John Perlin, Author at Pacific Standard

Home Archives for John Perlin

Environment

Remember When Switzerland Ruled the World of Household-Size Solar?

In our final excerpt from his new book on the history of solar power, Let It Shine, author John Perlin describes a key moment in the debate over big, centralized solar sites and smaller, distributed rooftop panels.

John Perlin

Environment

How Ronald Reagan Turned Out the Lights on Solar Power

In an excerpt from his new book Let It Shine, John Perlin reveals how one of the first actions of the new Reagan administration was to dim the lights on what had been a promising start for an American solar energy program. Solar in the U.S. has yet to fully recover.

John Perlin

Environment

Solar Has Been in Our Energy Portfolio for 6 Millennia

In an excerpt from John Perlin’s new book, Let It Shine: The 6,000 Year Story of Solar Energy, the solar guru explains how making use of the sun's energy is anything but a new technology.

John Perlin

Economics

Solar Success Stories in the Wreckage of Sandy

Wonder if big storms like Superstorm Sandy might just pull solar panels right off the roof? There’s no…

John Perlin

Environment

Confessions of a Nuclear Power Safety Expert

Nuclear engineer Cesare Silvi studied unlikely outside threats to nuclear plants in Italy, which soured him on the energy source and caused him to go solar.

John Perlin

Environment

At Chernobyl It Was All Under Control

Valery N. Bliznyuk was a young physicist in Kiev 25 years ago during the Chernobyl disaster. His recollections of the slow spread of accurate information about what was really happening suggest parallels with the current nuclear crisis in Japan.

John Perlin

Environment

Inventor of Plastic Solar Cells Sees Bright Future

Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci, inventor of the plastic solar cell, reviews the past, present and bright future of his invention with Miller-McCune's solar guru, John Perlin.

John Perlin

Environment

Greener Battlefields Would Be Safer for Troops

Allied troops would be much safer if they could cut the petroleum tether, according to a chorus of military leaders and planners.

John Perlin