I´ve very quickly reached the halfway point of my time in Chile, and while I´ve been mostly focused on spending time with family and seeing the sites, my third goal was to learn and write about the state of environmental problems and policy in Chile. Since my last blog post, I´ve visited my grandparents´hometowns of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, spent a relaxing weekend at the beach, and embarked on a 2 week exploration of the southern lakes region – I´m writing this post from Valdivia. But I´ll save my summaries of these beautiful places for a later post. For now, I´d like to share what I´ve learned about the history of energy resources in Chile from my own research, conversations with locals, and meetings with government officials and industry leaders. Continue reading “Chile Part 2: Meeting Energy Demand in the Skinniest Country on Earth”
Hello from Paris! I was up early to do it all over again today, but I did take it a bit slower today since yesterday tired me out. I can’t imagine doing this for 12 days straight – it’s outright exhausting. Saving the planet is tough work, people.
I started my day off with a beautiful walk by the Louvre, along the river Seine, past Notre Dame, and to the Pantheon, where I watched 12 chunks of ice actively melting. The ice was brought from Greenland and is exhibited here in Paris to represent the melting of the polar ice caps, and they are arranged in the shape of a clock. Continue reading “Day 2 at COP 21: Melting Icebergs and the Importance of Productive Direct Action”
Have you ever walked into a store and spotted a sign stating that the company is “100% powered by renewable energy”? Sustainability and environmental stewardship are becoming more popular in the corporate world, and many businesses are scrambling to “green” their image. But how do these companies actually go about achieving a 100% renewable status? Some have on- or off-site energy renewable generation, as exemplified by Apple’s data center in Maiden, North Carolina. Others make investments, purchase renewable energy directly, or buy carbon offsets. But one of the most popular options is to buy renewable energy credits, or RECs. One REC typically represents one megawatt-hour (mWh) of energy, which is enough energy to power 350 houses for one hour. RECs are sold by utilities and energy producers, and are bought by individuals and businesses.
Navigating Nature 