renewable energy
NorthWest SolarFest 2011
Part of Shoreline Solar Project, NW Solar Fest 2011 is a Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair happening at Shoreline Community College. There will be displays, demonstrations, music, food and a beer garden open until 8 pm.
| What: | NW SolarFest |
| Where: | Shoreline Community College |
| When: | July 16th, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Cost: | FREE! |
It may sound strange, solar power in the Pacific Northwest, but this renewable energy is becoming more efficient and able to convert energy at lower light levels.
Come learn about various new solar technologies including solar cooking and explore other renewable resources at › Continue reading
Chevy Volt’s Battery Backed by Extensive Warranty
President Barrack Obama surveys the Volt (White House Photo)
With the reduction of fuel consumption, car manufacturers focusing on the green consumer market have a new worry. Not surprisingly, car batteries simply don’t last quite as long in electric cars as car batteries did in the typical internal combustion engine cars. This fact, though incomparable to many other features of an electric car, is daunting for many an average consumer. In turn, it’s served as an obstacle to increase in sales in what may well be the future of cars.
For every market problem, there is generally a solution though. Either in clever marketing, research and development, or a combination of the two. And GM will be making use of both as it attempts to assuage consumer fears through a generous 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty. Only a short while back, GM became the first US automaker to run a battery pack plant, which is still building prototypes. And now, they’re already offering a warranty which applies to the popular Chevy Volt‘s battery. A warranty that the relevant GM press release accurately highlights as “the automotive industry’s longest, most comprehensive battery warranty for an electric vehicle.” › Continue reading
Solar Car Kits for Kids
A sample solar car concept
Conversely, people who begin learning additional languages as children tend to make a lot less mistakes common to later-learners and in addition, pick up the same languages much faster. Knowledge becomes more deeply rooted if it’s learned early, and bearing these facts in mind, one can also see why many professionals are able to trace their own passions as adults back to what they were brought up with.
With this in mind, it makes sense that the best way to instill green values in society would be to focus on the youth. That said, young kids won’t be too excited to read a dense non-fiction title on all the mistakes made by ourselves and our predecessors. They also wouldn’t be too keen on keeping up with environmental trends and gadgets. But few kids would shy away from being bought a new toy.
Solar Plane Begins 24-Hour Test Flight
Seven years of hard-work recently culminated in the beginning of a 24-hour test flight of the HB-SIA, an experimental solar-energy powered aircraft. This unveiling comes with a sigh of relief as the flight has already been delayed once due to technical issues with the communications equipment. The intentions of the team are to take the plane up to an altitude of approximately 28,000 feet after which the pilot will determine whether the plane can successfully fly during the night with the energy stored during the day’s sunlight.
Powered by 12,000 solar cells, the group hopes that the plane will be a harbinger of things to come – “to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel,” as the team’s co-founder Bertrand Piccard puts it. Though the group recognizes that solar airplanes won’t be replacing commercial airplanes with jet propulsion engines any time soon, the hope is that the project will be a means of moving towards a world with newer, cleaner technology.
YoGen: A Green Alternative to Emergency Energy
Image courtesy of Easy Energy, Inc.
I generally type at about 65 WPM, and I like to think that this is a quite a bit faster than a typical computer user especially considering that I’ve never actually taken any typing classes. I amassed this WPM on nothing but experience, hooked to a glaring computer screen since the age of five or six (we didn’t have cable and I was easily amused). In spite of my proficiency at typing, I have nothing on the speed at which my friends text. Not yet anyways.
Like my computer experience, kids are now growing up with cell-phones, rapidly pounding out messages that I would’ve actually had to say out loud. Regardless of what can be said about how this might depersonalize our communication with each other, it is an incontrovertible fact that the world is marching along in this direction – steadily becoming more and more dependent on these small all-encompassing tools. I’ve answered surveys where I was asked about one technology without which I couldn’t survive, and without even second guessing myself, I had to say my cell phone. I can always find easily accessible computers, but when it comes to my cell phone, it stores all of my contacts along with my music, pictures, videos and even some reminders of important appointments. I can’t leave home without it charged. And I can only imagine how much more important they would than be to people who lead far busier lives than my own.
It follows than, that in such a world, emergency energy has the potential for substantial business. I myself can’t say how many times I’ve purchased Cellboost to recharge my phone after I had realized that I hadn’t recharged it the previous night. I’ve also found similar technology that relies on you plugging in AAA batteries and the like as a source of energy, a rechargeable substitute for the disposable Cellboost (which is itself not much more than smaller batteries packaged in plastic).
5 Easy Things You Can Do For The Environment.
- Show your friends. Actions speak louder than words, and that’s certainly true of environmental issues too. You can talk all you want about helping the environment, but if your friends see your gas-guzzling Hummer parked in your driveway, all that talk isn’t going to do any good. You can show your friends by suggesting restaurants that serve local or organic cuisine for your next luncheon, or bring local wine to your next dinner party. Give them green gifts. If your friend is having a baby shower next week, purchase organic cotton onesies, or paraben-free baby cream. There are a million ways to demonstrate your environmental lifestyle to your friends, and to show how it’s benefiting your life. Be careful though, your goal is to make environmental decisions enticing, not ram it down their throats. No matter how frustrated you may be with your friends environmentally damaging decisions, slapping them in the face with a Go Organic sticker won’t achieve the desired results.
- Sign up for renewable energy through your utility provider. Call your utility provider and inquire about renewable energy. Most companies have some program to help you go green with your energy consumption, but unfortunately many of them don’t advertise it. Supporting green energy initiatives locally helps show your utility provider that you are committed to renewable energy, and you want to see those types of positive changes take place in your community.
- Identify your environmental saboteur. All of us have an area where we know we should be more environmentally conscious, but we don’t for whatever reason. For me, it’s clothes. I am horrible at buying clothing that is good for the environment. I see the $1 flip flops, and the 2 for $10 tank tops, and I can’t resist. I justify it since I’m so good about buying local and organic food, and I only buy green body products or cleaning products. But at the end of the day, no matter how good I am at all those things, I’m still supporting sweat shops that produce synthetic clothing that are damaging to myself and my environment. Take stock of your habits and find your environmental saboteur. Be rid of it. Take the initiative to cut back on whatever is keeping you from respecting the planet. You don’t have to do it overnight. Obviously I’m not going to go replace my entire wardrobe, but I can make the commitment to only buy reused or new clothes that are made with the environment in mind.
And the Winners (of the MIT Clean Energy Prize) Are…
The results are in; C3Nano Inc., a team from Stanford University, has won a competition amongst peers, the coveted MIT Clean Energy Prize. Barely three years old, the competition has brought some of the brightest minds from around the world, working with their respective teams, for a single common objective: becoming pioneers in the advancement of (relatively) clean energy.
Solar panels - from ncsc.ncsu.edu
A good idea isn’t enough to change the world, a good idea backed by significant capital and popular support is. The people behind the competition and the participants are well-aware of this reality, leading to the high turn-out of academics with futuristic ideas. And that’s where the competition comes in; the winning team earns $200,000, but more importantly, their idea gains wide recognition beyond the scholarly circle resulting in sponsorships from established organizations.
Solar Razor
I’ve recently come across the coolest little gadget for men, and perhaps even for women. It may be old news but it’s worth being brought up again: the Sol Shaver and other solar razors like it. These electric razors are solar powered, something I didn’t actually ever expect to see on the production line because most people only use their razors behind closed doors, in bathrooms, in the morning.
Sol Shaver
But for those of us with busy schedules, constantly moving around, often traveling, this device is simply perfect. If you go camping, you can’t really say no to bringing one of these along. Likewise, spring break is coming along quite soon and many of us will be taking a long road trip ending up on a beach somewhere (plenty of sun). Wouldn’t this be the handiest thing to have?
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