Category Archives: sustainability

Windows That Generate Electricity – Right ON

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-energy-to-unveil-worlds-first-of-its-kind-see-thru-glass-solarwindow-capable-of-generating-electricity-2010-07-20?reflink=MW_news_stmp

press release

July 20, 2010, 9:15 a.m. EDT · Recommend · Post:

New Energy to Unveil World’s First-of-Its-Kind See-Thru Glass SolarWindow Capable of Generating Electricity

University of South Florida Research Foundation Grants New Energy Exclusive, Worldwide License for Technologies to Enable Commercial Development of SolarWindow(TM)

BURTONSVILLE, Md., Jul 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — New Energy Technologies, Inc. /quotes/comstock/11k!nene (NENE 0.53, +0.03, +6.00%) is pleased to announce that researchers developing its proprietary SolarWindow(TM) technology have achieved major scientific and technical breakthroughs, allowing the Company to unveil a working prototype of the world’s first-ever glass window capable of generating electricity in the upcoming weeks.

Until now, solar panels have remained opaque, with the prospect of creating a see-thru glass window capable of generating electricity limited by the use of metals and various expensive processes which block visibility and prevent light from passing through glass surfaces.

New Energy’s ability to generate electricity on see-thru glass is made possible by making use of the world’s smallest working organic solar cells, developed by Dr. Xiaomei Jiang at the University of South Florida. Unlike conventional solar systems, New Energy’s solar cells generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources, outperforming today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold.

Click here to view press release, announcing test results which show New Energy’s see-thru SolarWindow(TM) cells surpass thin-film and solar in artificial light: http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20090624.html

New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology is under development for potential application in the estimated 5 million commercial buildings in America (Energy Information Administration) and more than 80 million single detached homes.

“We’re always keen to see innovations in our laboratories turn into meaningful commercial products,” stated Valerie McDevitt, Assistant Vice President for Research, Division of Patents and Licensing, University of South Florida. “We very much look forward to the commercial development of New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology, which, if successful, could literally transform the way in which we view the use of solar energy for our homes, offices, and commercial buildings.”

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More tomorrow.

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Last Day On Energy And/Or Carbon Neutral – Don’t know what I will post next

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After a very disastrous environmental year, I have the summer doldrums. So I may just randomly post short things for awhile and as Mark Twain used to say, “let my tanks fill up”.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alternate-energy-holdings-incs-energy-neutraltm-nominated-for-idaho-smart-growth-award-2010-07-08?reflink=MW_news_stmp

press release

July 8, 2010, 10:14 a.m. EDT · Recommend · Post:

Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc.’s Energy Neutral(TM) Nominated for Idaho Smart Growth Award

Nomination Distinguishes Energy Neutral(TM) as Leader in Sustainable Communities

BOISE, Idaho, Jul 8, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:AEHI) today announced its subsidiary Energy Neutral(TM) has been nominated for the Idaho Smart Growth award. The award sets the company apart from others in its construction techniques and use of renewable energy to create livable environments that maintain and enhance the idea of sustainable communities.

“This is a great honor to be publicly recognized for the work we’ve been doing with AEHI and Energy Neutral(TM). The very reason we started Energy Neutral(TM) was to show that proper planning and reliable use of renewable energy sources would result in a better, more productive building process–one that would create sustainability at an affordable price. In doing so, we’ve proven that anyone can take part in the process of making our communities cleaner and healthier,” said Don Gillispie, AEHI CEO.

“Energy Neutral(TM) unveiled its first model home in March 2010, which has consistently demonstrated it can create more power than it actually uses. In addition to bringing together state of the art technologies at low cost for our Energy Neutral(TM) homes, we have expertise in siting locations that provide added energy saving benefits. This home’s convenient location, close to shopping areas, public transportation, and the freeway, will aid in reducing vehicle emissions. The eventual owners will have more opportunities to leave their car at home when they go to work, stores, or recreation.”

“The Energy Neutral(TM) home is about being smarter stewards of the communities and environment we live in. It is the very reason we’ve been approached by builders from across the nation who are now looking to franchise with Energy Neutral(TM). We are able to provide them with an entirely new way to look at new home and commercial construction and I am hopeful this will be a strong contributor to the real estate market as more business and home owners come to recognize the Energy Neutral(TM) vision,” said Gillispie.

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I know…I know…It’s Idaho. But if the white supremacist fundamentalists get it…Well maybe everyone will.

GE’s Net Zero Home Project Aims For Energy Neutral Living By 2015

Using smart grid tech, solar panels and energy-efficient appliances to create homes that produce as much energy as they use
By Adrian Covert Posted 07.15.2009 at 12:30 pm 10 Comments
GE Net Zero Energy Home General Electric

By 2015, if General Electric has their way, all our homes will be running on smart grids with mini-turbines and solar panels to produce electricity, consuming zero net energy in the process.

GE says that their smart energy system, dubbed the Net Zero Home project, will center around a $250 central management hub that will allow all of a home’s networked appliances and on-site power-producing equipment talk to each other, as well as to the smart grid outside the home..

GE’s push comes at a time when power conservation is valued more than ever, and smart energy innovations are pouring in by the day.

The goal here is to make people more conscious of how much power they’re using and how often they’re doing it. By enabling a home’s appliances to scale down their performance or power state during peak hours, cities will not only conserve energy, but consumers will save money.

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As usual California is in the lead.

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/19/business/fi-puc19

Energy neutral homes urged

The PUC adopts targets emphasizing efficiency for new construction.

October 19, 2007|From Bloomberg News

California energy regulators Thursday adopted a target that all homes built after 2020 produce at least as much energy as they consume to reduce demand for electricity and cut pollution tied to power generation.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved the guideline at a meeting in San Francisco. Homes would meet the goal through such measures as advanced insulation and solar power systems.

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There’s always more tomorrow

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I Promised Will Reynolds This Post – I saw Will last night at Jim’s thing

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Jim Johnston and Sustainable Springfield had the Smart Growth panel last night and I saw Will. A head slap moment occurred immediately, so here are the photos from the HIGH Speed Rail Corridor community input session on MAY 7!!!!! Yup 2 months late.

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Sorry for the size issues but it makes the map readable

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There is the whole thing. Then there were the key areas of concern. In nor particular order as they say.

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This is the last today…the post is getting long and I am still learning the new Word Press system for handling pictures…

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More tomorrow Will

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Carbon Neutral Houses – They be real cool

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http://www.2people.org/pub/page/show/article/10596

Carbon neutral homes by 2016

The British government has recently opened the comment period on a major plan to revise the building code. The revisions phase in regulations ensuring that all new homes are built carbon-neutral by 2016. Other elements of the plan include:

  • Code for Sustainable Homes: national standard to inform home buyers about the environmental performance of homes offered for sale.
  • Energy Performance Certificates: national standard to inform home buyers about the energy efficiency and running costs of homes offered for sale.
  • Urban planning policy to support lower carbon emissions and resiliency in the face of climate change.
  • Water Efficiency standards
  • Review of Existing Buildings: While the new regulations cover new construction, the government looking at ways to upgrade existing homes and buildings.

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http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dcs_first_carbon_neutral_home_hits_the_market/1652

DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home Hits the Market

by Mark Wellborn

image

Back in September, we reported that DC’s first carbon neutral home was being built in Capitol Hill. Yesterday, the much-anticipated property hit the market.

The three-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at 19 4th Street NE (map) was gutted and renovated by GreenSpur, Inc., a DC-based building and design firm that uses sustainability techniques to deliver homes that are energy efficient as well as cost effective.

After overcoming a labyrinth of regulatory hurdles and permitting nightmares given the property’s location four blocks from the Capitol, GreenSpur enlarged the home (from 1,000 to 2,100 square feet), hand dug the basement and, in keeping with their mission statement, made it completely green but priced comparably to other (non-carbon neutral) homes in the area.

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Then there is this. Wiki makes a political statement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_neutrality

Carbon neutrality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

“Carbon neutral” redirects here. For other uses, see Carbon neutral (disambiguation).
Unbalanced scales.svg
 The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2010)

Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide releasing processes, associated with transportation, energy production and industrial processes.

The carbon neutral concept may be extended to include other greenhouse gases (GHG) measured in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalence—the impact a GHG has on the atmosphere expressed in the equivalent amount of CO2. The term climate neutral is used to reflect the fact that it is not just carbon dioxide (CO2), that is driving climate change, even if it is the most abundant, but also encompasses other greenhouse gases regulated by the Kyoto Protocol, namely: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Both terms are used interchangeably throughout this article.

Best practice for organizations and individuals seeking carbon neutral status entails reducing and/or avoiding carbon emissions first so that only unavoidable emissions are offset. The term has two common uses:

  • It can refer to the practice of balancing carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, with renewable energy that creates a similar amount of useful energy, so that the carbon emissions are compensated, or alternatively using only renewable energies that don’t produce any carbon dioxide (this last is called a post-carbon economy).[1]
  • It is also used to describe the practice, criticized by some,[2] of carbon offsetting, by paying others to remove or sequester 100% of the carbon dioxide emitted from the atmosphere[3] – for example by planting trees – or by funding ‘carbon projects‘ that should lead to the prevention of future greenhouse gas emissions, or by buying carbon credits to remove (or ‘retire’) them through carbon trading. These practices are often used in parallel, together with energy conservation measures to minimize energy use.

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Climate neutral. Who is zooming who here. Did somebody just make up a phrase to create the new denier strawman. Yah think.

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Carbon Neutral Is Different Than Energy Neutral – The difference is subtle but real

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Energy Neutral is different from Carbon Neutral. Energy Neutral means it produces as much energy as it consumes. Carbon Neutral takes into account all carbon used to make the place and its usage.

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2008/02/lighthouse-uks.html

Lighthouse, UK’s First Zero-Emission, Carbon Neutral Home

Lighthouseuk

In England, a handful of efficient demonstration homes have been built on the grounds of the Building Research Establishment Ltd, including “The Lighthouse,” which is the first net zero carbon house in the UK.  The house is also the first to attain level six in the Code for Sustainable Homes, which indicates that it is carbon neutral. The two-bedroom house is only 93.3 square meters (barely over 1000 sq. ft.) in a 2-1/2 story building.  The building has solar panels and evacuated solar tubes on its roof, as well as making use of passive measures with ventilation chimneys.  It also incorporates rainwater catchment as part of the building design.

The materials used include highly insulated, airtight building fabric which has been designed to provide generous daylight levels and includes effective solar control, together with integrated building services based around a platform of renewable and sustainable technologies. These include water efficiency techniques, renewable energy technologies, passive cooling and ventilation, as well as mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR).

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http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/11/25/how-to-build-a-carbon-neutral-home/

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How To Build A Carbon Neutral Home

Written by Reenita Malhotra
Published on November 25th, 2008

Is it possible to build a carbon neutral home? Apparently so says the Australian Home Lifestyle TV show. Watch this segment about green building construction.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/08/japans-carbon-neutral-hom_n_111519.html

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Japan’s Carbon-Neutral Home: Leave Your Carbon Footprint At The Door

Wall Street Journal:

As leaders of the world’s most powerful nations discuss climate change at the Group of Eight summit in northern Japan, Japan’s big tech companies are displaying some of their most cutting-edge solutions in a nearby “zero emissions house.”

The single-story, 2,152-square-foot house generates all the energy required for a family of four, therefore eliminating carbon-dioxide emissions, according to the Japanese government. Products inside, many already on sale in Japan, include a washer that requires no water and an air conditioner that senses where people are in a room and automatically sends cool air in their direction rather than cooling empty space. Yet the eco-friendly products also carry a steeper price tag than traditional appliances.

The house uses a wind-turbine generator and a photovoltaic generation system, which directly converts light into electricity, to produce about 15 kilowatts of energy a day, nearly five times the amount used by a regular household. The government has presented the house as one of its contributions toward helping the world cut greenhouse emissions in half by 2050.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

As leaders of the world’s most powerful nations discuss climate change at the Group of Eight summit in northern Japan, Japan’s big tech companies are displaying some of their most cutting-edge solutio…
As leaders of the world’s most powerful nations discuss climate change at the Group of Eight summit in northern Japan, Japan’s big tech companies are displaying some of their most cutting-edge solutio…

Filed by Dave Burdick |  Report Corrections

More in Green…

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More tomorrow.

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Living In A Cave Or The Next Best Thing – They have nearly zero energy use

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People all over the world live in caves. I am not talking about subsistence living either. Downtown Minneapolis is pretty much underground or connected by underground walkways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal

Montreal’s Underground City (officially RÉSO or La Ville Souterraine in French) is the set of interconnected complexes (both above and below ground) in and around Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is also known as the indoor city (ville intérieure), and is the largest underground complex in the world.[1]

The lower floors of the Eaton Centre between the McGill and Peel metro stations.

Not all portions of the indoor city (ville intérieure) are underground. The connections are considered tunnels architecturally and technically, but have conditioned air and good lighting as any building’s liveable space does. Many tunnels are large enough to have shops on both sides of the passage. With over 32 km (20 mi) of tunnels spread over more than 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi), connected areas include shopping malls, apartment buildings, hotels, condominiums, banks, offices, museums, universities, seven metro stations, two commuter train stations, a regional bus terminal and the Bell Centre amphitheatre and arena.[citation needed] There are more than 120 exterior access points to the underground city. Each access point is an entry point to one of 60 residential or commercial complexes comprising 3.6 km2 (1.4 sq mi) of floor space, including 80% of all office space and 35% of all commercial space in downtown Montreal.[citation needed] In winter, some 500,000 people use the underground city every day. Because of its Underground City, Montreal is often referred to [by whom?] as the “Double-Decker City” or “Two Cities in One”.

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OK so it is really really cold in Montreal. The point is caves do not really need heating and cooling. Hot water can be supplied by solar or geothermal and that just leaves your electrical needs. They also do it where it is really really hot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy

Coober Pedy is a very small town, roughly halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs, that has become a popular stopover point and tourist destination, especially since the completion of the sealing of the Stuart Highway in 1987.

Interesting attractions in Coober Pedy include the mines, the graveyard, and the underground churches. The first tree ever seen in the town was welded together from scrap iron. It still sits on a hilltop overlooking the town. The local golf course – mostly played at night with glowing balls, to avoid daytime temperatures – is completely free of grass, and golfers take a small piece of “turf” around to use for teeing off. As a result of correspondence between the two clubs, the Coober Pedy golf club is the only club in the world to enjoy reciprocal rights at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.[4]

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http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/coober-pedy-underground-homes.html

Coober Pedy Underground Homes
Think A Dugout Is A Hole In The Ground? Think Again!

Coober Pedy underground homes are not what you expect.

The idea of living underground usually triggers thoughts of dark, damp and cramped spaces.

It doesn’t help that those underground homes are called “dugouts” in Coober Pedy… Or that people are told that they are abandoned mine shafts…

But as I said, Coober Pedy dugouts are not what you think.

You really have to go and have a look at some of those homes yourself, or stay in underground accommodation in Coober Pedy. You’ll probably end up dreaming of an underground home yourself. I certainly did.

Historic Coober Pedy Dugouts | Modern Coober Pedy Underground Homes

Historic Coober Pedy Dugouts

Coober Pedy Dugout

The early Coober Pedy dugouts were indeed the holes that had been dug in search for opal.

Back then opal mining was back breaking manual labour, so the earliest Coober Pedy homes were no bigger than they absolutely needed to be.

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Tomorrow more on Energy Neutral Houses.

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Unfortunately These Are PreFab Houses – They are not allowed everywhere

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Still they are pretty cool…

The European Solar Decathlon Kicks Off Today – Exclusive Photos!

by Bridgette Meinhold, 06/18/10

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Ready for another exciting competition in the world of prefab solar houses? Today the 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe kicked off in Madrid, Spain, marking the first time the competition has been hosted in Europe! Seventeen teams from around the globe are battling it out in the center of the city to see who has the most efficient solar powered and eco-friendly house. Just like the competition in Washington DC, the teams will be graded on their ability to minimize their energy use, innovative architecture and engineering, sustainability, and more. Read on for our exclusive photos and a first look at the most exciting houses in this year’s competition!

Above, the Fablab House from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is on their home turf for this competition and one of it’s most striking differences from the other houses is its departure from rectangular home. Solar panels completely cover the curvaceous roof and is built off the ground for a boost of natural ventilation

Read more: The European Solar Decathlon Kicks Off Today – Exclusive Photos! | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World

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Please see this amazing article and its great pictures. The American entry is from last year, but it is still awesome. 2 things to note. This not being critical either. 1, building codes in many areas prohibit the construction of prefab homes. The reasons range from protecting unions, to cutting competition against builders,  to bad experiences with crappy kits. 2, they are small compared to some standards. This is in part because they encourage people to live outside which is good for your health as well as encouraging socializing. But it is also the case that many people have gotten used way too much space for way to much STUFF. We are consuming the planet and we must stop.

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Meditations On All Things Solar – Let us start with the big guy himself

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That is right the Sun creates all the energy on the Earth. Well, the Sun or its cousins because the heavy metals that we use for our version of “nuclear power” were created in Suns of the past that blew up. The oil, natural gas and the coal we burn are nothing but dead congealed plants and animals nurtured by the sun. Really think about it what is “natural gas”. The stink of the dead from the past. So why do we do that? We can get all the energy we need directly from the Sun? The point is that if the capitalist system can sell you bottled water then it surely can sell you petroleum products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

Sun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the star. For other uses, see Sun (disambiguation).
This article is semi-protected.
The Sun Sun symbol.svg
The Sun seen through X-ray
Observation data
Mean distance
from Earth 		1.496×108 km
8 min 19 s at light speed
Visual brightness (V) ?26.74 [1]
Absolute magnitude 4.83 [1]
Spectral classification G2V
Metallicity Z = 0.0177 [2]
Angular size 31.6? – 32.7? [3]
Adjectives solar
Orbital characteristics
Mean distance
from Milky Way core 		~2.5×1017 km
26,000 light-years
Galactic period (2.25–2.50) × 108 a
Velocity ~220 km/s (orbit around the center of the Galaxy)
~20 km/s (relative to average velocity of other stars in stellar neighborhood)
396.5±3.0 km/s[4] (relative to the cosmic microwave background)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter 1.392×106 km [1]
109 × Earth
Equatorial radius 6.955×105 km [5]
109 × Earth[5]
Equatorial circumference 4.379×106 km [5]
109 × Earth[5]
Flattening 9×10?6
Surface area 6.0877×1012 km2 [5]
11,990 × Earth[5]
Volume 1.412×1018 km3 [5]
1,300,000 × Earth
Mass 1.9891×1030 kg [1]
332,900 × Earth[5]
Average density 1.408×103 kg/m3 [1][5][6]
Different Densities Core: 1.5×105 kg/m3
lower Photosphere: 2×10?4 kg/m3
lower Chromosphere: 5×10?6 kg/m3
Avg. Corona: 1×10?12 kg/m3 [7]
Equatorial surface gravity 274.0 m/s2 [1]
27.94 g
28 × Earth[5]
Escape velocity
(from the surface) 		617.7 km/s [5]
55 × Earth[5]
Temperature
of core 		~15.7×106 K [1]
Temperature
of surface (effective) 		5,778 K [1]
Temperature
of corona 		~5×106 K
Luminosity (Lsol) 3.846×1026 W [1]
~3.75×1028 lm
~98 lm/W efficacy
Mean Intensity (Isol) 2.009×107 W·m?2·sr?1
Rotation characteristics
Obliquity 7.25° [1]
(to the ecliptic)
67.23°
(to the galactic plane)
Right ascension
of North pole[8] 		286.13°
19h 4min 30s
Declination
of North pole 		+63.87°
63°52′ North
Sidereal rotation period
(at equator) 		25.05 days [1]
(at 16° latitude) 25.38 days [1]
25d 9h 7min 13s [8]
(at poles) 34.3 days [1]
Rotation velocity
(at equator) 		7.189×103 km/h [5]
Photospheric composition (by mass)
Hydrogen 73.46%[9]
Helium 24.85%
Oxygen 0.77%
Carbon 0.29%
Iron 0.16%
Sulfur 0.12%
Neon 0.12%
Nitrogen 0.09%
Silicon 0.07%
Magnesium 0.05%
This box: view • talk • edit

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It has a diameter of about 1,392,000 kilometers (865,000 mi), about 109 times that of Earth, and its mass (about 2 × 1030 kilograms, 330,000 times that of Earth) accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System.[10] About three quarters of the Sun’s mass consists of hydrogen, while the rest is mostly helium. Less than 2% consists of heavier elements, including iron, oxygen, carbon, neon, and others.[11]

The Sun’s color is white, although from the surface of the Earth it may appear yellow because of atmospheric scattering.[12] Its stellar classification, based on spectral class, is G2V, and is informally designated a yellow star, because the majority of its radiation is in the yellow-green portion of the visible spectrum.[13] In this spectral class label, G2 indicates its surface temperature of approximately 5,778 K (5,505 °C; 9,941 °F), and V (Roman five) indicates that the Sun, like most stars, is a main sequence star, and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. In its core, the Sun fuses 430–600 million tons of hydrogen each second. Once regarded by astronomers as a small and relatively insignificant star, the Sun is now presumed to be brighter than about 85% of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy, most of which are red dwarfs.[14][15] The absolute magnitude of the Sun is +4.83; however, as the star closest to Earth, the Sun is the brightest object in the sky with an apparent magnitude of ?26.74.[16][17] The Sun’s hot corona continuously expands in space creating the solar wind, a hypersonic stream of charged particles that extends to the heliopause at roughly 100 astronomical units. The bubble in the interstellar medium formed by the solar wind, the heliosphere, is the largest continuous structure in the Solar System.[18][19]

The Sun is currently traveling through the Local Interstellar Cloud in the Local Bubble zone, within the inner rim of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Of the 50 nearest stellar systems within 17 light-years from Earth, the Sun ranks 4th in mass.[20] The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way at a distance of approximately 24,000–26,000 light years from the galactic center, completing one clockwise orbit, as viewed from the galactic north pole, in about 225–250 million years.

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The sun will come out tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jdpc7aaAlQ&feature=related

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I was going to post more about green washing But I kept getting this BP stuff

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It is Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALU5g6Qqi08?

What – do these people think?  That if BP goes bankrupt that the world would be a better place…please stop and think about it…

doug –

When we started our Boycott BP campaign, we knew we had to get their attention in a language BP understands – profits. Now, we know it’s working:

A chain of Convenience Stores in Philipsburg, Pa decided to debrand three of its BP-branded stations:

“We are debranding BP. We will no longer be associated with BP by the end of the month. We are doing this because of the backlash and bad publicity from the handling of BP’s catastrophe,” Sean Lay, vice president of operations, said in the report. “We don’t want to be associated with them anymore. We’ve had enough.”[Convenience Store News]

Our campaign has been covered by everyone from the New York Times to industry trade newspapers. You can be sure that BP is paying attention. Now, let’s turn up the heat.

Boycott BP until they plug the leak and clean up the mess
Join the Boycott today and we’ll send you a free bumper sticker to help spread the campaign

In spite of these early effects of the boycott, BP corporate headquarters is still playing games with the numbers and continues to escape accountability. Just this morning, the government updated estimates of the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf to be much higher than BP originally stated.

And yet, BP continues to deny the extent of the problem. A report from NPR asks: “BP officials insisted this week they have found no large plumes of oil concentrated underwater, although it begs the question: if the oil isn’t concentrated in the water, where is it?”

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKA3tNoK8zM&feature=related )

And

ALERT: U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republican Leader John Boehner want taxpayers to help pick up BP’s tab for environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Tell John Boehner: No BP Bailout!

Douglas —

How is this for outrageous? Republican Leader John Boehner actually suggested that American taxpayers should be hit with the bill to help clean up Big Oil giant BP’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And it gets worse…
Sign the Petition

In making this outrageous suggestion, Boehner was agreeing with one of the Republicans’ biggest shadow groups – a group that has pledged to spend more than $50 million this cycle attacking Democrats and trying to elect other Big Oil protecting Republicans to Congress. But it gets even worse than that…

Boehner’s suggestion of a taxpayer-funded bailout for Big Oil giant BP came after he and other Republicans accepted more than $188 million combined in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. This calls for an immediate response from Grassroots Democrats.

Visit our newly-launched website, BoehnerBPBailout.com to sign our petition denouncing John Boehner’s Taxpayer Funded Bailout for Big Oil giant BP – then help spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

Now, for all the other happenings from the campaign trail, check out our latest edition of @Stake.

Your Response to Republican Congressman Don Young’s Oil Spill Outrage
Sign the Petition
Republican Leader John Boehner’s suggestion of a taxpayer-funded bailout of BP wasn’t the only Big Oil outrage by the GOP recently. Alaska Republican Congressman Don Young claimed that BP’s spill in the Gulf is “not an environmental disaster.” Thanks to you, we held him accountable.

More than 95,000 of you signed our petition denouncing Congressman Young’s ludicrous comments! You also sent a powerful message to other Big Oil-protecting Republicans that grassroots Democrats will be there to hold them accountable. Thanks again for speaking out!

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkJWTQpvADU&feature=related )

Then there are the people bragging about defeating a resolution…a resolution mind you.

Dear doug,

Good news! With your help, on Thursday, the Senate voted to reject Senator Murkowski’s “Dirty Air Act” – a proposal that would have destroyed 40 years of progress on clean energy by gutting the Clean Air Act and stripping the EPA of its power to regulate the pollution that causes climate change.

The vote was close – 53 to 47 – but your calls and letters made the difference, putting the pressure on Congress to do the right thing.

Thanks to you, we won this fight – but the oil that continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico daily is a vivid reminder of the continued danger of depending on fossil fuels. With your help, we will continue to push for comprehensive clean energy and global warming legislation that will give us greater economic security, reduce pollution and global warming, and transition America to a cleaner energy future.

Thank you again for your activism and support. We will be in touch in the days and weeks to come with more ways of getting involved.

Sincerely,

Michael Town
Campaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org
info@saveourenvironment.org

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( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GdsrywWNQU&feature=related )

And

Dear doug,

Yesterday, thanks to your hard work, the U.S. Senate did the right thing — voting with the climate science and against a resolution that would have stripped the Clean Air Act’s protections against climate pollution.

The Senate is to be commended for defeating Senator Lisa Murkowski’s disastrously misguided proposal. But the truth is, in the face of the worst environmental disaster in our nation’s history, Senator Murkowski’s resolution never should have even reached the Senate floor.

The fact that we had to work to defeat this legislation is a testament to the continued strength of the fossil fuel lobby. But the fact that we did defeat it gives us fresh momentum for the months ahead, as our nation confronts the costs of our dependence on fossil fuels more directly than ever.

This summer, we can and must set our nation on the path of independence from oil and other dirty energy.

Will you donate to support Repower America’s campaign to pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation this summer?

We must confront the growing plumes of oil now consuming the Gulf Coast and soon to affect much of the Eastern Seaboard. We must pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation — our best hope of staving off the catastrophic climate change that will dwarf the Deepwater Oil Disaster in scope and devastation. And we must accomplish all this despite the millions of dollars that big oil will spend to defeat us.

Yesterday’s vote shows that when we work together, we can defeat these forces. Over the last two years, over 250,000 of us have taken action to protect the Clean Air Act, including:

  • Submitting over 180,000 comments to the administration urging the EPA to enforce the Clean Air Act’s limits on greenhouse gases,
  • Making over 30,000 phone calls opposing Senator Murkowski’s proposal and
  • Writing over 7,200 letters to the editor.

This summer, it’s time to take exactly the same tenacity and commitment we have shown on these attacks on the Clean Air Act and win the biggest prize of all: comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation that transitions our economy to clean energy.

Donate now to support our campaign to Repower America:

http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/cleanairvictorynd

We’ve won an important battle. Now, it’s time to win the war.

Al Gore
Founder
The Climate Protection Action Fund

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Please get out of my mail box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mskqBz2cZTA&feature=related

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Green Washing – Why British Petrolium turned into BP

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It’s jam band Friday –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGE-kNRUN4

In the mid 90s British Petroleum decided to change its image. They “initialized” their name. Up dated their brand by changing their color schemes to yellow and green and they announced that their gas stations would be energy efficient and included solar panels. They infact set up a solar division and I believe make and sell solar panels. All that to cover up for the fact that they were one of the most dangerous businesses in the world. So when people say, why are you talking about greenwashing now?  It’s because it’s a problem that can lead to the oil spew in the gulf.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkLCRMT-sdE&feature=related

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http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/greenwashing-report-2009/

Greenwashing Report 2009

Greenwashing Report 2009 (French) Low-resolution PDF 2.9 MiB Greenwashing Report 2009 High-resolution PDF 9.5 MiB

Some Notable Findings from the 2009 Report…

worship_sm1A NEW Sin has emerged

98% of products committed at least one of the Sins of Greenwashing. Greenwashing is so rampant that a Seventh Sin has emerged.  The Sin of Worshiping False Labels is committed by a product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists.

kids_productsKids (Toys and Baby Products), Cosmetics and Cleaning Products

Greenwashing is most common in three household categories: Kids (toys and baby products), Cosmetics (beauty and health), and Cleaning Products.

increaseMore products are claiming to be ‘green’

The average number of ‘green’ products per store almost doubled between 2007 and 2008.  Green advertising almost tripled between 2006 and 2008.

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What you say matters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcKdNV2ep7I&feature=related

Oh and these people asked for links:

http://www.solarhotusa.com/

http://www.facebook.com/FoodIndependenceDay

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