The U.S. Electric Grid vs. Extreme Weather
On Sunday, Hurricane Irene weakened to become Tropical Storm Irene – but not before leaving at least 4 million homes without power and causing fuel shortages along the United State’s Atlantic coast. This hurricane brought on-land wind speeds of more than 85 mph in the continental United States, and maintained its hurricane status through most of its trek north. Though the storm had diminished... Read More
Integrating Renewables Into the U.S. Electric Grid – a Discussion with Dr. Paul Denholm
This post was originally posted on 8/24/2011 on Scientific American’s Plugged In. Earlier this month, I attended at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Energy Sustainability Conference in Washington, DC. During the conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Paul Denholm, a senior analyst at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.... Read More
David MacKay – Sustainable Energy, without all the hot air
This post was published on 8/23/11 on my blog, Plugged In, on Scientific American. This weekend, I rediscovered the work of David J.C. MacKay, a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge. Dr. MacKay has a PhD in Computation and Neural Systems (from Cal Tech) and conducts research in machine learning, information theory and communication systems. He currently serves as... Read More
In Texas, Perry Has Presided Over Wind, Gas Booms
by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune, 8/21/2011 In the opening days of his presidential campaign, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has railed against a favorite target, the Environmental Protection Agency, and declared himself a “skeptic” that humans are the cause of global warming. If Perry wins the White House, his national energy policy will focus on cutting federal regulations, especially at the... Read More
An Electric Power Industry Evolution – From Provider to Partner
This post was originally published on 8/19/2011 Scientific American’s blog, Plugged In. On February 1, 2011 a sudden cold snap and severe winter storms sent electricity demand in Texas through the roof. In a single hour, temperatures dropped almost 30 degrees. And, as temperatures dropped, the state’s power plants were unable to keep up with the growing demand. The resulting series of blackouts affected... Read More
Time History of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Thanks to NOAA for putting this video together. Read More
10 Calories In, 1 Calorie Out – The Energy We Spend on Food
This post was originally posted on Scientific American’s Plugged In on 8/11/2011. In December, I attended Michael Pollan‘s lecture at the University of Texas’s Bass Concert Hall. My friend, Katie, had called me that morning to ask if I would be interested in joining her for the lecture – she knew that I had read three of Pollan’s books on food and had also found out... Read More
Guest Post – Tighten Up Your House, But Not Too Much
The following was originally published on Scientific American’s Plugged In on 8/10/2011. It is a guest post written by Joshua Rhodes and Brent Stephens, PhD students at The University of Texas at Austin. As a part of their research, they work on two different aspects of buildings, with Josh focusing on energy use and efficiency and Brent focusing on indoor air quality. Their post compliments David... Read More
Energy Sustainability Conference Begins in Washington, DC
This week, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is hosting the 5thInternational Conference on Energy Sustainability in Washington, DC. Over the next three days this conference will bring together researchers, scientists and engineers from around the world for more than 300 presentations related to the topic of energy sustainability. Attendees will also celebrate the accomplishments... Read More
Energy Efficiency for Economic Strength
This post was originally published on 8/4/11 on Scientific American’s blog, Plugged In. In the face of this summer’s debates on how to manage the nation’s current debt load – which came to a temporary cease fire on Tuesday with the passage of a bill that will raise the government’s debt ceiling – I found myself looking back at speeches made by President Obama where he emphasized... Read More
