Monthly Archives: November 2024

Opinions and Editorials

Introducing the Black Swan blogThis post from September, 2012 explains why I decided to start the Black Swan Blog. Although it has not garnered even a tiny fraction of the interest shown in the latest Hollywood wardrobe malfunction it has … Continue reading

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Black Swan Blog Subject Inde

Hawaiian Transformation to Renewable Energy Sources (3 posts) The German Energy Transformation (2 posts) The Problems With Roof-Top Solar Panels (4 posts) Concentrated Solar Power (3 posts) Unconventional Solar Generation and Applications (3 posts) Battery Technology (2 posts) The Transition … Continue reading

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What is with Trump supporters?

Let me start by saying that this is an opinion piece.  I am not going to provide a bibliography of external references supporting my assertions.  I have been politically active my entire adult live and am a publicly acknowledged “leftie”.  … Continue reading

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Solar Power – From Rooftops to the Oceans and the Sky

In previous blog postings I have expressed my concerns about the relative return on investment and the economic fairness of roof-top solar panels. But I am also a big fan of solar power which is, after all, the most abundant … Continue reading

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Harvesting the Energy Stored in the Ground Below Us

In an earlier blog posting I discussed ways that residential and commercial electricity consumers can reduce their draw on the utility grid either by generating some of their own electricity or by using geothermal heat pumps (now more commonly referred … Continue reading

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The Fright Before Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas and all through the townThe temperature was dropping, going down, down, down, downThe weatherman said that a front was to blameA high pressure ridge from Alaska he claimed It sat like a lump on the … Continue reading

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The $US 134 Trillion, 100 Year Challenge

As anyone who has read some of my blog posts knows I do not believe that we should be basing our transition to a sustainable energy environment on the need to moderate climate change. I’m not convinced that eliminating the … Continue reading

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Hydrokinetics – The Renewable “Silver Bullet”

In searching for technologies that can aid in the transition to a low carbon environment the following characteristics would define the ideal new energy source; Characteristic Wind PV Solar LargeHydro Hydro-kinetics Geo-thermal Requires no fuel for operation Reliable at peak … Continue reading

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LCOE for Hydro Projects – Pick a number, any number!

One of my pet peeves has been a metric with the glamorous acronym LCOE which stands for Levelized Cost of Electricity. This is the “go to” number when evaluating electricity generation sources and comments about solar and wind reaching “grid … Continue reading

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Planet of the Humans Review

The documentary written and produced by Jeff Gibbs and promoted by Michael Moore has certainly generated a lot of heat. If we could tap into that effectively we might solve humanity’s energy crisis. As someone that has been blogging about … Continue reading

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