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The number of unemployed individuals in the United States rose by 632,000 to hit 11.1 million in December, according to the Department of Labor. The U.S. economy shed 1.9 million jobs in the last four months of 2008 alone. But rather than dwell on this dire economic data a number of states are taking a proactive approach to stimulating economic growth by creating new green jobs. Read More »
We've had a full week to report on!
Carrick and I did two presentations in the last week; one at Grafton High School and also to the Boston Vegetarian Society. At Grafton High we spoke in the auditorium and showed the kids some of our videos and talked about our cross-country video project. We also talked about how much of a hot topic sustainability/ renewable energy is on college campuses, and how attractive it would look on those college applications to have done that kind of work at Grafton High. At Boston Vegetarian Society we talked to an enthusiastic crowd, met some great people, and enjoyed a yummy vegan buffet at Grasshopper Chinese Restaurant in Allston.
Speaking of eating vegan, one of the challenges of our cross-country journey will be finding vegan and veg-friendly places to eat on the road. Fortunately, there are great online resources for veg travelers at http://www.vegdining.com/ and http://www.happycow.net/. They list vegan, vegetarian, and veg-friendly restaurants state-by-state, with user reviews. There isn't going to be room to pack much food in the Beetle, so we'll be eating out much of the time. There are great veg restaurants all over the U.S. that we've heard about, and now we'll have our chance to visit them!
We have a new video up about what we've done to make our house more energy efficient. Carrick talks about insulation, sealing air leaks, programmable thermostats, etc. The link to the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLAdv7h3AzE
This Sunday (November 16) I'll be attending the Massachusetts Climate Action Network conference at MIT in Cambridge. I'm looking forward to meeting folks there and continuing to make connections in the environmental community!
Be well,
Colin
Carrick and I did two presentations in the last week; one at Grafton High School and also to the Boston Vegetarian Society. At Grafton High we spoke in the auditorium and showed the kids some of our videos and talked about our cross-country video project. We also talked about how much of a hot topic sustainability/ renewable energy is on college campuses, and how attractive it would look on those college applications to have done that kind of work at Grafton High. At Boston Vegetarian Society we talked to an enthusiastic crowd, met some great people, and enjoyed a yummy vegan buffet at Grasshopper Chinese Restaurant in Allston.
Speaking of eating vegan, one of the challenges of our cross-country journey will be finding vegan and veg-friendly places to eat on the road. Fortunately, there are great online resources for veg travelers at http://www.vegdining.com/ and http://www.happycow.net/. They list vegan, vegetarian, and veg-friendly restaurants state-by-state, with user reviews. There isn't going to be room to pack much food in the Beetle, so we'll be eating out much of the time. There are great veg restaurants all over the U.S. that we've heard about, and now we'll have our chance to visit them!
We have a new video up about what we've done to make our house more energy efficient. Carrick talks about insulation, sealing air leaks, programmable thermostats, etc. The link to the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLAdv7h3AzE
This Sunday (November 16) I'll be attending the Massachusetts Climate Action Network conference at MIT in Cambridge. I'm looking forward to meeting folks there and continuing to make connections in the environmental community!
Be well,
Colin
I sent the following letter to the NY Times, the Daily News, the NY Post etc. today:
In the current financial meltdown it may be tempting to put plans for a clean, green energy solution on the shelf - to say, "We'll get to that later when the recession is over." Here's why that is the wrong point of view not only environmentally, but economically as well.
The fact is, a transition to a domestic source of energy - as opposed to importing 70% of our oil - would be a great way to create new jobs in an economy that is sure to see less of them in the near term. I don't know if we will get to five million jobs as Obama and Gore have promissed, but we can certainly create hundreds of thousands over the first year of the next administration. Just as importantly, these will be solid, middle-class, American jobs that can’t be outsourced and use the skills of today’s workers. Green jobs aren’t just the jobs of the future â€" they are the jobs of today. Wealth is created from labor, not from complicated ways of moving money about. After the financial meltdown that eliminated the entire recent bull market, what have we got to show for it? Nothing. Now, imagine if we had put that money into our wind and solar corridors, each of which could be enough to wean us off imported oil, together with a plan to use domestic compressed natural gas to power our cars, as well as electricity, hydrogen, and hybrids.
We should also not underestimate the positive effects of clean energy independence on our relations with those who supply us with oil from the middle east, as well as from Venezuela and Africa. All of these regions suffer from the oil curse, in which resources have become far more important than people. Those countries need to be forced to work for a living, not just live off the good fortune which lies underground. They need to focus on educating and employing their own people, so those people do not become frustrated and act out as terrorists against America. Already, we hear less from Iran, Venezuela, and even Russia, as their resource dependent economies start to collapse due to low oil prices. We need to keep that pressure on them by keeping oil prices permanently low. Being energy independent is the best way to do that.
Finally, the frustration people have with Washington - as shown by the abysmal ratings for both the president and congress - is largely due to the lack of leadership there. There was a time when America rose to the challenge of putting a man on the moon. There was a time even earlier when America willingly made sacrifices to fight a World War; now we are told to "go shopping." We need to not only empower America with electricity from new domestic sources, but to find a way to electrify America. We need not to go to the Saudis with oil can in hand, begging for a refill, but to lead. We need to rediscover our strength by putting our efforts towards a task worthy of our great nation. We can have clean, green energy in ten years if we have the leadership to push for it.
In the current financial meltdown it may be tempting to put plans for a clean, green energy solution on the shelf - to say, "We'll get to that later when the recession is over." Here's why that is the wrong point of view not only environmentally, but economically as well.
The fact is, a transition to a domestic source of energy - as opposed to importing 70% of our oil - would be a great way to create new jobs in an economy that is sure to see less of them in the near term. I don't know if we will get to five million jobs as Obama and Gore have promissed, but we can certainly create hundreds of thousands over the first year of the next administration. Just as importantly, these will be solid, middle-class, American jobs that can’t be outsourced and use the skills of today’s workers. Green jobs aren’t just the jobs of the future â€" they are the jobs of today. Wealth is created from labor, not from complicated ways of moving money about. After the financial meltdown that eliminated the entire recent bull market, what have we got to show for it? Nothing. Now, imagine if we had put that money into our wind and solar corridors, each of which could be enough to wean us off imported oil, together with a plan to use domestic compressed natural gas to power our cars, as well as electricity, hydrogen, and hybrids.
We should also not underestimate the positive effects of clean energy independence on our relations with those who supply us with oil from the middle east, as well as from Venezuela and Africa. All of these regions suffer from the oil curse, in which resources have become far more important than people. Those countries need to be forced to work for a living, not just live off the good fortune which lies underground. They need to focus on educating and employing their own people, so those people do not become frustrated and act out as terrorists against America. Already, we hear less from Iran, Venezuela, and even Russia, as their resource dependent economies start to collapse due to low oil prices. We need to keep that pressure on them by keeping oil prices permanently low. Being energy independent is the best way to do that.
Finally, the frustration people have with Washington - as shown by the abysmal ratings for both the president and congress - is largely due to the lack of leadership there. There was a time when America rose to the challenge of putting a man on the moon. There was a time even earlier when America willingly made sacrifices to fight a World War; now we are told to "go shopping." We need to not only empower America with electricity from new domestic sources, but to find a way to electrify America. We need not to go to the Saudis with oil can in hand, begging for a refill, but to lead. We need to rediscover our strength by putting our efforts towards a task worthy of our great nation. We can have clean, green energy in ten years if we have the leadership to push for it.
Every year alone, 1 car can produce up to 20,000 pounds of carbon. That amounts to 2875624040000 pounds of carbon created by cars in the US alone. Wow.
If we were to put energy pads on major roads and highways every 5 miles or so, this could reduce that. Every tme a car drove over one of these pads, a large surge of electricity would flow into the car. These cars would have to be specially designed. The energy plates would be about 250 feet long. To prevent electrical deaths, the pads would only give electricity under a certain amount of weight. There would also be paths around these areas that Bikers/motorbikers/pedestrians coud go on to reduce the risk even more. Contact me @ PlatitudeSam@gmail.com to tell me your thoughts about this idea.
If we were to put energy pads on major roads and highways every 5 miles or so, this could reduce that. Every tme a car drove over one of these pads, a large surge of electricity would flow into the car. These cars would have to be specially designed. The energy plates would be about 250 feet long. To prevent electrical deaths, the pads would only give electricity under a certain amount of weight. There would also be paths around these areas that Bikers/motorbikers/pedestrians coud go on to reduce the risk even more. Contact me @ PlatitudeSam@gmail.com to tell me your thoughts about this idea.
FACT: Texas' 23 million people account for more greenhouse gas emissions than all 720 million Sub-Saharan Africans.
Source: UN (Stats)
What do you think we can do to change this? How do you feel about this?
Source: UN (Stats)
What do you think we can do to change this? How do you feel about this?
Click on this link to see this wonderful map...
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/multimedia/earth-at-night016.gif
http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/multimedia/earth-at-night016.gif
CALL TO ACTION:
CONTACT ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS
TO USE HEMP TO HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF
GLOBAL WARMING AND TOXIC ENERGY.
Hemp 4 Fuel - a roll-in from 'Time 4 Hemp'
(Webeo link above to TIME 4 HEMP'S
intro from BILLION DOLLAR CROP)
Artist Statement From Youtube: Added: October 11, 2006
"This is a segment from the film, 'The Billion Dollar Crop' created by John Birrenbach. It was used as a roll-in on the television series, 'Time 4 Hemp' hosted by Casper Leitch. To find out more about the first television series to ever focus on the topic of marijuana, check out 'Time 4 Hemp' where you can find over 80 free video and 100 free audio downloads. Time 4 Hemp cable access © Casper Leitch - 1991 "
Text of webeo from the show Time4Hemp:
"Fuel. Hemp can also be used for the production of methanol.
According to World War II production rates of hemp per acre, we can produce the equivalent of 10 - 15 barrels of oil from one acre of hemp.
If we use the production rates that are in evidence in countries currently producing hemp, we could produce the equivalents of 20-30 barrels of oil per acre of hemp.
Can we fuel the nation with hemp?
The answer is YES!
According to United States Agricultural statistics, in the United States we have an excess of 950 million acres of farm land.
Of that land we planted in 1987 some 450 million acres.
This leaves some 450 to 500 million acres un-planted.
In order to produce the amount of methanol to fuel all of our transportation needs, we would need to plant some 12-34 million acres of hemp.
This would produce the biomass necessary to fuel our country."
This webeo explains how in 1980's energy needs, we could grow our way out of the energy crisis with hemp using only 34 million acres of unused farmland. If our energy needs quadrupled since then, we're only talking about 136 million acres of farmland to grow enough energy to power our needs. Double 136 and it's still only 272 million acres of farmland to solve our energy and have an impact on our environmental crisis. The aftermarket products that come from this vast resource material can have a positive impact on our economy and health care (life empowerment) systems.
Since hemp is a weed, it can grow in many places, inside and out, to contribute to solving our problems now. We're talking hemp biofuel and biomass to power engines cleanly while removing excess CO2, the cause of global warming, from the air as it grows.
YES, WE CAN DO IT NOW!!! WE JUST NEED TO THROW OFF THE LAWS OF DEAD PEOPLE THAT ARE KILLING US, LIKE HEMP BEING ILLEGAL TO GROW.
Hemp is nature's way to remove the oil from the land and change it into useful items like energy.
Hemp is a biomass champion that is 4 times more efficient than corn as biofuel.
Hemp energy pellets burn clean as biomass to fuel the nation's electric plants.
Anything toxic energy can do, hemp can do better.
The question is 'How many hemp acres do we need to grow our way out of this energy crisis in modern times?' The next logical question is how much hemp do we need to grow to remove enough CO2 to have a reversal impact on the global warming crisis. Research on the second will be posted shortly in a separate blog entry.
Looking beyond the webeo above, let's get to real world calculations. The film clip from Time4Hemp's webeo from the film the BILLION DOLLAR CROP does not explain if they calculated one or 4 crops per year per acre.
We're looking at different energy reference sites for how much energy do we need as a nation and as a planet, given the reality that we all are one. Below are some research links we're using, and will post others here for consideration.
'How many acres do we need to grow our way out of this energy crisis?'
1. How much energy do we need?
Renewable Energy Consumption http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/alternate/page/renew_energy_consump/table1.html
Just How much energy does America Use http://www.2dtime.com/weblog/C1379175330/E1115191134/index.html
International Energy Outlook 2008 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/highlights.html
"Total world energy use rises from 462 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2005 to 563 quadrillion Btu in 2015 and then to 695 quadrillion Btu in 2030 (Figure 1). Global energy demand grows despite the sustained high world oil prices that are projected to persist over the long term. "
Annual Energy Outlook 2008 with Projections to 2030 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/demand.html
Here's some historic numbers of energy use: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/pdf/pages/sec1_3.pdf
2. How many "barrels" "acres" can exceed the nation and the world's projected energy needs?
Of course an effective energy strategy is one that combines clean energies like wind, solar, hydro, magnetic and other biofuels. Working together, we can create a better world for future generations, the real purpose of life.
Tell the politicians, 'we don't need no toxic energy.' Any energy strategy that can hurt us and/or generations ahead should be turned off and replaced with clean, natural and in some cases free energy.
For more information on hemp please visit the USA Hemp Museum, a private museum with a virtual wing. Richard M. Davis is the museum's founder and curator and he has a book called HEMP FOR VICTORY: A GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTION which is a great piece on how to use hemp to solve the problem of global warming.
Other research pages on hemp energy include:
Hemp Biofuels Room, USA Hemp Museum: http://hempmuseum.org/ROOMS/ARM%20BIO-FUELS.htm
Renewables: http://www.ratical.org/renewables/
Fuel and Fiber: http://fuelandfiber.com/Hemp4NRG/Hemp4NRGRV3.htm
Davis is proposing using the successful WWII Hemp For Victory program and solve the problems of global warming and our growing energy needs. We'll be posting his projections here soon and please share your thoughts on this blog.
Read More »1) Key Players:
Countries, Governments, Oil Companies, Populations, Fossil Fuels, Lobbies, and Environmentalists
2) Big Picture:
Populations use fossil fuels because they're the easiest resource to use. Oil companies get revenue and, not only do they not have an incentive to research alternative fuels, they have an incentive to actually try and halt research. Lobbies get legislation to protect the Oil Companies. They influence the government and halt the flow of funding to alternative fuel research. Governments also feel that if they switch to alternative fuels, they'll be giving up resources to other governments in other countries. They feel that paying for research is too expensive and other countries will just keep taking more of the fossil fuels.
3) Below the Surface:
The reason Governments and Oil Conglomerates are unwilling to change is not due to lack of public support for these changes. The call for change is apparent. The problem is incentives. Until governments and, more importantly, Oil Companies that sign the checks for lobbyists understand that switching to alternative fuels can actually bring them revenue and increase their market share, these changes won't happen.
I hate to keep bringing up Neuro-economics, but it's important for this problem as well. When we evolved it was in the zero-sum world of yesterday when resources were scarce. If I benefit and increase my chances of passing on genes, you lose and decrease your chances, and so-on. Every one of us, including members of Government and Oil Companies, is hard-wired to think that if we spend the time and resources to research things like alternative fuels, we'll be the ones taking the hit and other countries will simply continue to use and profit off of fossil fuels.
4) The Solution:
Environmentalists need to focus on showing Oil Companies and Governments that alternative fuel research is not a zero-sum game and that both can profit dramatically from making these environmentally friendly changes. That's why groups need to pool resources and reach out to experts from a number of fields (economics, business, marketing, advertising, engineers, developers, etc.) who can provide data to these companies. For example: if an Oil Company like BP profited from alternative fuel research dramatically, other oil companies would join. Social media and online collaboration tools are built for this kind of work and they're perfect for this issue.
Forget apocalyptic climate forecasts: focus on the incentives and you'll get much further. It's not losing sight of your goals, it's communicating more effectively in a way that the audience (Oil Execs) will understand.
Countries, Governments, Oil Companies, Populations, Fossil Fuels, Lobbies, and Environmentalists
2) Big Picture:
Populations use fossil fuels because they're the easiest resource to use. Oil companies get revenue and, not only do they not have an incentive to research alternative fuels, they have an incentive to actually try and halt research. Lobbies get legislation to protect the Oil Companies. They influence the government and halt the flow of funding to alternative fuel research. Governments also feel that if they switch to alternative fuels, they'll be giving up resources to other governments in other countries. They feel that paying for research is too expensive and other countries will just keep taking more of the fossil fuels.
3) Below the Surface:
The reason Governments and Oil Conglomerates are unwilling to change is not due to lack of public support for these changes. The call for change is apparent. The problem is incentives. Until governments and, more importantly, Oil Companies that sign the checks for lobbyists understand that switching to alternative fuels can actually bring them revenue and increase their market share, these changes won't happen.
I hate to keep bringing up Neuro-economics, but it's important for this problem as well. When we evolved it was in the zero-sum world of yesterday when resources were scarce. If I benefit and increase my chances of passing on genes, you lose and decrease your chances, and so-on. Every one of us, including members of Government and Oil Companies, is hard-wired to think that if we spend the time and resources to research things like alternative fuels, we'll be the ones taking the hit and other countries will simply continue to use and profit off of fossil fuels.
4) The Solution:
Environmentalists need to focus on showing Oil Companies and Governments that alternative fuel research is not a zero-sum game and that both can profit dramatically from making these environmentally friendly changes. That's why groups need to pool resources and reach out to experts from a number of fields (economics, business, marketing, advertising, engineers, developers, etc.) who can provide data to these companies. For example: if an Oil Company like BP profited from alternative fuel research dramatically, other oil companies would join. Social media and online collaboration tools are built for this kind of work and they're perfect for this issue.
Forget apocalyptic climate forecasts: focus on the incentives and you'll get much further. It's not losing sight of your goals, it's communicating more effectively in a way that the audience (Oil Execs) will understand.
My name is Justin Powell. I am attending the University of Arizona as a Freshman pursuing a degree in Engineering Physics. I hope to try and help our planet become clean and push forward to solve the climate crisis. I want this planet to be clean and unpolluted for when my future children are born. I want this to be a beautiful place that they aren't ashamed to call their home.
If you are interested in my studies at the University of Arizona you can find my tumblelog at http://whatsphysics.tumblr.com/
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jepowell
If you are interested in my studies at the University of Arizona you can find my tumblelog at http://whatsphysics.tumblr.com/
You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jepowell
The top story is from Platts, where the industry is claiming that they have found two potential communities willing to take spent nuclear fuel. Here we go with PFS part two! The quake in L.A. has the NRC over to San Onofre, still more accidents in Europe, along with big pushes both way in the UK. The India and Iranian issues are right on the boiling over point, a big push for nukes in Russia and Brazil.
Go here for the rest of the stories
Go here for the rest of the stories
I took some time looking at my own energy use - not comprehensive, but specifically my electricity usage. I believe cleanly generated electricity will be the energy currency of the future, which is why I'm so determined to buy an electric car. The Tesla is a dream:
http://www.teslamotors.com/
but the Tango is a very real possibility:
http://www.commutercars.com/
So...aside from putting photovoltaic panels on the roof - another goal, I wanted to know how the electricity that came in from the grid was generated. Read More »
http://www.teslamotors.com/
but the Tango is a very real possibility:
http://www.commutercars.com/
So...aside from putting photovoltaic panels on the roof - another goal, I wanted to know how the electricity that came in from the grid was generated. Read More »
If you want to see an example of how web 2.0 can organize energy news by various means, go here!
Note, the focus is on nuclear energy, but check out the other energy news tab for an extensive set of news from oil prices, solar, wind climate change and energy conservation!
Note, the focus is on nuclear energy, but check out the other energy news tab for an extensive set of news from oil prices, solar, wind climate change and energy conservation!
Top Nuclear Stories (July 24th-28th)
European Accidents and the earthquake in Japan last week has rattled the public's nerves. The superb compensation series last week in the Rocky Mountain News has politicians calling for change. With safety issues popping up in Vermont isn't it time to start boning up on a bit of the industry's history of accidents a bit?
Click Here for the rest of the stories
European Accidents and the earthquake in Japan last week has rattled the public's nerves. The superb compensation series last week in the Rocky Mountain News has politicians calling for change. With safety issues popping up in Vermont isn't it time to start boning up on a bit of the industry's history of accidents a bit?
Click Here for the rest of the stories
If the WE Campaign relies on fuzzy notions of "lifestyle change" or is perceived as being an appeal to 'sacrifice' and conservation alone, it will certainly fail. Popular support for these non-starters evaporates rapidly outside the range of 72 to 78 degrees. Given a growing population and increasing prosperity in the developing world, a realistic permanent solution can only be found on the Production side, through the implementation of new environmental energy technologies.
Success of the WE Campaign and the Gore Climate Challenge will depend upon the rapid uptake of a wide variety of new technologies for the production of clean energy, and their proliferation throughout the economy. Hundreds of breakthroughs in clean energy have taken place over the past 30 years, many just since the turn of the Century. The real problem is not one of research or invention but of awareness and deployment.
Below we outline a way that the WE Campaign can mobilize its existing allies and resources to help connect clean energy technology ventures with individual and institutional customers who might otherwise never have considered alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. Read More »
Success of the WE Campaign and the Gore Climate Challenge will depend upon the rapid uptake of a wide variety of new technologies for the production of clean energy, and their proliferation throughout the economy. Hundreds of breakthroughs in clean energy have taken place over the past 30 years, many just since the turn of the Century. The real problem is not one of research or invention but of awareness and deployment.
Below we outline a way that the WE Campaign can mobilize its existing allies and resources to help connect clean energy technology ventures with individual and institutional customers who might otherwise never have considered alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. Read More »
Answer: 0.00 dollars.
Based on the facts outlined by the federal government's Energy Information Administration, Minnesota spends about 1/2 billion dollars annually on coal to pay for electrical generation. Back of the napkin calculations show that generating electricity by wind instead of coal would cost 10 billion dollars. (This is the amount needed to build roughly 7,000 turbines.) This is similar to the price of a huge mountain of coal-- a mountain that Minnesota would consume in 20 years, which is the lifespan of a wind generator. Because turbines could be located closer to sources of consumption, it's likely that less power would be lost due to resistance. Currently about half of the power generated by coal is lost to resistance. About 12 plants service the entire state. My calculations do not take into account this aspect of wind generation, but it could provide an additional boon.
Based on the facts outlined by the federal government's Energy Information Administration, Minnesota spends about 1/2 billion dollars annually on coal to pay for electrical generation. Back of the napkin calculations show that generating electricity by wind instead of coal would cost 10 billion dollars. (This is the amount needed to build roughly 7,000 turbines.) This is similar to the price of a huge mountain of coal-- a mountain that Minnesota would consume in 20 years, which is the lifespan of a wind generator. Because turbines could be located closer to sources of consumption, it's likely that less power would be lost due to resistance. Currently about half of the power generated by coal is lost to resistance. About 12 plants service the entire state. My calculations do not take into account this aspect of wind generation, but it could provide an additional boon.
I've been writing a "green" blog since early 2007 called GreenValhalla. In it I focus on Technology, Energy, Business and the Environment. I blogged a bit about the start-up I worked on for a while and my involvement in the 2007 California Clean Tech Open. I also have an ongoing series on alternative energy called "What's the Alternative?" I plan to use this outlet to cross-post my blogs which are relevant to the We Campaign. My most recent post was a response to Vice President Gore's challenge to America.
The wind turbines produced at the present time should be redesigned.
There is a new design which could increase the amperes that the generator can produce. It requires that GE give up the monopoly that they have on the industry. This wind turbine would have a vertical shaft for the vanes which would be i n the form of pinwheels and stacked the full heighth of the shaft. The generator would be at the bottom of the shaft which would make the rotation of the wind turbine more energetic.
There is a new design which could increase the amperes that the generator can produce. It requires that GE give up the monopoly that they have on the industry. This wind turbine would have a vertical shaft for the vanes which would be i n the form of pinwheels and stacked the full heighth of the shaft. The generator would be at the bottom of the shaft which would make the rotation of the wind turbine more energetic.
More homeschooling and Internet-based education can help solve energy problems
--Think about it - we drive our kids back and forth to school.
--If we don't drive them, the busdrivers do.
--Teachers and other staff must also drive back and forth to school.
--Furthermore, are the kids really receiving a high-quality education once they get there? Doubtful.
--The present system is ANTIQUATED and is a HUGE WASTE OF ENERGY and is BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. (This is a meme that could help tie together our movement with other movements - the greens, the environmentalists, the religious right, etc)
--What if kids homeschooled 3-4 days a week, and traveled to the physical school just 1-2 days a week for in-class science/lab study?
And I'm not sure what is currently available in terms of K-12 homeschooling/Internet-based education, but check out this initiative by MIT for what is taught at the college level.
MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm
All free of charge - granted, you don't get a degree for studying this material. But for those that can't afford college or won't be able to get a loan (thanks to tight credit conditions) - this could be a blessing and could prepare them for the point in time when they ARE ready for the official degree.
Ottawa, Ontario's city counselors have unanimously approved the building of a waste-to-energy facility that will daily convert 400 metric tons of trash to 21 megawatts of net electricity. The plant will be able to power about 19,000 homes. That's a whole lot of garbage lighting up a whole lot of homes.
The plant, proposed by PlascoEnergy Group, will use gasification (rather than more commonly used incineration) to generate electricity, and they're hoping they can use a cooler gasification process to lower the cost to a competitive price. The plant will utilize plasma-torch technology to break down trash into syngas - a mix of hydrogen and carbon monoxide - which can be burned in turbines and engines to create electricity. It's an expensive endeavor, hence the worry about getting the process tweaked to lower costs. They're also relying on the right combination of rising costs for traditional electricity and fees collected from the city. Sounds a little risky, but possibly doable. There's probably a few creative financing angles they could toss around too, in terms of trash collecting and whatnot, should the new gasification process turn out to be not be as money saving as they hope.
The facility will be North America's first, but similar plants in Europe and Asia can be used as examples. And the new plant likely won't be lonely for very long. Hawaii also approved $100 M in bonds for a gasification plant using similar technology, and competitor Ze-gen is starting up a pilot plant on a much smaller scale in Massachusetts that will use molten rock to break down garbage. Other waste-to-fuel plants use gasification to make syngas, which is then used to make ethanol. Ottawa's plant, however, would turn it directly into electricity. The plant could be operating in as soon as three years, which isn't a whole lot of time to get their process and plant put together. We'll have to wait and see if they can get all their ducks lined up to make the plant feasible.
--------------------------------------------
Written by Jaymi Heimbuch
Link.
Via TechnologyReview; Photo via PlascoEnergy Group
I saw the following article here.
by Heather Boerner, for Yahoo! HotJobs
White-hot jobs are opening up in the power sector.
"These aren't just hot jobs, they're sizzling jobs," said Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association. Wind energy grew by 45 percent last year. "We need every type of job candidate." Read More »
by Heather Boerner, for Yahoo! HotJobs
White-hot jobs are opening up in the power sector.
"These aren't just hot jobs, they're sizzling jobs," said Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association. Wind energy grew by 45 percent last year. "We need every type of job candidate." Read More »
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