A reader sent me this article on the metrics we need to determine how “green” certain of our actions are. Specifically, how do we measure our success at contributing to the “triple bottom line,” where investments pay returns financially, socially, and environmentally?

Yes, it would be terrific, for example, if a business had (more…)

In reference to my post on the lifecycle analysis (LCA) of wind turbines, a reader writes:

The LCA of fossil fuel (or nuclear) powered electricity production presumably shows a good return in terms of direct power out vs. power consumed. Until, that is, you start to quantify the externalities – pollution, climate impact, resource (more…)

I heard a really good talk about lifecycle analysis (LCA) yesterday that took wind energy as an example, and examined the overall ecological footprint associated with an individual large turbine. On average, about 7.8 megawatt-hours of energy goes into extracting the materials, forging the pieces, transporting, assembling (more…)