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Clean Energy Radio – Can Synthetic Fuels Change the World Energy Picture?

billschiffler — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:56:13 +0000

Most of us anxiously look forward to the day when dirty fuels like oil and coal are replaced by clean, renewable energy. But how real is this, considering that we have approximately one BILLION cars and trucks on the world’s roads, almost all of which run on gas and diesel? And what about the fact that almost half of the electricity we generate in the United States comes from coal? Any way you look at it, there is a huge amount of inertia to overcome as we make the migration to clean energy.

And which fuel sources have the potential to “move the needle” of the world’s fuel supply? Is it realistic to expect that certain of our technologies, like solar, geothermal, and the others, will scale to the point that they’re making a meaningful contribution? In this week’s show, Clean Energy Radio host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews Windfuels’ CEO Dr. David Doty, who believes that the answer lies in synthetic fuels.

Doty provides specific feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the main contender technologies, and then introduces his breakthrough: “windfuels” a unique method for synthesizing hydrocarbons.

Clean Energy Radio – How Much Longer Do We Need Coal-Fired Power Plants?

billschiffler — Mon, 23 May 2011 05:01:06 +0000

In our quest for clean energy, is it possible that we dismiss some of the tough realities of providing power for 300 million energy-hungry Americans? We all want to get rid of coal (well, at least, most of us). But how practical is that — especially now, during a recession? On this week’s Clean Energy Radio show, host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews Dr. Marie Corio, CEO of Applied Economic Research, one of the world’s foremost experts in coal-fired power plants.

Listeners will like the way Dr. Corio handles herself on the show. Here’s a professional at the very apex of her field in terms of the analysis of coal-fired power plants, with a ridiculously strong command of metallurgy, thermodynamics, chemistry, and several other related disciplines. Yet she is somehow able to present all this at a level that is truly appropriate for a non-technical audience.

Another aspect of Dr. Corio’s approach listeners will like is her stalwart pragmatism. “I’m not an advocate for coal,” she said, “But I am an advocate for keeping the economy from falling back into recession. Abruptly cutting off coal would cause a huge spike in electricity prices that would drive many businesses under. I think that concern has to trump our other worries.”

This level-headedness is a refreshing break from the doctrinaire narrow-mindedness that we come across so often on both sides: both the rabid environmentalists who fail to grasp the full consequences of what they’re espousing, and some of the rightwing extremists who don’t perceive any responsibility to regulate business as necessary to take care of the only home we have.

Clean Energy Radio – The US Lags Far Behind in Development of Renewable Energy — Here’s a Possible Reason

billschiffler — Mon, 16 May 2011 05:01:49 +0000

One of our “charters” at Clean Energy Radio is untangling paradoxical issues that surround the migration to renewable energy. Here’s one: If we all know that clean energy is vitally important, if it’s important to our bodily health, our financial health as a nation and to us as consumers and to the health of our planet, then why, exactly, are we (in the US particularly) so slow in bringing it along? Host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, was honored to have David Cobb on the show. Cobb, the 2004 Green Party presidential candidate, is now national spokesperson for Move To Amend, an organization whose purpose is to create a constitutional amendment to control the power that corporations have over “We The People.” No doubt about it, Cobb is a true progressive – and a heck of a smart one at that. But on today’s show, Shields posed a few tough questions, including: Can you provide specific examples of corporations abusing their rights and running roughshod over individual liberties in their desire to earn profits? Can you be as specific as possible about how this applies in energy, with the big oil, coal, gas, and nuclear companies? Are you telling us that corporations are bad – or even that the majority of the folks running them are bad people? They exist to make money for shareholders; I’m not sure I would call that “noble” in and of itself, but it’s certainly not “bad,” is it? If a person has the right of free speech, then why doesn’t that right belong to a group of people? What needs to happen to establish proper corporate behavior in the energy sector, and a level playing field for renewables? We hope you’ll enjoy the discussion.

2GreenEnergy.com: http://2GreenEnergy.com

Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies: http://2greenenergy.com/renewable-energy-facts-fantasies/

Move To Amend: http://movetoamend.org

Clean Energy Radio – Clean Energy Entrepreneurs — Need to Raise Investment Capital?

billschiffler — Mon, 09 May 2011 05:01:51 +0000

I get the hunch that many of our weekly listeners have a keen entrepreneurial spirit, and simply need to raise a bit of investment capital to move their visions into reality. But we live in one of the weakest climates for capital formation in recent history. What are the secrets for getting investors to understand your story — and open up the checkbooks? Host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews financial intermediary Lindsay Oliver, who presents some terrific ideas in helping entrepreneurs craft and present compelling business plans — in this most difficult time.

Clean Energy Radio – Renewable Energy That Scales — Concentrated Solar Power

billschiffler — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:01:05 +0000

Some potential sources of clean power look attractive — until you realize how much energy we really need, and the price we’re willing to pay for it. Enter Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), aka Solar Thermal. In this week’s Clean Energy Radio program, host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews Belen Gallero, direct of CSP Today. Belen presents the subject in an accessible and interesting way.

Clean Energy Radio – Drilling For Oil Off the Shores of Califonia

billschiffler — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:01:30 +0000

All true environmentalists deplore offshore drilling, right? Not so fast. In this week’s Clean Energy Radioprogram, host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy– Facts and Fantasies, interviews Bruce Allen, co-founder of non-profit Stop Oil Seeps California. Bruce presents some unique and counter-intuitive ideas concerning the safeguarding of our coastal ecology.

Clean Energy Radio – In Support of Cleantech Entrepreneurs

billschiffler — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:15:08 +0000

Americans are more likely than any other people on Earth to start their own businesses; more that one in 10 of us do. But NINE out of those 10 fail. And how tragic that is in cleantech particularly, were these business can, if successful, change the world for the better. Host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author ofRenewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews Green2Gold founder Alan Tratner, who presents some terrific ideas in helping fledgling business get off the ground and into the sky.

Clean Energy Radio – In Support of Cleantech Entrepreneurs

billschiffler — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:49:48 +0000

How much longer will our addiction to oil be taking its toll on our wallets, our health, and our national security? Host Craig Shields, editor of 2GreenEnergy.com and author of Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies, interviews Plug-In America Co-founder Paul Scott, who discusses the issues surrounding electric transportation: the reason it’s important, and the many advantages to vehicle owners and to society at large.