Renewable Energy and Alternative News Bites:
Missouri town of Rock Port goes 100% wind power! Its wind power
status is due to four wind turbines located on agricultural lands
within the city limits; Rock Port’s community uses about 13 million
kilowatt hours per year, and these wind turbines produce 16 million
kilowatt hours per annum. Excess power is transmitted to Missouri
Joint Municipal Utilities for use elsewhere.
www.rockportwind.com
for more information.
Hybrids, meet your rival: How does 376 miles to the gallon sound?
Don’t choke on your latte, check out the documented fuel efficiency
of this Seattle man’s car at
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/351903_needle20.html.
If this could be done in the 70’s, why not now?
Solar thermal technologies on a grand scale may solve a lot of
pollution problems, stating that “over 90% of the electric grid, and
car fleet in the U.S. could be powered by solar thermal power”.
Sunshine is used on a field of mirrors to make steam to drive
turbines, and the heat can be stored for use at night, working even
when the sun is variable. Read more about this exciting technology
at http://www.gizmag.com/solar-thermal-power-study/8965/ and another
article about the same at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/business/06solar.html?ex=1205470800&en=39265cb2f87e3916&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Australia offers solar hot water for free with rebate:
Three-quarters of Australians support government action to makes
homes more energy efficient, and the State Government may merge its
rebate scheme with the Federal Government’s scheme, which would make
the buying and installation of a solar hot water system virtually
cost-free.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/solar-hot-water-for-free-with-new-rebate/2008/03/10/1205125819869.html
for a link to this article. Electric hot water systems use as much
as 40% of the electricity in a household.
Experts Show Farmers the Future is Methane: cattle ranchers and
dairy owners are finding that that one can turn a lagoon of cow
manure into electricity, fuel--or even dollars, as well as earn
green credits and control pollution. While not as pretty as wind
turbines, this technology will be a part of our renewable energy
future. More information at
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1286941/experts_show_farmers_the_future_is_methane/index.html
Only 4% of the Earth’s oceans remain undamaged from human
activity. It appears that human’s pollution, fishing, climate
change, and other factors have degraded most of the world’s water;
visit
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7241428.stm for more
information.
How green are photovoltaic (PV) modules? Yes, they sit basking in
the sun, making electricity for roughly 30 to 40 years, but what
about their manufacturing process? Is the process more toxic than
the power they produce?
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/2008/42/i06/abs/es071763q.html
for the answer!
Storing wind power has always been a major issue due to the
variable nature of wind supply. A company called Xcel Energy is
launching a major wind-to-battery project, with batteries the size
of semi-trailers. Two of these would be able to store 7.2 megawatt
hours of electricity; the project will take place in Luverne, MN,
and is expected to go online by October of 2008. More information is
available at www.xcelenergy.com.
Oil from algae? A company by the name of AlgaeLink is developing
a new extraction method of oil extraction from algae without the use
of chemicals, a centrifuge or an oil press. This new system not only
makes the algae oil more eco-friendly, but some of the byproducts
(like vitamins) may be useful to the food industries. See more about
this interesting technology at
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=51772.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
"There is no clean coal. There's cleaner coal, but all coal is
dirty. What's important is we recognize we must move to renewables."
--Nevada Senator Harry Reid
“My mother always said democracy is the best revenge.”
--Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of slain Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto
“Perseverance in a noble cause is a renewable source of energy.”
--Brad Collins, American Solar Energy Society,
www.ases.org
“We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly
shrinking resources. By acting now, we can control our future,
instead of letting the future control us.” --Jimmy Carter
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” --Robin
Williams
“The road to hell is paved with politicians.” --Unknown
“It has become appallingly clear that our technology has
surpassed our humanity.” --Albert Einstein
“Having children is a lot like living in a frat house -- nobody
sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up going
on.” --Ray Romano
“When I despair, I always remember that all through history the way
of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and
murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end they
always fall…think of it...always.” - Mahatma Gandhi
“We should be the heart and mind of the earth, not its malady. So
let us be brave and cease thinking of human needs and rights alone,
and see that we have harmed the living earth and need to make our
peace with Gaia. We must do it while we are still strong enough to
negotiate, and not a broken rabble led by brutal war lords. Most of
all, we should remember that we are part of it, and it is indeed our
home.”
--James Lovelock
“Midlife crisis is what happens when you climb to the top of the
ladder and discover that it’s against the wrong wall.” --Joseph
Campbell
“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a
dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to
keep the man from touching the equipment’” --Warren G. Bennis
“If there is in fact a heaven or hell, all we know for sure is that
hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix.” --Hunter
S. Thompson
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