standforless: C'mon TeamUSA.... RT @TreeHugger: China Beat US in Offshore Wind, Europe Still Trounces Everyone Else in Solar Power http://bit.ly/aI7byB
If Treehugger’s report on secret talks among high level UK government officials is true, then National Geographic must be a crazy-eyed radical publication. The esteemed American magazine, known for making science interesting and accessible, has been discussing peak oil for years. Don’t miss this post at Treehugger.
Image from AZRainman.
This 17-minute talk by Lisa Margonelli of the New America Foundation Energy Policy Initiative moves beyond the rhetoric. It’s a thoughtful look at our attitudes toward oil, the realities of how we use it, and some solutions for weaning ourselves off of black gold:
Thanks Lisa and TED!
The California Center for Sustainable Energy’s (CCSE) Sustainable Energy Week is almost here. This is CCSE’s largest annual event and is well worth your time if you’re interested in this important topic. Learn more at the CCSE website.
Todd Woody reports on a parking lot with a purpose.
“The electricity grid in the U.S. wastes power and discourages the use of renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. The grid still relies on technology from the 1960s, says journalist Joel Achenbach, who wrote about the nation’s electrical infrastructure in an article in July’s National Geographic magazine.” (NPR)
Listen to the man who inspired our July 7 post in this interview with Dave Davies on NPR’s Fresh Air.
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” –Thomas Edison, 1931
An early application of electricity. Many more would follow.
“We are creatures of the grid,” is the opening line to this month’s National Geographic article by Joel Achenbach.
And we are. From the heating and cooling systems that control our indoor environments, to the power for our cell phones and computers–we have grown so accustomed to reliable and affordable electricity that we take it for granted as much as the air we breathe.
But our grid was built for the 20th century. What we have works, most of the time. It’s not, however, equipped for the growing demand of our ever increasing population. It is also unequipped to handle the new, greener sources of electricity that we hope will be powering our lives in the years ahead.
One of the first steps in developing a smarter grid for this century can be found here in San Diego through SDG&E’s implementation of smart meters. This is a logical step since the technology is readily available to provide both consumers and producers of electricity with vital real-time, two-way communications regarding energy usage. SDG&E is a national leader in this upgrade.
Smart meter technology will allow homeowners and businesses to see how they are consuming electricity, and adjust their energy use accordingly. Utilities will have real time information to prevent or deal with brownouts or localized outages. Today most power companies don’t know that the power is out until somebody calls in a report. By implementing this relatively simple technology, we are taking an important step forward toward a smarter grid for this century.
Green energy and the grid
Forty percent of all energy used in the U.S. goes into making electricity–and today only 3% of that energy comes from renewable sources. The vast majority of our energy for electricity comes from coal and natural gas-powered plants (almost 50% is from coal-powered generators). If we are going to deal with climate change, we need to move away from these carbon-dioxide belching energy sources.
Developing a smarter grid is especially important as Americans shift toward greener sources of energy, including wind and solar.
Today, Texas is capable of producing far more wind energy than the existing grid can handle. Because of this, as well as the collapse in the price of natural gas over the past two years, an ambitious project to build a giant wind farm in west Texas was abandoned.
Arizona is capable of producing enough solar power for the entire nation. There too, the grid is not capable of distributing what Arizona could produce.
There are a few grid-related issues limiting the sun and the wind as energy sources including: distribution capacity, storage capabilities and grid intelligence. Wind and solar depend on the wind blowing, and the sun shining. Mechanisms need to be developed and deployed to store power for night time and calm days.
Moving to different sources of energy and upgrading our grid are important steps toward standing for less oil, gas and coal being used. These are also vital steps for national security. Oil is not a significant source of electricity in the U.S., but by generating clean energy and moving toward electric vehicles, we can decrease our need for foreign oil–which literally fuels our economy today–and keeps us hostage to the whims of the market and to foreign nations that are at times less than friendly.
As creatures of the grid, these are issues that affect all of us.
Read “The 21st Century Grid,” by Joel Achenbach.
This post originally appeared on our site on June 23, 2009. We are republishing it because Tickell’s film “Fuel” will be released June 22, 2010 on DVD. This is a timely movie given the situation in the Gulf of Mexico and our continued dependence on petroleum.
Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell taking a STAND FOR LESS.
We met Josh Tickell at Street Smart San Diego where he was a featured speaker. Tickell is an author, filmmaker, and champion of alternative fuels. He wrote the book Biodiesel America. He also wrote and directed the Sundance award-winning film titled “Fuel.”
We encourage you to read his book and watch his film. He is an elegant writer and speaker. His research is thorough and he masterfully explains technical issues in an engaging way that the average person can understand. If you missed him at Street Smart San Diego you can get a quick introduction to Tickell by watching this short video:
A few days after we met him, Tickell was named a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for his work promoting alternative fuel sources.
Visit The Fuel Film website for more information.
One of our favorite writers put up a post yesterday on the oil spill. It’s a post filled with opinion, good advice and some healthy reminders. For example: “We continue sending trillions of dollars to parts of the world where people want to do us harm. With rising oil prices we are sending more money for less oil.”
Read more at “Oil Spill Call for Action,” by John Addison.
We introduced Addison to STAND FOR LESS followers last November in a post discussing his book “Save Gas, Save the Planet.”
From the L.A. Times:
“A hot column of oil and gas is spurting into freezing, black waters nearly a mile down, where the pressure nears a ton per inch, impossible for divers to endure. Experts call it a continuous, round-the-clock calamity, unlike a leaking tanker, which might empty in hours or days.”
Read the full story: “BP’s containment problem is unprecedented.”
For complete coverage of the disaster in the Gulf visit Environmental Health News.