‘Robbing Peter To Pay Paul’ Is Pointless In Recycling

It defeats the green purpose to engage in recycling a product utilizing copious amounts of fresh water, a dwindling natural resource. But you have to wash plastic to recycle it.  Processing plants use up to 100,000 gallons of water a day, mostly to wash food residue and chemicals off containers before they can be shredded into plastic flakes and returned to industry for use in hundreds of applications. Read the rest of this entry »

The Electric InterGrid – Why A Smart Power Grid is Essential

Source: LiveScience.com

On October 27, President Obama announced $3.4 billion in grants to help build a “smart” electric grid aimed at reducing blackouts and cutting utility bills. The grid, as envisioned, would do a better job incorporating wind and solar energy into the nation’s electricity supply.

The existing power grid is a patchwork of often antiquated systems that, under stress, can fail to deliver electricity where it’s needed. The grants will pay for better transformers at utility companies and also smart meters to help consumers manage their energy use.

“It is fair to say that the current (grid) system is certainly outdated. It’s dilapidated,” said Carol Browner, the president’s top adviser on climate change and energy issues. The new plan is expected to created tens of thousands of jobs, Reuters reports.

What’s a smart grid and why do we need it? Find out below.

The first video being:

America’s electric infrastructure is undergoing a massive make-over. It must develop Internet-style intelligence.

The second video being:

To create an Internet-style power system, every electric device has to learn when to listen and how to talk.

….  as the green world turns.

Global Green Challenge – New Vehicle Technologies For A Better, Healthier, Cleaner Environment

With the environment foremost in the minds of those that care for future generations, the Global Green Challenge is a cross continent odyssey which allows access to and comparison of the ecologically friendly vehicles of the future, what is now, and what will be offered in the market place. The Global Green Challenge has evolved into an exhibition and testing ground for the next generation of vehicle technology. From Oct. 24 – 31 the future of sustainable transport ran right through the heart of Australia’s iconic landscape, bucking headwinds and some of Australia’s toughest roads and conditions. Read the rest of this entry »

Color Changing Roof Tiles Absorb Heat In Winter, Reflects In Summer

What colors? Well, your basic power colors of course, black and white. Or to make your art teacher cringe – black and white makes green.

Black surfaces absorb the sun’s heat very efficiently, producing hot surfaces. In the wintertime, that can be a good thing: A dark roof heats up in the sun and helps reduce your heating bill. But in summertime, it’s definitely a bad thing: Your house gets even hotter, and your air conditioning has to work harder. In most places, the summertime penalty is greater than the wintertime gain, it turns out, so that’s why many people, including U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, strongly advocate switching to white roofs. Read the rest of this entry »

Turning Stormwater Problems Into Water Supply Assets

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), is testing a variety of different permeable pavement materials and rain gardens in the parking lot at the agency’s Edison, N.J. facility. Green infrastructure applications and approaches can reduce, capture, and treat storm water runoff at its source before it can reach the sewer system. Site-specific practices, such as green roofs, downspout disconnections (downspouts on many homes are connected directly the sewer system — I passed smooth out when I first heard about that little modern convenience!), rain harvesting/gardens, planter boxes, and permeable pavement are designed to mimic natural hydro logic functions and decrease the amount of impervious area and storm water runoff from individual sites. These applications and approaches can keep storm water out of the sewer system to reduce overflows and to reduce the amount of untreated storm water discharging to surface waters. Read the rest of this entry »

How to rope a deer (Names have been removed to protect the UNEDUCATED!)

Thought you could use a little levity

Actual letter from someone who farms and writes well!

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.

The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Global Warming Believe It Or Not

This will be a totally different planet with an increase of just 3 °C (5 1/2 °F), in our global warming, a planet that hasn’t existed for millions of years. There was no humans when it was 3 degrees warmer. Some scientist say that may be the tipping point, when changes in the world’s climate could cascade out of control. Read the rest of this entry »

The Government handed out some big bucks this week. How does 338 million in grants sound? Well, this is in an effort to get the development of geothermal energy on a fast track.

Some of the companies that got the grants were:

Ormat Technologies
AltaRock Energy
City government of Raleigh, NC
County government of Hattiesburg, MS

Companies that are putting the grants into their projects ranging from putting geothermal heat pump into a waste water processing center to putting heat pumps in to keep prisoners comfortable. Read the rest of this entry »

Riding the Green Waves In The Land Down Under

Named after a Greek sea goddess, CETO harnesses the enormous renewable energy present in our ocean’s waves and converts it into two of the most valuable commodities in the sustainable growth of the planet; zero-emission electricity and zero-emission desalinated water. An innovative green technology from Carnegie Wave Energy Limited headquartered in Perth, Australia, initial development of CETO began in 1999 and by 2006, the CETO I prototype proved the concept of generating zero-emission power and freshwater from the ocean waves. Read the rest of this entry »