Archive for the ‘energy’ Category
Another Falkland Islands War?
March 2nd, 2010 | 
Author: 
Probably not. Despite the oft-heard cliché, history does not repeat myself. But once again, an unpopular Argentine government is stirring up deep nationalistic feelings as a distraction from its failed policies.
I have vague memories, around junior high years, when Argentina's then-military junta, unable to tackle growing economic problems, diverted attention by invading the Falkland Islands in 1982. They gambled that a British empire in decline would make little, if any, effort, to reclaim a few rocky islands a few hundred miles east of southern Argentina. But Madame Thatcher found her inner Reagan, the QE2 was retrofitted for a military effort, and after a few months, the Falklands remain part of what few crumbs remain of the United Kingdom's once global domination. The war, in an odd way, was a victory for Argentina's people, too: the military government fell into decline, and Argentina quickly returned to democracy. (more...)
Will the Bloom Box Rock?
"It's about seeing the world as what it can be and not what it is." - K.R. Sridhar, founder and CEO of Bloom Energy.I come back from Brazil, functioning on two nights of little sleep, but I cannot restrain myself from gushing and hoping that the much hyped "Bloom Box," which launched today, will revamp our nation's infrastructure over the next several years.
Not having read much news the past two weeks, I was jolted by friend and former classmate now studying in Denmark, who sent me a quick one-line email asking me what I thought about the Bloom Box, the creation of Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley start-up that has received hundreds of millions of venture capital money. (more...)
Move over Rose Parade!
Sunday night we joined Daniela Mercury´s bloco for Salvador da Bahia´s Carnaval. It was wild--more details on that later.
I think we joined the best bloco. The way Carnaval works is that you have these trios, which are like floats, where the singer or band performs. On the trio, which is a jerry-rigged semi-truck, are the VIPs invited by the group. For a few hundred bucks, you buy a special t-shirt, or adaba (will rewrite this later), that lets you hang out with the trio and follow it up the route.
I will post pictures later, but I embedded a flip video showing a snapshot of Carnival. What I loved about Daniela Mercury´s bloco is that her trio was slatered in native Brazilian plants--palm fronts, mangrove leaves and branches . . . and birds of paradise.
Oh, and of course, Petrobras was a sponsor . . . these huge trucks were powered by B-20, a blend of 80% diesel and 20% biodiesel. You would not want to be standing near the exhaust pipes long, but it was quite the experience!!!!
Posted in International, energy | 
Tags: biofuels, Brazil, Daniela Mercury, diesel, Petrobras, Salvador da Bahia, videos | 
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Save the Date: Women in Green Forum, September 1-2, 2010
Are you an engineer, fully engaged in green tech issues, and often walk into a room full of men? Are you interested in eco-fashion? Perhaps you are a graduate student wanting to enter this space. Or maybe you have a passion for electric vehicles. And you probably aware that many of the green revolution has its roots in women like Rachel Carson.Have I got the conference for you, September 1-2, in Pasadena.
Spearheaded by Jaime Nack of Three Squares Inc., The Women in Green Forum will bring together an international audience of women focused on environmental issues, including academic researchers, business experts, energy analysts, and technology developers. (more...)
After corn and sugar cane – barley?
The debate over biofuels is often a heated one. In Indonesia, the thirst for palm oil has led to deforestation and a rise in food crops. Naturally we all have opinions over corn ethanol's effects here in the United States. I've always had the view that biofuels, if sourced sustainably and does not require more energy than the finished energy product, will not only provide a good local source for regional transportation fleets, but have the potential to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. One source that has promising potential with minimal environmental impact is barley. Remember barley? Your grandmother probably put it in a soup, but this grain is often ignored--in fact, go to a posh restaurant and you'll see faro before you see barley.
Last month I had a conversation with an executive at a biofuel start-up that uses barley as its feedstock. During our conversation, he took the time to explain barley's benefits to me:
(more...)
Posted in energy |
Tags: barley, biofuels, Charles "Mac" Mathias Jr., clean energy, ethanol, farming |
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Mission Salvador
Today we leave for Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. It's a trip to which we are looking forward immensely. We will be there for Carnival, and decided to book the trip last May. We visited Rio in 2004, and would love to visit again, but we decided to visit Salvador to explore its African heritage--and supposedly its Carnival festival is more authentic than that of Rio's. Salvador is also the cradle of Brazilian civilization and history: it is here the the Portuguese first landed, and Salvador was the capital of the colony until Rio took that crown in the 18th century. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: Brazil, clean energy, Cosan, energy independence, ethanol, President Obama, Salvador da Bahia, Shell, sugar cane, Tricia Widgen |
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Pour Some (Brazilian) Sugar On Me
It has been said that the North Korean diplomatic outpost in Uzbekistan has probably the worst diplomatic staff on the face of the earth. The second worst is probably the staff of the Brazilian Consulate in Los Angeles. Horror stories abound, the most recent of which comes from poor (name withheld to avoid any risk of a denied visa), who upon presenting all of his documents, was told, "Oh, you're going to Salvador? I love it there . . . but I cannot issue you a visa . . . Ha! You should have seen the look on your face! Oh, but I'm not issuing you a visa because you don't have a proper blank page in your passport." Meanwhile, a sign above the windows admonish the following: (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: biofuels, Brazil, ethanol, Minas Gerais, Petrobras, sugar cane |
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A Korean Winter Dream
Two events occurred after I left Korea that I wished I could have witnessed. First, the 2002 World Cup, though being there in 1996 when Korea the bid with Japan was interesting for Koreans' collective angst at having to settle for co-hosting that extravaganza. Second, last week much of Korea was buried in 10 inches (25 cm), of snow, a record since the country first gauged statistics in 1937. In addition to the traffic, I can only imagine the mayhem resulting from those trying to trudge through Myong-dong in platform shoes or delivering noodles or appliances on the back of a motorbike. Perhaps this was a case of best witnessing the news from the safety of television. However, what that odd weather pattern does remind us is of Korea's third attempt to host the Winter Olympics, this time in 2018 in PyeongChang. (more...)Delivery with some Seoul
When I lived in Korea during the mid-90s, one of the simple pleasures in life was having everything delivered. Whether it was the yogurt lady, adorned in yellow vinyl in case the tropical monsoon storms suddenly unleashed their fury; the dry cleaning cantor (when he came to our building, I thought he was loudly chanting "Satan," but he was just booming the Korean word for laundry); the devilishly delicious plates of greasy jja-jjang-myun, a noodle dish swimming in black bean sauce; or a refrigerator that my dear friend arranged to have dragged across town to her apartment . . . delivery, usually by a scooter, was mostly a happy way of gathering goods and services. What amazed me is that anything got delivered at all: Korea has the most illogical address system, a matruska-like mess where you go from large (as in country, then province), to small (the block number or building name on the street). I always loved going into the local restaurants and looking at the local precinct maps. Block number 2 on my street may have been next to number 3, or 31, with number 77 following. I got dizzy trying to figure out the madness. When Korea co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, logistics slightly improved as streets were given name, but that U2 song still reminds me of Korea. (more...)
Posted in International, air - land - quality of life, energy, transportation |
Tags: electric cars, electric motorcycles, hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, Korea, plug-in, Seoul |
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A Tall Order
The frenzy over biofuels has often ended with unhappy results. Corn-based ethanol in the US served to only increase food prices and cause even more pollution in the Gulf of Mexico. The quest for palm-oil based fuels has deforested way too much of Indonesia's forest. The future does not look pretty if more folks around the world plan on buying automobiles. As with many environmental solutions, you create a new problem by solving another. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: biofu, black liquor, clean energy, Piteå, Preem, SunPine, Sweden, tall oil |
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The Brazilian Decade?
Happy New Year and New Decade! From the "buzz" I've heard, 2010 will be a pivotal year for those involved in the sustainability movement. New technologies advancing smart grid and electric vehicles may (or may not) take off, and investment and opportunities in renewable and alternative fuels may (or may not) surge. GreenGoPost plans on also focusing on one of the world's most important nations that may (or may not) have an even greater role on the global scene: Brazil. (more...)Biohope in BC
I have mentioned several times the potential for dimethyl ether (DME) as a viable fuel source. The race for harvesting DME is between East Asia, Sweden, and now Canada. Another company, Calgary-based GV Energy, has plans on opening a DME plant in Terrace, British Columbia.Like many forestry towns in the Pacific Northwest, Terrace has been hit hard by changing global economic forces. Once Terrace was known as the cedar pole capital of the world. Over 50,000 telephone and energy poles left Terrace, ending up all over North America, the tallest of which still stands in New York City. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: biofuels, British Columbia, Canada, clean energy, dimethyl ether, DME, GV Energy, Terrace |
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Next Year, Babysit a Tree!
So it's the day after Christmas, and hopefully your tree will last till New Year's Day, or if you have some Armenian or Eastern European blood in you, it will hold out until January 6. I do not have a problem with buying a live tree, as long is it is mulched by the city, or you pay the local Boy Scout troop a few bucks to have them recycle it for you. Plus my impression of most Christmas tree farms is that they are run by small business owners who care about the land and are responsible. I was, however, educated about an entrepreneur who has a fantastic idea: renting trees.Scott Martin has found a budding market in Los Angeles for his rented trees. He operates a web site, The Living Christmas Company, where customers can select from several tree varieties and then rent them for three weeks. The prices range from $50 for a Charlie Brown-sized tree to $185 to something more appropriate for the White House. Martin's business is a winner all the way around: he hires adults with disabilities, will haul away Goodwill donations, recycles used Christmas wrapping, and his fleet of delivery trucks run on biodiesel.
Launched as a pilot program in 2008, Martin, a landscape architect by trade, rented about 500 this year. Let's hope his business surges even more during 2010.
Basque-ing in Renewables
While most European Union member states are flummoxed in trying to reach that 20% renewables goal by 2020, Spain is quietly a leader in the race. The country aims to have 30% of its electricity needs met by renewables by the end of 2010. Spain is only second behind Germany in sourcing wind energy, and is the leader in solar thermal technology. Your first impression may be that such a policy is the result of a strong central government policy. But since 1978, Madrid has granted many regions in the country wide autonomy, and while relations within Spain's borders are often tenuous, there is one encouraging result: some of these autonomous regions have the highest usage of renewable energy sources in all of Europe. One region is Navarre (in Spanish, Navarra; Basque, Nafarroa), located in the Basque region bordering France. (more...)
Posted in International, energy |
Tags: Acciona, clean energy, clean technology, electricity, EU, Navarre, solar, Spain, wind power |
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A Non-profit that LEEDs
The debate over climate change and energy independence is often divisive and polarizing. First we must confront the apathetic and the nay-sayers, which has not been easy in the USA with the purported "Climate-gate" bruhaha and our concern over 10% unemployment. The Obama Administration has not been very helpful with its "green jobs" rhetoric--I think every week we have heard of the push for "home weatherization" schemes, which leaves me with the image of former Avon salespeople tapping our walls to make sure they are properly insulated (is this really the best Obama & Co. can do?). Then you've got the debate over who should lead . . . corporations, or government? Well, what about non-profits? One organization with a stellar "green" record is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a 103-year-old advocacy group with 32 chapters in the United States. (more...)