barn roof next to the house are 24 SunPower model 230 Solar Panels, covering 20.9 feet (6.4 m) by 15.3 feet (4.68 m) or … [Read more...]