Alternative Energy

There is a new kid in Costa Rica, and it is a solar powered development that is targeted towards Americans and Europeans who are planning a move to Costa Rica. The town is in a remote beach region called Malpais. The homes will be built with a vast array of green techniques.

The developers of this community are Tropisphere Real Estate partnered with Solar Vistas, and they are said to be donating ten percent of their commission to the community. They are also said to welcome competition, and hope to educate other construction companies in green building practices.

What Makes Them Different?

Building in a tropical climate is different from constructing in cooler temperatures. Houses can be built that are as energy efficient as is possible, and they are low maintenance structures. Technology is avoided whenever possible, and more important focuses such as air flow and having enough shade are sought.

Building in the tropics is unusual as the climate takes it toll on technology and electronics so other means are sought that are simpler and in essence, more elegant. Where the solar power is to come from to power up this new community is still in the air. They want to choose technology that is simple because Malpais and her beaches are in a pretty remote region of Costa Rica.

As the threat of climate change and global warming become reality, more and more businesses are looking toward green business practices to be viable companies in the future. Pretty soon, you won’t have a place anywhere in the merchant world if your company is not practicing green business techniques that are helping the environment instead of harming it.

Costa Rica is a land that is rich in wildlife, flora and fauna. Finding ways to preserve her natural resources while attending to the needs of tourists and those who are looking to relocate is now a top priority in this beautiful Caribbean paradise.

Now we know things are getting serious about the concern for the environment. There are companies that are researching and developing new products that will be kinder and gentler to the earth, and leave a smaller carbon footprint behind. One of these companies is Phoenix, Arizona based Solar Breeze, and their goal is to make greener pools from our traditional blue ones.

The world’s first robotic, solar powered pool skimmer was introduced recently by the company and they are justifiably quite proud of their invention. The pool skimmer works when the sun is shining, picking up undesirables before they can sink to the bottom. This uniquely solar powered device is said to reduce the pool pumps energy output by at least two thirds. Users of the prototype have confessed that their pools appear to be cleaner and the use of the pool pump has gone down considerably.

Why Make the Investment?

Summertime is when we use our pools, and it is during this season that the usage of electricity is at an all time high. On the hottest days there is a real danger of brown outs and perhaps even a black out from energy overuse. Your backyard pool is a real energy consumer. Finding ways to operate it that will leave less of an impact on the environment can go a long way to addressing energy concerns during the peak season of electricity usage.

Think of the savings you will enjoy on your electric bill. Using the sun to power devices is absolutely free to the one who harnesses the power. Making a small investment in just one device to clean your pool can return that investment in a very short time. Although the price may seem hefty in the beginning, it promises to balance itself out when you factor in the savings on your energy bills. 

Those who advocate green and clean living have a tough time explaining to drivers that using a biodiesel fuel to power their vehicles requires no conversion for the car to run on it. It simply means you will have to take the time to pour it into your tank.

Willie Nelson, a long time entertainer and advocate of the farmer’s of America has written a new book, “On the Clean Road Again: Biodiesel and the Future of the Family Farm.”  Willie tells his readers how to go about making their own biodiesel fuel. Remember to wear your protective gear before attempting this; it can be dangerous. It takes just about 20 minutes prepare, and you don’t need many ingredients.

Ingredients Needed to Make Willies Homemade Biodiesel Fuel

You will need about 6.7 ounces or 200 ml. of methanol. Err on the side of caution with this gas as it can cause blindness. You then take 3.5 grams or .12345 oz. of lye. You will also need about 1.056 quarts or 1 liter of oil. If it is not clean oil and has been used, you are advised to filter the oil to remove the water.

Ready, Set, Go!

By placing the methanol and the lye in blender and mixing you will be creating sodium methoxide. You should feel the blender sides becoming warm. Once again, caution is the name of the game as the mixture at this point can be dangerous to breathe in and can eat away at your flesh. The fumes may be explosive too, so don’t use any equipment that may cause a spark such as lighting a cigarette.

Add vegetable oil to the sodium methoxide and blend it for at least fifteen minutes. If you have done this correctly you will see two layers. Glycerin is the bottom layer and is considered a by-product of the creation process. The other substance is the biodiesel. You can even use the glycerin to make soap or use in your compost heap.

Electrochemical extraction of energy from hydrogen using fuel cells is a very highly approved, clean and efficient method of meeting our power needs. It must however be noted that regarding the concept of the hydrogen vehicle, burning/combustion of hydrogen in an internal combustion engine (IC/ICE) is often confused with the electrochemical process of generating electricity via fuel cells (FC) in which there is no combustion (though there is a small byproduct of heat in the reaction). Hydrogen combustion is similar to petroleum combustion Read the rest of this entry »

Some great news this week. Two giants of industry are joining together in order to speed the process of developing alternative as well as sustainable fuels in the field of commercial aviation. Rolls-Royce and Air New Zealand, in conjunction with Boeing, are planning a flight that will demonstrate the use of viable biofuels to other titans related to the industry.

When is Take Off?

Plans for the flight are due to take off during the latter part of 2008. The Boeing jet that is to be used for the flight is an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 and it is outfitted with engines developed by Rolls Royce. The purpose of this demonstration flight is to showcase progressive solutions for environmentally friendly, alternative fuel sources. The potential exists to blend this type of biojet fuel with conventional kerosene fuel, in order to lessen the dependency of the industry on fuels that are petroleum based.

An added bonus is said to be the noise reduction. Jets taking off and landing will cease to be noisy affairs. This is good news for those affected by the noise pollution that living near an airport brings about. In addition, the use of biofuels are said to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide by the aviation industry, therefore reducing their impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and slowing the growth of global warming.

The End Result

The hope for the success of the demonstration is strong, and Boeing is hoping fuel providers will see the benefits that switching to alternative fuel sources can bring, besides addressing environmental issues that have become a huge concern around the globe. The president of Boeing Australia said that the goal for the near future is to pinpoint alternative and sustainable sources for biojet fuel and apply them to the planes that are currently flying the friendly skies.

Recently, six governors of their prospective Midwestern states have signed an accord that will establish their states as true leaders in the battle to slow if not halt global warming. What was signed into law is called the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. The accord was signed by the state legislators at the gathering of the Midwestern Governor’s Energy Summit that was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Pfister Hotel.

What it All Means

What this new accord hopes to achieve is to significantly reduce emissions throughout the Midwest. They hope to make their vision a reality by promoting conservation, alternative fuel development and superior energy efficiency. The demand for electricity under this new plan would be reduced by 2-percent by the year 2015 with the intent to further reduce demand at an annual rate of 2-percent.

This plan also demands that all plants that burn coal for their power must confine and store underground the hazardous carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020. Their ambitious plan for alternative energy sources include having more E85 ethanol gasoline which is more environmentally friendly than conventional fossil fuels, available in at least one third of all gas stations scattered across their vast region by the year 2025.

Joining Together for the Good of the Many

This article gives the impression that even if the United States federal government is slow to implement environmental changes in the way they do business, the individual states are determined to join with the rest of the international community in order to do their part in developing alternative energy sources and aiding in the fight against global warming. Other states have signed on to be observers which mean they may also ratify the accord at a later date and Manitoba, Canada signed the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord into law as well.

Geothermal power (from the Greek words geo, meaning earth, and therme, meaning heat) is energy generated by heat stored beneath the Earth’s surface. It is a developing field where serious energy potential has been identified.The ever growing juxtapose of uses for geothermal energy can be classified into direct uses and electricity generation. The use that can be derived depends on the operating temperature at the source. Direct use requires using geothermal heat directly (without a heat pump or power plant) for non-electricity generation purposes such as heating of buildings, industrial processes, domestic heating, greenhouses, aquaculture, public baths and pools. Direct use can take place at high Read the rest of this entry »

The ocean is one of the biggest sources of energy. Apart from the fossil fuels that dominate mainstream fuels, the ocean is also the provider of alternative energy sources like Wave energy, Tidal energy and Thermal Energy. Potentially the most powerful of these is Tidal Energy.

Tidal energy, sometimes also known as tidal power, is basically a form of hydropower that utilizes the movement of water caused by tidal currents or the rise and fall in sea levels due to the tides. Even though its utilization hasn’t reached a large scale yet, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation and is more predictable than wind energy and solar power. In Europe, tide mills have been used for over a thousand years, mainly for Read the rest of this entry »

Biofuel is sometimes referred to as agro fuel , reason being simple, the origin. It can be in any form, solid, liquid or gaseous however, Biofuel is generally a liquid or gaseous fuel.

Biofuel’s importance has gained topmost importance owing to increased greenhouse effect and reduction in the reserves of other fuels. The good news is that it is currently being eyes as the next fuel which will keep the globe running unless technology finds something more suitable and more efficient. This has led to an increase in the production and consumption around the globe.  Europe working on the platform created by European Union has been the biggest user and producer of Read the rest of this entry »

If you remember your high school science lessons, you probably have an idea about how expensive producing hydrogen can be for producing water the unconventional way. Consider that cost and add the amount of electrical energy required to produce the same and I don’t have to tell you the final outcome will not be worth it!

This is where Bruce E. Logan, professor of environmental engineering at Penn steps in with his ideas to produce hydrogen from StateMicrobial fuel cells through the natural processes rather than using the current methods in use of converting it to Read the rest of this entry »