Ideas for Saving Energy & Advancing Alternatives

All Blog Posts (57)

How to Use Solar Power to Produce Home Electricity

The solar cells used in solar panels to generate electricity are photovoltaic cells or modules (modules are simply a group of cells electrically connected and packaged in one frame). Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made of special materials called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently the most commonly used. Basically, when light strikes the… Continue

Added by Ernest Hoost on July 19, 2009 at 12:35am — No Comments

My opinion, and some info on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (I'm gonna get flamed for this)

I'll get some flack for this, but my family refuses to keep these in our house. CFLs are often marketed as having "minimal" levels of mercury, but the fact is that the mercury in one bulb is enough to contaminate 6,000 gallons of water below safe drinking levels. But on a more personal level, I don't want these around my daughter. Years ago, when we were on the CFL bandwagon, a bulb broke on our floor. Luckily we knew the cleanup drill (which, depending on who you talk to, involves between 4 an… Continue

Added by pink yoda on March 19, 2008 at 10:30pm — 7 Comments

Finally Someone Trying to Make Sense of Green Labeling

Overwhelmed by the number of “green” labels out there? Can’t tell the difference between Green-e and Green Seal? Well, ecolabeling.org has recently launched. To date, they have databased 307 different label schemes across the world. Their objective is to help consumers and businesses make choices about their green products and services. Ecolabelling.org is a project by Big Room, a web developing company in Canada. Site visitors can comment on and contribute… Continue

Added by Jordan on March 16, 2008 at 9:45am — No Comments

Stop supporting (almost) all kinds of biofuel production!?!

What is the impact of using ethanol (whether from corn, switchgrass, or almost any other source)? According to this thought provoking article in the New York Times, the carbon cost is much greater (93 times) than the carbon savings resulting from using ethanol! Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Published: February 8, 2008 Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fu… Continue

Added by Moss on March 12, 2008 at 2:36pm — No Comments

4th AustralAsian Cleantech Forum

Reposted from www.aaronfyke.com: This is a summary of a recent cleantech conference in Australia - hot on the heels of the cleantech conference in San Francisco two week's previously. I just returned from the two day cleantech conference in Melbourne entitled the "4th AustralAsian Cleantech Forum" (http://www.cleantechforum.com/). Starfish Ventures was a sponsor of the event, and so Ivor and I had the opportun… Continue

Added by Aaron Fyke on March 12, 2008 at 4:22am — No Comments

Alternative Energy for a Better California

As Published In the UCLA Anderson Forecast: Solutions For Our State, March 2008 California is a global economic powerhouse with a population of 38 million trending, by US Census Bureau estimates, toward 50 million in 2025. Like many thriving economies, our state has its share of problems: poor air quality and an increasing appetite for energy to name just two. But these particular problems have the potential to dramatically affect the quality of life and economic stability of California’s resid… Continue

Added by Jordan on March 12, 2008 at 4:00am — No Comments

Another Inconvenient Truth

Last year I looked in to carbon offsetting for my home electric use and for my two cars. I searched the internet and found a variety of companies that would sell me carbon offsets for any sort of activity (driving, electricity, air travel, ect.). Finally I decided to join TerraPass to offset the carbon emission from my cars and Renewable Energy Choice to make my house "wind powered". At first it felt good (Well maybe only for couple of months). Soon afterwards I began to wonder exactly how was… Continue

Added by Robert Barrosa on March 11, 2008 at 10:05pm — 11 Comments

Two Major Utilities to Offer Carbon Free Electricity

Two North Carolina utilities, Duke Energy and Progress Energy are planning to offer their customers carbon free electricity through the use of carbon offsets. The program will allow customers to choose electricity that is carbon neutral for an additional cost. The utilities will then buy carbon offsets with the extra funds collected. Carbon is one of the major greenhouse gases and considered a primary cause of global warming. Both Duke and Progress produce a large portion of their electricity… Continue

Added by andy on March 11, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Fabric That Generates Electricity: Scientists

Source: Voice of America Author: Jessica Berman 2/14/2008 Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. have developed a “nano-generator” fabric containing zinc oxide nanowires that can potentially convert low-frequency vibrations into electricity. Researcher Zhong Lin Wang said, "This particular work is about how do we develop a new methodology, new technology, that can harness from wind blowing, your body movement, this kind of mechanical, low frequency energy.” According t… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on March 10, 2008 at 8:00am — No Comments

Michelin Working on Energy Efficient Tires

Saw an interesting article about tire efficiency in automobiles. Turns out tires account for about 20% of the energy needed to power your car. Michelin, in conjunction with Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research, and Michelin Americas Research (affilia… Continue

Added by Jordan on March 9, 2008 at 8:00am — No Comments

Study: Switchgrass Has Very Good Potential As Fuelstock

Ethanol has been getting a lot of flack lately from those that think the only way to make the biofuel is from corn, one of America’s primary foods. Therefore, ethanol production for fuel will take food off of tables of American families. The vision of ethanol powered ca… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on March 7, 2008 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Less Gas, More Renewables For Your Car

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has raised the renewable fuels standard (RFS) this year to 7.76%. RFS determines the amounts of non-petroleum fuel in vehicles. The adjustment was dictated by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) that was signed into law last year. Last November, the EPA announced an RFS of 4.66%, which mandated at least 5.4 billion gallons of renewable fuels be mixed into the nation's transportation fuels this year. However, the new law forces the EPA to… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on February 29, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Four Countries, Four Cities and Five Corporations Plan to be Carbon Neutral

Four countries, four cities and five corporations have signed up with the Climate Neutral Network in an effort to become carbon neutral and fight climate change. The Climate Neutral Network was launched in Monaco last week by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Network is an Internet-based project that is planning to enlist countries, local governments and organizations to become carbon neutral. The plan is to add more organizations and eventually people to the project. The group behind t… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on February 25, 2008 at 8:30am — No Comments

GE Expects $6 Billion 2008 for Wind Business

General Electric forecasts its wind turbine business will have revenue of approximately $6 billion in 2008. The company has purchase orders for its turbines extending all the way to 2010, which by the way is past the expiration date of the US tax credit for new turbine construction projects. The economics for large-scal… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on February 20, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Biofuels Get Closer to Mainstream

The United States, Brazil and the European Union (EU) released a report on current biofuel specifications. The goal of the report was to help spur trade of renewable energy sources. A major issue to further trade in biofuels is standards. Biofuels can vary greatly in make-up and properties among countries or even producers. To clarify the current situation and identify potential roadblocks to improved compatibility, the U.S. and Brazilian governments and the EU created a task force of experts t… Continue

Added by Nat Ramon on February 19, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Age of "green economics" is upon us: U.N.'s Ban

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday the world is on the cusp of "the age of green economics" and called on nations to cooperate to fight global warming and promote the transformation. See the rest of the article at this link. Continue

Added by Nat Ramon on February 18, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

New Device Creates Energy While You Walk

Courtesy of Greg Ehlers, Simon Fraser University Scientists from Simon Fraser University have developed a device that generates power from walking. Each swing of a person's knee while they walk creates power that may ultimately charge your mobile phone or iPod. The first application is expected to power a prostheti… Continue

Added by Jordan on February 17, 2008 at 7:18am — No Comments

Israel to Implement Consumer Electric Vehicles?

Israel plans to provide tax incentives for customers that use electric vehicles. The incentives are part of a greater plan by the Israeli Government that challenged the automotive industry and its suppliers to move the country’s transportation system to renewable-based energy.

To support the effort, the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Project Better Place have signed a memorandum of understanding.

… Continue

Added by SustainGigs on February 13, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

Progress Report: California Solar Initiative Working

The California Solar Initiative, the state’s effort to put 3,000 megawatts of solar generated electricity online by 2017, seems to be working.

In 2007, the initiative’s first year, incentives under the program have exceeded the state's total insta

… Continue

Added by Nat Ramon on February 12, 2008 at 7:00am — 2 Comments

Report Says G7 Countries Considering Alternative Energy Fund

Japan, together with Britain and the United States are planning to cooperatively propose setting up a unique fund to help developing countries, notably India and China, to fight climate change. The fund will target technologies that save energy. The expectation is that the World Bank will manage the fund.

The three countries will ask the other G7 members (Canada, France, Germany, and I

… Continue

Added by andy on February 11, 2008 at 5:00am — No Comments