Green Zeal: renewables and ration packs

Bhutan? They say one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Then again they says that when talking about many places – Norfolk being on of those places – a point on which I strongly disagree.

However when it comes to being on the sharp edge of renewable energy, they have much to boast about. They are a net exporter of energy – replying to all the fossil fuels which they import with the renewable energy source of hydropower. Their primary source of energy is a sustainable biomass plant – indeed their requirement for renewable energy and the sustenance of their environment is enshrined in their constitution.

Their motivation for this behaviour stems from their following of GNH (Gross National Happiness), a type of measurement of income which countries with low actual output, measure their success by.

It is reckoned that Bhutan feature so high up the list of GNH, due to their preference of renewable energy sources, which generally makes everyone pretty smug and content with themselves.

A recent UN report reckons this is a model that can be exported across the globe, whereby the replacement of dirty old fossil fuel burning power plants are replaced with shinny new complexes, quietly producing renewable energy.

Furthermore, they are suggesting that Bhutan becomes a hydrogen-exporting nation – allowing other nations to power their cars, homes and businesses via hydrogen and oxygen molecular fusion. This hydrogen can be easily produced in Bhutan with their high abundance of water, low electricity prices and steely focus on renewable energy.

However questions must be asked about safety in this small and poorly managed country. In the 1930’s German has the Hindenburg disaster whilst trying to harness this hydrogen renewable energy source. One may be inclined to wonder about the wisdom of placing such hydrogen producing facilities so close to the Indian / Pakistani / Chinese boarder. One questions, what so much combustible material, in such a political hotspot may do to the future GNH.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »

There are those in England who refer to the place as “Liverpool on Solent” and talk about such things as “picturesque poverty”. It has a per capita GDP of about two-thirds of the UK average and transportation issues far worse than many other cities or counties. However the Isle of Wight does have an aspirational renewable energy industry.

Vestas is in many ways a fine example of one of its renewable energy businesses – being profitable, hi-tech and Danish. Their slick website, draped in the usual white, boasts of a Euro 9bn market cap and Euro 500 million net profits per year.

Vestas do have a problem, however. It lies somewhere between poor employment practices and poor PR – culminating in the attempted forced removal of 25 employees for the Island’s offices. They were protesting over the closure of the renewable energy factory and the subsequent loss of 625 jobs. At Green Zeal we are not completely sure how this sit-in will help prevent these job losses.

A chief argument of the protesters is that these job loses have come at a time when Vestas has posted record profits. It brings into question weather businesses which produce “morally beneficial” products and services, should maintain morally superior business practices? Should renewable energy businesses which brag about the conservation of the environment consider their employees to be part of this environment?

We think not. It is unlikely that this particular factory was so profitable and we must assume that Vestas were doing the sensible thing by its shareholders and business by closing the site and moving production away. Like any other business, issues of morals and preservation fall far lower than those of efficiency and profitability. Labels such as “renewable” are purely to attract consumer attention and do not speak of any underlying ethical beliefs of the business.

Such events are further signs of how the “renewable energy business”, will soon just be rightly called the “energy business”.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »

A good part of our work is to sift through the millions of bits of user generated content produced on renewable energy, find and discuss the most useful and interesting.

A great part of our work is to find the truly terrible renewable energy user generated content and comment excessively. Such a piece of pap – a YouTube video, can be viewed below. Please view for at least 10 seconds (for I cannot ask you for more) to really appreciate how terrible this is.

Renewable energy is not a sexy topic. Discussing and working in the areas is not going to bring you friends or spread a lady’s legs. However, such well-meaning drivel is doing more damage to the planet than all the cows in Argentina. I suspect most viewers who unintentionally find this on YouTube would likely reject any ideas of renewable energy and go out of their way to find and burn any fossil fuel they can lay their hands on.

If the youth of this country are exposed to such videos, I suspect that renewable energy will quickly go the way of the handle-bar-moustache.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »

I have learnt a lot from this video. I have learnt nothing about renewable energy, but I received a full education about unhappiness, monotony and how caffeine can not cure all boredoms.

The video begins with an in-depth and precise description of ocean temperature and current flows. I’m not sure how it ends, as I could not concentrate for so long. But the jist of program is a pitch for a new type of ocean based rig which creates electrical energy through exploiting temperature differences between the ocean floor and surface.

We must give it some marks for presenting a new method of producing renewable energy. However, it would seem for our point of view a terribly expensive, impractical and probably dangerous way of sourcing renewable energy

Plus the idea seems to be based on the use of solar energy in a very round-about way. Although we have included this in our renewable energy video section, this is only to warn our readers not to watch it.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »

Cricket or football? A commonplace debate as our summer sport battles our national game for column inches alongside global warming and renewable energy sources. But which is the one which captures our imaginations? Is it the glitz, glamour and occasional absurdity of our footballers, or the obdurate, stoic, yet gentlemanly ways of our cricketers? I cannot provide you with an answer, but both are more interesting to the public than renewable energy. However, what if somebody could not chose? Or if they had a passionate dislike for both games and would rather stimulate themselves with discussions of renewable energy instead of whether Steven Gerrard hit a man in a bar? Some would rather that than listen to Ricky Ponting’s whinging about England’s substitute fielders being a source of renewable energy themselves. Is it important which sport we embrace? Not at all. As long as England win we like both sports equally. As long as England keep losing we prefer to keep them in the shade of global warming and renewable energy.

Since 2005, expectations for the England cricket team have been high. After all, we won two games that summer. We also beat the powerhouse of international cricket that is Bangladesh. The nation was gripped with a seemingly renewable energy to learn the game and its nuance.

Since 1905, expectations for the England football team have been high. We deemed ourselves two good to enter the first few world cups. When we did in 1950, we lost to the USA by a goal scored by a Puerto Rican immigrant.

Still, it beats reading about renewable energy.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »

As the empty dessert plates were ferried out and the coffees in by the grimly efficient Vanessa, conversation turned to renewable energy, environmental issues, things Martin knew nothing about.

I have neither the desire nor the ability to contribute to this discussion on renewable energy, he thought, heaping sugar into the steaming cup of black stuff set before him.

He tried to follow the conversation, but the truth was it bored him, bored him to absolute distraction, all this talk of saving the planet. He found it very hard to think of the planet as something he had the ability to save; the planet was, after all, significantly larger than he was, a 5’10” tax consultant from Woolwich. So the planet was going to die one day. Big deal. He was going to die one day. Maybe today.  Renewable energy had little to do with it.

 As his thoughts turned to dying, he must have inadvertently gestured in such a way that his friends thought he had something to say. Or maybe Henry, the ringleader, was simply being polite and opening up the discussion. Maybe Henry, Debating Society Champion type through and through, was simply being a renewable energy c**t.

“What are your thoughts on this, Martin? Is there any life in all this renewable energy talk?”

Sarah chipped in: “Is there life in it. Is there life in it. Of course there’s fucking life in it. Your life. My life. Our kids’ lives. How on earth else are we going to sustain ourselves?”

 Henry scoffed, loading a cracker with stilton. Sarah eyes seems to appeal directly to Martin, as if he alone might have the verve and intelligence to set her arse of a husband straight. Martin took a tentative, bird-like sip from his still steaming coffee and tried to think of something even remotely worthwhile to say. After ten very long seconds: “Excuse me, I just need to pop to the toilet.”  “To hell with Renewable Energy”, he thought.

Posted in Renewable energy | | No Comments »