Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'energy' clips

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: As I listen to President Bush suggesting that Americans turn down their thermostat and use less gasoline I have to ask myself, Was Jimmy Carter a prophet?

Most people don't know it but Jimmy Carter wanted to set a goal of obtaining 20 percent of our energy from solar power by the year 2000.

Clip Source: www.ajc.com

Can we now acknowledge that Jimmy Carter was right all those years ago?

Americans, who hate to be told they must change, roundly condemned Carter's memorable "Crisis of Confidence" speech of July 15, 1979. In it, Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence: "On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny."

He was right in seeking to raise the fleet auto mileage standard to 48 miles per gallon by 1995. (Even U.S. automakers admitted at the time that they could easily achieve 30 mpg by 1985.)

Carter was right in exhorting Americans to turn down their thermostats, even if he did look nerdy in a cardigan while urging us to do so.

In his July 1979 speech, he was right when he said, "I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 —- never." That worthy goal quickly went by the board.

Nuclear Ghosts: On Anniversary, Three Mile Island Still Haunts Industry

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:19:12 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

As nuclear power races back into the energy agenda, it keeps getting waylaid by old ghosts. Today is the 29th anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, when a partial core meltdown in one of the reactors led to five days of panic and 14 years of expensive clean-up.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, which opposes the nuclear revival on safety grounds, invoked the accident this week: “Three Mile Island was almost 30 years ago so perhaps the industry and the NRC have forgotten about it,” said Dave Lochbaum, the director of UCS’s Nuclear Safety Project.

It’s doubtful either the NRC or the industry have, but no one else has for sure. When California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was in favor of using nuclear energy to help California meet its energy needs, he received a shower of editorial criticism. The L.A. Times, picking up on the Governor’s comments that Three Mile Island references are often just scare tactics, rebutted this week:

Tags: three mile island, nuclear, power, union of concerned scientists

Taos Solar Music Festival Promotes Renewable Energy with the Power of Music

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:14:32 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: The festival’s Solar Stage will be powered by photovoltaic panels while the main stage uses the wind energy from Kit Carson Electric

Clip Source: www.webwire.com

Proclaimed the Solar Capital of the World, Taos, New Mexico has been committed to going green for a long time, and this summer thousands of people from around the world will gather their umbrellas, sunscreen, family and friends, and make a musical pilgrimage to this high desert town for the 10th Annual Taos Solar Music Festival. Renowned for its brave and eclectic montage of musical acts, a solar and wind powered stage and educational Solar Village, the 2008 festival is scheduled for June 27-29th.

http://www.solarmusicfest.com.

They’re walking the walk and living green.

The festival’s Solar Stage will be powered by photovoltaic panels while the main stage uses the wind energy from Kit Carson Electric

Tags: music, solar, photovoltaic, wind

The World's Biggest Clean-Energy Projects

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:36:18 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Use the links to read the full story and to view the pictures and descriptions of the biggest clean energy projects.

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

In Pictures:
The World's Biggest Clean-Energy Projects

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Read the full story William Pentland

Gadgets that help Conserving energy at Home

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:30:21 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.usnews.com

These gadgets save power without breaking the bank

Simple meters can help identify energy hogs. The Kill A Watt (about $25 online) monitors the electricity used at one outlet.

Even when switched off, most electronics continue sucking small streams of current. That phantom load can consume 5 to 20 percent of a home's total electrical bill. The Bye Bye Standby starter kit (about $30) uses a wireless remote control to completely cut power to two outlets.

HYmini ($50) can put wind power into a handset. A battery stores electricity for small devices, such as cellphones, and can be charged from an outlet.

The Black & Decker CMM1200 ($400) packs enough of a charge to cut a third of an acre. It's also the first mower to earn an Energy Star rating.

Tankless heaters deliver water on demand

The Rheem RTG-53 (about $800) can supply two showers at a time, including north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 12 (about $350) can provide enough water for one satisfying shower at a time

Tags: energy savings

Solar king and the Stalin of windpower

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:58:06 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This article is long and detailed so follow the link for more information.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hermann Scheer has been described both as the "solar king" and the "Stalin of windpower"

"Our dependence on fossil fuels amounts to global pyromania,

"And the only fire extinguisher we have at our disposal is renewable energy".

Scheer, chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy

what has become known as "Scheer's law", German households and businesses that generate renewable energy can sell it back to the grid at more than triple the normal market price.

"The key to it working is that consumers have guaranteed access to the grid at guaranteed prices,"

More than 300,000 individuals and small businesses have jumped at the opportunity in Germany, and the number is rising all the time. Scheer's family, whose house is powered by a windmill, is among them.

Scheer's law has created whole new industries - wind power, which employs 80,000 people in Germany, and photovoltaic (solar) power, which employs 40,000

"You give people energy independence and you get social commitment

Tags: hermann scheer

The Solar House, Part Two and Three

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:31:48 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: photovoltaicsolarpower.blogspot.com

In fact, because we now generate more solar energy than we can use, we welcome friends who own electric vehicles over to charge their car batteries for free.

Tags: solar house, array

Newark rooftops could be used to yield a fifth of city's electricity needs

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:57:34 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.delawareonline.com

Rooftop solar panels could provide Newark with more than a fifth of the city's total electricity, a University of Delaware researcher said Friday.

Researchers from UD's Center for the Energy and the Environment used mapping software and a solar energy assessment program to determine how much rooftop space was actually usable for solar panels.

They used aerial images to determine which houses would be best for panels, eliminating those with too much shading from trees, chimneys, nearby buildings or other obstructions.

Flat-roofed buildings are ideal for solar, Zhou said, and Newark has plenty, with UD's many buildings and the city's industrial sector. South-facing roofs are also best, to catch the sun's rays most often.

The team found that Newark has 5.8 million square feet of suitable, available rooftop real estate. Solar panels on that area could generate 77.9 gigawatts per hour of electricity, or 21 percent of the city's power usage in 2006, Zhou said.

Tags: solar, energy, newark

The Incredible Hybrid Solar Home--Enertia House

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:05:18 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: photovoltaicsolarpower.blogspot.com

This house heats and cools itself bringing benefits to the homeowner and the environment. The Enertia House can make more energy than it uses! The house won the grand prize from the History Channel and the National Inventors Hall of Fame (first out of 25,000 entries).

Enertia is energy made useful by a shift-in-Time.

Michael Sykes coined the term "Enertia®" for the useful energy that can be captured from thermal, rotational, or electrical inertia.

Using inertia, 80% of world energy needs can be met with a simple shift-in-Time. Summer thermal buildup can be shifted to fill Winter thermal needs.

Daytime solar gain to fill night-time needs.

Read about hybrid solar houses and designs.

Read about the Science behing the house.

Tags: photovoltaic, solar, energy, house, heating, cooling

Debate over global warming

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:45:24 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Its all about money as usual. This is a sad period in history. We need some real leadership.

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

The Washington debate over global warming must be getting serious, because big business is pulling out its big guns.

Utility trade group Edison Electric Institute fired off a letter to Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer yesterday raging against the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill, a cap-and-trade plan in Congress that would curb U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.

the American Petroleum Institute –another lobby– unveiled another study saying the main provisions in the House and Senate energy bills (especially tougher fuel economy standards and renewable energy requirements) would wipe out 5 million jobs

The letter cited Senate testimony by CRA International, a business consultancy, that says the bill would cost $4 trillion to $6 trillion. (CRA answered Sen. Lieberman’s queries on Monday with a 113-page letter.

David Montgomery, a former Department of Energy forecaster

“They don’t try to assess the impact of climate change.”

Tags: climate change, global warming

Consumers ‘Hanging on for Dear Life’

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:39:39 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Consumers haven’t fallen off of the proverbial cliff, but they appear to be hanging on for dear life… Indeed, the August through October period marks the worst three-month performance for core retail sales since July through September 2002

Richard Moody, Mission Residential

The consumer is facing the twin headwinds associated with high energy costs and a negative wealth effect tied to lower housing prices. One of the keys going forward will be whether the labor market continues to provide sufficient income support to prevent too much of a slide in consumer demand. –Morgan Stanley Research

Looking ahead, the sluggish start to the fourth quarter points to a marked slowdown in consumer spending — and in GDP growth. –David Resler, Nomura Securities

Today’s data supports our view that the holiday shopping season could see one of the weakest gains in spending in years. –Drew Matus, Lehman Brothers

And the full impacts from the rise in energy costs have yet to be seen. –Naroff Economic Advisors

Tags: consumers, economy, gdp

Speed Balls, Bullgaritas and Bull Breezes

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:48:48 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Students sucking down Speed Balls, Bullgaritas and Bull Breezes were much more likely to be hurt or injured, to ride with an intoxicated driver or to take advantage of someone else sexually.

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

If Red Bull gives you wings, as the energy drink’s advertising suggests, what happens when you mix the popular beverage with alcohol? Broken wings, all too often, says a study from Wake Forest University.

Researchers there found that college students who down cocktails of booze and energy drinks, such as Red Bull, run a significantly higher risk of injury compared with students who stick to uncaffeinated alcoholic beverages. The students sucking down Speed Balls, Bullgaritas and Bull Breezes were much more likely to be hurt or injured, to ride with an intoxicated driver or to take advantage of someone else sexually.

“The analogy I like to use is that it’s like stepping on the gas pedal and the break pedal of a car at the same time,” Mary Claire O’Brien

She presented the findings at a meeting of the American Public Health Association.

The results follow several studies that found mixing alcohol, a depressant, and caffeine, a stimulant, can make people feel less drunk than they really are.

Tags: red bull, speed balls, bullgaritas, bull breezes, american public health association, alcohol, depressant, caffeine, stimulant

Winter heating costs seen rising 22 percent

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:08:37 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Government: Cold winter is predicted; seasonal cost for heating fuel to soar

NEW YORK - It’s going to be a much more expensive winter for households that depend on heating oil, the government predicted Tuesday, while those that use natural gas should experience only moderate price increases.

Heating oil customers will pay an average of $319, or 22 percent, more this winter than last in large part because of soaring crude oil prices, the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration estimated. Natural gas customers are forecast to pay $78, or 10 percent, more for heat between October and March.

Tags: cold winter, hating, costs, heating oil, crude oil, energy department

Save Some Money While You Save The Earth

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:01:53 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: solarlion.blogspot.com

Scott Eisensmith has heard all the stereotypes about having a so-called "green" house.

He would like to say his switch to solar was driven by eco-friendly motives but the truth is his decisions were driven by the financial benefits as well.

My gas bill is down to about $12, he says, pointing out it used to run more than $100 a month.

Eisensmith says, the electric company now sends him checks, not bills, in the mail.

Tags: solar, energy, house, utility bill, gas, electric