Michael Barnard is Chief Strategist with TFIE Strategy Inc. He works with startups, existing businesses and investors to identify opportunities for significant bottom line growth and cost takeout in our rapidly transforming world. He is editor of The Future is Electric, a Medium publication. He regularly publishes analyses of low-carbon technology and policy in sites including Newsweek, Slate, Forbes, Huffington Post, Quartz, CleanTechnica and RenewEconomy, and his work is regularly included in textbooks. Third-party articles on his analyses and interviews have been published in dozens of news sites globally and have reached #1 on Reddit Science. Much of his work originates on Quora.com, where Mike has been a Top Writer annually since 2012. He's available for consulting engagements, speaking engagements and Board positions.
November 15th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
AOC is actually holding out false hope for Miami. She thinks that southern Florida has a chance still. But that’s because she doesn’t yet know enough
November 14th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
For rapid low-carbon transformation, too many roads lead to China for comfort for many in the United States and Canada
November 13th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
This article will look at some of the suggested solutions, and look at a few billionaires and how they are actually spending their money, and make some judgments about the experts and their opinions
November 9th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Pumped hydro is a highly viable storage technology, it overlaps nicely with the characteristics of Tesla's existing battery technology, the Boring Company has high-speed tunneling equipment suitable for penstocks and there are a lot of excellent coal miners who could be repurposed close to home in the United States
November 8th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
With Buttigieg surging, and CleanTechnica’s deep dives into the front runners (and Yang’s) plans completed, it’s time for the overview comparison, now with Mayor Pete added
November 8th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Utilities and transit are expected to transform at accelerated rates over the next 10 and 20 years to achieve the carbon-emission reduction goals necessary for minimizing global impacts of climate change. They need help to do so
November 7th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Pete Buttigieg's climate action plan is not nearly as strong as Warren's, and the lack of funding puts it close to the level of Biden's at the bottom of the heap. The major saving grace is the price on carbon
November 5th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
This regulatory patchwork of federal, sub-national, and urban regulatory processes, incentives, and fines is dealt with today by local offices, and by hiring local engineers and architects for local efforts so that they can smooth the alignment
November 4th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
The new CoastalDEM, machine-learning enabled predictions of extreme coastal water level risk exposures much higher. Legacy models showed 250 million people at risk by 2050. With CoastalDEM, a hundred million more people are at risk
November 3rd, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
We’re gaining new senses with machine learning. But it is also eliminating our ability to believe that much of what we do is actually private
November 2nd, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
This is the first in the series of articles on barriers to rapid climate responses in governments and business, and how they might be overcome
November 1st, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Joi Scientific has been gaining millions in investment and headlines including from CleanTechnica, for its perpetual motion hydrogen claims. This week, it was reported that the company admitted to investors that its technology doesn't work at all
October 30th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Seven years ago, CleanTechnica published its policy position to not cover thorium nuclear reactors. Today, the United States has a Democratic Presidential candidate in the top 10 who loves thorium, yet CleanTechnica still ignores it. Why is that
October 28th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Researching air-carbon capture for use post-2050 remains a very good means of establishing the intellectual capital and basic technologies for when it makes sense to use them. But attempts to commercialize them today are premature
October 28th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
We can impose our biases about the salient on neural nets and that has significant value, for example in looking at user experience wire frames and assessing how useful they are in delivering stakeholder value. But we will also be surprised by what the alien quasi-intelligences we are creating consider salient
October 24th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
We never think about our hands, but there are 27 bones in each one, they are capable of remarkable degrees of movement and are one of the most sensor laden components of our bodies. They have evolved to remarkable degrees of competence, and speed cubers and magicians constantly amaze us with the art of the possible
October 21st, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
How machine learning models actually perceive things and work can lead to unexpected outcomes, including a bigoted robotic velociraptor
October 20th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
A neural net is trained to recognize that things that it is seeing are items of value, i.e. logs. It identifies them. But that’s a noun, not a verb. Where does the verb or action come from? That’s an attention loop. An attention space. People who care. Features. A neural net which is being trained to pay attention. Trainers. But little to no understanding of action. Yet
October 18th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
What would the neural net architecture and training look like for the AI velociraptor of Michael Bay's dreams
October 17th, 2019 | by Michael Barnard
Concepts of machine learning, a key technology for emerging cleantech solutions, are introduced through a cuddly AI velociraptor
