While Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump trade insults focusing on their personalities, histories, and abilities, those of us who have long considered the environment an essential modern issue are wondering what attention will be given---what policies, and actions will be implemented to address environmental problems at home and internationally in the next four years. We’re far … [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...]
How is Earth doing after 40 years of Earth Days?
The following post was written for OUPBlog, the blog of Oxford University Press. This year we will celebrate Earth Day for the 43rd time. Where have we come in those years in dealing with the environment, and how has Earth’s environment fared? I have been an ecological scientist since 1965, five years before the first Earth day. Many improvements have taken place in how 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...]