I recently posted on the unintended consequences that often come along with energy technologies. An article by Forest Reinhardt in the Harvard Business Review 10 years ago presented a framework for making environmental strategy and investment decisions. It also provided another example of the unintended consequences of energy technology. In this case, technology that reduced [...]
Entries from May 2009
May 19, 2009
The Dumb Grid: Nigeria’s Appalling Electric Infrastructure
With all of the attention that “smart grid” technology is getting lately, the article a few weeks ago in the Wall Street Journal about Nigeria’s power sector was bracing. The article described a plan by the Nigerian government to spend over $5 billion to repair its power sector. That outlay represents 40% of the country’s [...]
May 14, 2009
Soda Machines Return $1 Million: Facts & Figures from a Green Conference
I attended a conference produced by Executive Council today in New York City entitled “The Green in Green.” Here are a few facts and figures I gathered from the discussion. Cost of Carbon Bob Stoffel of UPS said the company expects that emitting carbon will soon carry a price tag in this country and assumes [...]
May 8, 2009
Hydrogen-Powered Cars Less Likely
The odds are tilting away from fuel cells and toward battery-powered vehicles, as the U.S. cuts off funding for automotive fuel cells.
May 7, 2009
Biofuels Will be Huge–Or Tiny: WorldWatch
Still trying to get a grip on biofuels. I came across this assessment of their potential from WorldWatch: In the most optimistic scenarios, bioenergy could provide for more than two times the current global energy demand, without competing with food production, forest protection efforts, and biodiversity. In the least favorable scenarios, however, bioenergy could supply [...]
May 5, 2009
Energy Technologies and Unintended Consequences
All energy technologies–indeed all technologies–carry the baggage of unintended consequences.
