What if you had a car that made its own fuel? Dr. Jerry Woodall at Purdue University,
accidentally found a way. One day while doing semiconductor experiments in his lab, he
melted aluminum and gallium. When he added water to clean the melt out, he got a big
poof of steam and hydrogen.

Hydrogen on demand!

With this alloy you don’t have to worry about becoming a flaming rocket on the highway.
This stuff is safe to move around and has a high energy content and can be converted
into hydrogen when you need it.

You will just buy a tank full of pellets and plug it into your car. Add water and
away you go. It will reduce our dependency on foreign oil. The raw materials
(aluminum ore) is located in the United States. For instance, the southwest.

Dr. Woodall is now working on getting golf carts running utilizing this method.

Man, stuff like this just gives me goosebumps!

If you have not signed up for Blogrush, do so. I know, I know, you have heard
some crazy things about them but hey! it is free, you do get some traffic and why not

utilize a free service to help your blog get out there on the web?

It will also help in discovering other blogs that may bring a new experience to you or
adds a little step in your day with something funny.

Either way, give Blogrush a chance and go sign up.

You know what, I think Entrecard is a pretty good little system.
My site has been up about a month now and joining this program has been
very good for building up my traffic.

I have also been able to see blogs with many different themes, ideas, and
opinions.

There are alot of other programs to join to build your traffic but I truly
like Entrecard and cudos to them for putting out there for all of us to use.
The best part is that it’s free to join.

Just my 2 cents worth.

About 40% of the world’s population lives in adobe homes. The thermal mass properties
are really good. Warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Environmentally friendly, an earthen product, that has been around for more than
10,000 years.

You can make your own adobe bricks with a mixture of 30% clay and 70% sand. If not
sure about the mixture, put some in a glass jar, shake vigorously for 2 minutes, let
settle overnight, the sand will settle at the bottom, clay in the middle, and water
on top.

Typical mix is 5 gallons of water, 28 shovelfuls of adobe mixture and 2 shovelfuls
of cement. It is a stablizer and adds durability to the bricks. If you do not have
one, rent a cement mixer. A 2.5 cubic foot mixer holds 70 liters or around 19
gallons.

You can make your own molds or buy them. There are 3 basic types of molds. Standard
is a solid square. O-brick is a hole in the middle and a U-brick for a u-shaped curve
on one end. This allows for structural support like steel rebar and services
(electrical, plumbing). Weed mat or weed fabric works best to lay your molds on, not
plastic as it creates too smooth of brick. Make sure you are on level ground. Wet
down the molds before pouring in the mix to keep the adobe from sticking to the molds.
Use a shovel or concrete rake to spread the mixture over and into the molds. Work
the mix into each mold with your hands to get rid of air bubbles and remove any clay
clumps larger than 1/2 inch.

It takes 28 days for the bricks to cure properly. So take a break, or a vacation. A
properly cured brick is lighter in color and weight and when tapped, has a hollow
sound.

When ready to lay, make up another batch of mix just like you did to make the bricks.
Add 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid to this mortar batch and let mix for 2 minutes
to help it aerate. It is better to already have a level concrete footer solidified
with vertical re-bar about 3 feet high and 3 feet apart unless your wall is not going
that high.

With your hands, rubber gloves work great, lay 2 strips of the mortar 2 inches high
on the footer and lay your brick, wiggle into place. Butter the side of the next
brick and touches the first and wiggle into place.

Build your corners first, staggering the levels up. Stagger by using half bricks. Use
a line level, laser level or board with a level on top to keep the corners level with
each other. Then fill in towards the center. Fill any unused O or U bricks with
motar. To give that smooth finish, hand rub the wall with water and a little of the
adobe mix.

Oh, by the way, Adobe means “Sticky Pig” … do not ask me why.

Remember that trash composter mentioned a couple of blogs ago? Well, here is
is the scoop.

I found it at Greenfeet, a great site! They sell all kinds of green products.

Anyway, back to the composter: Nature Mill Plus Composter – $299.00
Fully automatic and odor free. The perfect solution for those who want to compost
but don’t have outdoor space for a pile.

It produces a batch (about 10 lbs/4.5 kg) of rich organic fertilizer every 2 weeks.
A red light will tell you when to empty it. Just open the door and remove the
compost. You can add waste items at any time up to 120 lbs (55 kb) a month. Talk
about recycling!

Waste items are processed continuously. Every 4 hours, a small electric motor mixes
the compost, which breaks into clumps, compacts the waste and improves the air flow.
The computer controller determines the frequency and duration of mixing. The internal
reactor chamber maintains a true “hot composting” temperature of 140 F (60C) for
several days. The heat neutralizes pathogens such a e.coli and prevents seed
germination. It exceeds US EPA PART 503 guidelines for compost safety. It is
believed to be the only compost machine, tumbler, or other home use device which
complies with the EPA rules. The cure tray is no more than 100 degrees F (38C) about
body temperature when you empty it.

The unit runs on either 110 or220 volts, plugs into a standard wall outlet, and it UL
and CE compliant. It draws about 5 kwh per month, which costs approximately $0.50
a month. About as much energy as a night light. In comparison to what the diesel
truck uses hauling the same amount of waster to a landfill —- PLEASE!

The average American home emits about 23,000 lbs of CO2 and spends over $1500
in utility bills yearly.

One man has a house that emits no CO2 and has not utility bills. It is the first
solar hydrogen fuel cell house in North America. Hydrogen is non-toxic,
non-polluting, and is less flammable than gasoline. Hydrogen has three times as much
energy as natural gas. With 10 storage tanks, which holds 19,000 cubic feet of
hydrogen, enough energy along with the solar and geo-thermal to power his house, his
cooking gas, heat gas and powers his vehicle for an entire year.

Mike makes all the hydrogen himself from ordinary tap water. A process in which an
electrolyzer takes water, runs it through a de-ionizing process and through reverse
osmosis feeds the chemically pure water into the electrolyzer, then a device splits
it off between hydrogen and oxygen. This process known as electrolysis uses
electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms from water molecules. The
electricity used for this process is created by solar power, of course.

He has enough solar panels to provide about 1,000 kw per month. The extra electricity
is converted into hydrogen in an endless green cycle.

He even built his own hydrogen fuel cell car that runs on the same hydrogen he
generates for the house. I want to call him “Mr.Greenjeans!”

This is what I call a going green hero!

You can catch Mike’s house on the Science Channel’s program called Eco-Tech and will
air Jun 03, 8:00 pm.

Here are some things to look at for your home in going green.

Non-toxic paint – has the VOC (volatile organic compounds) removed.
You can tell – no smell! Great for any room
but especially the bedrooms. It comes in most any color.
Check for the green certified seal on the can.

Dishwasher Drawers – are about half the size of a normal dishwasher. They
let you run smaller loads with much less energy.

Trash composter – NOT a compacter! Put it in a closet, under the cabinet slide
out, garage, or covered porch. Hermetically sealed so no
odors. Creates rich soil for your garden. Not to mention
it cuts way down on curb side trash. Great for homes with
no room for compost heaps. I absolutely love this, definitely
more on this later.

Countertops – made from recycled paper. Hard as stone with that smooth
stone look. Can take up to 350 degree heat.

Cork – for floors. It looks good, comes in a variety of colors.
A hard surface with some give in it that makes it easy
on your feet. A natural waxy substance in cork that makes
it insect, moisture, and fire resistant. It comes from
the bark of the Cork Oak, native to the Mediterranean area.
It grows to a height of 30 to 60 feet and a diameter of
greater than 4 feet. The bark (cork) is pulled off and
regrows in 10 years.

Bamboo – makes beautiful floors. It has a natural luster that looks
better with traffic. And guess what! Now sheets and
bedding is being made from bamboo. I kid you not. And yes,
it’s soft, with a silky feel to it.
Bamboo is a member of the grass family and in optimal
conditions can grow 3 to 4 feet per day.