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Consultants on Alternative Energy

The alternative energy consultants tell us that the transition from the petroleum-driven economy and society will not be a smooth one, on the whole. The amount of new technologies and infrastructures that need to be developed and built is staggering—even as Germany achieves powering 10% of the entire nation through the use of wind turbines and solar arrays, even as corporation after corporation is springing up, helped by various governments’ tax breaks and rebate incentives, to drive forward the alternative energy mission. We have lain dormant on alternative energy on the grand scale for so long that we now have to scramble to play catch-up as access to cheap oil lurks ever closer to being a thing of the past.

Consultants on alternative energy also tell us that we need multilateral, international efforts in concert with one another in the direction of getting away from the heavy—almost total—dependence on fossil fuels. They are poised to become too expensive, burning them is polluting the atmosphere, and digging for them is disrupting the natural environment. We have about 30 years left of reasonably cheap oil and gas—and consultants say that within 20 years beyond that point, we had better be at least 90% independent of them. Unfortunately, at the present time the world is mostly not acting as if this is the case. The thirst for oil is growing, not slaking, and it is growing faster now than it did even in the 1970s.

One of the major problems of transition, the consultants point out, is that higher oil and gas prices stimulate the economy (This flies in the face of what many energy so-called “experts” and many members of the public believe, but the fact is that oil and gas are found and manufactured and transported by huge corporations who employ multitudes of staff workers and contractors; and from their huge profits their stocks remain lucrative on Wall Street.). Alternative, or “green” energy has to become more marketplace friendly, more profitable to investors and would-be employers. Wall Street does not like change; so there is resistance to this much-needed economic transition. It is because of this that many consultants are saying that we need an international, governments-backed initiative put into place; we are told that we cannot expect the new economy to spring forth overnight, all clean and polished and perfected, from the black ashes of the fossil fuel economy phoenix.  

It is most imperative that the wealthy, big-production nations such as the US, Japan, Western Europe, and others be the ones to spearhead the effort to get off of the fossil fuel dependence. Smaller, poorer nations are very simply never going to achieve the level of energy production through coal and oil that these nations have—for by the time they would be ready to, the cheap access to the fossil fuels will be gone, and they will never be able to sustain their newly-risen civilizations at that time as we have been able to do.  The time for transition from black to green is now.

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Types of Alternative Fuels

There are many different types of alternative fuels that are being developed these days which is an exciting innovation in the vehicle industry.  Alternative fuels are the wave of the future as scientists look for cleaner burning fuels that won’t damage the environment while providing great advantages to the vehicle owner.  They have come up with several.

Probably the most well known type of alternative fuel is ethanol.  Ethanol is often called grain alcohol as it is made from corn and/or soybeans.  Right now on the market is E85 which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.  Even though it still has gasoline in it, ethanol burns much cleaner than regular gas and saves on gas mileage for those who use it.  Ethanol can also be made from organic materials including agricultural crops and waste, plant material left from logging, and trash including paper!

Another type of alternative fuel is methanol, a cousin of ethanol as they are both alcohol based products.  Methanol is sometimes called wood alcohol and can be made from various biomass resources like wood, as well as from coal. However, today nearly all methanol is made from natural gas, or methane, because it is cheaper.

Propane, or compressed natural gas has long been used to provide energy to homes, but it is rising in popularity as a type of alternative fuel for vehicles.  Like oil, this common fuel comes from underground. However, natural gas, as the name implies, is a gas much like air, rather than a liquid like petroleum. It has been found to be one of the most environmentally friendly fuels, and its popularity is growing.

You can find another type of alternative fuel in the form of good old fashioned electricity.  In fact, electric vehicles have been around for a long time, and they are coming back in popularity due to environmental concerns.  Electric vehicles don’t burn gasoline in an engine. They use electricity stored on the car in batteries. Sometimes, 12 or 24 batteries, or more, are needed to power the car.

One of the most interesting and promising type of alternative transportation fuels is hydrogen. While mostly only experimental vehicles are operating on this fuel now, the potential for this unique energy source is excellent. Hydrogen is the lightest of all elements and is easy to produce which is why it is sending excitement waves throughout the alternative fuel industry as they next big type of alternative fuel that can be used in vehicles.

These are only a few types of alternative fuels and more are being developed all the time.  With a growing concern over global warming, the use of alternative fuels will grow in popularity over time and you will likely begin to see many other types of alternative fuels make their appearance.

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Micro Fuel Cell

We are in an energy crisis when it comes to our transportation needs, and the micro fuel cell might just be the answer to our problems.  Micro fuel cell technology is leading the way towards developing new products that allow nature to provide the model for energy solutions.  Conventional batteries are becoming inadequate for the increasing power and complexity of portable electronic devices such as cell phones, laptop computers, and video recorders. Soon there will be a new portable power solution – micro fuel cells.

Fuel cells have traditionally been developed for use in fuel cell vehicles as an alternative to gas-guzzling vehicles.  There are other types of products that require energy as well – such as those mentioned above.  They need to have effective, clean solutions to regular batteries – solutions that can allow them to run longer and faster without sacrificing performance.  That’s where a micro fuel cell can come into being.

The first micro fuel cells developed were designed to be compatible replacements for conventional cellular phone battery packs. Capable of being produced in economical mile-long, thin, printed sheets (much like printed circuits), micro fuel cells may eventually obsolete small batteries.

Better, smaller, less-costly, environmentally safe, and much more efficient, the patented technologies of the methanol-based micro fuel cell are expected to drive a digital cellular telephone on standby for 6 months as opposed to 2 weeks with lithium ion batteries. In addition, the micro fuel cell will, when developed, provide 1 week of talk time instead of the current 5 hours that lithium ion battery-powered cell phones now provide.

The great news is that micro fuel cells could eventually become equivalent to the standard car battery with enough power to start and power a car.  Although developers are not confident at this point in research that micro fuel cells will have enough power to match that of a conventional battery, their biggest concern is that using micro fuel cells in cars would be cost prohibitive.  However, as the technology is refined and developed, and fuel cell production is optimized, replacing the battery will make economic sense.

Micro fuel cells are designed to run on hydrogen or other natural alternatives to gasoline.  That’s actually what all developing fuel cells are designed to run on.  In fact, micro fuel cell companies are currently working on technology that will allow the micro fuel cell to replace internal combustion engines completely.  That’s an amazing advancement when it comes to alternative fuel technology as well as the new “green” movement that is sweeping the Earth.  We say, stand by for further details!

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Is Recycling A Waste Of Time, Money And Energy?

Most of us feel guilty if we do not take the trouble to wash and sort all those reusable plastics, papers and tins. We do this to avoid throwing them in the bin which then ends up in the landfill sites around the country. But how useful is recycling and can it really solve the “waste crisis”?

UK households generate a staggering thirty million tonnes of rubbish a year, of which sixty per cent comes from packaging. There has been a lot of publicity recently about waste that has been put out for recycling ending up in landfill sites. It is also clear that an increasing amount is being shipped to other countries to dispose of. It can be cheaper to transport it to other countries than to recycle it or fill up the landfill sites in the UK.

The European Union (EU) has recently ordered the citizens of the United Kingdom to roughly double their recycling rates by 2008. Governments across the European Union and America have announced plans to require more recycling. Unless the UK hits these targets, local council tax bills across the UK will soar unless local authorities hit their recycling targets to enable the UK to hit their targets set by the EU.

The UK government already charges tax for dumping waste in landfill sites to encourage us to recycle more and this tax is due to increase.

This will punish local councils which continue to use landfills and council tax payers will pay the price for poor performance by not recycling themselves or by not having the facilities to do this. It’s therefore cheaper to recycle then to dump in the landfill sites. The UK currently recycles 22 per cent of its household waste while some other EU countries recycle more than half. The UK proposes cutting the amount of waste put into landfill sites from 72 per cent today to 25 per cent by 2020.

Some Thing to Think About -The Future?

- Why do we use all that energy recycling paper to save the trees? There is the argument that paper should be recycled so that we save trees and forests but we now grow trees just to produce newsprint and other items. Is it a sustainable resource already?

- New landfills are constructed in the USA and this should happen in the UK on a large scale which would enable the UK to pipe the methane gas that they produce to local power plants supplying homes in a green and eco way.

- We need to ensure that any recycling programmes that are run are delivered effectively. That means tracing waste down the chain to its ultimate destination. Transparency should inform the whole waste management industry.

- If a study in undertaken and it concludes that it costs more to recycle than to bury the used and manufacture the new from scratch, then we could start landfills just for plastic, one for glass etc. then if we do run out of them we can dig them all up in one go for recycling. For example, if the throwing away of plastic continues and continuing oil shortages mean that it is more cost effective we can recycle them all at once by mining the landfills and it would be cheaper and easier then continuous recycling.

- At present, only an estimated fifteen per cent of UK households have access to kerbside collections, if they these collections do not cover glass, paper, plastic etc. then how far do you have to drive to the nearest recycling centre and how much do you have to collect at home to ensure that you are not making more damage by driving then the amount of energy you are saving by recycling? What about the financial cost to collect the recycling or to take it to the recycling centre? What about the energy taken to recycle it? Is oil really running out? How much landfill is available?

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Portable Solar Energy Power Stations

Portable solar energy power stations may sound, to some, like a dream. They can think of many places where portable solar would be useful, such as the RV they love to take camping, or the boat they use for long fishing trips. They cannot imagine, though, that portable solar energy power stations actually do exist.
 
Portable solar energy power stations have many practical uses, which we will discuss later, but what is portable solar power?

Description of Portable Solar Power

Portable solar power is energy generated from sunlight, the generator being of a size and form that can be moved readily from place to place.

Most portable solar power units use photovoltaic panels (PV panels) in one way or another. Some are amazingly small, and can be carried in a pocket, while others must be moved on a flat-bed trailer or truck.
 
Examples of Portable Solar Power

You may already be using portable solar power without realizing it. The following are examples of different sizes and styles of portable solar power.

1. Pocket calculators have been using portable solar power for years. Expose the calculator to sunlight, and it stores solar power for use. You can then carry this solar power into a field or up a mountain track.
 
2. Garden lights, or lights around a swimming pool now use portable solar power. If you want to rearrange your lights, or you decide to carry one as a flashlight, the portable solar power goes with you.

3. A multipurpose portable solar power unit is the fold-out solar panel that can be carried in a case the size of your day planner. Wherever you take it, you can open the panel to charge your cell phone battery, GPS, or other similar “gadget” you carry.

4. “Powerfilm” products are paper-thin PV panels – further examples of portable solar power. These products can be easily carried to charge almost all Lithium, NiCad or NiMH batteries. You can recharge batteries for boom boxes at the beach or while camping. You can recharge your digital camera or camcorder while on a hike. As long as you have sunlight, you have portable solar power.

5. Flexible PV panels, rugged and durable, give portable solar power for hikers and campers. This portable solar power can be rolled up like a sleeping bag, and then set up anywhere. You can drop it, step on it, dampen it while crossing a stream – and it will still give you power.

6. Larger portable solar energy power stations can consist of one or more photovoltaic panels (PV panels), simple wiring for the input jack, and a battery – sometimes referred to as a power pack. A commercially-produced portable solar power unit like this may also include a small fluorescent light, and a connection to your vehicle’s cigarette lighter plug.
 
Examples of Innovative Portable Solar Power

Portable solar energy can, as we said, be carried with you. It can provide electrical energy when you travel to a remote third world village on business. It can provide military units with necessary electrical energy while they are on the move. It can power a small heater in a winter camping tent, or provide a reading light for campers. It is valuable and convenient.

As our demand for that value and convenience increases, portable solar power is becoming more innovative. Portable solar power is being added to clothing and backpacks. It is being added to handbags. You need never worry about cell phones, laptops or other electronics going dead again. Portable solar power is yours to use, anywhere, free.

Did you know about these products? Some are experimental, but others area on the market.

1. If you want “lady-like” portable solar power, you might choose the “Power Purse” as a lovely accessory. This purse is more than an accessory, though. It can power up small electronics. Designed by Joe Hynek in a handbag competition, this little black bag is covered with laminated portable solar power panels. It has a short plastic handle, and can easily be carried anywhere. Imagine the possibilities.

2. But a purse is not always appropriate. If you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a field, you might be happy to have the “Juice Bag” backpack on your shoulders. A Juice Bag is a worldwide patented portable solar power backpack. Flexible ballistic nylon solar panels make it lighter than solar bags with stiff glass solar panels. Take off your Juice Bag when you need to recharge items such as cameras, cell phones, or GPS units. It generates electricity in both direct and indirect sunlight.

3. Portable solar power is also available in a cozy jacket with multiple pockets. Hikers, military personnel, and travelers can fill the pockets with cell phone, GPS, laptop, camera, and other electronic devices. Then slip the 3 ounce portable solar power panel into a special holder on the back of the jacket, and you can generate energy for your electronics.

Portable solar energy power stations make use of these ideas and more. They may be large enough to generate sufficient electrical power for a small village, or small enough to be carried by a child. Whichever it is, portable solar power is definitely “on the go” in many places and in many ways.

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Saving On Home Energy Costs

These days, a major factor for many home improvement projects is the need to cut down on energy costs by making the home more energy efficient.

Many home owners are finding that simple projects that require little initial investment will save them a bundle in the summer and the winter, when heating and cooling costs really begin to add up. Here are some areas and ideas you can check on to make sure that your home is wasting the least possible amount of energy.

Water: Water in any form is a general conservation concern, and there are areas throughout North America where water is at such a premium that usage is measured in much the same way as electricity; through the use of meters. The same methods for conserving your water in the home can also be used when it comes to cutting down on your gas or electric bill by watching your hot water intake.

A major area for the loss of hot water is the bath. In order to cut costs, consider installing a water smart showerhead- these easy to screw on water savers can be bought both as attachable heads, which are mounted directly on your shower spout, or as heads attached to a tube which allows for flexibility and a large range of motion. The best water saving heads will have several controls to adjust the flow and pressure of water.

You should also take a look at repairing any leaky taps in your home, whether in the bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room. A leaky tap can mean hundreds of gallons of water used needlessly every day, in addition to the annoyance of the noise.

Heating and Cooling: The main factors in energy use as far as homes go is in their heating in the wintertime and cooling in the form of air conditioning in the summer time. Some basic home improvement ideas can help you maintain a static temperature in your home without having to use extra power.

Windows are always the first area to check in the event of air loss. Older houses contain only single-pane windows, and in order to retain the air temperature of your house double paned windows are necessary; in fact, in many places double paned windows are mandatory. Upgrading your windows is a relatively easy task, although the windows themselves may be expensive. Check the seals around the window edges to make sure they are intact and offer no leaks.

The next area to check for air leaks is around your doors. Doors will contract over time, leaving minute cracks along the bottoms and the edges which can allow drafts or escaped air. This is a pretty simple thing to fix, simply by adding some additional caulking or weather stripping to the area where you can feel the leak.

Finally, a roof in need of repair can cause a lot of air to escape. Remember that heat rises, so if your roof is in disrepair you stand to lose quite a lot of heat out of the top of your home. Check your roof every year to make sure there are no loose shingles, and most houses require a roof to be replaced every twenty-five years. Adding a second whirlybird to the top of your house can greatly improve the circulation of air inside.

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Alternative Fuel Hummer

Ever since the military allowed the design of the hummer to be made public, people have gone crazy over its design.  General Motors acquired the brand name and marketing rights of the hummer and now that alternative fuels have begun to grow in popularity, they are also beginning to make an alternative fuel hummer.

Classically, the hummer has been a non-favorite vehicle for environmentalists because it gets horrific gas mileage and uses more gas than a regular vehicle.  That’s why it made sense for someone to come up the design for an alternative fuel hummer that would be easy on the environment as well as the driver’s pocketbook.

There is a pioneer in the green movement to make a hummer that could run on alternative fuels.  His name is Tom Holm and he is with the non-profit organization Eco-Trek Organization who promotes cleaner air by using cars that burn alternative fuels instead of gasoline.  He decided that he was tired of his gas guzzling hummer and wanted to make it more environmentally friendly considering his association with Eco-Trek.  So he set out to make an alternative fuel hummer.  And he succeeded.

He now sells alternative fuel hummers that have shown to be very popular and selling at a really quick rate.  He “tricks out” his vehicles and makes them visually appealing as well.  He is highly thought of especially among the young crowd who want an environmentally safe vehicle that looks cool and can run on alternative fuel – that would be Tom’s hummers.

His alternative fuel hummers run on bio-diesel made from soybeans and corn.  They use less petroleum than a hybrid car and are capable of running entirely on vegetable oil alone.  That’s right, you can run one of his alternative fuel hummers on Crisco!  This alternative fuel hummer may be the biggest thing on the road, but it doesn’t use one drop of petroleum and gets 23 miles per gallon.

Celebrities are big fans of these alternative fuel hummers including California governor Arnold Schwarzneggar who owns two hummers that run on bio-diesel.  He recently had one of his hummers modified to run on hydrogen as well which emits absolutely no greenhouse gas which, of course, is great for the environment.

If you love the look of a hummer but want one that runs on alternative fuel, fear not.  The product is out there to buy ready made or you can one converted into an eco-friendly vehicle.  Keep in mind it will cost you some money, but when you consider what you are doing for our planet, owning and driving an alternative fuel hummer can be well worth the cost!

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Save Money On Gasoline And Move America To Energy Independence

When gasoline prices are high, nobody wants to be fuelish. High gasoline prices act like an additional tax on American families. According to the Department of Energy, passenger cars and light trucks account for almost 42 percent of U.S. oil consumption and are a major source of air pollution. By doing these simple things to reduce gas mileage, you can save money and help America reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil.

Driving Tips

• Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage up to 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.

• Idle as little as possible-idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. You need no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days before driving away. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.

• Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip.

Slow Down

• Avoid high speeds. Each five mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.15 per gallon for gas depending on the current price. Your equivalent gas savings will be from $0.12 to $0.82 per gallon.

• Use air-conditioning only when driving above 30 miles an hour.

Car Maintenance Tips

• Keep tires properly inflated and aligned and improve your gas mileage by around 3.3 percent.

• If the yellow (check engine) light is on, your car might need service.

• Start carpooling and using mass transit, plus arrange to telecommute.

• Get the junk out of the trunk; light cars use less fuel.

A vehicle that gets 30 mpg will cost you $750 less to fuel each year than one that gets 20 mpg (assuming 15,000 miles of driving annually and a fuel cost of $3.00/gallon). Over a period of five years, the 30 mpg vehicle will save you $3,750.

$ Long-Term Savings Tip

• Consider a fuel-efficient vehicle for your next purchase, such as a hybrid or flex-fuel vehicle, which are available in more models every year.

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Alternative Energy Development in Japan

Japan is a densely populated country, and that makes the Japanese market more difficult compared with other markets. If we utilize the possibilities of near-shore installations or even offshore installations in the future, that will give us the possibility of continued use of wind energy. If we go offshore, it’s more expensive because the construction of foundations is expensive. But often the wind is stronger offshore, and that can offset the higher costs. We’re getting more and more competitive with our equipment. The price—if you measure it per kilowatt-hour produced—is going lower, due to the fact that turbines are getting more efficient. So we’re creating increased interest in wind energy. If you compare it to other renewable energy sources, wind is by far the most competitive today. If we’re able to utilize sites close to the sea or at sea with good wind machines, then the price per kilowatt-hour is competitive against other sources of energy, go the words of Svend Sigaard, who happens to be president and CEO of the world’s largest wind turbine maker, Vestas wind systems out of Denmark. Vestas is heavily involved in investments of capital into helping Japan expand its wind turbine power generating capacity. It is seeking to get offshore installations put into place in a nation that it says is ready for the fruits of investment into alternative energy research and development.

The Japanese know that they cannot become subservient to the energy supply dictates of foreign nations—World War II taught them that, as the US decimated their oil supply lines and crippled their military machine. They need to produce energy of their own, and they being an isolated island nation with few natural resources that are conducive to energy production as it is defined now are very open to foreign investment and foreign development as well as the prospect of technological innovation that can make them independent. Allowing corporations such as Vestas to get the nation running on more wind-produced energy is a step in the right direction for the Japanese people.

The production of energy through what is known as microhydoelectric power plants has also been catching on in Japan. Japan has a myriad rivers and mountain streams, and these are ideally suited places for the putting up of microhydroelectric power plants, which are defined by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization as power plants run by water which have a maximum output of 100 kilowatts or less. By comparison, “minihydroelectric” power plants can put out up to 1000 kilowatts of electrical energy.

In Japan, the small-scaled mini- and micro-hydroelectric power plants have been regarded for a considerable time as being suitable for creating electricity in mountainous regions, but they have through refinement come to be regarded as excellent for Japanese cities as well. Kawasaki City Waterworks, Japan Natural Energy Company, and Tokyo Electric Power Company have all been involved in the development of small-scale hydroelectric power plants within Japanese cities.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

Fuel cell technology has come a long way towards using hydrogen as an alternative fuel to power cars.  Hydrogen fuel is probably the most promising of all alternative fuels as it is produced by removing the gas from water and produces only water vapor as emissions.  The next logical step is for car companies to start producing cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells.

GMC has already done that with the production of the Chevy Equinox.  This amazing vehicle looks and performs just like any other car, but it has a marked difference.  It operates only on hydrogen fuel cells making it one of the premiere cars in the alternative fuel push in this country.

The Equinox is a beautiful SUV-type vehicle that is high performance, can carry up to four occupants, and achieve speeds of up to one hundred miles per hour.  It has been crash-tested and is expected to meet all applicable 2007 U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

You will also enjoy the benefits of driver and front passenger head curtain side air bags, the StabiliTrak Electronic Stability Control System, four-wheel antilock disc brakes with Traction Control, and OnStar. On the outside, you’ll notice premium Tricoat paint and unique styling that is distinctively Chevrolet.  The Chevy Equinox is an amazing hydrogen fuel cell car that is friendly to the environment and the consumer.

Other car companies are starting to realize that hydrogen fuel cell cars are becoming more and more popular.  They are producing vehicles that embrace this technology as more and more people begin to realize that having an alternative fuel vehicle is good for the environment as well as our country.

The production of hydrogen fuel cell cars can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and thus provide for our own independence.  That means that we can find energy right here on American soil without having to bow to the powers of oil companies overseas who set the price of oil that make gas prices soar.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars are the wave of the future.  Car companies are starting to realize this more and more.  When we start to make a movement towards green vehicles rather than powering our cars with toxic emission-spewing gasoline cars, we will realize great benefits both to the United States as well as the world!

President Bush has known this for years which is why he has appropriated billions of dollars toward investigating the use of hydrogen fuel cells to power cars.  And the technology is still young.  There’s no telling where it can go from here!

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