EARTH DAY for GLOBALWARMING

Compared to incandescent light bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are a marvel. They put out equal or greater light, use 1/3 the electricity, and last up to 15 times longer than Thomas Edison’s resistance based design. While compact fluorescent bulbs have proven superior to the original electric light they are not without their drawbacks. The most widely discussed of these failings is the use of mercury within the lamps. Few substances are as eco-unfriendly as mercury. Eventually even CFLs wear out and when they do proper disposal of the lamps can be difficult.

What if we were to look upon CFLs as less of a long term solution and more of a bridge to a truly sustainable lighting future. Many people may remember futuristic movies and television programs that depicted entire rooms being powerfully lit by panels. These panels were cool to the touch and allowed for an endless amount of lumens. It seems odd that ideas created for films such as 1972’s “Logan’s Run” are now reality. The mainstay of this arrival of the future in lighting is the light emitting diode.
We are all now well indoctrinated into a world where these blue white lights are heavily used. From humble beginnings as device indicators in the 1980s to those emergency flashlights we have fastened to keychains we all uses to open doors with at night, LEDs have evolved to be the efficient light source for the future.

Lighting Source Group is more committed to the future of LED lighting than any other corporate entity in the world. This commitment is shown in two areas. The first area that Lighting Science Group is working hard in to create a well lit yet green planet is in their product line. High lumens per watt LEDs from LSG are incorporated into every conventional lighting source imaginable. From the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball with 32,000 brilliant LEDs to the “light bulb” you screw into the ceramic fixture in your closet. Lighting Science Group has integrated existing power supplies to their high tech low current luminescence. This integration goes even further with production of brilliant commercial lighting for areas such as parking lots and playgrounds.

Integration of today’s LED technology with past power supplies allows us to light the present but how will we continue to reduce energy waste while improving home and commercial lighting? Lighting Science Group’s second area of emphasis is on research. Currently Lightning Science Group is hard at work developing more efficient Light Emitting Diodes. At the present time most commercial grade LEDs release around 60 lumens per watt. LEDs used in Lighting Science Group product give off a bright blue white 80 lumens per watt. This one feature alone results in huge energy savings. LSG research is looking forward to cool running LEDs that can emit as much as 200 lumens per watt.

What is the result of all this present and future green planning? Each street lighting fixture converted from an incandescent, fluorescent or halogen process to low power consuming LSG products results in the savings of 1 barrel of oil, and ½ ton less of CO2 placed into the atmosphere every year. Plus LED based commercial lighting uses 50% less electricity.

Lighting solutions reliant upon low current draining LEDs are of course but one step towards a sustainable Earth. Passive lighting from fiber optics along with reflective and focal technologies will also help us change the way we light the world. In an environmentally friendly plan for the future we will want to and need to use all of the resources available to us. LED based lighting from Lighting Science Group will surely be one of them.

Utilizing Geothermal Energy for Power, Heating and Cooling
For years geothermal energy and power has been limited in context to utilization of naturally occurring steam that has been used to turn turbines and consequently create electric power. These natural occurrences are tapped into with what are known as geothermal wells. Due to these occurrences being limited in location to areas along tectonic plate faults (cracks in the Earth’s shell) there generally has not been too much effective use of geothermal resources. In fact geothermal power amounts to just .3% of our worldwide energy production.
In much the same way as we drilled the Earth for oil over the last hundred years, we can drill for acceptable geothermal outlets. As with the search for fossil fuels, we simply attempt to find places that are hot enough and close enough to the Earth’s core so as to allow for injection of water which will then be turned to steam so as to drive an electricity producing turbine. Just as when drilling for oil, drilling for geothermal access costs millions of dollars.
Of course, the majority of geothermal power stations rely upon the natural occurrence of steam as a result of water intrusion into the inner reaches of the Earth where nearby magma has heated the surrounding rock. In many ways this natural creation of blazing hot steam is rare but the sheer size of the earth makes so many opportunities for the occurrence and the ease of discovery has resulted in quite a few large geothermal fields being placed into use.

The largest geothermal power station in the world is known as “The Geysers”. It is located around 72 miles north of San Francisco. Technically not geysers, the entire area is a geothermal hotbed with 22 power plants combining to create over 1300 megawatts of power. Power from The Geysers provides 60% of all the electricity used in the area of California from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.
Unlike our general concept of steam from a tea kettle or used in an antique locomotive, the geothermal fields of The Geysers produce super heated dry steam. The ultra hot non vaporous steam can more efficiently drive turbines.
Unfortunately, the natural flow of water into The Geysers area has steadily diminished over the years and the overall power output has fallen. Basically the area supplying water to the hot rock beneath the Earth’s surface has begun to dry up. Less water equals less steam which equals less power. Plans are underway to possibly convert the power stations to inject “Brown Water” from the area so as to create a truly regenerative and sustainable power source.
Unlike wind or solar power, geothermal energy is not always endless in supply.

But there are far more effective ways to tap into the variances and differentials in the Earth’s temperatures. One doesn’t need to dig a well to a fissure point of water and molten lava to take advantage of geothermal resources. Indeed, a more passive approach to energy production is proving to be more efficient.
Geothermal energy can be tapped into on many different levels. The individual homeowner can use geothermal energy to both heat and cool his or her home at a tremendous savings. Anyone can take advantage of geothermal energy in their home.

Basically home geothermal is used for home heating and air conditioning. A home geothermal heating and air conditioning system centers around piping filled with fluid buried deep in the ground of your property. These pipes can be coils of plastic tubing laid horizontally just 10 – 20 feet below the surface of the earth or they may be vertically placed hundreds of feet deep.
The purpose of these pipes is to take advantage of the relatively stable temperatures of the Earth once one digs down a bit. Even in the coldest climates, the Earth’s temperature is at least 55 degrees at a depth of 20 feet.
As one digs deeper into the Earth, the stored energy of the sun is replaced by the heat of the Earth’s core. The core of the Earth is molten rock with a temperature of around 8000 degrees.
Home geothermal systems take advantage of this differential directly. Obviously during the summer one can easily run water cooled under the earth through radiators and send that endless supply of 55 degree cooling into a home’s 90 degree air. This is so effective that many eco-conscious homes are cooled by air pipes hundreds of feet long. In this most passive example of geothermal energy use, air is blown through huge hollow pipes which run underground. The heat is drawn by conduction from this air as it passes through the length of cool underground. It is then returned directly through the duct-work of the home. Basically this is air conditioning with no need for compressors, coolant or mechanical heat exchange. Consequently the cost to run an air pipe cooling system is incredibly low.
By comparison, heating systems relying upon geothermal exchange must use heat pumps that mechanically trade on the temperature differential so as to build a greater amount of heat. While this is more efficient than other forms of creating heat such as electrical friction it does still have a cost. A heat pump based from a geothermal piping system is still two to four times as initially expensive as conventional heating.
Passive Geothermal heating and air conditioning is just one aspect of what falls under the heading of Green Building which shows we can design and build our homes and commercial buildings from the outset to use less energy.

The atmosphere, oceans and land mass of the Earth absorbs enough energy from the sun in one hour to power the entire planet for one year. Surely we are clever enough to capture some of this magnificent force and use it to fuel our environment.
Solar energy and its use can be divided into two areas. Those are static or passive solar energy collection and dynamic, or perhaps better termed, kinetic solar energy collection and use.
An example of passive solar energy collection would be building a house so that the windows face the morning sun in colder climates. An even more rudimentary example would be that of an alligator sunning himself on the edge of the water. In both cases the sun’s energy is simply absorbed for warmth. And the simplest use of solar energy is as the very daylight we walk about in. Our Earth automatically uses the power of the sun in millions of ways. Not the least of which is photosynthesis by plants for production of oxygen for our atmosphere. Ours is an inherently rechargeable renewable world, provided we use our resources such as solar energy wisely.
To that end, we must examine dynamic solar energy collection for the production of warmth and light.
When you walk though almost any shopping mall built in the last twenty years you will probably notice a flood of bright natural light all around you. Most large malls and department stores are built with double paned insulated windows that allow light to enter yet keep heating or cooling locked inside. But what happens when the sun follows its arc away from those windows? Active solar lighting can use mirrors that track with the sun’s movement and then reflect light into fiber optic cable that can carry that light into any part of our same department store.

We can create transfer warmth through various forms of solar thermal energy. Since the 1950s it has not been uncommon to see simple glass paned boxes filled with copper pipes used to help heat water for swimming pools and boilers. These low temperature collectors are fine for space heating but there are far more effective ways to heat water with the sun’s rays and put that water to work.
High temperature parabolic shaped mirrors can heat water to far greater temperatures than made possible by our simple rooftop hot boxes. In fact bowl and trough type mirrors can boil water to steam which in turn uses a turbine to generate electricity for heating, air conditioning and general power supply. When properly applied, this concentrated solar power can supply 50% of the power needs for a modern factory. Concentrated Solar Power is one half of our method for creating electricity from the sun’s radiant energy.

The most commonly thought of use and form of solar energy conversion is that of relying upon solar voltaic cells. These solar cells are also called photovoltaic. First developed in the 1880s, photovoltaic cells rely upon the electronic reaction of certain key elements to the Sun’s rays so as to produce a tapable flow of electrons that are in turned used to create current flow. In short photovoltaic cells turn sunlight into energy. And lest we think we are so clever for figuring out how to do this, consider that plants have been turning sunlight into energy for millions of years.
Advances in the development of photovoltaic cells have increased drastically since the oil shortages of the 1970s. This is primarily due to development of silicon technologies. Crystalline silicon cells when working in conjunction with CSP (concentrated solar power) as supplied by parabolic mirrors have improved output from Photovoltaic cells by a factor of 50 since their more basic development in 1954. Increases in demand and subsequent increases in production have lowered the price of solar cells to the point that they are now almost competitive with wind power technology and like their low emissions wind counterparts are far less costly than nuclear power.
Development, deployment and economics

Solar Electric power as supplied by huge banks of photovoltaic cells is providing billions of watts of power throughout the world.

Where? How Much? Horse Hollow equivalent?

While not producing power on near the scale of wind driven turbines, solar panels are definitely a viable source of clean power. The state of Hawaii currently produces 6.5% of its power through sustainable energy practices with tremendous emphasis on solar panel power. That is only half the clean energy production of California. The objective of Hawaii to produce 70% of all their energy needs by 2030 is in some ways more attainable than the 33% goal of California.
Basically, the captive and controlled environment of Hawaii is a perfect testing ground for renewable energy. When one lives on an island, or in this case a chain of islands, a certain self sufficiency is always part of the lifestyle.
Enter into the equation the state of Hawaii’s willingness to support private industry in development of green energy projects and you have solar plants such as the one built at Kona, Hawaii by Sopogy. Sopogy stands for Solar Power Technology. It is an extremely passive method of converting the sun’s rays to usable energy. Considering that only one third of our energy needs are directly related to electrical power and you will understand how in some ways simply energy production such as using Sopogy’s parabolic solar mirrors to heat water that can either directly heat and cool or indirectly be used to spin electricity creating turbines is almost five times as effective as a photovoltaic cell.

But let’s not discount solar cell technology quite yet. On 247 acres in Jumilla, Spain the world’s largest solar power from photovoltaic cell production facility is now in operation. While the facility produces nothing near the power as does a huge wind farm such as those in place in Southern Australia, the amount of power generated per acre is not to be dismissed. The solar plant in Jumilla creates enough power to light, heat and cool 20,000 homes. On a comparable basis the 47,000 acres used for the Horse Hollow wind farm could yield 3800 megawatts of power. That is five times as much as the wind farm. Granted the farm land can be used for other purposes simultaneously and the cost of solar does not yet permit such a huge creation. But there are hundreds of thousands of places around the globe where a spare 250 acres can be found. Each of those little plots of sunny land can contribute to the overall sustainability of the Earth.

Yes it is true that conditions in Southern Spain are perfect for such an operation with sunlight available at least 300 days a year, but almost every spot on the globe has its own special opportunities for green energy production. Think of it this way, in places that are gray and cloudy there is usually wind, in places where there is no wind the sun is usually bright.

Solar Power Arithmetic – The cost of solar cells
Part of the allure of solar power produced by photovoltaic cells is the potential profitability. Consider the cost to revenue structure of the Jumilla, Spain solar farm. At the present time, high yield (15% efficiency) photovoltaic solar installations cost around 6 dollars per watt. The world’s largest solar farm sits on just 247 acres and cost about 200 million dollars to build. Gross revenues from the electricity generated at the plant will exceed 20 million dollars annually. This means a return of investment in under 15 years, allowing for maintenance and labor. The solar farm also generates over a million dollars a year in carbon credits. Obviously a solar plant does not need a constant infusion of coal, or other fossil fuels to create energy. Some might think a 15 year wait for return on investment is far too long. Indeed solar and wind power speculate on the overall rise in hydrocarbon fuel costs. A coal fired power plant costs one fifth as much to build as does a solar wind farm on a per watt basis. And even factoring the cost of fuel to burn, fossil fuel power is cheaper, but for how long and at what ultimate cost. Mass production and massive investment in photovoltaic cell research will quickly move the cost per watt for solar power into the 3 dollar range. One little blip in the world’s political stability can drive the cost of fossil fuels to double. If and when that happens solar power will be a bargain.

The recyclable golf balls of Dixon Golf

Do you think of recycling as something new? 100 years ago people were returning glass bottles for refills of a new beverage called Coca Cola. Recycling is certainly not new. Most of the items we call disposable and allow to fill our landfills with today were at one time expected to be repaired and reused. Another example would be shoes. A good pair of shoes was meant to last 20 years as long as you had them resoled from time to time.

Recently some clever people at Dixon Golf set out to create a recyclable golf ball. They took on this challenge because golf balls, being as durable as they are, represent an item that is virtually indestructible. Nearly 300 million golf balls are discarded yearly in the United States alone representing a definitive green Earth hazard.
Of course a golf ball is not a soda bottle or a plastic bag. It is not a simple item to grind up and melt down to make other goods. In fact, the chemical components of most major manufacturer’s golf balls are some of the toughest to breakdown in existence. Golf ball ingredients include heavy metals such as tungsten, cobalt and even lead. With that said, the folks at Dixon Golf knew that making a biodegradable golf ball was not really an option.
But, like our Coke bottle and pair of Wingtip shoes, perhaps a golf ball could be refilled or resoled. That was the exact development direction Dixon Golf chose. To make a golf ball that could be rebuilt and consequently reused.

This was accomplished by creating a ball that used a different material for its core. The core of a Dixon Golf Ball is made from a special polymer that is 100% renewable. Also, the covers of Dixon Golf Balls are made of materials that are easily recycled to make other consumer products. Every part of a Dixon Golf Ball is reusable from the core to the cover.
Golf balls are manufactured to exacting standards. All of those little dimples in a golf ball act as tiny wings to give the ball aerodynamic lift and control. Inside, the core of a golf ball is designed to compress upon forceful impact from the club. The head of a golf club, swung by an amateur, strikes the ball at an average speed of eighty miles per hour. The release of that compression sends the ball outward at a great speed. Making a golf ball that meets the requirements of amateur and pro golfers alike is no small feat. Making a ball that is also recyclable is almost impossible.
We say “almost” of course, because making a completely recyclable golf ball is precisely what Dixon Golf has done. Dixon Golf has created a superbly crafted high quality golf ball that is the equal of any ball in play today. In independent testing Dixon Golf balls outperformed higher priced Titleist, Nike and Callaway balls. The same test showed that the Dixon Golf “Earth” ball received a 92% approval rating.

So how did Dixon Golf founders and Principals William Carey and Dane Platt create a recyclable golf ball that can out play the best on the market? Fortunately, the owners of Dixon Golf had spent years working in the golf ball industry for a manufacturer that made name brand balls. The construction of a Titleist differs greatly from a Nike ball and neither company is sharing their design secrets. But the principals of Dixon Golf didn’t need anyone else’s secret technology to aid them. They had a combined 30 years of ball making experience between them and knew firsthand the design characteristics that went into making a competitive ball. The trick would be to make a ball out of green materials that was designed from the outset to be rebuilt and resoled. Further, the 100 percent recyclable golf balls would need to perform equally as well as other brand name balls.

But green golf doesn’t stop there. Marketing is a major part of Dixon’s Green Golf Planning. When you purchase a Dixon Golf ball you can trade in your old Dixon Golf ball for a one dollar credit towards the purchase of Dixon Golf balls. Dixon Golf will even give you a 50 cent credit on any non Dixon Golf balls returned. Following through on this marketing swing, all of the materials used to make and market Dixon Golf Balls are recyclable including packaging and displays.
At the present time there are two grades of Dixon Golf Balls, Earth, and Wind. The Dixon Golf Fire ball will be available beginning this summer. Each of these is designed for particular playing conditions and player abilities.
While it is true that a Dixon Golf ball shanked into a pond will still need to be rescued by a diver, at least when it is recovered it can be recycled.

RIO DE JANEIRO,  — Apa jadinya jika seorang perempuan muda menjual keperawanannya? Itulah yang dilakukan Catarina Migliorini (20), seorang mahasiswi asal Brasil.

Melalui lelang internet, Catarina menawarkannya untuk siapa pun yang berani membayar minimal 780.000 dollar AS atau hampir Rp 7,5 miliar. Uang yang diperolehnya nanti, kata Catarina, akan digunakan untuk membantu pembangunan perumahan bagi warga miskin.

Meski mengajukan alasan mulia di balik aksi nyeleneh ini, tak ayal kecaman datang dari berbagai pihak yang menjulukinya tak lebih dari seorang pelacur.

Catarina semakin menyulut kontroversi ketika mengungkapkan dia sudah mengizinkan kru film Australia untuk mendokumentasikan aksinya ini dalam film yang diberi judul Virgins Wanted.

Menanggapi banyaknya kecaman itu, Catarina ternyata tak begitu memikirkannya.

"Saya melihat ini hanya sebagai sebuah bisnis. Saya memiliki kesempatan untuk bepergian, menjadi bagian sebuah film dan mendapatkan bonus darinya," ujar Catarina santai.

"Jika saya hanya sekali melakukannya seumur hidup, saya bukan seorang pelacur. Sama seperti jika seseorang pernah satu kali menghasilkan sebuah foto yang hebat, itu tak serta merta menjadikannya seorang fotografer," lanjut dia.

"Lelang ini hanya bisnis semata. Saya seorang gadis romantis dan meyakini cinta. Namun, keputusan ini membuat banyak perbedaan," katanya lagi kepada harian Folha.

Lalu, seberapa banyak peserta lelang tersebut? Sejauh ini sudah terdaftar 15 peserta, antara lain Natsu dari Jepang, lalu ada Jack Miller dan Jack Right dari AS, serta Rudra Chaterjee dari India.

Catarina berjanji, meski aksinya tengah didokumentasikan, itu tidak termasuk adegan hubungan badan dengan pemenang lelang. Dia juga berjanji, siapa pun pemenang lelang ini, identitasnya tetap akan dirahasiakan.

Which is cheaper to build a house with, a spruce timber 2 by 4 or a steel stud? It might cost less to build a house using lumber, but is it cheaper in the long run? Especially when one considers the cost of greenhouse emissions and how they are affected by loss of trees. But steel must be refined and molded using plenty of energy. Which of these uses more power and consequently causes a larger carbon footprint? It is difficult to say, but choice of build materials is a definite part of how we can change the way we build homes and other buildings so as to save money and energy. Choice of building materials is just one part of what is known as green building.
Green building can best be described as the birth to grave process of building. From choosing a site through architectural design, choice of materials, construction, occupancy and eventual demolish, every aspect of a building’s effect on the environment is considered. Paramount among these is energy efficiency as part of the dwelling use.

Green building can be taken to as simple or as extreme a degree as one desires. For example simply choosing darker shingles in a colder climate is passive energy conservation. Placing solar photovoltaic cells on that same roof will actually produce more power than is used within the building at times.
Let’s break down the various components of green building for examination beginning with siting and design. These two are closely tied together. Siting considers factors such as exposure to sun and wind. Placing a home so that it faces west during the afternoon sun has been a form or energy conservation practiced for years. Likewise we reverse the placement of our building in warmer areas. Consider now that we incorporate design elements to further our efficiency. We might use large double paned windows in the northern climate to allow a useful warming greenhouse effect in one location or smaller tinted glass in the hotter locales. Choosing where we place our building and then incorporating design elements that save on heating and cooling are fundamentals of green building.

Energy efficiency can be taken much further of course. Taking a quick look at energy use in the home leads us to the conclusion that the majority of our power costs are placed in heating and air conditioning, hot water, lighting and cooking. Green building techniques for inside climate control include air pipe ventilation, rooftop solar panels and geothermal heat exchangers. These can cool your home, make hot water and power your lights. Most importantly they drastically reduce your dependency on electricity as furnished by your power company and in this way they save you a great deal of money over the lifespan of your home.

Water conservation is a major aspect of green building. Simply by diverting gray water from your sewer to your lawn you achieve two goals. You protect diminishment of fresh water supplies while watering your lawn. Point of use water treatment saves money right from its inclusion in construction.
Of course, what you choose to build your house out of is as large a factor today as it was 1000 years ago when native peoples were digging caves into cliff walls. Obviously this was a wonderful example of materials efficiency. But one doesn’t need to live in a cave to be materials energy efficient. Building materials made from compacted earth and natural stone accomplish much the same effect. Using recycled materials such as our steel 2 by 4 reduce our home cost in terms of carbon, as do polyurethane blocks, planks and siding made from recycled plastic and demolition debris. There is no reason that any home has to be built at the cost of a hundred acres of trees.
Simple systems such as passive lighting (skylights) and air pipe ventilation can drastically improve the quality of life for occupants. Use of natural building materials almost guarantees fewer volatile particles and a higher indoor air quality. Most man-made materials release minute amounts of health damaging toxic gases. There is a reason why we call it “Fresh Air”.

Green building costs on average just 5% more than current standardized construction practices. That number would drop to the point of a direct savings if green building were to become the standard. As with almost every energy-saving vehicle, we can drastically reduce costs if we increase volume. Green building returns a savings of 50 to 70 percent on energy costs over the life time of a building. Yes, addition of items like solar panels and geothermal underground pipes is a supplemental cost. But the initial cost of these electricity bill lowering features has been proven to quickly pay for itself.
One doesn’t have to build a two hundred foot tall wind turbine in their front yard to save on energy costs. Simple procedures like proper site planning and choice of construction materials can cut a new home’s energy bill by 25% instantly. And while monetary savings are important, the true savings from green building is not measured in dollars. Rather it should be counted in overall improved quality of life in the home and office and overall improved health of the planet Earth.

ATLANTIC CITY, — Badai Sandy mendarat di wilayah pantai New Jersey, Senin (29/10/2012) malam, dengan membawa angin berkecepatan tinggi dan hujan lebat di sepanjang wilayah Pantai Timur Amerika Serikat, kata pejabat setempat.

Kecepatan angin memang melemah begitu mencapai daratan, sekitar 130 kilometer per jam, tetapi masih memiliki kekuatan badai, terang National Hurricane Center yang berpusat di Miami.

Inti badai sudah melewati Atlantic City dan menyebabkan angin kencang dan hujan horizontal. Setelah itu, turun hujan deras dan angin yang makin kencang dan diperkirakan mencapai kekuatan maksimal.

Di negara bagian New Jersey, dua orang tewas ketika sebuah pohon tumbang dan menimpa sebuah kendaraan. Sejauh ini tiga orang tewas di AS sejak badai Sandy menghantam wilayah Pantai Timur negara itu.

Sementara itu, badai Sandy menyebabkan banjir di wilayah Lower Manhattan, New York City. Air di East River dan Hudson River meluap dan masuk ke jalur-jalur kereta api bawah tanah dan terowongan.