Giant suction cup for creating green energy

This week's email brought this article from Grist about a new way to create electricity from wind.  I guess it's appropriate that the giant toilet plungers will be used in water, eh?  Gotta love the picture!

I'm still a fan of small local networks of energy production rather than the big grid but that's not going to be the first step.  The first step is feeding into the big grid with cleaner, less expensive energy sources and this is a less destructive part of that.

Solar & Wind power going mainstream

I'm back from vacation, all rested and relaxed, with over 500 pictures of birds and landscapes. It will probably be a week or so before I finish processing them, a fairly tedious but necessary task, so I was very pleased by today's Grist email containing two articles about non-fossil fuel power generation. Apparently, big power companies are investing in solar power. Finally! Read the details here.

Secondly, there's a pretty map showing how much of each state's total electrical power could be supplied by wind power generation within their state. Talk about going local! There's also a link to the full report about energy self sufficiency. Read it here.

Local energy production means local jobs

Great news on the going green front today from grist.org: there's a rural community movement to produce their energy locally from sustainable sources and a village in Germany has hit 100% local energy production. It took them 8 years, given the government support for renewable energy in Germany, and there are rural communities in the US doing the same. Read more here. I think this is great - reduces carbon production, reduces dependence on foreign oil, and produces more jobs for local people. What's not to like?

Solar power & politics

I've taken a small break from the virtual vacation while I deal with negotiating the sale of our house. But this crossed my email desk today, and I thought it worth sharing as we head into voting time.

US Solar boom requires policy and money, not sunshine is the headline of the article. It discusses the climate needed to quickly grow alternative energy, and the role of government in accelerating the development of a new industry.

I particularly like this quote from the article:

Exhibit A for such a phenomenon is Germany. With about as much sunshine as Maine, the European nation became the world's solar stronghold through policies that rewarded homeowners, businesses, and farmers for generating their own electricity.

Click on the link above to read the whole thing.

Tidal power in Snohomish - coming soon!

Today's email brought a link to this article about tidal power research in Snohomish County, just to the north of Seattle. Our federal dollars were important in funding the research, and will lead to power coming from the tides in 2012, if all goes as planned. I'll be interested in seeing how this goes. I think each area will have a better form of alternative energy depending on the local conditions. Hot and sunny, go solar. Lots of wind or tide, use that. I also think decentralized and multisource is a better way to go than a single giant electric grid, but that's a different post for another day. *smile*

Birds & Wind Power - how to really tell how many birds are being killed

Okay, that's a provocative title on my blog post, but I'm seriously torn about this issue. I'm a birder, and I do bird themed art, so I care deeply about birds. I also think renewable energy sources are definitely the way to go. So, I've been following the various reports about birds and wind turbines quite closely. I was pleased to see the birdnote coverage about a local project and the new technology to not only tell how many birds are in the area, but potentially shut off the turbines when endangered species (specifically marbled murrelets) approach. See the birdnote short here (actually hear it, since it's a 2 minute radio bit) and follow the 'still more' link to read a more comprehensive article about it. F or those that care, wind turbines kill about 6500 birds a year in the USA while other common causes of bird deaths such as skyscrapers and cars kill several million. Just sayin'.

Going green: great news!

Today's email brought in a story about total energy use being down 5% in the US. And a big increase in alternative energy use. As the mother of a young man soon to join the Air Force, I can only applaud the actions that lead to less dependence on foreign oil. And as someone who believes we need to lighten our impact on the earth, it's also great news. So I share it. Read the full story here.

Green energy and the FHA - let's write letters!

When I was on vacation in 2008, I wrote about possible financing approaches for solar power on homes that was being discussed in Boulder, and already implemented in Berkeley. In the intervening 2 years, the idea has spread like wildfire to more than 20 states, but hit a roadbump recently with a FHFA ruling about mortgages in May. Grist.org has the story here. Seems to me, this is the perfect place for a little citizen activism, like a letter, email or phone call. This is a wonderful approach to financing alternative power sources at the home level, and should be encouraged by our government. If you agree, let them know.

Electric car support infrastructure coming to WA

Today's email brought a link to this article about electric car charging stations along I5 in Washington state. Read it here. There are several interesting points raised, particularly in the comments, although I can't help but think that I'd still prefer to have a hybrid car that could run on either fuel so my chances of not being able to recharge or refuel would be less. That's why I bought the Prius model we got, so we can do the aftermarket upgrade to a plug-in with additional battery capacity and still have the hybrid capability. It will be interesting to see how this all works out over the next few years.

Backup battery for your house or how to go off-grid for up to a week

Panasonic announces a battery for your home, able to store enough energy for a week. I think this is exciting news since having an easy energy storage system will make intermittent energy production more useful. If I have a battery that stores enough power to run my house for a week, then wind or solar is much more useful. Panasonic has announced delivery is planned for 2011. Read the full article here.

Tidal power test in BC

Today's email brought a story about British Columbia testing tidal power generation in the islands off Vancouver Island. Since I live in the Pacific Northwest area, I follow water power ideas. I think each region will have to find alternate power sources that suit their strengths. Solar in Arizona, hydro in the PNW. Apparently, some of the folks in BC think the same.

First few paragraphs:

North Vancouver Island will soon be home to the first commercial-scale tidal current electrical turbine in North America.

The B.C. government announced last week that it is giving $2 million in funding to Canoe Pass Tidal Energy Corporation for the project.

Company officials said the turbine will be running before the end of 2010 in the tidal channel between Quadra and Maude Island, north of Campbell River.

To read the full article, go here.

Artists reinvent the world, sustainably...

I'm not doing much art myself right now, as I suffer through what is apparently the longest case of flu on record, but I wanted to share this article about artists in Detroit buying up abandoned houses and turning them into off-grid homes. I was talking about this sort of idea to my husband when I heard about houses in Cleveland going for $2000 on ebay. It's an interesting idea, and I think we'll see it spread. Housing is a huge part of normal living costs. If you can slice that down to nothing, and you make your living through galleries or the net, well, it makes a lot of sense.

Here's a teaser paragraph:
"Although it is small consolation in the face of overwhelming economic strife in Detroit and elsewhere as the foreclosure crisis continues, this story gave me a real feeling of hope and renewal. To me, this example and other corresponding cases – like the artist-driven re-imaginings of shopping malls and big box stores seems symbolic of an even larger cultural shift. The arts community isn't just moving into one downtrodden urban neighborhood; rather, they're taking on the ruins of the unsustainable. They're taking on big box stores, shopping malls, and grid-connected homes in the car capitol of North America. And they're not just creating new art. They're seizing the opportunity to turn old shells of buildings into independent, renewable energy-powered, 21st century-ready spaces."

Talk about recycle, reuse or make do! For the full story, go here.

Friedman on moving to a sustainable culture

Today's email from Culture Change brought a column from Thomas L. Friedman, the nationally syndicated columnist. I guess if even the East Coast intellectuals are catching on, it must be true, eh? I liked the commentary that Culture Change had to make so I'm passing on the link for their reprint rather than the direct link to the column.

I particularly liked this paragraph:

Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”


Read the whole column here.

Going green, national level plan

I get a lot of email from a lot of different sites about what they're doing, and today brought news of The Real Deal, from the Post Carbon Institute. I've skimmed it this morning, and it looks like it's written at a reasonable level, both in covering why we need to act and what there is to do. I'm glad to see a coherent plan laid out, and equally glad to see they're getting name endorsements so it stands a chance of getting publicity. It's only 24 pages long which is also a big plus.

Check it out: http://www.postcarbon.org/real-new-deal.

test driving the Zap Zebra electric car

This has been an eventful couple of weeks here. I had surgery on 11/25, 2 days later was Thanksgiving, 3 days later our daughter got cut off on the freeway and totaled one of our cars. Somewhere in there, my husband and son came down with a bad coughing cold but that's background. So, once we got past the immediate "are you okay?" panic (she's fine) and the initial insurance phone calls, we started thinking about what we really needed in a second car.

We live within 4-6 miles of Jeff's job, the grocery stores, the drugstore, and a small shopping center so the thought of trying out a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV in the trade lingo) was just too tempting to pass up. So, this last weekend, jeff and I trotted off to the Green Car Company (now in downtown Bellevue) and test drove the Zap Zebra. It's a three wheeled vehicle, with a back seat, fully electric and recharged by plugging into a regular outlet. If I were even 15 years younger, I'd probably have bought it right then and there. Pro's: It's cute, zippy, fun to drive, all electric, and can go just fine in regular traffic around town. Cons: It's small, doesn't heat up the interior very well on a cold, wet day, can't handle really steep hills without upgrading some of the equipment, and the pedals are a little to the left of where both of us expected them to be. Jeff found it uncomfortable to turn enough to use the pedals. I was fine with it, but I'm shorter and that may have been a factor. Jeff was also concerned about the safety factor as it hasn't passed vehicle crash tests. Well, technically, it's a motorcycle so it doesn't have to. I do have to say, though, if we lived in a warmer climate, and we weren't living on an extremely steep hill, I'd have been tempted because the list price is $12,000.

If you've been thinking about it, go give it a test drive. For half a car, it's a good idea. And just think, no more gasoline, ever...

Cars: green electricity, not natural gas

Today's email is from earthpolicy.org, an organization focused on building a sustainable future as well as providing a plan for how to get there from here. Maybe it's because I live in the Pacific Northwest where hydropower is plentiful, but I think they're right about going toward electricity which can be generated from wind, sun, and waves. To read their thoughts on why we should go toward plug-in electric cars rather than natural gas (which T. Boone is promoting) go here.

National Security & Oil

I know I'm always talking about going green and that's because I'm a long time tree hugger. Not everyone shares those values so for those who don't, here's another perspective on why reducing our dependence on foreign oil is a good thing. This is quoted from the Wall Street Journal, from the first in a series of articles about dealing with our oil addiction. The article continues with recommendations for action and is worth reading. The following is a quote from the article by Stacy Delo published November 12.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett
(R., Maryland)
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Defense Energy Working Group and Congressional Peak Oil Caucus

DIAGNOSIS: American transportation is more than 95% dependent upon oil, a proportion virtually unchanged since the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Americans will have spent $700 billion on oil imports in the last two years. That is more than we spend annually on defense. If that money stayed here, it would generate $7 trillion in economic activity. Clearly, lower oil prices are better for Americans and worse for the governments of OPEC countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela as well as Russia's military resurgence.

If we reduce our dependence upon oil imports, we eliminate our greatest self-imposed threat to Americans' future economic prosperity and national security. Especially in the absence of price signals, we need leadership at all levels to inspire Americans to continue conserving oil and to innovate to shift our transportation and manufacturing sectors off oil.

Yes! magazine for Fall 2008

I'm back from a two week vacation, out from under the accumulated pile of mail, chores, and souvenirs, and I ended up taking a week to recover from a kidney infection. Not fun. The last couple of days I've felt good enough to get caught up on reading the magazines that have been patiently waiting for me and I wanted to recommend this issue of Yes! magazine. From the many articles dealing with Purple America and where we can agree on many things to the final tidbit about how to pick an electric bike, it's packed with interesting and informative and upbeat, even optimistic, good stuff. Check it out online if you haven't looked at it yet. Go to http://www.yesmagazine.org/

Wind power in Colorado

Having just returned from a 2 week vacation in Colorado, I was pleased to see this article about renewable energy, specifically wind power, becoming mainstream there. That the power company not only met the 10% renewable energy goal but urged the governor to double it for them says a lot to me. I think this quote sums it up:

"We've reached this critical point where we're seeing the deployment of these technologies accelerate," said John Nielsen, an energy analyst with the nonprofit environmental group Western Resource Advocates. "There was slow progress over the last decade, and you're now seeing this tipping point."

To read the full article, go here.

Do-it-yourself Electric Cars

Today's email had a report from EVWorld about the Plug-In 2008 conference and, as usual, there were little articles mentioned along the side. One caught my eye - the DIY Electric Car options. Turns out these are pay someone to do it for you options to convert your gas car to electric, but hey, it's a start. If you're interested, read the article here.