I have doing some research on how to get off the grid. After hurricane Ike’s
tremendous impact not only on the coast but also how far it went throughout
the U.S., I needed to find something that I could do rather cheaply.

I found that Off the Grid Living has all the information you will need to make
the change from being married to your utility company to financial and personal
freedom.

Their promise is that you can build a 1000 watt wind generator with no special
tools and no experience in about 2 weekends for under $100. So far there have
been hundreds of families who have duplicated their success. (more…)

What is the purpose of termites?…

Those incredibly destructive little creatures have the potential to benefit
humans in the production of biofuels. Or more precisely, the bacteria in
their stomachs. Termites process the wood they ingest in a series of stomachs,
each with a distinct set of bacteria.  Those bugs within bugs release enzymes
that break down cellulose, the sugar chains in wood, into acetate, a fatty
acid that provides the termite’s energy. Scientists with the Joint Genome
Institute at the U.S. Department of Energy, hope to develop a process to
harness the power of these bacteria on an industrial scale to break cellulose
down into ethanol and provide biofuel without using food crops as a source. (more…)

GreenHunter Energy, Inc. began operations at it’s Houston, Texas,
biodiesel refinery, which can produce 105 million gallons per year
(mgpy). That capacity narrowly beats out the Imperium Renewables’
biodiesel refinery in Washington State, making it the largest
biodiesel plant in the United States.

The new facility is able to produce biodiesel from animal fats, (more…)