by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 10. 7.08
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
Buzz up!
solyndra thin-film solar array photo (click to see images)
Building on couple of topics which are perennial TreeHugger favorites (cool roofs and thin-film solar photovoltaics)... Fremont, California-based Solyndra has announced the launch of a new type of rooftop solar array which the company says could revolutionize the market for commercial rooftop solar arrays. This is what it’s all about:
Thin-Film Coated Tubes Gather Light From All Sides
What Solyndra has done is develop a thin-film solar PV module consisting of cylindrical tubes that when placed on a rooftop, and assisted by a light colored roof, is capable of collecting solar energy from both sides of the module. The units are lightweight, flat-mounted on the roof, require no roof mounting hardware beyond the brackets which prop the units up from the roof surface, and are attached to one another by clipping the units together at the edges.
UPDATE
A commenter wondered about the efficiency of Solyndra's solar modules: Solyndra says that its solar cells can convert 12-14% of the sunlight hitting them into electricity.
solyndra thin-film solar diagram image
More Rooftop Covered Than Traditional Systems
Solyndra touts the superior energy gathering abilities of their new system:
The Solyndra system’s ability to cover more roof and capture more light results in more annual solar electricity generation. Solyndra panels employ cylindrical modules which capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface capable of converting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight into electricity. This self-tracking design allows Solyndra's PV systems to capture more sunlight than traditional flat-surfaced solar panels, which require costly tilted mounting devices to improve the capture of direct light, offer poor collection of diffuse light and fail to collect reflected light from rooftops or other installation surfaces.
solyndra thin-film solar panel assembly photo
Installation in One-Third the Time
Solyndra explains why:
Solyndra's system enables its customers to realize significant savings on installation costs. Because wind blows through Solyndra's panels and horizontal mounting is optimum, simple, non-penetrating mounting hardware is used in the Solyndra system. No roof penetrations, attachments or ballast are needed. Panels and mounts are quickly attached together, enabling installations to be done in one third of the time of conventional PV installations. After the installation is complete, these same attributes enable Solyndra systems to be easily moved for relocation or roof servicing.
Cost? Durability? Minimum Size?
A number of questions immediately popped up in my mind: How much do the units cost? What’s the minimum number of units which can be installed? Would this be suitable for lat-roofed apartment buildings for example? How much power does each unit produce? Durability? My brother’s metal roof in Texas got dented by hail; what would that do to one of these panels? And if some of the tubes get broken does the whole thing have to come apart (picturing one of the units in the middle of the array going down and having to disassemble the whole thing...)? I’m sure readers will have more...
According to Solyndra’s press release, the company currently has $1.2 billion worth of multi-year contracts with customers in Europe and the United States; and has already begun shipping the first of its units.
More (including a video showing the installation procedure) at :: Solyndra
Monday, October 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Inspiration & Insight
by Corinne McLaughlin, Gordon Davidson and Ginger Young
The Center for Visionary Leadership
9/17/08
With a very significant presidential election upcoming in the U.S., and continued conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere, many groups are organizing nation-wide meditations this Fall to invoke the highest good.
As philosopher David Spangler reminds us, no president can bring about the truly essential changes—the changes of mind and heart, consciousness and spirit—that will most deeply heal the problems in our world. Essential healing can only be catalyzed by each of us, as we empower ourselves and activate our own "Inner President." As each of us takes responsibility for change in the world, we alter the spiritual quality of the whole system--just the way a small change in the acid/alkaline balance of our bloodstream promotes health and fights off germs.
President Franklin Roosevelt is famously said to have told someone asking him to support some key legislation that the bill was great, "but now you must go out and force me to sign it"—that is, organize masses of citizens to make it politically popular for him to sign. This is our political task as citizens today, as presidents have limitations on what they can do, upheld by our system of checks and balances.
With hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires raging everywhere around the world today, the issue of global warming is truly in our face. Perhaps we need to read the "Book of Life" more carefully to see what Mother Nature is telling us about why things are so out of balance. Is She trying to wake us up and remind us of our connection to Spirit and to all living beings? Will these crises motivate us to make the personal lifestyle and spiritual changes we each need to—as well as the collective political action that is being called for?
The causal relationship between human thoughts and emotions and weather patterns is not normally visible, unless dramatized by the timing of a physical event. The inner causes of natural crises are often complex, including both human and non-human causes, but it's instructive to consider the karmic dimension of recent natural disasters, highlighted by their timing.
Humanity is the bridging kingdom between the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms and the higher spiritual kingdoms because we contain elements of all the kingdoms within us. The Native Americans and other aboriginal peoples know this and so create sacred ceremonies, such as rain dances, to help heal and balance our mother the earth. Our true role is to channel love and blessing energies to these kingdoms--rather than create imbalances in them through our negative actions and emotions. What prayers and meditations can we do to help bring balance and restoration to the earth?
Many thousands of people are doing this today in their love and caring for nature and animals through the ecological movement. Plants and animals, in turn, absorb human emotions and help heal them. Many scientific studies have shown that plants are affected by human thoughts and emotions. Our tenderness and compassion for plants, animals and other humans will create a more gentle and loving environment, with fewer natural upheavals. May each of us and our world be blessed by truly benevolent and gentle relations with all of life that shares this beautiful planet with us.
The Center for Visionary Leadership
9/17/08
With a very significant presidential election upcoming in the U.S., and continued conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere, many groups are organizing nation-wide meditations this Fall to invoke the highest good.
As philosopher David Spangler reminds us, no president can bring about the truly essential changes—the changes of mind and heart, consciousness and spirit—that will most deeply heal the problems in our world. Essential healing can only be catalyzed by each of us, as we empower ourselves and activate our own "Inner President." As each of us takes responsibility for change in the world, we alter the spiritual quality of the whole system--just the way a small change in the acid/alkaline balance of our bloodstream promotes health and fights off germs.
President Franklin Roosevelt is famously said to have told someone asking him to support some key legislation that the bill was great, "but now you must go out and force me to sign it"—that is, organize masses of citizens to make it politically popular for him to sign. This is our political task as citizens today, as presidents have limitations on what they can do, upheld by our system of checks and balances.
With hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires raging everywhere around the world today, the issue of global warming is truly in our face. Perhaps we need to read the "Book of Life" more carefully to see what Mother Nature is telling us about why things are so out of balance. Is She trying to wake us up and remind us of our connection to Spirit and to all living beings? Will these crises motivate us to make the personal lifestyle and spiritual changes we each need to—as well as the collective political action that is being called for?
The causal relationship between human thoughts and emotions and weather patterns is not normally visible, unless dramatized by the timing of a physical event. The inner causes of natural crises are often complex, including both human and non-human causes, but it's instructive to consider the karmic dimension of recent natural disasters, highlighted by their timing.
Humanity is the bridging kingdom between the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms and the higher spiritual kingdoms because we contain elements of all the kingdoms within us. The Native Americans and other aboriginal peoples know this and so create sacred ceremonies, such as rain dances, to help heal and balance our mother the earth. Our true role is to channel love and blessing energies to these kingdoms--rather than create imbalances in them through our negative actions and emotions. What prayers and meditations can we do to help bring balance and restoration to the earth?
Many thousands of people are doing this today in their love and caring for nature and animals through the ecological movement. Plants and animals, in turn, absorb human emotions and help heal them. Many scientific studies have shown that plants are affected by human thoughts and emotions. Our tenderness and compassion for plants, animals and other humans will create a more gentle and loving environment, with fewer natural upheavals. May each of us and our world be blessed by truly benevolent and gentle relations with all of life that shares this beautiful planet with us.
How To Green Your Car
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 11.16.06
TH Exclusives (how to green your life)
What’s the Big Deal?
Cars are one of the great mixed bags of our time. They are at once wonders of engineering and a threat to life on Earth. They create convenience and comfort and also snarled traffic and sprawling suburbs. In the US, about 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and light trucks like SUVs, contributing to climate change, air pollution, and disease. If you are truly trying to lighten your environmental footprint, the first thing to do is ask if you do in fact need a car. If the answer is yes, there are many things you can do to make your driving life greener.
Top 10 Tips: Car navigating guide (Green your car)
1. Drive a green car
There are now hybrids to match almost any need: two-door, four-door, SUV, luxury sedan. They get better mileage than their conventional counterparts, have cleaner emissions, and save money on gas. If a hybrid isn’t in your future, try for a car with the best MPG you can find; and remember that hybrids aren’t always the most efficient option, either. Biodiesel can now be found in almost any state in the US. This clean, domestic, veggie-based, carbon-neutral fuel will run in any diesel car or truck with little or no modification to the engine. Straight vegetable oil is an option for the more ambitious green driver and can make fueling up almost free. Another veggie fuel is ethanol, and there are between 5-6 million flex-fuel vehicles already on the road—you may even be driving one and not know it. Also, affordable, practical electric cars and plug-in hybrids aren’t too far off, either. But whether or not you drive a hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicle, there’s lots you can do to green your car right now.
2. Best practices
Driving technique has a lot to do with your fuel economy. Avoid sudden starts and stops and go the speed limit.Not only does speeding and herky-jerky driving kill your MPG, it's dangerous. And even if no one gets hurt in a fender bender, how green is it to get a new bumper or have your car re-painted? As a general rule of thumb, keep your engine speeds between 1,200—3,000 RPMs, and up-shift between 2,000—2500 RPMs. Also, drive wise and minimize unnecessary miles by doing errands in one trip, getting good directions, and calling ahead.
3. Stay in tune
Getting regular tune-ups, maintenance, and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas, pollute less, and prevent car trouble down the line. Pump up: if every American’s tires were properly inflated we could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year! (Check your manual for optimal pressure). Lastly, get the junk out of the trunk! All that extra weight is sapping your fuel economy.
4. Car minus the carbon
There are many services out there now that can help you calculate your yearly emissions from driving and offset those greenhouse gasses through various means. Check below for a few carbon offset opportunities.
5. Carpool
Of course. Find coworkers, neighbors, and fellow students headed the same direction. Start with one shared trip per week. Also look into car sharing programs like FlexCar and ZipCar.
6. Leave the car at home.
For shorter adventures, walk, take public transit, ride your bike (regular, electric-assisted, or something fancier [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/bluevelo_velomo.php]), skateboard, rollerblades, or even look into an electric scooter. Carrying groceries or other bulky stuff can still be done on a bike with a backpack or some slick modifications. Check out the Xtracycle, for example.
7. Drive part of the way
If getting where you’re going by bike or public transit alone isn’t going to happen, consider driving part of the way and then jumping on public transit or your bike (a folder would be perfect). A great way to beat traffic!
8. Easy on the AC
Use the windows to help keep the car cool. Or try an electric or solar fan. Parking in the shade and using a reflective windshield shade can keep your car cooler when parked, meaning it takes less to cool it off when you get back in. If you car is new, however, let it air out. That new car smell is not friendly stuff.
9. Telecommuting
Drive less with the wonders of working from home (or internet café, treehouse, Mojave desert, etc.) With instant messaging, video chat, teleconferencing, and other world-flattening technologies, making the rush-hour trek to work and back might not be that necessary. Ask your boss or offer your employees a teleconferencing day once a week. Hey, it works for TreeHuggers and 44 million Americans.
10. Aspire to carlessness
Not everyone is going to be able to do it, at least not cold carkey. It will probably entail a shift in thinking and some time, but living carfree might be more within reach than you think. Living closer to work and school is a big part of it. Walking, biking, public transport, car sharing, car borrowing, and teleconferencing are a strong arsenal of tools to help reduce the need for a car. Give it some thought.
By the Numbers
1. Keeping up on your car’s maintenance, things like regular oil changes, air-filter changes, and spark plug replacements can increase your MPG up to 25%.
2. The production of each car, on average, releases 4 tons of carbon emissions and nearly 700 pounds of other pollutants into the atmosphere.
3. In 2000, the U.S. produced 2 million gallons of biodiesel; in 2005 it produced around 75 million gallons. In September of 2006, sixty-five companies reported having plants currently under construction and thirteen more are planning expansions.
4. The average fuel economy of passenger cars peaked in 1987 when it was 22.1 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks. The EPA estimates that 2006 average fuel economy, despite two decades of improvements in automobile technology, is 21 mpg.
5. Switching from an average car to a 13 mpg SUV would use as much energy as leaving your refrigerator door open for six years. (SC)
6. The average rush-hour commuter spent 62 hours in traffic in 2000.
7. In small urban and rural areas, traffic and congestion is increasing 11% each year, which is twice as fast as in urban areas.
Each Summer, high levels of smog pollution lead to 159,000 trips to the emergency room, 53,000 hospital admissions, and 6 million asthma attacks.
The Sierra Club estimates that the average yearly cost of driving a single-occupant car is between $4,826 and $9,685, while the average cost of a year´s worth of public transportation is between $200 and $2000.
TH Exclusives (how to green your life)
What’s the Big Deal?
Cars are one of the great mixed bags of our time. They are at once wonders of engineering and a threat to life on Earth. They create convenience and comfort and also snarled traffic and sprawling suburbs. In the US, about 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and light trucks like SUVs, contributing to climate change, air pollution, and disease. If you are truly trying to lighten your environmental footprint, the first thing to do is ask if you do in fact need a car. If the answer is yes, there are many things you can do to make your driving life greener.
Top 10 Tips: Car navigating guide (Green your car)
1. Drive a green car
There are now hybrids to match almost any need: two-door, four-door, SUV, luxury sedan. They get better mileage than their conventional counterparts, have cleaner emissions, and save money on gas. If a hybrid isn’t in your future, try for a car with the best MPG you can find; and remember that hybrids aren’t always the most efficient option, either. Biodiesel can now be found in almost any state in the US. This clean, domestic, veggie-based, carbon-neutral fuel will run in any diesel car or truck with little or no modification to the engine. Straight vegetable oil is an option for the more ambitious green driver and can make fueling up almost free. Another veggie fuel is ethanol, and there are between 5-6 million flex-fuel vehicles already on the road—you may even be driving one and not know it. Also, affordable, practical electric cars and plug-in hybrids aren’t too far off, either. But whether or not you drive a hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicle, there’s lots you can do to green your car right now.
2. Best practices
Driving technique has a lot to do with your fuel economy. Avoid sudden starts and stops and go the speed limit.Not only does speeding and herky-jerky driving kill your MPG, it's dangerous. And even if no one gets hurt in a fender bender, how green is it to get a new bumper or have your car re-painted? As a general rule of thumb, keep your engine speeds between 1,200—3,000 RPMs, and up-shift between 2,000—2500 RPMs. Also, drive wise and minimize unnecessary miles by doing errands in one trip, getting good directions, and calling ahead.
3. Stay in tune
Getting regular tune-ups, maintenance, and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas, pollute less, and prevent car trouble down the line. Pump up: if every American’s tires were properly inflated we could save around 2 billion gallons of gas each year! (Check your manual for optimal pressure). Lastly, get the junk out of the trunk! All that extra weight is sapping your fuel economy.
4. Car minus the carbon
There are many services out there now that can help you calculate your yearly emissions from driving and offset those greenhouse gasses through various means. Check below for a few carbon offset opportunities.
5. Carpool
Of course. Find coworkers, neighbors, and fellow students headed the same direction. Start with one shared trip per week. Also look into car sharing programs like FlexCar and ZipCar.
6. Leave the car at home.
For shorter adventures, walk, take public transit, ride your bike (regular, electric-assisted, or something fancier [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/bluevelo_velomo.php]), skateboard, rollerblades, or even look into an electric scooter. Carrying groceries or other bulky stuff can still be done on a bike with a backpack or some slick modifications. Check out the Xtracycle, for example.
7. Drive part of the way
If getting where you’re going by bike or public transit alone isn’t going to happen, consider driving part of the way and then jumping on public transit or your bike (a folder would be perfect). A great way to beat traffic!
8. Easy on the AC
Use the windows to help keep the car cool. Or try an electric or solar fan. Parking in the shade and using a reflective windshield shade can keep your car cooler when parked, meaning it takes less to cool it off when you get back in. If you car is new, however, let it air out. That new car smell is not friendly stuff.
9. Telecommuting
Drive less with the wonders of working from home (or internet café, treehouse, Mojave desert, etc.) With instant messaging, video chat, teleconferencing, and other world-flattening technologies, making the rush-hour trek to work and back might not be that necessary. Ask your boss or offer your employees a teleconferencing day once a week. Hey, it works for TreeHuggers and 44 million Americans.
10. Aspire to carlessness
Not everyone is going to be able to do it, at least not cold carkey. It will probably entail a shift in thinking and some time, but living carfree might be more within reach than you think. Living closer to work and school is a big part of it. Walking, biking, public transport, car sharing, car borrowing, and teleconferencing are a strong arsenal of tools to help reduce the need for a car. Give it some thought.
By the Numbers
1. Keeping up on your car’s maintenance, things like regular oil changes, air-filter changes, and spark plug replacements can increase your MPG up to 25%.
2. The production of each car, on average, releases 4 tons of carbon emissions and nearly 700 pounds of other pollutants into the atmosphere.
3. In 2000, the U.S. produced 2 million gallons of biodiesel; in 2005 it produced around 75 million gallons. In September of 2006, sixty-five companies reported having plants currently under construction and thirteen more are planning expansions.
4. The average fuel economy of passenger cars peaked in 1987 when it was 22.1 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks. The EPA estimates that 2006 average fuel economy, despite two decades of improvements in automobile technology, is 21 mpg.
5. Switching from an average car to a 13 mpg SUV would use as much energy as leaving your refrigerator door open for six years. (SC)
6. The average rush-hour commuter spent 62 hours in traffic in 2000.
7. In small urban and rural areas, traffic and congestion is increasing 11% each year, which is twice as fast as in urban areas.
Each Summer, high levels of smog pollution lead to 159,000 trips to the emergency room, 53,000 hospital admissions, and 6 million asthma attacks.
The Sierra Club estimates that the average yearly cost of driving a single-occupant car is between $4,826 and $9,685, while the average cost of a year´s worth of public transportation is between $200 and $2000.
Industries And Power Plants Downstream From Atlanta Also Need Water: Not Just For Endangered Species After All
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.24.07
Business & Politics, Treehugger.com
When Governor Sonny Perdue of the US State of Georgia filed a legal complaint and then formally asked for the support of the Bush Administration to force the US Army Corps of Engineers to stop releasing water from Atlanta's Lake Lanier, perhaps he did not realize that the Corps had a duty to balance competing water demands far beyond protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 'a handful of mussels and a few sturgeon' in neighboring states. Perhaps, before his voice was trumpeted on broadcast news, blaming the ESA and the USAE for Atlanta's water crisis, the Governor's staff did not have means to discover the several water-consuming, job-producing industries on the Chattahoochee River, downstream from Atlanta. Perhaps he really didn't know about the nuclear power plant either.
We used this thing called "Google" (hoping CNN and the Governor's staff learn to give it a try) and soon discovered that Alabama's Farley Plant, a twin-reactor nuclear generating station, had recently been relicensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to withdraw from, and discharge water to, the Chattahoochee River, not too far downstream from the Alabama State line. Check out Jasmin's recent post if you want more detail on the twin Farleys.
The re-licensing means that the Farley's have many more years of low-carbon footprint operating to come, unless there is a power outage due to low water. Wondering if the grid fed electricity from Farley makes its way back to Atlanta?
Here's a snippet from the Federal Register announcement to which we refer:
There could be unseen dangers in admitting that the Federal Government has a legitimate role to play in balancing competing water-consuming and resource-protecting interests across state lines. And we all know what those are.
Rather than refer back to the several recent posts TreeHugger has done on drought impact scenarios in the Atlanta Georgia region, we direct your attention to some excellent current reporting via WALB News, "South Georgia surface water also shrinking"
Update: Per the Alabama-based Enterprise Ledger
“Atlanta [Georgia] can’t spend all summer during a drought watering their lawns and flowers and then expect someone else to bail them out. If Atlanta had done what Birmingham [Alabama] did in June, then Atlanta’s problem today would be much less severe,” said Riley.
Image credit::Cryptome, Farley Reactors, Eyballing, (via Google Earth).
Business & Politics, Treehugger.com
When Governor Sonny Perdue of the US State of Georgia filed a legal complaint and then formally asked for the support of the Bush Administration to force the US Army Corps of Engineers to stop releasing water from Atlanta's Lake Lanier, perhaps he did not realize that the Corps had a duty to balance competing water demands far beyond protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 'a handful of mussels and a few sturgeon' in neighboring states. Perhaps, before his voice was trumpeted on broadcast news, blaming the ESA and the USAE for Atlanta's water crisis, the Governor's staff did not have means to discover the several water-consuming, job-producing industries on the Chattahoochee River, downstream from Atlanta. Perhaps he really didn't know about the nuclear power plant either.
We used this thing called "Google" (hoping CNN and the Governor's staff learn to give it a try) and soon discovered that Alabama's Farley Plant, a twin-reactor nuclear generating station, had recently been relicensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to withdraw from, and discharge water to, the Chattahoochee River, not too far downstream from the Alabama State line. Check out Jasmin's recent post if you want more detail on the twin Farleys.
The re-licensing means that the Farley's have many more years of low-carbon footprint operating to come, unless there is a power outage due to low water. Wondering if the grid fed electricity from Farley makes its way back to Atlanta?
Here's a snippet from the Federal Register announcement to which we refer:
Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has issued Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and NPF-8 to Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (SNC or the licensee), the operator of the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant (FNP), Units 1 and 2. Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-2 authorizes operation of FNP, Unit 1, by the licensee at reactor core power levels not in excess of 2775 megawatts thermal in accordance with the provisions of the FNP, Unit 1, renewed license and its technical specifications. Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-8 authorizes operation of FNP, Unit 2, by the licensee at reactor core power levels not in excess of 2775 megawatts thermal in accordance with the provisions of the FNP, Unit 2, renewed license and its technical specifications. The FNP units are Westinghouse pressurized-water nuclear reactors located in Houston County, Alabama, on the west bank of the Chattahoochee River.
There could be unseen dangers in admitting that the Federal Government has a legitimate role to play in balancing competing water-consuming and resource-protecting interests across state lines. And we all know what those are.
Rather than refer back to the several recent posts TreeHugger has done on drought impact scenarios in the Atlanta Georgia region, we direct your attention to some excellent current reporting via WALB News, "South Georgia surface water also shrinking"
Update: Per the Alabama-based Enterprise Ledger
“Atlanta [Georgia] can’t spend all summer during a drought watering their lawns and flowers and then expect someone else to bail them out. If Atlanta had done what Birmingham [Alabama] did in June, then Atlanta’s problem today would be much less severe,” said Riley.
Image credit::Cryptome, Farley Reactors, Eyballing, (via Google Earth).
If you've got the time, it's worth the rhyme.
FWD: New babblings from Dr. Sluice
McElligot's Cesspool
"Young man," laughed the plumber, "you're a dumb-ass fool!You'll never catch fish in McElligot's Cesspool!"
"You might catch some flies or intestinal wormsor a parasitic cluster of bacterial germs,or toilet paper waded in a very tight bunch,or bits of salmonella-laced regurgitated lunch,but it's a plain simple truth, which you plain can't avoid, that you won't catch a fish, but you might catch typhoid."
"Really?" asked Marco,"You think? Think you're right?I'm sort of surprised,now that you're in my sight."
"You seem sort of the sort who can barely form thought,a curse that your inbreeding parents hath brought –but I'll tell you something, now that you've got me started,I'll try to speak clearly, because you're clearly retarded...
"I'm fully aware that this pool's full of crap,and there must be causation for this unhappy mishap,as not-too-long-ago this pool was pristine,and causality suggests that sometime in-betweennot-too-long-ago and this sad current scene, a cause has effected McElligot's Stream -the source, of course, of what pours in this pool,where I fish while a plumber maligns me as 'fool.'
"Now, empirical method suggests logical means -when looking for causes, we'd best look upstream,upstream where McElligot's Stream flows downstream,once clean and pure, now impure and unclean,through McElligot's Forest, once proud and tall, now broken and burned and not standing at all…
"...for McElligot's Forest is now McElligot's Pasture,it's passed into grassland for for-profit venture;the grazing and raising of the Pre-Poll-ed Berferd -a beast so immense that one Berferd's a whole herd.
"The massive Polled Berferd stands twelve million tons,her weight is so great, shakes the earth when she runs,and when time comes to butcher, no sledge will suffice,they instead must employ a small nuclear device. This might seem extreme, but will at least guaranteethat all Berferd is irradiated and completelygerm-free.
"And butchers then butcher the one edible bitof Berferd, one inch below the left armpit,and that one half-once, slightly more, or slightly less,is flown to Los Angeles, via Federal Express,to be eaten at the pleasure and the leisure and the whim of the Richedester of the Richedester (you've heard about them).
"It may seem wasteful, those tasteful eight gramsthat cost two million acres of old forest stands,but markets will bear what money will buywhen markets go piggish and demand a supply.
"And what, you may ask, of McElligot's Stream?How is this relevant and what does this mean?I've pause to mention a subject so unpleasantas there may be ladies or gentlefolk present…
"Well… Polled Berferds crap, and they fart quite a bit,in fact and indeed, they're quite full of shit,and with no forest to filter those mountainous pilesthey spread forth unfiltered for miles and for miles, and pile into the stream where downstream it flowsright here to this pool, and right up in your nose."
The plumber turned pale and puked in his throat,he swallowed it down, but managed to quoteaccidentally, most likely, words from Joseph Conrad,"the horror," he mumbled, as if he had gone mad…
To the plumber, Marco paid no respect and no mindand continued his ranting akin and in kind; "The Berferd is only one part of this mess,others take part, some in more, some in less…"
"If you skip up ahead, just a bit, in this book, you'll find we found answers when we took a look past McElligot's Forest – or what was before,upstream many miles and then many miles morethrough McElligot's Foothills which rise to the base of McElligot's Mountain, an inspiring placewhere McElligot's Waterfalls fall from on high,from up there somewhere between mountain and sky.
"But where McElligot's Falls once fell like a fountain,a drip merely dripped from McElligot's Mountain…
"What freak of nature or nature of freakcould contrive to contort a cascade so to tweakthis barreling torrent to so barely a leak?
"To un-fuddle this muddle and make clear the oblique,to your feet, dear reader, make haste as I speak,for we must climb, and then climb, toward McElligot's Peak…
"Where McElligot's Glacier has stood icy and clearthrough the iciest of ages, for two millions of year,freezing and melting and freezing by season,over and over with rhythmical reason,to ice from snow to rain from steam, and the source, of course, of McElligot's Stream.
"As we summit the summit atop of the topof McElligot's Mountain, our hearts leap and stopand catch in our throats, and break as if clay,for McElligot's Glacier has melted away!Gone! Or replaced, to be more precise, by McElligot's Puddle-With-A-Few-Cubes-Of-Ice.
"No freak of nature, this unnatural change -the melting of glaciers on each mountain range.'What nature of freak?' is the nature of question.So, naturally, we're off to where Congress is in session and that imbecilic hick and insufferable jerk-off, Senator Jimbo O'Okey-O'Dokey O'Inhofesits on the Committee Of Environmental Degradation,committed to degrading each environmental regulation."
"For Jimbo's pockets are lined deep with coal.He's oil and he's coal to the depths of his soul.And when science deduces, as clear as the day,as plain as plain fact, and in ten thousand ways, that the reason our planet is beginning to broil is the carbon released by the burning of oiland the carbon released by the burning of coal,Jimbo is offended to depths of his soul.
"So, for years, Jimbo has sought no solutionto the mounting evidence of Carbon Pollution,and that Jimbo O'Dokey, like all of his ilk,when lost for excuses to swindle or bilk,pulled an ace from his sleeve in attempt to appease us, and rejected science in the name of Sweet Jesus(his personal Jesus, who speaks only to him -they also go bowling and work out at the gym).
"So, Jimbo doesn't believe in Climatology…not Glaciology… or Meteorology…Geophysics, Statistics or plain-old Geology,Oceanography, Hydrology or basic Biology,and so on and so forth for So-Many-ologies - that Jimbo O'Okey O'Dokey O'Inhofe,shot in the foot by shooting his mouth off,is so seemingly mad, and obsessed with Mythology;far too far-gone to be saved by Psychology,Pathology, Neurology or even Proctology - it's so seemingly sad; we'd issue an apologyif it wasn't all a put-on – just a Big Phony-ology -a study in phony-baloney so corruptthat even Sweet Jesus can't cover it up.
"In a republic where public involvement is soughta citizenry could insist (and perhaps it ought),that Big Phony Jimbo and all we electwho deny the existence of the greenhouse effect,fly a fact-finding mission to what lies between us - between us and The Sun - our lovely sister Venus.
"On Venus, the greenhouse effect ran away,and a carbon atmosphere has since held its sway.On the surface, at 750 (Fahrenheit) degrees,Led, Zinc (and Senators) are melted with ease.
"And while Okey O'Dokey has fun in the sun,responsible representatives could get something done,and radically alter our carbon emissionsby imposing and enforcing strict carbon restrictions.
"And then maybe… just maybe… things could improve,cooler heads could prevail, from the brink we could move -from the brink of extinction's bottomless pit,where we're standing right now, standing right before it, pretending it's not there, and wondering why it's hot.Maybe… just maybe… but then again… maybe not."
"Catatonic, the plumber was struck mute and dumb -curled in fetal position, and sucking his thumb.In just speculation, it'd be fair to say,his chance encounter with Marco had ruined his day."
"Now, one last thing, Plumber, should be one thing enough."Marco grumbled in a voice that was a little bit gruff,"You diss me for fishing in this crap-filled pool,presume you know better and assume I'm a fool, but your presumption is false and assumption thus erring -I'm not fishing for a fish – not a perch or a herring…"
"Last weekend while gambling and whoring out west,I put forth a wager to be proven by test -and bet twenty thousand with a wealthy young twit,who told me my fishing pole couldn't catch shit!"
McElligot's Cesspool
"Young man," laughed the plumber, "you're a dumb-ass fool!You'll never catch fish in McElligot's Cesspool!"
"You might catch some flies or intestinal wormsor a parasitic cluster of bacterial germs,or toilet paper waded in a very tight bunch,or bits of salmonella-laced regurgitated lunch,but it's a plain simple truth, which you plain can't avoid, that you won't catch a fish, but you might catch typhoid."
"Really?" asked Marco,"You think? Think you're right?I'm sort of surprised,now that you're in my sight."
"You seem sort of the sort who can barely form thought,a curse that your inbreeding parents hath brought –but I'll tell you something, now that you've got me started,I'll try to speak clearly, because you're clearly retarded...
"I'm fully aware that this pool's full of crap,and there must be causation for this unhappy mishap,as not-too-long-ago this pool was pristine,and causality suggests that sometime in-betweennot-too-long-ago and this sad current scene, a cause has effected McElligot's Stream -the source, of course, of what pours in this pool,where I fish while a plumber maligns me as 'fool.'
"Now, empirical method suggests logical means -when looking for causes, we'd best look upstream,upstream where McElligot's Stream flows downstream,once clean and pure, now impure and unclean,through McElligot's Forest, once proud and tall, now broken and burned and not standing at all…
"...for McElligot's Forest is now McElligot's Pasture,it's passed into grassland for for-profit venture;the grazing and raising of the Pre-Poll-ed Berferd -a beast so immense that one Berferd's a whole herd.
"The massive Polled Berferd stands twelve million tons,her weight is so great, shakes the earth when she runs,and when time comes to butcher, no sledge will suffice,they instead must employ a small nuclear device. This might seem extreme, but will at least guaranteethat all Berferd is irradiated and completelygerm-free.
"And butchers then butcher the one edible bitof Berferd, one inch below the left armpit,and that one half-once, slightly more, or slightly less,is flown to Los Angeles, via Federal Express,to be eaten at the pleasure and the leisure and the whim of the Richedester of the Richedester (you've heard about them).
"It may seem wasteful, those tasteful eight gramsthat cost two million acres of old forest stands,but markets will bear what money will buywhen markets go piggish and demand a supply.
"And what, you may ask, of McElligot's Stream?How is this relevant and what does this mean?I've pause to mention a subject so unpleasantas there may be ladies or gentlefolk present…
"Well… Polled Berferds crap, and they fart quite a bit,in fact and indeed, they're quite full of shit,and with no forest to filter those mountainous pilesthey spread forth unfiltered for miles and for miles, and pile into the stream where downstream it flowsright here to this pool, and right up in your nose."
The plumber turned pale and puked in his throat,he swallowed it down, but managed to quoteaccidentally, most likely, words from Joseph Conrad,"the horror," he mumbled, as if he had gone mad…
To the plumber, Marco paid no respect and no mindand continued his ranting akin and in kind; "The Berferd is only one part of this mess,others take part, some in more, some in less…"
"If you skip up ahead, just a bit, in this book, you'll find we found answers when we took a look past McElligot's Forest – or what was before,upstream many miles and then many miles morethrough McElligot's Foothills which rise to the base of McElligot's Mountain, an inspiring placewhere McElligot's Waterfalls fall from on high,from up there somewhere between mountain and sky.
"But where McElligot's Falls once fell like a fountain,a drip merely dripped from McElligot's Mountain…
"What freak of nature or nature of freakcould contrive to contort a cascade so to tweakthis barreling torrent to so barely a leak?
"To un-fuddle this muddle and make clear the oblique,to your feet, dear reader, make haste as I speak,for we must climb, and then climb, toward McElligot's Peak…
"Where McElligot's Glacier has stood icy and clearthrough the iciest of ages, for two millions of year,freezing and melting and freezing by season,over and over with rhythmical reason,to ice from snow to rain from steam, and the source, of course, of McElligot's Stream.
"As we summit the summit atop of the topof McElligot's Mountain, our hearts leap and stopand catch in our throats, and break as if clay,for McElligot's Glacier has melted away!Gone! Or replaced, to be more precise, by McElligot's Puddle-With-A-Few-Cubes-Of-Ice.
"No freak of nature, this unnatural change -the melting of glaciers on each mountain range.'What nature of freak?' is the nature of question.So, naturally, we're off to where Congress is in session and that imbecilic hick and insufferable jerk-off, Senator Jimbo O'Okey-O'Dokey O'Inhofesits on the Committee Of Environmental Degradation,committed to degrading each environmental regulation."
"For Jimbo's pockets are lined deep with coal.He's oil and he's coal to the depths of his soul.And when science deduces, as clear as the day,as plain as plain fact, and in ten thousand ways, that the reason our planet is beginning to broil is the carbon released by the burning of oiland the carbon released by the burning of coal,Jimbo is offended to depths of his soul.
"So, for years, Jimbo has sought no solutionto the mounting evidence of Carbon Pollution,and that Jimbo O'Dokey, like all of his ilk,when lost for excuses to swindle or bilk,pulled an ace from his sleeve in attempt to appease us, and rejected science in the name of Sweet Jesus(his personal Jesus, who speaks only to him -they also go bowling and work out at the gym).
"So, Jimbo doesn't believe in Climatology…not Glaciology… or Meteorology…Geophysics, Statistics or plain-old Geology,Oceanography, Hydrology or basic Biology,and so on and so forth for So-Many-ologies - that Jimbo O'Okey O'Dokey O'Inhofe,shot in the foot by shooting his mouth off,is so seemingly mad, and obsessed with Mythology;far too far-gone to be saved by Psychology,Pathology, Neurology or even Proctology - it's so seemingly sad; we'd issue an apologyif it wasn't all a put-on – just a Big Phony-ology -a study in phony-baloney so corruptthat even Sweet Jesus can't cover it up.
"In a republic where public involvement is soughta citizenry could insist (and perhaps it ought),that Big Phony Jimbo and all we electwho deny the existence of the greenhouse effect,fly a fact-finding mission to what lies between us - between us and The Sun - our lovely sister Venus.
"On Venus, the greenhouse effect ran away,and a carbon atmosphere has since held its sway.On the surface, at 750 (Fahrenheit) degrees,Led, Zinc (and Senators) are melted with ease.
"And while Okey O'Dokey has fun in the sun,responsible representatives could get something done,and radically alter our carbon emissionsby imposing and enforcing strict carbon restrictions.
"And then maybe… just maybe… things could improve,cooler heads could prevail, from the brink we could move -from the brink of extinction's bottomless pit,where we're standing right now, standing right before it, pretending it's not there, and wondering why it's hot.Maybe… just maybe… but then again… maybe not."
"Catatonic, the plumber was struck mute and dumb -curled in fetal position, and sucking his thumb.In just speculation, it'd be fair to say,his chance encounter with Marco had ruined his day."
"Now, one last thing, Plumber, should be one thing enough."Marco grumbled in a voice that was a little bit gruff,"You diss me for fishing in this crap-filled pool,presume you know better and assume I'm a fool, but your presumption is false and assumption thus erring -I'm not fishing for a fish – not a perch or a herring…"
"Last weekend while gambling and whoring out west,I put forth a wager to be proven by test -and bet twenty thousand with a wealthy young twit,who told me my fishing pole couldn't catch shit!"
World’s first sustainable tuna fishery certified
WWF news release
Mongabay.com
September 9, 2007
The world’s first certified sustainable tuna fishery was announced today, a move that could help save one of the world’s most valuable fish — and the fishing industry that relies on it — from extinction.
The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA) based in San Diego, California, has been officially certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent standard-setting organization that ensures fish are caught according to strict methods that avoid overfishing and bycatch (the unintended capture of other fish, seabirds and marine mammals).
WWF sponsored the assessment of the fishery, hailing the move as a hopeful sign for dramatically declining tuna stocks, fishing livelihoods and food security.
(MORE...)
Mongabay.com
September 9, 2007
The world’s first certified sustainable tuna fishery was announced today, a move that could help save one of the world’s most valuable fish — and the fishing industry that relies on it — from extinction.
The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA) based in San Diego, California, has been officially certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent standard-setting organization that ensures fish are caught according to strict methods that avoid overfishing and bycatch (the unintended capture of other fish, seabirds and marine mammals).
WWF sponsored the assessment of the fishery, hailing the move as a hopeful sign for dramatically declining tuna stocks, fishing livelihoods and food security.
(MORE...)
Meet the Solar-Powered Trash Can
Businessweek.com
Success Stories
April 13, 2007, 4:32PM EST
Seahorse Power's BigBelly holds four to five times as much garbage as conventional receptacles. And it's cleaning up with local governments
by Jeffrey Gangemi
Back in 1999, during a walk along Boston's bustling Charles Street, Jim Poss decided he wanted to help his city resolve a messy problem he had encountered on almost every street corner: overflowing trash cans. At the time, Poss was working for electric-car company Selectria, so he was comfortable with solar technology and motors. He worked out a makeshift design for a garbage can fitted with a solar-powered trash compactor that he thought could reduce the amount of trash spilling onto streets (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/17/06, "Turning Garbage to Gold").
His brainstorm eventually led to the creation of his 15-employee, Needham (Mass.)-based Seahorse Power, which sold its first solar-powered receptacle in 2005. Now, there are about 500 units, named BigBelly, installed around world. The selling point: Each BigBelly holds between four and five times the amount of a conventional trash can, thereby reducing the amount of trips a municipal government needs to make to collect it. By adopting his technology, Poss says that municipalities save time and money and reduce fuel consumption and wear and tear on city streets.
By improving upon the existing waste disposal management system, Seahorse Power is also attracting attention from major players in the roughly $45 billion waste-hauling industry. "The trash is still there. It's just being compacted. I think a lot of businesses would be interested in using [Seahorse's] technology," says Seahorse advisor Bill Hanley, the vice-president of sales and marketing at 2,800-employee, $550 million waste hauler Casella, which is considering investing in Seahorse.
Trial Run in Vail
Of course, breaking into such an entrenched industry has its share of challenges. Adoption of BigBelly units has been slow, but is increasing exponentially. In 2005, Seahorse had about $275,000 in sales. In its second year, it reached $1 million. "Our primary customers are municipal governments, the U.S. Forest Service, and state parks, so there's a difficulty because they often have annual sales cycles. They try a few and then buy more, and that's guaranteed to take a year," says Poss, adding that most large orders are coming from institutions like the Cincinnati Parks Dept. that have already conducted a limited trial of the BigBelly.
When Poss, 34, started the company, he was focused on making an easily replicable product, and bringing it to market quickly. "A lot of renewable-energy and clean-tech companies are in the tech-development stage, but aren't in the revenue stage. When I started the company, I wanted to do something now," says Poss (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/19/07, "Head Starts for Clean-Tech Startups").
Vail Ski Resort in Colorado was Seahorse's first customer. The resort had trash cans stationed all over a huge mountain, and often would burn six gallons of diesel fuel each way on a two-hour round trip just to empty a few receptacles. Though the first BigBelly cost $10,000 to build, Poss sold three of them to Vail for $5,500 each. Now, a unit costs between $3,600 and $3,900, and the next generation of the BigBelly is already in development, as well as units for commercial sites and for recycling.
Focus on Durability
For municipal governments, the technology is catching on quickly. "Our issue is that we're all over the city and have cans in remote areas that we have to go and pick up every day. Now we can go every four or five days. That's really a no-brainer," says Gerald Checco, superintendent of the Cincinnati Park Board, which manages 800 trash cans in 150 parks throughout the city.
Checco's department bought five BigBellys on Earth Day 2006 and conducted a pilot program in an attempt to eventually reduce the city's trash collection resource consumption by half. Checco says he plans to purchase 200 to 300 more BigBellys in the next year to replace about 500 to 600 traditional cans.
Another key to Seahorse's growth is building a durable product. Last year, the company only had replaced $60 worth of parts on 400 total machines. "The machine is really simple. It has an enclosed motor that runs off a car battery and turns motorcycle chains that bring down a big metal ram. The parts themselves are reliable and overbuilt. If we didn't make a machine that was reliable, we would be in huge trouble," says Poss. "Even if it breaks down once a month, it's a pain in the neck, and nobody's buying more."
More than making his product durable, Poss says his formula for commercial longevity is environmental sustainability, especially in a world that's becoming increasingly aware of global warming (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/2/07, "Court Turns Up the Heat on Global Warming"). "A carbon cap is inevitable, and how do you pick up the trash when the cost of diesel quadruples in a couple years?" asks Poss. He's confident that his company will be around long enough to help answer that question.
Success Stories
April 13, 2007, 4:32PM EST
Seahorse Power's BigBelly holds four to five times as much garbage as conventional receptacles. And it's cleaning up with local governments
by Jeffrey Gangemi
Back in 1999, during a walk along Boston's bustling Charles Street, Jim Poss decided he wanted to help his city resolve a messy problem he had encountered on almost every street corner: overflowing trash cans. At the time, Poss was working for electric-car company Selectria, so he was comfortable with solar technology and motors. He worked out a makeshift design for a garbage can fitted with a solar-powered trash compactor that he thought could reduce the amount of trash spilling onto streets (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/17/06, "Turning Garbage to Gold").
His brainstorm eventually led to the creation of his 15-employee, Needham (Mass.)-based Seahorse Power, which sold its first solar-powered receptacle in 2005. Now, there are about 500 units, named BigBelly, installed around world. The selling point: Each BigBelly holds between four and five times the amount of a conventional trash can, thereby reducing the amount of trips a municipal government needs to make to collect it. By adopting his technology, Poss says that municipalities save time and money and reduce fuel consumption and wear and tear on city streets.
By improving upon the existing waste disposal management system, Seahorse Power is also attracting attention from major players in the roughly $45 billion waste-hauling industry. "The trash is still there. It's just being compacted. I think a lot of businesses would be interested in using [Seahorse's] technology," says Seahorse advisor Bill Hanley, the vice-president of sales and marketing at 2,800-employee, $550 million waste hauler Casella, which is considering investing in Seahorse.
Trial Run in Vail
Of course, breaking into such an entrenched industry has its share of challenges. Adoption of BigBelly units has been slow, but is increasing exponentially. In 2005, Seahorse had about $275,000 in sales. In its second year, it reached $1 million. "Our primary customers are municipal governments, the U.S. Forest Service, and state parks, so there's a difficulty because they often have annual sales cycles. They try a few and then buy more, and that's guaranteed to take a year," says Poss, adding that most large orders are coming from institutions like the Cincinnati Parks Dept. that have already conducted a limited trial of the BigBelly.
When Poss, 34, started the company, he was focused on making an easily replicable product, and bringing it to market quickly. "A lot of renewable-energy and clean-tech companies are in the tech-development stage, but aren't in the revenue stage. When I started the company, I wanted to do something now," says Poss (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/19/07, "Head Starts for Clean-Tech Startups").
Vail Ski Resort in Colorado was Seahorse's first customer. The resort had trash cans stationed all over a huge mountain, and often would burn six gallons of diesel fuel each way on a two-hour round trip just to empty a few receptacles. Though the first BigBelly cost $10,000 to build, Poss sold three of them to Vail for $5,500 each. Now, a unit costs between $3,600 and $3,900, and the next generation of the BigBelly is already in development, as well as units for commercial sites and for recycling.
Focus on Durability
For municipal governments, the technology is catching on quickly. "Our issue is that we're all over the city and have cans in remote areas that we have to go and pick up every day. Now we can go every four or five days. That's really a no-brainer," says Gerald Checco, superintendent of the Cincinnati Park Board, which manages 800 trash cans in 150 parks throughout the city.
Checco's department bought five BigBellys on Earth Day 2006 and conducted a pilot program in an attempt to eventually reduce the city's trash collection resource consumption by half. Checco says he plans to purchase 200 to 300 more BigBellys in the next year to replace about 500 to 600 traditional cans.
Another key to Seahorse's growth is building a durable product. Last year, the company only had replaced $60 worth of parts on 400 total machines. "The machine is really simple. It has an enclosed motor that runs off a car battery and turns motorcycle chains that bring down a big metal ram. The parts themselves are reliable and overbuilt. If we didn't make a machine that was reliable, we would be in huge trouble," says Poss. "Even if it breaks down once a month, it's a pain in the neck, and nobody's buying more."
More than making his product durable, Poss says his formula for commercial longevity is environmental sustainability, especially in a world that's becoming increasingly aware of global warming (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/2/07, "Court Turns Up the Heat on Global Warming"). "A carbon cap is inevitable, and how do you pick up the trash when the cost of diesel quadruples in a couple years?" asks Poss. He's confident that his company will be around long enough to help answer that question.
Michael Jantzen's Solar Wind Pavilion
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.23.07
Design & Architecture, Treehugger.com
Michael Jantzen of the Transformation House and the Wind Shaped Pavilion proposes yet another wind and sun powered structure, this time for the California State University at Fullerton.
A vertical axis turbine and four rings of photovoltaics generate electricity that is stored in batteries, or as Jantzen says "Some of the electrical energy gathered by the wind turbine and the photovoltaic cells can also be stored in the form of hydrogen gas. This gas is formed from the wind and sun energy gathered by the structure and from rainwater that is collected from the canopy roof."
"Aesthetically, the structure was conceived of as a large umbrella that is symbolically shaped by the rotation of the wind turbine. Conceptually, as the turbine rotates and gathers energy from the wind, this energy is sent down into the surrounding campus landscape in the form of concentric rings of energy. These rings can also be thought of symbolically as a magnet that works in reverse to draw people toward it."
Design & Architecture, Treehugger.com
Michael Jantzen of the Transformation House and the Wind Shaped Pavilion proposes yet another wind and sun powered structure, this time for the California State University at Fullerton.
A vertical axis turbine and four rings of photovoltaics generate electricity that is stored in batteries, or as Jantzen says "Some of the electrical energy gathered by the wind turbine and the photovoltaic cells can also be stored in the form of hydrogen gas. This gas is formed from the wind and sun energy gathered by the structure and from rainwater that is collected from the canopy roof."
"Aesthetically, the structure was conceived of as a large umbrella that is symbolically shaped by the rotation of the wind turbine. Conceptually, as the turbine rotates and gathers energy from the wind, this energy is sent down into the surrounding campus landscape in the form of concentric rings of energy. These rings can also be thought of symbolically as a magnet that works in reverse to draw people toward it."
Windspire: 1 kW Wind Turbine for Your Backyard
by Collin Dunn, Seattle on 09. 8.07
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
With its sleek, bladeless design and capacity to produce nearly 2000 kilowatt hours per year, the Windspire might just inspire some YIMBYism -- that's Yes, In My BackYard -- about wind power. At 30 feet tall and 2 feet wide, the propeller-less design is bird-safe, relatively quiet -- it produces about 25 decibels of noise at five feet, roughly equivalent to the average noise of a residential neighborhood at night -- and doesn't take much breeze to get it spinning; it fires up at 8 mph, and is rated to survive 100 mph gusts. It comes with a wireless modem that connects to your computer, so you can sit back and watch the energy in action at any time.
At about $4,000, it ain't exactly cheap -- at 10 cents a kilowatt, it'll take about 20 years to get any return on your investment -- but it sure is cool and sure beats getting your energy from coal-fired power plants, which pretty much suck. Learn more about Windspire -- performance & installation specs, maintenance required (not much), test data, etc. -- over at Mariah Power's website.
(See photos)
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
With its sleek, bladeless design and capacity to produce nearly 2000 kilowatt hours per year, the Windspire might just inspire some YIMBYism -- that's Yes, In My BackYard -- about wind power. At 30 feet tall and 2 feet wide, the propeller-less design is bird-safe, relatively quiet -- it produces about 25 decibels of noise at five feet, roughly equivalent to the average noise of a residential neighborhood at night -- and doesn't take much breeze to get it spinning; it fires up at 8 mph, and is rated to survive 100 mph gusts. It comes with a wireless modem that connects to your computer, so you can sit back and watch the energy in action at any time.
At about $4,000, it ain't exactly cheap -- at 10 cents a kilowatt, it'll take about 20 years to get any return on your investment -- but it sure is cool and sure beats getting your energy from coal-fired power plants, which pretty much suck. Learn more about Windspire -- performance & installation specs, maintenance required (not much), test data, etc. -- over at Mariah Power's website.
(See photos)
New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production
Colorado's State Univ.'s panels will cost less than $1 per watt.
Industry Week
Compiled By Adrienne Selko
Sept. 10, 2007 -- Colorado State University's method for manufacturing low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels is nearing mass production. AVA Solar Inc. will start production by the end of next year on the technology developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State. The new 200-megawatt factory is expected to employ up to 500 people. Based on the average household usage, 200 megawatts will power 40,000 U.S. homes.
Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally generated electricity.
Sampath has developed a continuous, automated manufacturing process for solar panels using glass coating with a cadmium telluride thin film instead of the standard high-cost crystalline silicon. Because the process produces high efficiency devices (ranging from 11% to 13%) at a very high rate and yield, it can be done much more cheaply than with existing technologies. The cost to the consumer could be as low as $2 per watt, about half the current cost of solar panels. In addition, this solar technology need not be tied to a grid, so it can be affordably installed and operated in nearly any location.
The process is a low waste process with less than 2% of the materials used in production needing to be recycled. It also makes better use of raw materials since the process converts solar energy into electricity more efficiently. Cadmium telluride solar panels require 100 times less semiconductor material than high-cost crystalline silicon panels.
"This technology offers a significant improvement in capital and labor productivity and overall manufacturing efficiency," said Sampath, director of Colorado State's Materials Engineering Laboratory.
Sampath has spent the past 16 years perfecting the technology. In that time, annual global sales of photovoltaic technology have grown to approximately 2 gigawatts or two billion watts -- roughly a $6 billion industry. Demand has increased nearly 40% a year for each of the past five years -- a trend that analysts and industry experts expect to continue.
By 2010, solar cell manufacturing is expected to be a $25 billion-plus industry.
Industry Week
Compiled By Adrienne Selko
Sept. 10, 2007 -- Colorado State University's method for manufacturing low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels is nearing mass production. AVA Solar Inc. will start production by the end of next year on the technology developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State. The new 200-megawatt factory is expected to employ up to 500 people. Based on the average household usage, 200 megawatts will power 40,000 U.S. homes.
Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally generated electricity.
Sampath has developed a continuous, automated manufacturing process for solar panels using glass coating with a cadmium telluride thin film instead of the standard high-cost crystalline silicon. Because the process produces high efficiency devices (ranging from 11% to 13%) at a very high rate and yield, it can be done much more cheaply than with existing technologies. The cost to the consumer could be as low as $2 per watt, about half the current cost of solar panels. In addition, this solar technology need not be tied to a grid, so it can be affordably installed and operated in nearly any location.
The process is a low waste process with less than 2% of the materials used in production needing to be recycled. It also makes better use of raw materials since the process converts solar energy into electricity more efficiently. Cadmium telluride solar panels require 100 times less semiconductor material than high-cost crystalline silicon panels.
"This technology offers a significant improvement in capital and labor productivity and overall manufacturing efficiency," said Sampath, director of Colorado State's Materials Engineering Laboratory.
Sampath has spent the past 16 years perfecting the technology. In that time, annual global sales of photovoltaic technology have grown to approximately 2 gigawatts or two billion watts -- roughly a $6 billion industry. Demand has increased nearly 40% a year for each of the past five years -- a trend that analysts and industry experts expect to continue.
By 2010, solar cell manufacturing is expected to be a $25 billion-plus industry.
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