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 [...]

Last time I wrote that environmental challenges are so great that it is difficult to see how we will meet them. However,  I wrote, The march of technological progress, which has transformed so many areas of business and life, will accelerate our environmental progress too, as long as we’re pointing in the right direction, as [...]

My interest in clean tech stems from my love of the environment and my interest in the technology and personal and business practices that can help protect it. If you are just tuning in to the question of how to limit our harm to the environment, you will eventually be confronted with a couple of [...]

The Wall Street Journal reported numbers this week that released by the Cleantech Group indicating $1.7 billion in VC investments globally in the fourth quarter of 2008. The story lead with the observation that this was the “steepest quarterly drop in two years” and “the smallest amount in six quarters.” But how does $1.7 billion [...]

I do not believe I ever portrayed myself as a climate scientist, modest fellow that I am. But like everyone else who cares about current events and the future of mankind, I try to stay informed and make the best decisions I can. That’s why it makes me nuts when “controversies” over critically important issues [...]

Innovation in the Internet industry has tended to occur in marketing and software engineering. In clean tech, a lot of the innovation is in engineering but also in basic science, such as chemistry and physics. The other day I saw a presentation about what you’d think was a thoroughly mundane topic: extracting energy from waste. [...]

What I’ve learned so far is that fuel cells, a technology that has been around a while and has had niche applications till now, has the potential to become a mainstream alternative to internal combustion engines in cars 5 to 10 years from now. The technology is way too expensive to be practical for automotive [...]

I’m doing some research on fuel cells. I’ll be looking at the cells themselves; hydrogen as an energy carrier; and distribution and storage questions. I plan do to couple of posts over the next few days. The dimensions you need to consider to assess any energy technology include: efficiency greenhouse gas emissions cost and depending [...]

The New York Times recently ran an article on efforts by retailers to incorporate environmentally friendly designs into their stores. Pizza Fusion has store in Florida that reuses draft from ovens to heat water McDonalds renovated a restaurant on the South Side of Chicago “crammed with energy- and water-saving gadgets,” including pavement that filters rainwater; [...]

Following my post about the impact of costlier energy on the US economy, the New York Times today has a piece on the impact of falling energy prices (around $70 today; current pricing here) on the economies of Russia, Venezuela and Iran. The article says that Venezuela’s 2009 budget is based on an oil price [...]

Alternative energy sources can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our negative impact on the environment. But for now, they cost more than traditional fossil fuels. To level the economic playing field and help develop the alternative energy sector, the government provides subsides and other support. Such subsidies are helpful (see my [...]

Amid historically high oil prices and widespread concern about global warming, the presidential campaign has produced a lot of talk about energy subsidies. Supporters of subsidies to the oil, gas, and coal industries say the subsidies help promote energy independence. Opponents say that companies making record profits don’t need subsidies. And they claim that subsidies [...]