Jeff Stephens
exploring the confluence of energy, water, and people. More →
Just finished Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons. They are (almost) a lost tribe of natural ultramarathoners. The book glides along from the author’s search for Caballo Blanco, a loner living among the Tarahumara, to the evolutionary clues to what make humans great runners to a culminating [...]
Today, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory based in Golden, CO released the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study. The goal of the study is to better understand the costs and operating impacts due to the variability and uncertainty of wind, photovoltaic, and concentrated solar power. The study found that a 35-percent target for wind and [...]
According to the California Department of Water Resources, California agriculture irrigates 9.6 million acres using roughly 34 million acre-feet of water (1.1 trillion gallons) diverted from surface waters or pumped from groundwater. This water produces amazing results. California produces over 250 different crops and leads the nation in production of 75 commodities. California is the [...]
Fresh off the federal government’s first-year progress report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its creation of roughly 1.2 million jobs (recipient reported) through December 31, 2009, chip maker Intel announced a $3.5 billion initiative to support investment in U.S.-based growth-oriented industries. Led by Intel and supported by several venture capital firms and [...]
The U.S. electric power industry withdraws an estimated 136 billion gallons of freshwater per day for generating and then cooling the steam that drives electric turbines. That’s roughly 41 percent of the country’s total withdrawals according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Recent guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicating that “changes in the [...]
In a speech delivered yesterday at The Brookings Institute, President Obama announced a series of proposals to boost job growth. Acknowledging that the federal government must be fiscally prudent, he indicated that additional funding would come from “savings” from the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP. According to the Associated Press, the Administration now estimates [...]
The second of the two main smart grid funding announcements (DE-FOA-38) from DOE was issued today by Secretary Chu while visiting Columbus, Ohio. According to the Department’s press release, the award includes $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced smart grid technologies and integrated systems that will help build a smarter, more [...]
For the last seven years, Building Design and Construction magazine has provided annual updates on the green building movement. They’ve discussed the green building movement (2003), sustainability (2004), life cycle assessment (2005), green building bottom line (2006), industry perspectives (2007), climate change (2008), and now water performance (2009). In early November, prior to the 28,000-person-attended [...]
Back on November 17, 2008, just two weeks after Obama’s election, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-14-08, which required that all retail sellers of electricity in California serve 33 percent of their load with renewable energy by 2020. This increase in the State’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) made California the leader in renewable [...]
Roughly one year ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, along with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced a nine-step policy plan for transforming the Bay Area into the “Electric Vehicle Capital of the U.S.” Where do we stand with the officially named Bay Area EV Corridor [...]
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