April 16th, 2014
Yesterday we talked about 10 ways to celebrate Earth Day with your family, save money, and cut your carbon emissions. Here’s a deeper dive into two of them: how to find and get rid of phantom loads or energy vampires, in ways that engage the kids.
You can pitch your Earth Day adventure to the kids as an updated version of the classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (easy-listening video version here). Fun for the whole family. But without the mud, the river, or the long swishy-swashy grass.
March 20th, 2014
This Saturday is World Water Day, and this year the focus is on the link between water and energy, a topic dear to my heart. Last year I offered some suggestions on how to celebrate World Water Day by focusing on saving energy. But we need the power sector to do its part, too. And, in some notable ways, it is. Here are four. Read More
March 17th, 2014
A new bill from two Senate leaders looks to bring some semblance of rationality to federal energy-water work. Here are three reasons why the Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014 is welcome news. Read More
March 14th, 2014
A federal court has rejected the latest legal bid to stop what will very likely be the nation’s first offshore wind farm, Cape Wind. That’s good news for the project, and for all of us who are counting on having offshore wind as a powerful new tool in our clean energy belt. Read More
March 7th, 2014
In anticipation of International Women’s Day this weekend, I caught up with Kristen Graf, the executive director of Women of Wind Energy (and an esteemed former colleague). Below are notes from our conversation, with bonus links and added emphases. Read More
March 6th, 2014
The latest solar numbers have just come in, and the celebration continues. The latest industry report shows another 4,751 megawatts (MW) went in during 2013, with great progress for both photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP). Solar in the U.S. now generates enough to power over 2 million average households. Read More
March 3rd, 2014
With their tall towers and graceful kinetic ways (read: moving parts), wind turbines aren’t hard to spot if you’re near them. If you want to see the big picture, though, and how your local specimens fit within the national panorama for this exciting technology, a new map tool from the Interior Department’s U.S. Geological Survey makes that easy as pie. Here are the What, Why, and Whee. Read More
February 6th, 2014
More information has come from the authors of a recent wind-turbines-and-property-values study of Massachusetts via a webinar and related Q&A. The answers continue to point to room for additional studies, but reiterate the positive findings: “The results do not support the claim that wind turbines affect nearby home prices.” Read More
January 22nd, 2014
A new study looked at how well wind turbines and homes fit together in Massachusetts, and found no evidence that wind turbines affect property values. That finding is consistent with other recent work from a range of states across the country. And it’s good news for everybody wanting to get wind turbines sited responsibly, in the Bay State and beyond. Read More
January 6th, 2014
On January 5, “60 Minutes” included a story on “The Cleantech Crash,” claiming that investors, both private and government, haven’t gotten their money’s worth for all their investments in clean energy technology. As any rational look at the clean energy transition clearly reveals, the show got a few things right, but a whole lot more wrong.
