Ed Ring

Let's say we are experiencing global warming.  Let's say this phenomenon is not only real, it's something we can change, and that our survival depends on it.  Even if all of this is true, why wouldn't the three to five percent anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions that are really creating the "tipping point" - whereby normal planetary temperature fluctuations may careen into full fledged icecap meltdown - be better credited and offset by simply planting more trees? We have just posted an in-depth feature story entitled "Global Warming Facts" by the eminent and respected atmospheric scientist from MIT, Dr. Richard Lindzen.  It is clear from the data presented in Lindzen's tables that global...

Thank God - there are powerful God fearing folks who believe we must exercise stewardship over this earth.  This earth is ours not just to use, but to nurture.  A Christian environmentalism is emerging that is recognizable to secular environmentalists.  But one must avoid jumping to conclusions as to the nature and nuances of rising environmentalist activism among evangelical Christians. In his PBS blog, the well known journalist and commentator Bill Moyers has a favorable take on this in a recent post "Religion & Environmentalists" where he applauds a "nascent environmentalism in the evangelical community."  But Moyers might be missing the boat in his further observations on this phenomenon... Moyers reports "In February 2006, a group of 86 respected evangelical Christian leaders from across the nation unveiled a campaign for environmental reform and put out a statement calling on all Christians to...

For three days in late September, California's Air Resources Board hosted their annual "Zero Emission Vehicle" (ZEV) Symposium.  It's interesting to see how the agenda has evolved this year, to put more emphasis than ever on battery electric vehicle technology instead of hydrogen fuel cell technology. If you review the presentation agenda you will see that the hydrogen lobby managed to dominate most of the conference.  But if you view the various presentations, you may be struck by the difference in tone and content between these competing technologies.  Basically, the hydrogen folks trotted out the same slides they delivered last year, with minor updates.  On the battery electric sessions, however, there was an excitement and vitality that comes from knowing you are in the vanguard of an impending revolution. Battery/electric automotive technology, you see, doesn't require a government hand-out - or mandate...

When CNET's respected "Future Tech Blog," authored by Michael Kanellos, reported last week that Miasole intended to go public in 12 to 18 months, we decided it was time to take a closer look at this promising manufacturer of thin film photovoltaics. Like Nanosolar, Miasole (pronounced mee-ah-so-LAY) relies on CIGS technology.  CIGS, short for "copper indium gallium selenide," requires far less silicon, which is in short supply these days. As Miasole's website states, the CIGS photoactive material can be deposited on a "stainless steel foil only 50 microns thick. It can easily be used in PV modules or incorporated into building materials like membrane roofing." Earlier today, when we asked Martin Wenzel, Miasole's SVP of Sales and Marketing, whether or not they were shipping product, he said no, but they would be very soon.  He stated they had two production lines capable of 25 megawatts of...

We've been electric car fans for a long time, and the relationship between Feel Good Cars, located in Toronto, Ontario, and EEStor, located in Austin, Texas, is too intriguing to ignore.  Feel Good Cars manufactures the ZENN (zero emission no noise) "luxury neighborhood electric vehicle."  According to the ZENN specifications, this two-seater car has a top speed of 25 MPH, a range of 35 miles, and costs $12,500. No breakthroughs there.  Just two days ago, taking advantage of 1.9% financing, my webmaster just bought a Ford Escape Hybrid for $25,000; a car that gets 40 MPG in the city and goes over 400 miles without refueling.  Oh, and it can be driven on the highway, at speeds, shall we say, well over the speed...

Yesterday another prominent businessman, who I admire greatly, has weighed in on the potential of biofuels.  In a presentation delivered at a forum hosted by the World Trade Organization, Ted Turner said "biofuels could do more than fight problems like pollution and global warming.  They can also provide wealthy countries a means of keeping their farmers in business, instead of subsidizing products that can be grown more cheaply in poor countries, products like cotton, sugar beets, sugar cane and rice." Turner has a good point.  Wealthy countries with ample farmland that is already in service can grow biofuel instead of food.  Because the land is already being used as farmland, there is no pressure to...

Last week, Richard Branson announced some of Virgin's profits will be plowed into developing alternative energy, up to as much as 3.0 billion dollars.  This is a good and noble thing to do, but also requires discussion.  What if all those profits are invested in the hydrogen fuel cell sector (a very inefficient use of funds), or into biofuel plantations that deforested the planet? Also of concern is the possibility these funds will be put into CO2 sequestration programs instead of CO2 absorption programs.  That is, why aren't we digging aqueducts to refill the Aral Sea using surplus water from the Volga River since the Caspian Sea is rising?  Why aren't we tunneling through the mountains north of the Ubangi River, so we can divert some of its water into the Sahel to refill Lake Chad?  These water projects could create a million or more square miles of restored ecosystems in the Aral Sea and Lake Chad...

Such is the moniker applied to biofuel by none other than a commentator for the BBC, in an opinion piece posted today entitled "Biofuels:  Green Energy or Grim Reaper?" We have always been optimistic about the potential of biofuel with a couple of big qualifiers:  They do not always offer a positive economic or energy payback, even though in some places - palm oil in Africa, sugar cane in Brazil, their payback in both senses is quite positive.  They also are not going to replace petroleum, or even come close.  As we prove in our post "Biofuel vs. Photovoltaics," the best biofuel crops produce about 6,000 barrels of fuel per square mile per year. This equates to about 55 million Btu’s of energy per square mile per year.  To...

We have learned that Nanosolar, possibly the most credible aspirant to developing the next generation photovoltaic panel, has partnered with Conergy Group, arguably (among other things) the biggest installer of photovoltaic installations in the world. Needless to say, this partnership constitutes a huge endorsement of Nanosolar, since Conergy Group would not have gotten involved with them unless their technical and procurement people had done a thorough job of evaluating this company and their technology.  We have contacted Conergy's North American headquarters to request whatever specifics regarding their due diligence they may wish to disclose, which we will report here as soon as we hear back from them. In the report released jointly by Nanosolar and Conergy Group, it is noted that Conergy Group, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has annual revenues of 800 million Euros and has...

We've been challenged recently to defend our somewhat unconventional view of environmentalism.  After all, if you believe that most of the conventional wisdom held by typical environmentalists is wrong, are you still an environmentalist? The answer is yes, yes, yes, absolutely and resolutely, yes.  We don't believe in half the things that we're supposed to believe in as "environmentalists," yet we are environmentalists.  People in the name of environmentalism waste billions of taxpayer's money pursuing half-baked schemes, and tie our economy up in knots, and it is our job as non-conformist yet utterly committed environmentalists to carry the torch of true environmentalism.  It is our job to expose environmentalist myths at the same time as we relentlessly pursue the truth, and redefine environmentalism to legitimately appeal to a wider, mainstream constituency. We're not...