Sunday, October 31, 2010
Cotton Gin Tour
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Free CFLs from Duke Energy
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Local Energy in the Context of Community Design
Cities and their residents are looking for ways to cut energy costs while at the same time improving livability. Michiel will talk about ways to achieve this double objective. He will “connect the dots” across multiple sub-topics such as overall city layout, non-auto transportation orientations, mixed-use building, and self-sufficient sub-communities. The concept of “district energy” will be featured, showing how this approach to local energy makes sense (and cents) in a well-planned city. And because proper city planning involves the development of self-sufficient sub-communities, the very concept of community is emphasized and the development of a sense of community is promoted. Finally, it will become clear how all of this promotes job-creation, an important by-product for a struggling economy. In short, we can at the same time lower costs, save energy, improve livability, build a sense of community, and increase employment. Be aware that this requires a willingness to think differently about cities and their neighborhoods. But, as Albert Einstein once said; “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used to create them”.
Michiel VanderSommen brings to his analysis a broad educational and practical background. He is a mechanical engineer, has studied architecture, was educated in Europe, and has lived and worked and studied in several modern cities. This broad background has prepared him for this long overdue presentation, one which promises to fill the gaps within and across many of the presentations we have offered in the past.
What: Energy Efficiency in Urban Living and Working
When: Saturday, November 13, 2010, 10:00 AM
Where: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Rd., Greensboro
Cost: Free
Monday, October 4, 2010
Assault on Wind and Solar
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Hirsch Report -- Five Years Later
Peak Oil: Our Gift to our Children
(originally posted on September 16, 2005)
It is with considerable reluctance that I publish this post. I risk being categorized as an “alarmist,” which often costs readership. But it would be negligent on my part not to post, so here goes.
The following chart shows the relative contributions of each of the five feasible mitigation techniques:
The following charts illustrate three scenarios for peak oil mitigation. The first shows the supply shortfall if we wait until the peak occurs before we undertake a crash mitigation effort. The second shows the results of undertaking a crash program of mitigation 10 years prior to the peak. The third shows the results of undertaking a crash mitigation program 20 years prior to the peak. Only in the third case do we avoid the supply shortfall altogether.
This is chilling stuff. It gets worse. There are also alternative estimates of the rate of decline once the worldwide production peak is reached. These estimate range from 2% to 8%. Remember that Hirsch is assuming 2%. He admitted, in his presentation at Duke, that the estimate that worries him the most is the 8% number. Not only is it huge, but one of the estimators for that number is the company Schlumberger. Schlumberger is the leading oilfield services company in the world. This company supplies services everywhere, to all major producers. So this company knows as much (or more) about what is going on in the world of oil production as anyone does—and the company has been doing its thing for a very long time. Imagine what the three final graphics (above) would look like if the decline rate were 8%!
I asked Dr. Hirsch how you convince people to get started with mitigation efforts. He said that it takes probably three exposures to a presentation like his before anything concrete is even likely to be considered. The first time a person hears or sees this, the response is shock. The second exposure results in denial and "leaving the field" (as the psychologists like to say). The third exposure begins to penetrate in a more productive way, with people trying finally to get their heads around the enormity of it, trying to think concretely and realistically about what to do. Now imagine the likelihood that you will convince anyone you know to sit through a Hirsch presentation three times.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Local PV Training
Thanks to Bill Barker for bringing this to my attention.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Community Energy Pioneers
This program highlights local people who have played trailblazing roles in the inevitable evolution from unsustainable to sustainable sources of energy. These are people who didn't wait around for governments or non-profits or (finally) utilities to provide incentives. They simply went out and did it.
Our first presenter is Kirby Wilkins, a Reidsville musician and repairer of guitars who, many years ago, performed the analysis that even today seems to elude large portions of the general public – that ultimately we have to “go solar.” His presentation is titled “Ten Years Off the Grid,” and if you infer from this that Mr. Wilkins has produced all of his own electric power for a decade, your inference is absolutely correct. What he will show you – in a truly convincing way – is that energy sustainability, at the residential level, is practical and available to those with limited financial resources. And that's just the start: rainwater capture, composting, organic gardening, tankless water heating, wind power production, photovoltaic power production – the list goes on and on. And of course his guitar repair business is “off the grid” as well.
The second presentation will feature T.S. Designs, a T-Shirt manufacturer located in Burlington. Once again there is almost no way to describe what these people have done over the past decade or so. Water re-cycling, composting (for soil improvement, for space heating, for liquids heating), photovoltaics, wind power, biodiesel, organic gardening, sustainable manufacturing – you get the picture. Not surprisingly, T.S. Designs is the winner of “sustainable business” awards and is recognized throughout the region as one of the most forward-thinking operations on the planet.
True to the title of the program, the focus will be on energy. But you won't have any trouble getting these folks to talk about the other neat things they do. This promises to be nothing less than a blast!
What: Community Energy Pioneers
When: Saturday, September 11, 2010, 9:30 AM
Where: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Rd., Greensboro
Cost: Free