The Renewable Energy Centre Energy Program Going Green? 12 Ways to Reduce Your Impact on the Food, Water and Energy Nexus When going green, consider these actions which can help ease tensions within the food/water/energy nexus. Power Plants Kill Fish - Animation Many older thermoelectric power plants require tremendous amounts of water for cooling. Freeing the Grid: Foundations for the New Energy Economy In a new video produced by Brainvise for the Vote Solar Initiative, renewable energy policies that let you spin your electric meter backwards are explained in a simple, engaging manner through sharp animation. Water and Energy It takes a significant amount of water to create energy, and a significant amount of energy to move and treat water. All Pain, No Gain: New York Power Plants Kill Fish Even When Not in Use Many New York power plants are withdrawing cooling water - and injuring or killing aquatic life - even when they are not generating any electricity. Bloomberg to Cuomo: We Can Frack Safely
DLA History - About the Scholarly Communications Project and the Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Tech Ancient Passive Cooling By Josh Moran You’ve probably seen various “family trees” in museums that try to illustrate the evolution of human beings. They start out with an ape-like creature with a scientific-sounding name at the bottom and then branch outwards and upwards, culminating with something like Ozzie and Harriet perched at the top. Imagine that same kind of tree but one that shows the evolution of the manner in which we have cooled and heated our living spaces since the dawn of human history. However, unlike the family trees where the branches of human ancestors come to an abrupt end, in the heating and cooling tree, ancient passive systems don’t entirely disappear. Six feet under for a good reason Perhaps you’ve heard this riddle: A Thermos bottle is designed to keep cold things cold and hot things hot. This simple conundrum points to one of the classic passive heating and cooling systems we use on our planet. PHOTO: Step House ruins: Mesa Verde National Park The spelunking lifestyle Drilling for dollars
How A New Rhubarb-Based Battery Could Massively Increase Renewable Energy Use By Jeff Spross "How A New Rhubarb-Based Battery Could Massively Increase Renewable Energy Use" A group of Harvard scientists recently hit on a new form of battery that could massively expand the potential for renewable energy use. To explain: most of the batteries found in our cars, laptops, smartphones and whatnot rely on chemical solids. This comes with several advantages. Enter the Harvard team. The reason this could such a big deal for renewable energy is that, right now, renewable sources like solar and wind are mostly dependent on when the sun shines and when the wind blows to generate their power. But the scalability of the Harvard team’s flow battery means small versions could be built to service either an individual homeowner who has a rooftop solar array, or large versions for a utility’s entire wind farm. So far, the Harvard team has successfully run a small version of their battery through about one hundred cycles, while maintaining over 99 percent of the charge capacity.
DIY: Beer Can Into Camping Stove You can whip one of these up in a matter of minutes. They’re so easy to make and they work really well. First find yourself some scissors and a beverage can and then start the above video. This is an inexpensive way to be prepared in the event of a power outage as these stoves give off a lot of heat and have the ability to cook large meals. They also make great holiday gifts for friends and family. For more great repurposing ideas, check out Repurposing 24/7 Image: Vimeo camp stoveDIYRepurposing Related Posts « After Reading This, You’ll Never Look at a Banana in the Same Way Again The Remedy For Everything But Death »
Repower America | Environment America With more wind and solar, we can move to 100% clean energy Too much of our energy comes from coal, oil and other dirty sources that wreak havoc on our environment. We are surrounded by clean energy options — the power of the sun, the movement of wind and waves, the heat of the earth, even the energy leaking from drafty windows in our homes and businesses. By using energy more efficiently and tapping our vast renewable energy resources, we can move to 100% clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out. Efficient buildings will spur energy savings America’s homes are like cars that only get 10 miles to the gallon. Millions of Americans are already weather-stripping doors and windows, insulating attics and making their homes more energy efficient and thus healthier, more comfortable and less costly to heat and cool.
Biomass Gasification – A Primer I’ve been researching alternative energy sources that could be used during an extended grid-down situation for a while now but haven’t been able to find one that would work well in my situation (limited sun and wind). Well just recently a good friend of mine had reminded me of one that I had long since forgotten (having originally passed over it in a Mother Earth News article a few years back): Wood or Biomass Gasification. What is Gasification? In a nutshell, gasification is the process of using heat to transform solid biomass, or other carbonaceous solids, into a flammable fuel much like natural gas. Basically, you can take practically any solid dry organic matter (wood chips, walnut/cherry shells, agricultural waste etc) and convert it into a clean burning, carbon neutral, gaseous fuel. Sound too good to be true? Fortunately for us preparedness-minded people, these small-scale gasifiers can be fairly easily manufactured using basic tools and readily available resources. Online Resources
Researchers Develop a Cheap Battery to Power Your House—and It’s Organic Here’s a dirty little secret about the batteries we increasingly rely on to power our emissions-free cars and store clean, green energy from the sun and wind: They contain metals that must be mined and can contaminate groundwater if they end up in landfills. But an eco-friendly alternative could be coming soon. Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a first-of-its-kind battery that replaces metal catalysts with quinone—an organic molecule that stores and transfers energy and can be found in fungi, bacteria, and even our bodies. The scientists predict such a battery will be 10 times cheaper to make and will last five times longer than a lithium-ion battery. A race is under way to develop battery technology to store electricity from wind farms and solar power plants, the growth of which has been exponential in recent years. The problem: Existing battery technology is expensive. Here’s how their technology—a variant of a redox flow battery—works.
How To Make A Wood Gas Stove Please be sure to like SHTF AND PREPPING CENTRAL on Facebook, this means you won’t miss any of our posts that can help you prepare you and your family for survival in an emergency or SHTF situation. Check out our store : CLICK HERE Homemade gas stoves generate fuel by heating biomass or wood. Since wood does not technically “burn,” the gas and vapor that emerge from the wood are actually burned by the air with high heat. This gasification process is called pyrolysis, which converts the wood to char. The interaction of gas, vapor and char creates heat and serves as a clean combustion source for the wood gas stove. click here for more DIY stuff from this guy
Green Book - Environmental Justice Book Countries With 100% Renewable Energy Cahora Basso, Mozambique Which countries have the highest percentage of renewable energy – care to guess? I suspect that names like Germany, Denmark or Spain might spring to mind. They’re certainly making good progress, but they’ve got nothing on the world’s renewable energy leaders. These pioneers are overlooked for a variety of reasons. Most often its a matter of categorisation – what is and what isn’t considered renewable energy. Others simply leave hydro and geothermal out because they’re older technologies, and including them in renewable energy statistics might make people complacent about their percentages. Still, taking that broader perspective, here are some forgotten pioneers of the renewable energy world: Iceland – Built as it is on a volcano, Iceland has tapped the earth’s natural warmth to supply 85% of the country’s housing with heat. I could also mention Costa Rica, Laos, Colombia, Malawi, Nepal, Belize, and a dozen others. World electricity generation index Like this:
8 Completely Awesome DIY Home Energy Projects | Ecoble Small-scale renewable energy is a must for a sustainable home – but converting your home to clean energy options can carry a huge initial price tag. We’ve scoured the web for some of the most innovative examples of homemade energy solutions to compile a collective list of DIY projects to make your home greener and more energy efficient without costing you a fortune. From solar water heaters and gadget chargers to homemade super-efficient refrigerators, you’ll find links (with instructions) to some of the best projects you can make at home… Homemade Energy-Save Fridge The ‘Ambient Air Fridge’ isn’t quite a year-round green appliance but when things cool down in the winter, this homemade fridge will definitely shave a few dollars off the electric bill! The insulated wood box fits snugly in an out-of-the-way doorway and even controls the temperature with an inexpensive thermostat and a couple of computer fans. DIY Electric Lawn Mower Make Your Own Wind Turbine Low Cost Solar Water Heater