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Written by Paul Mooij
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Sunday, 04 October 2009 20:04 |
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Hansen, dubbed by some as the “father of global warming,” has been connecting the dots between science and politics since his groundbreaking 1988 testimony to Congress about the greenhouse effect. In the last year, however, Hansen has gone far beyond talking about climate change. He’s now taking direct (personal) action to stop it. What keeps you up at night in terms of the climate?
The fact that the solutions to this problem actually make sense – they add many other benefits – we just have to make that clear. Of course, there are special financial interests that would be harmed unless they start investing their money differently, but for the general public, it actually makes sense to move more rapidly beyond fossil fuels. Energy companies, energy departments, not just the United States, just take it as the God-given fact that we’re going to burn all the fossil fuels. In fact, that doesn’t make sense from the standpoint of the public or the planet. We really should leave the larger part of the remaining fossil fuels in the ground, and that means especially coal and unconventional fossil fuels. We just have not succeeded in communicating what I think is clear scientifically. So that’s why I keep working so many hours per week – to try to help make that clear. source: Nell Greenberg is a communications manager at Rainforest Action Network. As St. Maarten is now fully dependable on oil it would be very wise to think (finally) about an integral energy policy including a transport policy as well as a change in the Gebe organization to deal with the future of alternative energy. Perhaps we should change the board first as this board has never taken any known innovative initiative to adopt to the changes that are taken place around us. |
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Geothermal Energy In The Caribbean |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 26 September 2008 04:05 |
 Geothermal energy is a renewable source of energy without the waste and pollution of burning fossil fuels and depleting the Earth's resources. The Caribbean is very rich in Geothermal options to extract and create electricity well beyond the means of most Islands in the Caribbean. Two of the currently underway projects are located in Nevis and Saba, both Volcanic Islands, that show very promising productions coming online in 2008 and 2009 by far surplussing their own electricity needs. It is shameful to see that an Island such as St. Maarten, rather invests in Diesel engines to generate electricity and will be at the mercy of oil prices and their depleting source, than to co-invest into an pollution free but foremost renewable source of energy. Many years ago Caricom countries like St. Lucia, Dominica and Barbados already set up an energy policy with a vision for a substantial part of renewable energy which was stimulated by the World Bank. In the same time St. Maarten decided (adhoc) to invest in diesel generators but there was never a political discussion about a vision for the future. It is easy to blame the politicians but the voters in St. Maarten are in general happy if a commissioner can do a personal favor for them in stead of a community favor. We should have had an energy policy many years ago as result of a fierce battle in the Island Council, but for some reason there is not enough commitment to these kind of important community developments.  Now we have suddenly a chance and the board of Gebe and politicians keep quite and do not even have the decency to respond to this company, who requested in May 2008 Gebe to look into joining them and buy this relatively cheap and clean energy. It would have been logical to join Saba in their research into this source and then take a decision. It could even be decided to have partly geothermal energy and the rest solar and wind. But it is not that easy because Gebe and (thus) the Government maneuvered themselves in a very difficult position as they bought (against advise of all kind of reports from reputable institutions) these expensive generators. During the Eco-Expo Kerry Mcdonald told the audience (unfortunately no politicians present) that St. Maarten could lose an important connection if they do not decide soon as his company will prepare a different kind of connection when only the French Side joins the project. See for yourself what it is about by downloading the following powerpoint presentation. Download here (25 MB) |
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Solar feed in tariff for Gainesville Florida |
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Written by Paul Mooij
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Sunday, 08 February 2009 16:25 |
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Great news for Gainesville residents in Florida now they are preparing the adoption of the same feed in structure as Germany which made them the leaders in the solar business. This means that the utility company is buying electricity at a fixed rate of USD 0.32 for 20 years from the residents who have invested in solar panels and produce more then they consume at a given time. More info on the site of the utility company. The Germans have shown that this is a very easy and effective way to promote alternative energy. This would be a great system for Caribbean Islands as there are no other ways of funding available.(source Treehugger.com)  |
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Written by Paul Mooij
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Saturday, 12 July 2008 16:31 |
 As it finally begins to dawn in many countries that energy saving is one of the keywords to tackle not only climate change but also the high energy prices Japan seems to have learned this lesson in the seventies and began to develop an energy efficient economy. In the New York times this article was released on the 4th of July 2008. St. Maarten could become also an important hub for these kind of developments but then our political leaders have to wake up fast and do something with this important diversification opportunity and start working on incentives to promote a sustainable development on the island. The tax legislation could be an important tool to promote energy efficiency. We could just embrace the energy star program that promotes appliances that are energy efficient which means that people will become more aware of the energy consumption and businesses will then import more energy friendly appliances. The government has to become aware of their important role in this community and start promoting these developments actively. I know from sources that for example the new airport is using an enormous amount of energy to keep it (very) cool but due to the fact that there is no expertise they are wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars (which will be paid by?) It is one of the many examples that show that St. Maarten has a very long way to go before issues like this will be tackled by government representatives. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/world/asia/04japan.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
"KUMAGAYA, Japan — With its towering furnaces and clanging conveyer belts carrying crushed rock, Taiheiyo Cement’s factory looks like an Industrial Revolution relic. But it is actually a model of modern energy efficiency, harnessing its waste heat to generate much of its own electricity. The Keihin mill captures heat and gases to generate power. Engineers from China and elsewhere in Asia come to study its design, which has allowed the company to slash the amount of power it buys from the grid.
The plant is just one example of Japan’s single-minded dedication to reducing energy use, a commitment that dates back to the oil shocks of the 1970s that shook this resource-poor nation.
Now, with oil prices hitting dizzying levels and the world struggling with global warming, the country is hoping to use its conservation record to take a rare leadership role on a pressing global issue. It will showcase its efforts to export its conservation ethic — and its expensive power-saving technology — at next week’s meeting in Japan of the Group of 8 industrial leaders.
“Superior technology and a national spirit of avoiding waste give Japan the world’s most energy-efficient structure,” Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in a speech outlining his agenda for the meeting. Japan “wants to contribute to the world,” he said." |
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Energy
