The following facts come from the preface of Lester Brown’s Plan B 4.0, which was published in 2009. The book is available in print or as a downloadable PDF from The Earth Policy Institute’s website. It also provided the facts for a Five Friday Facts from last month. In Texas, as of July 2009 (when [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Electricity Generation’
Five Friday Facts: Plan B 4.0 – Wind Energy Capacity
June 17th, 2011 
Eric Wilson 
Posted in China, Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Renewable Energy 
Tags: Coal, Electricity Generation, Plan B 4.0, T Boone Pickens, Wind Power 
No Comments »FFF: Biggest Coal-based Utility in U.S. to Close 5 Old Plants
June 10th, 2011 Justin Manger To comply with proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations, American Electric Power (AEP) will spend $6 billion to $8 billion to shut down five aging coal plants, convert at least two to natural gas, and retrofit 12 other plants. Coal-fired plants account for nearly 25,000 megawatts, or 65 percent, of AEP’s total generation capacity. The five plants [...]
Art Conservation Attempts to “Go Green”
June 7th, 2011 Eric Wilson In the Spring 2011 issue of NYU’s alumni magazine there is an article detailing the pressures facing art conservationists to protect more than the masterpieces on display. Those who have stepped foot into an art museum are familiar with the cool air that permeates the building. The high cost of energy and the carbon emissions [...]
Posted in Conservation, Eric Wilson, News, Sustainability Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Electricity Generation, Energy No Comments »Five Friday Facts: China’s Great Green Leap Forward
June 3rd, 2011 Eric Wilson As of 2007 China generated 8 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually (which amounts to 6 tons/person). In addition, there were 21 cars per every 1,000 people. As a point of comparison for the previous fact, the United States produced 7 gigatons annually in 2007, with 451 cars per every 1,000 people. Canada generated 24 metric [...]
Posted in China, Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts, Renewable Energy Tags: Brazil, Carbon Dioxide, Cars, Coal, Electricity Generation, Hydroelectricity, Wind Power No Comments »May 7th is National Train Day
May 3rd, 2011 Eric Wilson It seems like just about every cause has a day, week, or month dedicated to it. Last month I mentioned Home Farming Day, as well as our favorite, Earth Day. These “celebrations” are one way to raise awareness about an issue or topic. Just the other day National Train Day came across my radar. Find [...]
Why Should Electric Utilities Offer Rebates?
April 10th, 2011 2nd Green Revolution After writing about Xcel Energy’s back and forth disappearing, reappearing solar rebate (under the Solar*Rewards program), I was challenged to consider both the necessity and validity of utilities discounting the installation of rooftop photovoltaic systems. Since we here at 2nd Green Revolution enjoyed the intellectual exercise that flowed from our first “debate” (which continues now [...]
Wheel of Fortune’s Eco-Awareness Week
April 5th, 2011 Eric Wilson Avid watchers of Wheel of Fortune know the show often has themes throughout the program. This week on Wheel of Fortune, the theme is all things green. On last night’s program, the first puzzle was “solar panels” followed by “national parks”. The next puzzle was “reduce, reuse, recycle“. In addition, they were giving away a [...]
Electric Vehicles: The Key to Energy, Economic, and National Security
April 3rd, 2011 Eric Wilson Notice how the title of this post says nothing about the environment. Think that’s intentional? Despite Nissan Leaf commercials (like the one below), electric vehicles are not about saving the environment. How can they be? Roughly half the electricity in the United States is generated from the combustion of coal. Another 20% comes from nuclear [...]
Five Friday Facts Follow Up
April 1st, 2011 Eric Wilson This week’s Five Friday Facts are a follow up to last week’s set. In 2000, total water use in the U.S. was estimated to be 408 billion gallons per day. Electric power generation uses approximately half, irrigation consumes over one third, and public supply accounts for approximately one tenth. The per capita water use in [...]
Posted in Behavior, Eric Wilson, Five Friday Facts Tags: Cars, Coal, Electricity Generation, Natural Gas, Oil Consumption, Waste, Water No Comments »Clean Energy and Environmental Protection: Tackling China’s “Unsustainable Economic Growth”
March 31st, 2011 Guest Author This post was written by Michael Davidson, who works at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). China leads the world in renewable energy deployment and clean energy investments, according to the Pew/Bloomberg New Energy Finance report “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2010 edition” released today. This is part of a larger trend we’re seeing in [...]
Posted in Behavior, Business, China, Clean Technology, Energy Efficiency, Featured Posts, Green Economy, Guest Authors, Policy, Renewable Energy, Sustainability Tags: Alternative Energy, Cars, Clean Energy, Coal, Electricity Generation, Green Technology, Michael Davidson, NRDC, Renewable Energy No Comments »
