His Hot Water Saves Money – See Mr. Grouchy Smile

My father lives in a little cabin on Junior’s (my niece – named after me), land. The cabin’s builders in what can only be described as a cranial-rectal infarction, put the 30 gallon hot water heater in the attic where it promptly burnt out after less than a years use. (more…)

Here is the article on how monstrous the Greensburg tornado really was.

Greensburg study finds that storm contained 22 tornadoes

By STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle

The first in-depth study of the Greensburg, Kan., tornado has uncovered new
details about one of the strongest and most dramatic tornado outbreaks ever
recorded.

“There are a lot of things in that storm that made me go, ‘Wow,’” said Les Lemon,
a co-author of the study and research associate meteorologist with the Cooperative
Institute in Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma. (more…)

A new study by scientists has determined that a type of rock found at or near
the surface in the Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to
soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide (CO2).

Geologist Peter Kelemen and geochemist Juerg Matter, both from Columbia University’s
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, made the discovery during field work in the Omani
desert, where they have worked for years.

Their studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at (more…)

Okay, so I thought I would never be writing on a 60 minutes segment, but Leslie
Stahl had one last night that you might be a little interested in, it deals with
electric and electric/hybrids Forced Green has posted on before, so here we go:

One of the reasons electric cars have never taken off has been battery technology.
A few years ago, someone wondered: why not use the batteries they put in laptop
computers called lithium-ion batteries? That’s when the environmentally-conscious
hi-tech industry in California jumped in.

The first all-electric sports car is called the “Roadster” and is made by Tesla
Motors, a small start-up in Northern California. (more…)

Do you think Energy Star appliances are too expensive?  Well, think again.
Energy Star estimates that the average cost of a standard refridgerator is
$1070 and an Energy Star fridge is $1100 … just $30 more.

Dishwashers have no differences at all.  You will pay approximately $540.
You can always find dishwashers on sale and may be able to get one cheaper.
You will realise a savings on either appliance from 1 to 4 years, so going
green with Energy Star is a no brainer.

One myth that has lingered for years in regard to low-flow fixtures and (more…)

Research scientist at two different universities are on the same path to
developing an inexpensive process that will allow you to paint on or print
out your own solar cells. Imagine, a simple and inexpensive energy alternative
for households around the world.

Last year it was reported that researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology
(NJIT) developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on
flexible plastic sheets. Lead researcher, Professor Somenath Mitra said, “The
process is simple, someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these
solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap (more…)

Here, have a slice of great news to go with your morning coffee :

Out of the water leaps the humpback whale, like the Phoenix rising from the fire,
they’re baaaack! The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has
revised its classification of the whales from “vulnerable” to “of least concern”
on its latest annual list of endangered animals. Literally on the brink of
extinction, down to under 1500 in 1966. Their numbers have increased since
international and federal protections were put in place in the 1960s and ’70s
and a international commercial whaling ban was imposed in 1986. The population
is now estimated to be 40,000 mature adults and 15,000 juveniles. Still low, for
these 50 foot majestic creatures that once roamed all the Earth’s oceans were at
240,000 strong in pre-whaling days. But now, they are on the road to recover and (more…)