Electricity
PCs, TVs & phones mean 200 more powerplants
05/13/09 21:25
The International Energy Agency tells us today that the ever-growing electrical thirst from our proliferating PCs, cell-phones, TVs and iPods is wiping out efficiency gains in lighting, heating and elsewhere.
How bad is the problem? The IEA suggests the worldwide growth in digi-gadgets will consume more power than all of the U.S. and Japan by 2030 unless we put our “stuff” on a diet. That’s the equivalent of 200 giant new power plants.
We can easily stop our PCs and devices from contributing today (and cut our utility bills too.) Click to read how...Read More...
Beijing: Indoor Smog - An Export Industry
12/08/08 20:08
Until
yesterday, I had never seen indoor smog... Below is
the vast Norman-Foster designed arrival
hall at
Beijing’s new airport - its soaring roof
supported by dozens of chimney-like columns fading
away into the coal smoke in the distance...
As we drove downtown in one of Beijing’s ubiquitous minibuses, visibility decreased to about 1km as you can see from (click below to continue)Read More...
As we drove downtown in one of Beijing’s ubiquitous minibuses, visibility decreased to about 1km as you can see from (click below to continue)Read More...
Recycling Energy on a massive scale
05/23/08 12:11
Companies
like Recycled Energy
Development are leading a
“recycled
energy”
revolution. Recycled energy
means turning waste heat from factories like steel
mills and oil refineries into electricity.
Countries like Denmark get over 50% of their
electric power this way, but we get only 8% of our
electricity this way...Read
More...
A Tale of Two Cities: Cutting 30% in 3 days...
05/06/08 11:06
Over the past
few weeks, people in Juneau, Alaska, have
cut their power use by an
astounding 30 percent after an
avalanche cut hydro power forcing them to pay 200%
more for electricity from diesel
generators. And they have
kept power usage down even after electricity
prices came down. They've turned
down thermostats, unplugged appliances and
switched to fluorescent bulbs. Meanwhile in
Hawaii...Read More...
Pull the plug on your PC or Home Theater
01/26/08 18:44
Looks like a
surge protector power strip, right? It is, but
the aptly-named Smart Strip
has
a big difference...Read
More...
A Tale of Two Cities: EnergyVille vs. ElectroCity
09/10/07 09:38
Chevron's
EnergyVille
online game about how to power a city is a clever
marketing ploy. As Chevron self-interestedly points
out "we recognize the world needs all the energy we
can develop in every potential form." Energyville
players... Read
More...
Radical Remaking Of Utilities...
08/25/07 23:33
WHAT
IF...
You were an electric or gas utility whose profitability was regulated by the Public Utility Commission? (almost all are) and face regulatory, demand and fuel cost challenges?
• Permitting and building new power plants got more difficult and costly every year...
• Fuel costs rose and became more unpredictable each year and customers reacted by reducing power consumption...
• The business risk of carbon cap & trade or carbon taxes was growing each year...
What if you already had the names, addresses and billing information of 100% of hundreds of thousands of consumer and business customers concentrated in one region... Read More...
You were an electric or gas utility whose profitability was regulated by the Public Utility Commission? (almost all are) and face regulatory, demand and fuel cost challenges?
• Permitting and building new power plants got more difficult and costly every year...
• Fuel costs rose and became more unpredictable each year and customers reacted by reducing power consumption...
• The business risk of carbon cap & trade or carbon taxes was growing each year...
What if you already had the names, addresses and billing information of 100% of hundreds of thousands of consumer and business customers concentrated in one region... Read More...