Friday, November 7th, 2008
The World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Project
Earlier today, concentrated solar company SolFocus announced that it has signed a deal to install over 10 MW of its systems in Spain for EMPE Solar. Upon its completion in 2010, the $103 million, multi-site project will be the largest concentrated solar deployment in the world. Provides energy for 40,000 homes.
New Coating= Solar Panels Harvest 96% of Available Sunshine
A new type of reflective coating can make solar panels far more efficient, soaking up nearly all available sunlight from nearly any angle. Current solar panels — which convert energy from the sun into electricity — absorb only about two-thirds of available sunlight.
Solar Cells Set New Performance Mark
Researchers are reporting the highest efficiency ever for one type of solar cells in a breakthrough that could lead to more widespread use of solar energy.
Trees Are Nature’s Climate Air Conditioners, Study Finds
If you’re reading this, I probably don’t need to waste my time trying to convince you that trees are great. They absorb carbon dioxide, they can be used to power small remote sensors and they’re pretty darn nice to look at too. Now a new study by a team of scientists from Germany and the UK has discovered another beneficial property…
Millennial Youth to Take Over America’s Environment?
Generation We is new to me. Have you heard of it? It’s the Millennial Generation of Americans born between the years 1978 and 2000. They are being hailed as the next “greatest generation.†I take just a liitle offense to that statement, being GenX myself.
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Friday, October 17th, 2008
In Downturn, Solar Industry Sees Bright Days Ahead
People in the solar industry are hopeful that the sun is a good place to put money these days. To be sure, the financial crunch is rippling through even the fast-growing solar business: With falling house prices and general belt-tightening, consumers may be more reluctant to purchase solar panels.
The New Prius Looks Like the Old Prius
Toyota confirms photos making the rounds of the interwebz are are indeed shots of the 2010 Prius that no one was supposed to see until the Detroit auto show in January.
New Solar Hybrid Panels Will Boost Efficiency and Power
The new hybrid material – an electrically conductive plastic combined with metals including molybdenum and titanium – is the first that is sensitive to all the colours in the rainbow, allowing it to absorb all the energy contained in visible light at once.
Special Report: How Our Economy Is Killing The Earth
Most of us accept the need for a more sustainable way to live, by reducing carbon emissions, developing renewable technology and increasing energy efficiency. But are these efforts to save the planet doomed?
Could Solar Power Satellites Beam Down Gigawatts of Energy?
How pie-in-the-sky is Ben Bova’s space satellite scheme? Mr. Bova, the president emeritus of the National Space Society and a prolific science fiction author, calling on the next president to build an armada of solar power satellites (SPS) — basically large accumulations of solar cells — to help meet a substantial chunk of our energy needs.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
I just (accidentally) came across the coolest website.
This dude, wo may just have won the lottery, is building a house out in the moutains. He is making this bad-ass house, with solar panels and a wind turbine. You have to check out his pics.
Take a look here.
Click the “Photo” links at the top of the page for all the photos.
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Monday, April 21st, 2008
Wow, what a long day. Driving over to the new house takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It seems longer than it is.
Today was the big day…not only for us, but also for the sellers. It must feel great to sell a house. I mean, your mind is most likely on your new one and all you want to do is to get the process over with. Congrats.
We are thrilled. I think it is a very good move. From what we gather, people tend to move around in the same town a lot, meaning, they like the town. That’s a good thing.
We met the realtor over at the house at 2PM for the final walk through. The house was nice and clean and everything was just as we expected. We dabbled for a bit and talked for a while and then we went to the closing at 3:30PM. Everything went very smoothly and yes, the sellers are just like us. You can almost tell by the way they kept the place…clean, tight and when something broke, they fixed it. As a buyer, I definitely appreciate that. They were actually very personable people.
Ok, enough of that, now for the pictures. I mean, who cares about the writing anyway? It’s not like anyone reads it anyway.
Here is the front of the house. I think it has a nice “Connecticuty” look.
This is the rather large kitchen. There is room for a table in there and it also has a nice island. The door that is open goes out to the garage. Also, there are doors that go out to the back deck.
This is the fireplace. I am very happy there is a fireplace. I plan on getting a pellet stove insert for this and using it as a main heating source. Since the house heat and hot water are run off the oil burner, I am going to get an electric hot water heater and solar panels. I just have to figure out a way to make the look good and fit into the neighborhood.
These are pictures of the main entryway. Do you know how hard it is to get good photos of two floors up close? Not easy.
This is the blue room, AKA, the dining room. We have no plans for this room right now beyond walking through it. We don’t have much furniture.
This is one of the upstairs bathrooms. It’s pretty big and has one of those tubs that bubbles.
If you want to come over to visit, you can stay in the guest bedroom. It has a large walk-in closet and a full bathroom.
Here’s that bathroom I was talking about. So that’s two full baths on the top floor and one half bath on the main floor.
This is going to be Laura’s office. She gets the purple room. It’s pretty soothing. The girl that this room belonged to has a nice little setup. Perfect for a young girl.
I also got a picture of the room that’s going to be my office, but it came out blurry. It’s pretty much like this room, but different colors.
Here are some photos of the master bedroom. It’s a large room with a dormer facing West. There are two closets and a cable hookup. I am starting to sound like a realtor myself.
This is the one of the finished downstairs rooms. It is really comfortable and cool. It’s going to make a perfect…something.
This is the other downstairs room. This used to have an exercise machine in it. Laura wants to use it as a Pilates room. I have to buy her one of those exercise balls.
Can you say, “garage?” It’s about time. Yes, I am going to like the garage very much. I know that almost all homes now come with them, but I have yet to have one. I am quite excited about the electric garage door openers too.
Ok, last one. This is the little patio in the back that comes out of Laura’s exercise room.
You want to hear a funny story? You know how much I have grown to hate barking dogs, right? I never used to hate dogs, it’s just been lately, since so many people don’t seem to take care of them. Actually, I love dogs, especially my old dog, Mickles. I really really love Golden Retrievers.
I had a hunch that the only close neighbor had a dog. I wasn’t sure, but I did notice a fence around the back yard. They have an in-ground pool, so it may have been for that. I didn’t think so. I kept on telling Laura that there was a dog next door. I was really hoping it wasn’t a yappy little white dog.
Today, after the closing, we went back to the house to drop off a few boxes we brought with us. We were trying to loosen the load for moving day on Thursday. I parked the car and started walking in the back yard. I noticed something moving inside the neighbor’s fence. I quickly turned around and told Laura, “THEY HAVE A DOG!!!” I turned back around to see what kind it was. My stomach almost dropped through the floor. Upon closer examination, I noticed that it was a reddish dog. I then realized is was a Golden Retriever. I am not sure how it happened, but I found myself over there petting the dog. The neighbor called me over all excited, “Are you my new neighbors?” I say yes and both Laura and I walked over to talk to her. Then, out of nowhere, three more Goldens came trotting over…all offering tennis balls. I was in heaven. I was on my knees, petting them and shaking their fur all over the place. I was really excited. They are fairly quiet with the ever so often bark while looking at the ball. In Golden talk, that means, “Hey stupid, throw the ball.” I threw the ball a few times and what a riot it was watching the four of them jump all over themselves trying to get to it.
I am really happy that both Laura and I met the neighbor so soon and got to know the dogs. Now, we can go over and play with them without actually having to own another one. That’s fine with me.
So, now we have two houses. Anyone want to buy an 1,150 square foot cape on 1.25 acres? Just remodeled…You let me know.
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Monday, March 31st, 2008
For some reason, I am getting a magazine from Sam’s Club. Perhaps it is because we used to be members of the store. A few months ago, we stopped going because we just couldn’t take another bite of their food. Not that it was bad, but let’s just say there wasn’t too much variety.
Back to getting their magazine. Anyway, as I was tossing it into my recycling bin this afternoon, I noticed a big full page ad that read, “Eco Home Makeover.” I saw a picture of a wind turbine as well as solar panels on a roof. It also had a price in large print – $44,000.
Needless to say, I was a little intrigued. Apparently, Sam’s Club is now offering energy efficient home services. Here is what you get for the $44,000:
- One week vacation while your home is being “greened”
- Solar panels
- Wind turbine
- Internet monitoring
- Energy Star appliances for kitchen and laundry
- New Energy Star lighting throughout house (CFLs)
- A housewarming party upon your return home
- PBS will cover the renovation
I’m sure there will be some opinion out there about this, but that doesn’t seem bad to me at all. At least a big retailer is doing something like this. Also, it’s good that this kind of stuff is put right in front of the faces of Sam’s Club shoppers. Sometimes it needs to be put right in front of some people’s faces, if you know what I mean.
They claim that this makeover will be able to provide energy to a 3,000 – 4,000 square foot house. That’s not bad at all.
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Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
33 Cent Plastic Bag Tax Causes 94% Drop in Use
Reusable cloth shopping bags, like this one at a Superquinn grocery checkout in Dublin, have replaced those stretchy, crinkly plastic shopping bags, which are subject to a 33-cent tax per bag. Ireland introduces 33 cent plastic bag tax. 94% drop within weeks.
Yahoo needs Microsoft’s help
Now we know it wasn’t just a rumor all these months. Microsoft (MSFT) has been seriously thinking about swallowing up Yahoo (YHOO) since way back in 2006. In what would be by far its largest acquisition ever.
Microsoft and Yahoo: Perfect partners?
Certainly, a Microsoft and Yahoo joint search engine would in theory give Google some competition in the search and online ad business. But even a combined Yahoo and Microsoft search proposition would still be a long way behind Google.
The Nation: MoveOn Endorses Obama
The Nation is reporting that MoveOn will endorse Barack Obama, who got 70% of the votes in their online balloting.
80% Efficient Solar Panel?! Works at Night?!
The most expensive, carefully designed, and complicated solar panels in the world operate at about 40% efficiency. That means that, for every bit of sunlight that hits the panel, only 40% of it is turned into electricity.
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Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
Solar panels to go in 30% of Japanese houses by 2030
Under the government-mandated target, the number of solar-powered households would increase to 14 million from the current 400,000 and the capacity of such generation would expand 30-fold from the current 1.3 million kilowatts.
Top 5 Unusually Green Vehicles of 2007
As demand for environmental alternatives grows, some green-thinking automotive designers have gone above and beyond simple hybrid or energy-efficient cars to develop radically creative green vehicles in many senses of the word. Here are five of the most interesting, innovative, strange and downright bizarre green concept vehicles developed in 2007.
Where Does All the Carbon Dioxide End Up?
We imagine most of you, upon reading the post’s title, will have already (and accurately) guessed the short answer: the atmosphere and the oceans (for the most part). But, to delve further into the matter, where exactly in the atmosphere or the oceans does it all go?
How Denmark Kicked Its Foreign Oil Habit
With rising gas cost at the pump, violence in the Middle East and the upcoming Presidential Election, it’s no wonder that politicians are saying they have plans to make the United States independent of foreign oil. But can it be done? Here’s a country that has kicked the foreign oil habit: Denmark.
Are There Really Continents of Floating Garbage?
Are there really ‘continents’, or massive floating garbage patches residing in the pacific ocean? Apparently, there are and these unsightly patches are reportedly killing marine life and releasing poisons that enter the human food chain. One plastic patch is estimated to weigh over 3 million tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas!
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