Category Archives: global warming

Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Energy And Green Blogs – Imagine things like “mulepoop.com”,

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maybe “waterwheelsforprofit.net”, or “womensworkisneverdone.org”. So today we look at more blogs present and not that talk about energy and the environment. Here is one that has not been updated since 2006, but I like the phrase “After the Goo”.

http://postpetroleum.blogspot.com/

to oil.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

After the Goo

It is now imperative that we move to new sources of transportion fuels.

Even George Bush admits that we are addicted to oil.

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This one is cute, funny and current:

 

7 Megawatts, Not for the Faint of HAWT

WRI (World Resources Institute) estimates that there would be 30,100 jobs and $450 million/yr energy savings created with every $1billion invested in green recovery. And, even the U.S. Department of Energy during the WPE error conducted a study that has recommended that a major source of investment in the near term be wind power.

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This one is also cute, funny and up-to-date. Tyler Hamilton is a hunk too.

http://tyler.blogware.com/

LNG lobby’s “truth” about CO2 emissions smells fishy

February 11th, 2009 So, a Washington-based lobby group called the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas has come out with a study that analyses the lifecycle emissions of LNG versus coal. The aim of the study is to make sure U.S. legislators “know the truth” about clean-burning LNG as they consider climate-change legislation. Their conclusion — surprise, surprise – is that LNG for power generation contributes, on an apples-to-apples basis, about 70 per cent less greenhouse-gas emissions compared to even the cleanest coal technologies. Put another way, they say that an existing coal power plant in the United States produces two and a half times more greenhouse gas emissions than a comparable LNG power plant.

That sounds, well…. completely unbelievable. Read the rest of this entry »

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But that is nothing compared to what the typical nasty industry player spends on the web. Just look at this disgusting site. You would think that the Canadians would be smarter than that:

http://www.coal.ca/content/

Home
We wish to acknowledge the generous support of our 2008 Canadian Conference on Coal Sponsors:


Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, The Coal Association of Canada represents companies engaged in the exploration, development, use and transportation of coal. Its members include major coal producers and coal-using utilities, the railroads and ports that ship coal, industry suppliers of goods and services, and municipalities that have an interest in furthering the objectives of the Coal Association.

 
47th Canadian Conference on Coal
coal_assoc._47th_logo_final_ol The Coal Association of Canada would like to thank sponsors, delegates, guests and all others involved in making the 47th Canadian Conference on Coal, ‘Coal Renaissance: Affirming its Role Today, Determining it for the Future’, our most successful conference to date. 

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So to end on a less odious note, here is a practical, nonstudly, inyourownhome site:

http://www.energyboomer.typepad.com/

HOW TO ADD WINDOW INSULATION TO SAVE MONEY

 

Winter Window Here are some inexpensive ways for you to add insulation to you existing windows that will save you money on your next heating or air conditioning bill.

 

Add clear shrink wrap on the inside

You can add a layer of clear plastic to the inside of the window. This seals off any air leaks and traps a layer of insulating air at the window. Being clear it still lets in light and lets you see out. I highly recommend the 3M Scotch Brand materials for cutting the energy waste at your windows.

It is easy. First sit down and read everything printed on the box. Remember, “if all else fails, read the directions.” The directions are an easy read and the illustrations are very helpful.

The first step of the job is to put their special two-sided sticky tape all around the window frame. What is special is that it sticks good, but you can peel it off easily too. If you put it on crooked, like I do, you can fix it without throwing it away and starting over.

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Energy And Environmental Blog’s – What my competito….friends have been up to lately

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This site is not for the average reader or for the weak at heart. This is hard core energy news with BLOGS by people who DO, teach not…. as Yoda might say:

http://www.energyblogs.com

Interesting ideas and viewpoints are constantly emerging on EnergyBlogs.com.  We have enhanced the topics available for categorizing blogs so that you can easily reflect the dynamic conversations taking place within the global power industry.

To assist in this transition, existing blogs have been recategorized into the appropriate topics.  We encourage you to review the recategorization to make sure the topics best reflect the content of your blog and update the categories if appropriate.

As always, we encourage you to start a new blog on one of the engaging new topics!  If you have any questions, please contact service@energycentral.com.

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To Dr. Chu: Align Stimulus to Clean Energy Reform

02/08/2009 at 08:22 PM   |   Jose Antonio Vanderhorst-Silverio – Electricity Without Price Controls Blog

A system architect should lead a high leverage clean energy reform transformation of the power industry for DOE to distribute as soon as possible the …
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Bacteria to Power Up the Carwash? – By Lance Winslow

02/06/2009 at 08:29 PM   |   Lance Winslow – Lance Winslow’s Online Energy Think Tank Blog – Articles by Lance Winslow Blog

By Lance Winslow   Alternative energy is bolder rage and it makes sense to take this technology and apply it to his many possible industries …
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VENDORS UPBEAT – Really!!! – Distributech Musings

02/06/2009 at 01:00 AM   |   Martin Rosenberg – From the Editor’s Desk Blog

Before we get to the meat of this posting, I offer a snippet from a conversation I snagged early this week with Neal Schmale, president and chief oper..

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When this guy is on he is really on, but again this site is only for the hard core wonk:

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/

December 01, 2008

EPA Raises Raises Requirements for Renewable Fuels

An item of interest to ethanol producers and other supporters of ethanol is this announcement by EPA, as further clarified by this announcement by EERE:

Epaseal1

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 17 that the 2009 renewable fuel standard (RFS) will require most refiners, importers, and non-oxygenate blenders of gasoline to displace 10.21% of their gasoline with renewable fuels such as ethanol. That requirement aims to ensure that at least 11.1 billion gallons of fuels will be sold in 2009.  . . . While the RFS requirement is increasing by about 23%—from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 11.1 billion gallons in 2009—the percentage requirement is increasing by nearly one third, from 7.76% in 2008 to 10.21% in 2009.

…

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He also only posts when he feels like it. The last post was in December. Did the Obama Election scare you away?

Then there is the worldwide wonks. Don’t look if you do not really really care.

http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 09, 2009

Let engineers make Britain great again

The Guardian has a fairly technocractic article on the low value accorded to engineers in Britain and the value of implementing some large scale and tecnically complex infrastructure to rebuild the economy on “solid foundations” – Let engineers make Britain great again.
Orson Welles said film-making was the biggest electric train set a boy ever had. He was wrong. A new high-speed train line would be, if the boy or girl grew up to engineer it.

But in Britain, the train set is broken and has been packed away in the attic. We’re not proud of industry and we certainly don’t want our kids to grow up to be engineers. It’s a tragedy. It never used to be this way. We need to rediscover the power of engineering, its impact and contribution. It can stimulate young minds and it can stimulate the economy. …

So the young are innately curious about how and why things work. Yet what happens between childhood and adulthood? We stamp it out of them. Engineering gets stigmatised and we encourage our kids to become “professionals” – lawyers, accountants, doctors. Unlike in France or Germany, engineers are a bit of a nonentity here. Engineering is almost a dirty word. We’re told it’s “old industry” and that we are a “post-industrial nation”.

Part of the problem is that engineers are not accorded the status they deserve. We celebrate designers and architects, but forget the clever people who turn the theory into reality. The Millau bridge in France was designed by Norman Foster, but it was French engineer Michel Virlogeux who made it work. A magnificent achievement, but whose name do people remember? In 2005, Ellen MacArthur became the fastest person to sail round the globe, but little was made of Nigel Irens, who engineered her trimaran. …
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Damn it man…Engineers are important…but so are their mothers and they never mention them.

So YOU think YOU are into renewable energy, huh. Better eat your Wheaties for this one.

http://renewenergy.wordpress.com

 

CPUC Says CSI Doubled Installations in 2008

2009-02-06 by renewenergy

 

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a quarterly staff progress report on the California Solar Initiative, showing that in 2008 Californians installed twice as many megawatts (MW) of solar power than the year before, and that demand for new solar projects continues to hit record levels.

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Posted in Policy, Solar Energy | No Comments »

 Fraunhofer Sets CPV Efficiency Record of 41.1%

2009-02-06 by renewenergy

 

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) have achieved a record efficiency of 41.1% for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a concentrating solar PV system.

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Posted in Efficiency, Research, Solar Energy | No Comments »

 

Texas Approves US $5B for Transmission

2009-02-06 by renewenergy

 

In 2006 Texas overtook California to lead the nation in installed wind power generating capcity. Now, just three years later, wind turbines generating 8005-megawatts (MW), more than all the turbines spinning in California, Iowa and Minnesota, have outstripped the capacity of the high-voltage grid to move the power from windy west Texas to major cities where it’s needed.

Read Full Story

Posted in Economics, Electricity, Policy | No Comments »

 

 

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But to lighten up a little bit, then there is the financial side of things:

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/

February 9, 2009, 2:10 pm

Crude Reality: Oil Bulls See Hope in Stimulus Package

Posted by Keith Johnson

Crude oil futures in New York are still climbing Monday, jumping more than 5% in early trading before settling down to a more modest 1.5% increase.

What’s driving the uptick? There are theories for all tastes.

On the supply side, OPEC now says it is doing better at sticking to reduced production targets than most outside analysts give the cartel credit for. OPEC’s secretary general said today the cartel has already cut 80% of the 4.2 million barrels it’s meant to take off the market, and the cartel is ready to cut again at its March meeting.

On the demand side, President Obama’s cheerleading for the $800-odd billion stimulus package and signs the Senate could pass its version tomorrow are giving bulls hope there’s a quick fix in store for the battered U.S. economy that will rekindle demand for oil. Given that natural-gas futures are also up on Monday—the first four-day winning streak for gas since last autumn—there’s something to be said for the idea of a light at the end of the tunnel for the U.S. economy.

But the imminent passage of the stimulus package could be bullish for oil prices—without ever stimulating a lick of oil demand in the U.S.

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Fun stuff huh? Then there is the LONGEST running serious Energy Bog oh blog started in 2005

http://www.leonardo-energy.org/drupal/seblog

Sustainable Energy Blog

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Insuring electric cars

Submitted by Bruno De Wachter on Thu, 2009-02-05 06:30.

 

Cheaper or more expensive than conventional cars?

When the cost of a plug-in vehicle is mentioned, it mostly refers to the purchasing and maintenance expenses. Sometimes, tax reductions given to electric vehicles (EVs) are taken into account, but the insurance cost is rarely discussed. This is somewhat strange, since the insurance on a conventionally fuelled car accounts for roughly one quarter of its fixed cost of ownership. So, what happens to this cost when switching from a conventional car to an EV?

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Tomorrow I will try my hand at Alternative Energy Blog sites. They are funner.

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Australia Feeling The Effects Of Global Warming – There is a reason they call it downunder

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In Victoria the temperature has been above 44 degrees all week and they are forecasting another week of 40+ temperatures.  Power is failing, trains have stopped running because tracks are buckling under the heat .  It’s just scorching.  And it seems that the people are not the only ones suffering.
 
Check out these photos of a little Koala which just walked  onto  a  back porch looking for a bit of heat relief.   The woman filled up a bucket  for it and this is what happened!

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Kinda dark but:

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Getting better:

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About right:

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But see this is actually the effects of Global Warming. We are burning the animals and plants off this planet UP.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=36900

australialsta_tmo_2009025.jpg

For those who track their local temperatures using the Celsius scale, 40 degrees is a daunting number. In early February 2009, residents of southeastern Australia were cringing at their weather forecasts, as predictions of temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) meant that a blistering heat wave was continuing.

This map of Australia shows how the land surface temperature from January 25 to February 1 compared to the average mid-summer temperatures the continent experienced between 2000-2008. Places where temperatures were warmer than average are red, places experiencing near-normal temperatures are white, and places where temperatures were cooler than average are blue. The data were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite. While southern Australia was scorching, a similarly large area of northern and central Australia was several degrees cooler than it was in the previous nine years. The cool anomaly across that region is probably linked to the above-average rainfall the area has received during this year’s wet season.

Land surface temperature is how hot the surface of the Earth would feel to the touch in a particular location. From a satellite’s point of view, the “surface” is whatever it sees when it looks through the atmosphere to the ground. That could be the sand on a beach, the grass on a lawn, the roof of a building, or a paved road. Thus, daytime land surface temperature is often much higher than the air temperature that is included in the daily weather report—a fact that anyone who has walked barefoot across a parking lot on a summer afternoon could verify.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) called this heat wave “exceptional,” not only for the high temperatures but for their duration. One-day records were broken in multiple cities, with temperatures in the mid-40s. In Kyancutta, South Australia, the temperature reached 48.2 degrees Celsius (118.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Many places also set records for the number of consecutive days with record-breaking heat.

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It will only get worse.

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EdenPure Nothing But A Fraud – As one lady said, “I wouldn’t give one of these to my worst enemy”

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Years of lawlessness have left us with a situation similar to the 1920s when it was legal to peddle snake oil. EndenPure should have been busted for Advertising Fraud and Consumer Fraud years ago, but because of deregulation they keep getting to peddle their crap.

http://www.edenpurestore.com/

As heard on the Paul Harvey Radio Show and television features across the nation. The EdenPure TM is a remarkable new advanced portable heater can cut your heating bill up to 50% and pay for itself in a matter of weeks!

 
A major cause of residential fires in the U.S. is due to portable heaters. The EdenPure TM uses a new advanced quartz infrared heating system that never reaches a temperature that can start a fire.

The outside of the EdenPure TM only gets warm to the touch, never hot… so its safe around children and pets. Children can play on it and pets can actually sleep on it while operating without harm!

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It makes me puke just to put their stuff up. BUYER BEWARE…Here is what actual purchasers had to say.

www.topnews.in

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Are they reliable?:

 http://searchwarp.com/swa278556.htm

» left by disapointed from cleve, OH (6 days 19 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 5 out of 5
My First Edenpure 500 just broke for the second time ! first time in warranty, pain in the butt to send back. Now, out of warranty, and only in my second ‘winter’ season. It was only used for about 4 to 4.5 months the first season, stored nicely, and taken care of…What a rip off. WAY TOO expensive. Cleveland, OH – cheaper to turn the GAS thermostat up for REAL and Quiet heat. Darn expensive lesson.

left by Craig in Washington from Vancouver (5 days 11 hours ago.)
Reader Rating: 4.5 out of 5
This article has convinced me NOT to purchase one of these.. much less three. I live in the Pacific NW and our power costs are very low compared to other parts of the country so the cost to operate is not the reason for my decision NOT to buy. It would be because overall.. it appears that the reliability is TRASH. Also, it appears the customer service is severly lacking.

Thank you all for exposing this for what it is… a non-performing, HIGH Cost Sham. I feel sorry for those who buy it without looking it up on the web to find out how badly it works in real life. There claims are not truthful. Just read these testimonials… and their ads… “Heats a large room in minutes with even heat wall to wall and floor to ceiling”.  WHAT A CROCK!

Thank you for your attention.

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gjha.org

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Does it save money?:

http://www.infomercialratings.com/product/edenpure_heater_reviews

Do Not buy electric bill up $100.00 first month

1/31/2009 – pam of western NY ~ West Almond, USA writes:

I purchased this unit after watching the infomercial, claiming how the unit would reduce my heating bill. We are using this to heat a 15 x 12 bedroom for extra heat only. We have a [] wood stove (best stove out there) to heat the rest of the house (it keeps it at 70 to 75 degrees and its been over 80 also. Keeping it on a low setting (3 bars) to heat the bedroom at 65-68 degrees has made our electric bill jump from $132 to $265 in one month. we even purchased a new [] refrigerator and got rid of my 1985 sub zero refrig the previous month. I would not get one of these for my worst enemy! What a waste of money! I am trying to retun this as I write the review.

Senior Citizens Scammed By Edenpure

1/31/2009 – Lark&Bertha of West Virginia, USA writes:

We purchased 6 Edenpure heaters: 2 for us, 2 for my stepdaughter, and 1 for each of my two other daughters. With the price of oil the way it was, this seemed the way to go for heat and economy. Well, all of our electric bills have more than doubled. My husband abd I are on Soc.Sec. fixed income and on a budget with the elec. company. I know that this winter has been really cold, but the elec. co. said that the Co. that makes Edenpure heaters lies to the public in their ads, that no way will the heaters cut your bills! I’m going to try to return the heaters, but since the 60-day return period is over, I don’t think we will have much success. Scammed? You bet we were. For what we paid for all 6 heaters, we could have bought oil for the winter! I guess the old saying is right: If it seems to be too good to be true, it is! Disappointed and cold in W. Va.

Electri bill tripled

1/29/2009 – Michelle of Mi., USA writes:

Bought the Edenpure Heater in Nov.2007. The electric bill was higher but assumed it was due to sub-zero temps. I had a problem with the heater in Nov.2008, returned item and was shipped a new one. Bill in Nov.$257.00, Bill in Dec. estimated $218.00. Bill in Jan. $593.40. We’ve had some very cold weather. But this was advertised to save on heating costs. It has cost me more. I now have to make payments bi-monthly just to chip away at this outrageous bill. I work, I feel real sorry for people who are in a tight financial bind.

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Could you ever save money?:

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/11/edenpure-heater.html

According to the grand daddy of them all, Consumer Reports, IF YOU LOWER YOUR THERMOSTAT 17 DEGREES.

As I have said before it is not even a good space heater. I advise against space heaters. You could heat your own house with your body heat alone if it was properly insulated. But if you insist on buying one the EdenPure ain’t it:

http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshows/dontwasteyourmoney/story/EdenPure-Other-Space-Heaters-Tested/PdondT-tOkKTOuXc3gCxLw.cspx

Is the EdenPure Amazing?

The results of the test of the heavily advertised EdenPure were not promising.

The $400 EdenPure ended up at the bottom of the ratings. It was the worst performing of 20 space heaters tested.

Top Performing Heaters

Top rated: The Honeywell Electric heater HZ-519, for just $60.

It’s normally sold by Home Depot and Amazon.com, among other stores, but has been in very short supply, due to Consumer Reports’ review.

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The EdenPure people should be in jail…

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www.bestblogsite.org

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Cisterns, Another Personal Story – A house that was meant to recycle water

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I was reminiscing with a Guy who grew up in a rural Sangamon County household whose house was built to recycle water. I was telling him about my daily bucket brigade duty when I was staying at my great grandparents house. His name is David. He said, “OH yah well I had to do that everyday for almost 15 years”. He said that he grew up next to his grandmother’s house and she already had a well. It was hand dug by his dad and his grandfather. There was no way his dad was going to dig another well. So when they build his families house they put in a huge tile lined cistern feed from all of the downspouts off the roof. That was fed into  a tank inside the house by an electric pump which pressurized the whole system. The holding tank fed a hot water heater and a cold water line. The rest of the house was plumbed like a regular house.

The reader is probably thinking that what we are describing is a classic quaint little farmhouse setting with the large kitchen with the little bedroom off the kitchen for the married couple. They had a slightly larger “sitting room” that had a couch, some over stuffed chairs, a desk and some pictures on the wall for more formal entertaining and the children lived in the cramped attic. Where they sweltered  in the summer and froze in the winter. These house were usually all porch because folks spent most of their time outside. Well yes I am talking about those houses BUT these people have a cistern too:

 

http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~liz/home.html

 house_dec03.jpg

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That’s right please also note that there is a solar water preheat system (not shown) on the garage. This is a house in Floirda that is totally disconnected from any centralized distribution system, and they use a chemical composting toilet.

They did not drink cistern water mainly because of taste. Dave said the well water from his grandmothers house was so sweet it was like drinking candy. So that was his job as the little man in the house, he went to the well and filled up a 2 gallon porcelain bucket twice a day everyday until he went off to college. He noted that the job changed as he got older and so did his grandmother. He first started checking on her to see if she needed anything. Pretty soon he was getting water for her too. He said she had a reservoir on the back of her cob cook stove (which I had forgot about – my grannies did too). Eventually he was taking her ashes out for her too. The advantage was he got one breakfast from mom and then another from his grandma. 2 Breakfasts in one day. What a treat.

But the funniest stories were the ones about water conservation. He said repeatedly, “We were taught water was precious”.  Those lessons have not changed:

 http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=1681

He said, “You got whatever it was wet (teeth, body, dishes) and then you did whatever you needed to do. Then you turned the water back on BRIEFLY.” He said,”When you were in the shower if you heard the pump come on you knew it was time to get out of the shower no mater what because it was about to get real cold.” Laundry day was the toughest because his mother had a wood rod that she could stick in the cistern to measure its level. She knew that she could only use so much water washing clothes because they needed it for other things..the nearest water was 10 miles away.

Finally he said, “This was rammed home to us every couple of years because when it got really dry in some summers and falls we had to buy 500 gallons of water at a time. This guy from Sherman had a water truck and he would fill it up. He run a hose to your well or wherever you wanted it and dumped away.” It was kind of exciting when you were a kid. But, as he got older he realized that those gallons of water meant fewer new clothes for the school year, or that his shoes would have to last longer, or that maybe his sister couldn’t go to the Prom at school.” Then he said it again, “You know water is precious.”

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These people think so too:

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/30/MNC615JNHB.DTL

Severe drought expected after mild January

Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, January 30, 2009

 

California teeters on the edge of the worst drought in the state’s history, officials said Thursday after reporting that the Sierra Nevada snowpack – the backbone of the state’s water supply – is only 61 percent of normal.

January usually douses California with about 20 percent of the state’s annual precipitation, but instead it delivered a string of dry, sunny days this year, almost certainly pushing the state into a third year of drought.

The arid weather is occurring as the state’s water system is under pressure from a growing population, an aging infrastructure and court-ordered reductions in water pumped through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta – problems that didn’t exist or were less severe during similar dry spells in the late 1970s and late 1980s.

“We’re definitely in really bad shape,” said Elissa Lynn, chief meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources. “People can expect to pay higher prices for produce … and more agencies may be rationing … some raising fees. We just don’t have enough water.”

In Sonoma County, water managers are expected to take a bold step Monday – telling residents to prepare for severe rationing within weeks.

“We have entered uncharted territory,” said Pam Jeane, deputy chief engineer of operations at the Sonoma County Water Agency. “A 30 percent mandatory rationing order is just the beginning. Further decline in reservoir levels could necessitate 50 percent cutbacks.”

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Life With Cisterns – My Great Grandparents were big water recyclers

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When I was a young boy in the 1960’s I spent 2 weeks with Edna and Court Lutz, my great grandparents. They were independent hog farmers on a subsistence farm in a rural unincorporated village called New Philadelphia Illinois. It was a subsistence farm which for years had no running water. Part of the roof runoff went into rain barrels, and part of it ran directly into their well. The well was in the back of the house and it had a big 3 foot tall pump on the top it. Court had run a water line from the well into the house in the pantry/sink area off of the kitchen and put in a much smaller hand pump on the edge of the sink. We ate and cooked in the much larger 15 x 15 kitchen area which housed a 6 burner corn cob cook stove a big kitchen table and the refrigerator.

pump.jpg

www.depagro.com

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www.oak-barrel.com

I learned a lot about hard work from those folks, but in many ways they were the original eco friendly folks. I got my first tastes of many things the Christmas before our first summer stay. The Ross side of the family had Christmas dinner at Court and Edna’s  house. After dinner (it was actually late lunch but they called the evening meal supper) Edna said, “Would you boys pump some water for me”. So we rushed into the pantry and proceeded to pump and pump and pump. Finally between the two of us we got the water coming and filled up one of the sinks. But we were tuckered out.

Edna filled up a large kettle to heat water to wash the dishes and then started in on them.

kettle.jpg

www.physics.uc.edu

Mabel (my grandmother) decided that she wanted some lemonade and needed a gallon of water to make it. Court offered to go out to the bigger pump and get it. Steve and I said,”Will do it”! Once bundled and outside Court watched amused as we tried to get the pump arm to even move. Both of us at 6 and 7 years couldn’t budge it. Court laughed and said here let me get it started for you and he pumped the handle a couple of mighty pumps. We got water on about the third pump but we filled up the bucket which was way to much water. Damn thing was hard to control. We never asked about the toilets. We were not there long enough to need them. As we were leaving, I asked Court why they had rain barrels on the front gutter downspouts. He said that I would find out soon enough.

rainbarrel.jpg

www.iaswcd.org

We went back the next summer of 1961. We had been prepared somewhat. We had been told what outhouses were and of course because our father was a Biologist we were told how they worked. We had been told about chamberpots and how to deal with them. We had been given a deck of cards and informed that they had no TV. We had been told about their half acre garden and had been given some gloves. Also some advice on dealing with blisters. We had been warned about hogs (they had 5) and that Court got up early in the morning. BUT WE HAD no idea what we were infor. And yes that is all one word.

outhouse.jpg

truenorthhh.org

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www.crabcoll.com

truck.gif

truckpatchfarms.com/products.html

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www.soc.iastate.edu

Little did we know we were about to become water mules. Court got us up at 4:30 in the morning. Gave us coffee. Something that we had never had before, and then took us out to “slop the hogs”. Which involved hauling food scraps and water in 8 gallon pails out to the hog lot. Then we had to “mix the mash” which amounted to us hauling water out to an out building and pouring it in barrels of corn to ferment. Then we hauled already fermented mash out to the hogs. Then we hauled our sad asses into the house for breakfast. Which we ate ravenously. More coffee. Grandma clucked. Then we went to take care of the garden. Which amounted to….you guessed it hauling water in 8 gallon buckets out to the biggest garden I had ever seen. I mean row after row. We hauled it from the rain barrels which were much closer and easier then pumping at the well. Yep that is what water recycling is all about. PHwefff  Sometime I will tell you about the 2 hole outhouse. Nothing left that farm but pigs and people. The pigs mercifully did not come back.

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For more info about up close and personal water recycling please see:

 http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

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Water Conservation And The Purpose Of These Posts – Americans have gotten complacent about water

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Most people in the US assume and expect when they turn on a facet or flush a toilet that water will magically appear. When it doesn’t they have no idea what to do. The point being that global warming could change all that.

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http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/awr/dec99/Feature2.htm

Global Water Shortage

Looms In New Century

When most U.S. citizens think about water shortages — if they think about them at all — they think about a local problem, possibly in their town or city, maybe their state or region. We don’t usually regard such problems as particularly worrisome, sharing confidence that the situation will be readily handled by investment in infrastructure, conservation, or other management strategies. Whatever water feuds arise, e.g., between Arizona and California, we expect to be resolved through negotiations or in the courtroom.

But shift from a local to a global water perspective, and the terms dramatically change. The World Bank reports that 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world — more than 2 billion people — have no access to clean water or sanitation. In this context, we cannot expect water conflicts to always be amenably resolved.

Consider: More than a dozen nations receive most of their water from rivers that cross borders of neighboring countries viewed as hostile. These include Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, the Congo, Gambia, the Sudan, and Syria, all of whom receive 75 percent or more of their fresh water from the river flow of often hostile upstream neighbors.

In the Middle East, a region marked by hostility between nations, obtaining adequate water supplies is a high political priority. For example, water has been a contentious issue in recent negotiations between Israel and Syria. In recent years, Iraq, Syria and Turkey have exchanged verbal threats over their use of shared rivers. (It should come as no surprise to learn that the words “river” and “rival” share the same Latin root; a rival is “someone who shares the same stream.”)

More frequently water is being likened to another resource that quickened global tensions when its supplies were threatened. A story in The Financial Times of London began: “Water, like energy in the late 1970s, will probably become the most critical natural resource issue facing most parts of the world by the start of the next century.” This analogy is also reflected in the oft-repeated observation that water will likely replace oil as a future cause of war between nations.

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Water Cisterns – Once you have done the little stuff there is so much you can do

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LowFlow Showerheads are mandatory but once you start there is serious stuff you can do to save water. Cisterns. It used to be that everyone had them. Some were as simple as a hole in the ground covered with screening. Sometimes they were even built as part of the house. Sort of your own personal water tower. But with the advent of modern drinking water systems they fell by the wayside.

http://www.harvesth2o.com/plumbing_codes.shtml

History

Cisterns are an ancient technology. In the Middle East in 2000 B.C., typical middle-class dwellings stored rainwater in cisterns for use as a domestic supply as well as private- bathing facilities for the wealthy.

The world’s largest cistern may be the Yerebatan Sarayi. On the European side of Istanbul in Turkey, it was constructed under Caesar Justinian (A.D. 527-565) and measures 140 by 70 meters. It can store 80,000 m³ water. The underground structure is based on intersecting vaults. Today, it is a tourist attraction which is visited by boat, drifting through a forest of columns. Another cistern in Istanbul is called Binbirdik, believed by some sources to have been constructed under Caesar Constantine (A.D. 329-337), with a capacity of 50,000 m³. Each cistern served as centralized storage for water collected from roofs and paved streets and featured a sophisticated system of filters that assured clean water.

These municipal underground cisterns may be the only examples of urban centralized rainwater harvesting of their kind. This technique was likely abandoned for two primary reasons: 1) the construction of underground cisterns is considerably more expensive than the construction of dams; 2) there is a danger of accidental pollution through human excrement in dense urban areas and a corresponding risk of epidemics.

Water Classifications

Harvested rainwater is shrouded in confusion. Some jurisdictions consider it reclaimed water and others refer to it as gray water. Actually, it is neither. To clarify, UPC offers the following definitions.

• Black water is toilet waste.

• Gray water is untreated wastewater that has had no contact with toilet waste such as used water from bathtubs, showers, lavatories and water from washing machines. It does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers.

• Reclaimed water is water which, as a result of tertiary treatment of domestic wastewater by a public agency, is suitable for controlled use. The controlled use can be the supply of reclaimed water-to-water closets, urinals and trap seal primers for floor drains and floor sinks. In areas under the jurisdiction of the UPC this system is usually called a “purple pipe” system because the reclaimed water is conveyed in pipe that is purple.

• Harvested rainwater is storm water that is conveyed from a building roof, stored in a cistern and disinfected and filtered before being used for toilet flushing. It can also be used for landscape irrigation.

As noted, Appendix J of the UPC describes reclaimed water, but according to the above definition, rainwater harvesting is not reclaimed water. Plumbing officials who do not know how to classify rainwater-harvesting systems consider them reclaimed water systems and therefore require plumbing engineers to design systems that conform to Appendix J of the UPC. This is because of the lack of guidance in the code. Since these systems are becoming more prevalent in the U.S., both the UPC and the IPC must include a section dedicated to rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater Harvesting Basics

The components of the rainwater-harvesting system include:

Roof. Rainwater should only be collected from a roof and stored in a cistern. Rainwater runoff from parking areas and other outdoor surfaces typically contain harsh chemicals and other contaminants that are undesirable in a rainwater catchment system.

Rainwater conductors. Leaders and gutters or an internally piped roof drainage system that conveys the storm water from the roof to the cistern.

Cistern. A storage tank that allows large particulate matter to settle out of the water.

Overflow from cistern. A pipe that takes overflow from the cistern to the storm drainage system.

Pumping system. Provides the pressure required at the fixture most distant from the tank.

Disinfection system. Various filtration and disinfection systems can be used.

Potable water makeup. Makeup water provided to the tank during dry seasons. Appropriate backflow prevention is required.

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But this is to CODE which may or may not apply…First you have to figure out where you are going to put the water.

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 http://www.braewater.com/index.php?/solutions/

Rainwater Harvesting

As much as 60,000 gallons of precipitation falls on a 2,000 square foot roof in Mid-Atlantic States each year. BRAE distributes Complete rainwater harvesting system solutions to put this water to beneficial use. Rainwater harvesting systems offset demands on municipal and private water supplies for outdoor watering while conserving valuable drinking water resources.

The concept of collecting and using rainwater is not new.

In addition to the advantages that rainwater is free of charge, it doesn’t have to be treated nor transported over long distances, the two most important arguments supporting the utilization of rainwater are:

1. Supplement drinking water resources
-with the benefit of saving precious potable water
2. protecting water quality by reducing impacts of stormwater runoff
-with the benefit of limiting flooding and degradation of streams and lakes

Thanks to its characteristics the use of rainwater also has positive advantages:
-Ideal for plant growth
-Better washing efficiency -up to 50% less detergent required when compared with hard water
-No calcification of fixtures and washing machines

All projects are not created equal and thus rainwater systems do not conform to a “one size fits all” sales format. There are different systems for two primary types of rainwater systems residential and commercial. Use the following resources to design and select the right system for your project.

Residential systems generally supply rainwater to toilets, washing machines, garden irrigation and hosebibs (ie car washing)

http://www.braewater.com/index.php?/products/tanks_cisterns/

Tanks/Cisterns

Water storage is the most critical component of a rainwater system. In selecting a water storage tank or cistern, there are several important questions you should ask before selecting the right tank for your project.Ask yourself…

Will I store the water above ground or below ground?
How much storage do I need?
Are there space limitations that restrict the size of water tank I may chose?
What appearance do I want for my tank?
Will the neighbors care?
Are there restrictions regarding water storage tanks?
Is my site accessible or hard to reach with a delivery truck?

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Why Are We Doing All This Home Improvement Anyway – Well to save money of course but..

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To save our grandchildren as well..

 http://www.livescience.com/environment/090121-antarctica-warming.html#comments

Antarctica Is Warming:

Climate Picture Clears Up

By Andrea Thompson, Senior Writer

posted: 21 January 2009 01:04 pm ET

 

Warming temperatures in Antarctica
This illustration depicts the warming that scientists have determined has occurred in West Antarctica during the last 50 years, with the dark red showing the area that has warmed the most. Credit: NASA

The frozen desert interior of Antarctica was thought to be the lone holdout resisting the man-made warming affecting the rest of the globe, with some areas even showing signs of cooling.

Some global warming contrarians liked to point to inner Antarctica as a counter-example. But climate researchers have now turned this notion on its head, with the first study to show that the entire continent is warming, and has been for the past 50 years.

“Antarctica is warming, and it’s warming at the same rate as the rest of the planet,” said study co-author Michael Mann of Penn State University.

This finding, detailed in the Jan. 21 issue of the journal Nature, has implications for estimating ice melt and sea level rise from the continent, which is almost entirely covered by ice that averages about a mile (1.6 kilometers) thick. The revelation also undermines the common use of Antarctica as an argument against global warming by contrarians, Mann said.

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For more see the rest of this article and:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/4307829/Antarctica-is-warming-faster-according-to-scientists.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE50I4G520090120?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

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Never mind this:

http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/01/21_seasons.shtml

Summer peak,

winter low temperatures now arrive 2 days earlier

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations | 21 January 2009

BERKELEY — Not only has the average global temperature increased in the past 50 years, but the hottest day of the year has shifted nearly two days earlier, according to a new study by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University.

July
Map of average distribution of global temperatures for JulyFebuary
Map of average distribution of global temperatures for FebruaryThe average distribution of global temperatures for July and February. Because the sun is further north in July, the warm bulge of high temperatures is shifted into the northern hemisphere in that month. In the Northern Hemisphere, warm temperatures extend farther north on land than over ocean in the summer and cold temperatures extend farther south on land than on the ocean in the winter. (Image by Alexander R. Stine/UC Berkeley; data from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia )

Just as human-generated greenhouse gases appear to the be the cause of global warming, human activity may also be the cause of the shift in the cycle of seasons, according to Alexander R. Stine, a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s Department of Earth and Planetary Science and first author of the report.”We see 100 years where there is a very natural pattern of variability, and then we see a large departure from that pattern at the same time as global mean temperatures start increasing, which makes us suspect that there’s a human role here,” he said.

Although the cause of this seasonal shift – which has occurred over land, but not the ocean – is unclear, the researchers say the shift appears to be related, in part, to a particular pattern of winds that also has been changing over the same time period. This pattern of atmospheric circulation, known as the Northern Annular Mode, is the most important wind pattern for controlling why one winter in the Northern Hemisphere is different from another. The researchers found that the mode also is important in controlling the arrival of the seasons each year.

Whatever the cause, Stine said, current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models do not predict this phase shift in the annual temperature cycle.

Details are published in the Jan. 22 issue of the journal Nature.

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Advances In Home Insulation – That’s right after the Inaugural it’s time to get back to work

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Yah I know it is a downer to have to go back to work after the weekend PLUS back to back MLK/BHO days but life must go on. My motto for 38 years has been “You never ever lose money by investing in energy conservation”.  So put R60 in your attic.

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/04/11/aerogel-insulation-advances/

Aerogel Insulation Advances

Author photo Written by Philip Proefrock

Published on April 11th, 2008

14 Comments

Posted in Energy, Heating & Cooling, Materials

Aerogel is almost a product out of science fiction.

Nicknamed “frozen smoke,” aerogel is extremely lightweight material, with a density only 3 times that of air. Only a small fraction of a volume of aerogel is the material itself. Most of the volume is filled with air. This makes aerogel an excellent insulator. (Aerogel provides nearly 40 times the insulation of fiberglass insulation.)

Aerogel can withstand great pressures and is also an excellent sound insulator. Aerogels can also be used to absorb airborne pollutants and have been used to clean up oil spills. NASA also used a section of aerogel as part of its Stardust probe to collect samples of material from the tail of a comet.

Aerogel is available for some high-performance applications, but due to its high cost, it has not been widely used. However, new research from a Malaysian scientist offers the potential to drastically reduce the cost of producing aerogel, and could lead to new possibilities for its use as a building and insulation material.

Dr. Halimaton Hamdan from the Universiti Teknologi in Malaysia has developed a method of producing aerogel that could reduce the cost of producing aerogel by 80% by using agricultural waste from rice husks as the feedstock. Rice husks evidently have a high silica content, and silica is the main constituent of aerogel. In addition to potentially being able to produce aerogel for one-fifth the current cost, this also addresses a problem with disposing of rice husk waste.

Because aerogel is translucent, rather than completely transparent, one of the places it has first been used in architectural applications has been in daylighting panels. Commercial applications of aerogel are from companies such as Kalwall and Advanced Glazings,…..

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This stuff is really amazing and no you won’t put it in your attic because it costs a gazzillion dollars and is used in outerspace…still if you built a room out of it you could heat it with a candle until the air ran out…for cool videos however please see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukq5Uy7iv7k

Oh you speak english…sorry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhcgI_DsSa4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQJ6e_8Wqs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf06j4eWeMk

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Yes I am bored SOOOOwhat? Here is the stuff you can put in your attic:

http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/spray-foam-insulation-drastically-decreases-air-leakage-from-a-home-365453.html

Spray Foam Insulation

Drastically Decreases Air Leakage from a Home

Andrew Stratton

According to the US Department of Energy, more than half of the energy cost of the average home goes into heating and cooling. Furthermore, 30% of the heating and cooling cost is the result of air infiltration. One of the newest advancements in home products, expanding spray foam insulation, can significantly reduce the amount of air leakage within a house.

Air leakage is often most noticeable during winter months. This is because it is during the winter that the maximum temperature difference exists between the warm interior and the cold exterior of a house. This maximum difference in temperature causes a large pressure discrepancy between a home’s inside and outside environments. In turn, this pressure discrepancy causes the warm inside air to be pushed through any small gaps to the cold laying outdoors. Therefore, these small gaps allow the heat which you paid for to escape from your house.

Expanding spray foam insulation can plug these small holes. The spray foam insulation accomplishes this task by expanding into the small gaps onto which it has been sprayed.

However, to be effective it may be helpful to understand where these small holes may occur. One often thinks of the spaces near a door or window when thinking about the possible locations where currents may arise. However, there may be other locations which are not as apparent. These other locations are usually less apparent because they are found within the attic, basement or crawlspace.

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For more please read the rest of the article or:

http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/spray-foam-environmentally-friendly-insulation-601399.html

Spray Foam: Environmentally

Friendly Insulation

Andrew Stratton

Everyone is going green, and many companies are making it easier than ever. If you want to do your part for the environment, a great way to start is right in your own home. With the advent of new technologies, there are now products available that will help keep the environment healthier without having to compromise your own comfort.

Spray foam insulation is one product for your home that has recently gone green. Spray foam insulation begins as liquid polyurethane that is then sprayed onto surfaces, creating a protective, insulating barrier. Since the foam is initially liquid, it easily covers all cracks and holes in the wall, covering a more thorough area than fiberglass or cellulose.

This means that your house will be more climate efficient. The heat will stay trapped inside during the cold months and the cool air will stay in during the summer. Not only will the temperature of your house be more comfortable, but you’ll save energy on your heating and cooling.

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So you can use a little or a lot. More places for this stuff are:

http://www.greenbuildingenergystar.org/home-insulation-sealing.php

http://www.basf-pfe.com/index.php?location=RRE&section=view-PRP&select=117

http://www.sprayfoamdirect.com/?gclid=COTskbqvoJgCFRlcagoddQHZng

www.TigerFoam.com/Insulation 

www.icynene.com/

Or if you like video and it seems we do today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFjxWdPPY1Q

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