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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 05 July 2007 |
Instead of solar and wind power to
supply to your own house - which are both weather dependent - has
anyone thought about systems that might require some actual work, but
provide a usable amount of power?
I was thinking, what if each member of my family
carried a 40lb bag up 3 floors and hung it on a hook that was connected
to a generator; would an effort like that actually provide a
significant amount of energy? Just a thought.
Regards,
Jens,
London
Oh Jens...you don't even know what you've
done! Your question is totally a word problem from a physics exam.
And as much as this will likely frighten most people reading this,
I'm going to treat it as such.
If 120 lbs is lifted thirty feet and
then allowed them to drop slowly over twelve hours, how much energy
will be produced?
120 lbs * 30 ft = 3600 ft/lbs = 4880
joules = 1.356 watt hours / 12 hours = 0.113 watts.
So, in answer to your question, no,
that would not provide a significant amount of electricity. In fact,
in order to power one 60 watt equivalent CFL for twelve hours, each
member of your family would have to march up the stairs about ten
times.
But that doesn't mean that you don't
have an excellent point. Every person is a magical little energy
factory. Whataburgers go in...watt hours come out, and it is possible
to harness that energy.
Continue Reading
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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 05 July 2007 |
McDonald's, known mostly for smiling like an evil clown while the world gets fatter and fatter, is now actually doing something productive with all of those kilojoules of grease. The company is planning on powering its entire UK truck fleet with bio-diesel created from its own waste vegetable oil.
In the next 12 months, McDonald's plans on creating enough fuel to power its 155 delivery vehicles while having enough fuel left over to sell into the public market. The fuel will be composed of 85% waste vegetable oil and 15% virgin rapeseed oil. So, while it will be 100% carbon neutral, it won't be entirely waste oil. However, Matthew Howe, Senior VP of McDonald's UK was quoted saying "As we get better at the refinement we will be able to remove virgin rape from the process," a line which we sincerely hope never gets taken out of context.
Continuing his remarks, Howe assured reporters at Reuters that the delivery trucks would not smell like McDonald's french fries, though he recognized that that "it would have been one of the best marketing campaigns we could ever have had."
Via GreenBiz and Reuters
See Also:
-Frybrids-
-EcoGeek at the National BioDiesel Conference-
-Carbon Negative Biofuels-
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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 05 July 2007 |
When we talk about gadgets helping the environment, it's usually be talking about how they're hurting less...rather than helping more. After all, most gadgets are designed to make our lives easier, not to make the environment healthier.
But that is not always the case. When $300 million dollars of ecologically sensitive prime real estate in Tennessee came up for sale recently, The Nature Conservancy was faced with a dilemma. There was no way they could protect all 230,000 acres of land, but they couldn't let those rolling hills of Appalachia get paved.
So they enlisted the help of 150 years of data and a computer model to sort it all out. The model incorporates data on 644 target species on land, in the air, in the water, and even in caves. The data are weighted by preferred habitats, recency of sightings, and species most at risk. The computer model then spat out of series of maps that were then used to select the most vital areas for conservation.
Obviously, it would be best if conservation organizations could protect all of this land, but using the computer model, The Nature Conservancy was able to determine what areas of the sale were most worth acquiring. In the end, only 12,000 acres needed to be protected. And without that handy computer model, the Conservancy and the Government of Tennessee would have had no idea how to go about properly protecting the land.
Three Cheers for Computers!
Via The Nature Conservancy
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Written by Hank Green
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favorite EcoGeeks in the entire world. He's been dealing with environmental issues since early in his career, but only with his most recent trilogy has he brought it hard.
Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below and Sixty Days and Counting comprise Robinson's most recent trilogy. Now that all three books are out in paperback, I've started the trilogy, and if Disney World made a roller coaster ride out of climate change, it wouldn't be any more exciting than these books.
The trilogy deals with a set of extremely realistic and convincing characters, most of them scientists, as they deal with catastrophic climate change. I'll do a full review once I'm done with the books, but for now, head to WIRED to see an excellent interview with Robinson in which he discusses the possibilities of climate change, the wisdom of terraforming our own planet, and species coexistence. It's an excellent read...I hope I get to interview him someday soon.
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Written by Hank Green
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Just because I love the actual world doesn't mean I'm not a pretty big fan of
virtual worlds as well. Some have said that actively seeking out fake worlds to
explore and enjoy is be a symptom of alienation from or even disdain for the environment.
But I can't help but feel that's absolute crap.
And today I've got someone who very likely agrees with me, and he happens to
be one of the biggest gamers in the world. Scott Cronce is the Chief Technology
Officer of Electronic Arts. Scott's worked on dozens of video games over the
last two decades and when I noticed his name pop up on the EcoGeek mailing list
(don't you want to join too) I had to get in touch with him.
I was excited to learn that he's an even bigger EcoGeek than I am, and was
happy to oblige us with an interview.
EcoGeek: CTO of Electronic Arts eh? That sounds
a lot like "Head of Video Games for the Entire World" what are your
responsibilities with EA?
Scott Cronce: This October I’ll celebrate my 19th anniversary
at Electronic Arts. In 1988 I joined EA as a Technical Director for the simulations
group were I was very fortunate to work on many types of games from military
simulations to a little group of games we now call EA Sports. Over the years
my responsibilities grew from project level to company level technology management.
During console transitions I also have the extra fun of heading up our engineering
efforts on new game machines. As EA grew I had ‘title creep’ to
the point where it would no longer fit on a standard business card without multiple
abbreviations.
EG: Do you think there's an interplay between
the virtual worlds of gaming and the actual world of environmentalism.
SC: As a game play mechanic, of course there is. Just like
in the real word, the virtual world is made up of resources to manage. A game
designer can use elements of adverse environmental effects to balance out game
play.
EG: When and how did you end up as an EcoGeek?
SC: It was mainly by accident but was accelerated by the California
Energy crisis. My interests in the latest and greatest technology long ago earned
me the title of ‘alpha geek’. For example, I ordered my Segway off
Amazon the day they went on sale. At the time I didn’t consider it an
Eco purchase, just a really cool toy. I have a strange desire to constantly
beta test anything electronic, much to my wife’s dismay. I live in California
and we went through a period huge increases in our energy bills. All those gadgets
were starting to cost me upwards of $800 a month. Before that I never really
paid much attention to my energy usage. I wasn’t about to stop using all
those cool toys, it just meant I had another problem that I was sure could be
solved by technology. I think it’s very natural progression for people
to go from gadget geek to EcoGeek. |
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Written by Hank Green
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Joel Makower is one of these guys that I often see referred to as an "environmental guru". He just has a lot of good ideas, and he seems to have an excellent perspective on the problems we face as well as the possible solutions.
So, people pay Joel Makower to come to their lecture halls and talk. And thus, Joel Makower flies a lot. And now, in his column at GreenBiz, Joel Makower asks "can air travel ever be green."
The short answer: Not for a Long Time.
But the whole article is definitely worth a read. He gives a good summary of what airlines are doing to decrease fuel use, what organizations are doing to call-out regulators, and what regulators are doing to control air travel carbon emissions.
In short, more efficient airplanes are on the way, but if we're really going to decrease fuel use, carbon cap and trade systems are absolutely key. Folks in Europe are working on it, folks in America "vehemently oppose" it.
Via GreenBiz
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Written by Hank Green
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
 Subaru's Indiana assembly plant has completed it's third year of producing Outbacks and Forresters and not one single bit of trash has left the factory. The Indiana plant was designed to re-use, recycle, or generate energy from 100% of it's waste.
Additionally, the area around the plant is also restored wildlife habitat and many of the vehicles produced at the plant are low-pollution, "partial zero emissions vehicles." That doesn't mean that they're low-carbon though. Subaru is still on the low end of the scale when it comes to vehicle mileage. But we're happy to give credit where it's due.
Via AutoBlogGreen
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Written by Hank Green
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Tuesday, 03 July 2007 |
Solar power plants have, thus far, been fairly gigantic or extremely tiny. It could be a few square feet on your roof, or a few thousand acres in Nevada. Not really much in between.
But the marvelous thing about solar, is that it produces energy at times of peak demand. The sun is beating down full strength as the world switches on its air conditioners at mid-day in the summer. This is the time when electricity demand is highest, when you can charge the most for it, and when brownouts are most likely.
Generally, this excess demand is quenched by small expensive and inefficient "peaker" plants, generally burning natural gas or fuel oil. But PG&E, on of California's monster power companies, is installing solar peaker plants designed to produce up to five megawatts during the hottest part of the day.
The plants, which are being produced by GreenVolts are a new design. They're composed of tons of small mirrors. Each mirror concentrates the sun's light on a small, ultra-efficient photovoltaic cell. Using less photovoltaic material means cheaper power, and less need for polysilicon, which isn't the most environmentally friendly chemical to produce.
Now, this isn't a huge amount of power, it's not going to replace any coal plants. But using solar to produce power during peak demand is just a damn good idea, and I'm glad to see folks utilizing the technology where it's already economically appropriate.
Via Green Wombat
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Written by Hank Green
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Monday, 02 July 2007 |
I don't care how many fans I point directly at my bed during the summer, the space between my butt and the mattress always reaches temperatures that make comfortable sleep entirely impossible. So, either I get a lame, inefficient AC window unit. Or I sweat my way through the brief, though surprisingly hot, Montana summers.
So far I've elected for option two, but now, thanks to some clever folks in Japan, I can cool the two inches between my butt and the mattress (the two inches that really matter) without having to pay to cool the entire room around me.
Lord this is an amazing idea. I'm about ready to fly my sweaty butt to Japan to get one right now. This extremely simple invention (by the people who brought you the USB Powered fan shirt) simply uses two ultra-quiet fans at the base of a mattress pad to pull cool air from above the head under your hot body. The device is more efficient even than regular fans. Even if used 8 hours a day for 30 days straight, it will only consume about 25 cents of electricity.
Via TreeHugger
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Written by Hank Green
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Monday, 02 July 2007 |
Graeme Attey, already a little bit famous as the inventor of a two-wheeled, wind-powered "dirt surfer," has just taken his inventing skills to a new (and more useful) level. This roof-top wind turbine is small, cheap, quiet and sits at the peak of the roof-line in order to capture wind at it's maximum speed.
Mr. Attey has been awarded a AU$34,000 grant from the government of Australia to develop the technology and make it suitable for use across windy Western Australia. Another $28,000 was awarded to a scientist to determine the ideal placements for such small-scale residential turbines.
At only AU$700 a piece, these turbines are definitely the cheapest option we've seen in small wind. And though they don't have an enormous generating capacity, they are designed to be used in series. So, an average household could install as many as six of these turbines on their roof, while selling all of their excess electricity back to the electric company.
The only issue, of course, is whether home-owners will be willing to add these clunky barrel turbines to their roof. But if Western Australia really wants to reduce it's greenhouse emissions by 60% in 40 years, they're going to have to make compromises. Besides its somewhat cumbersome appearance, these turbines look to me like a very promising advancement in suburban energy generation.
Video After the Jump.
Via Metaefficient
See Also:
-Big Ideas in Small Wind-
-Shape-Shifting Personal Wind Turbine-
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Written by Hank Green
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Monday, 02 July 2007 |
 What are the three biggest problems with wind power? Anybody, anybody, Bueller?
1. Bird Kill, 2. NIMBYism and 3 Dead bugs gumming up the works. Now, I'm not saying that these are always legitimate concerns, but migration corridors should be avoided and some people just really don't like the way wind turbines look. These are real problems, so we've got to find real solutions.
How about we put wind turbines in a place that is literally no one's back yard, there are no bugs, and where birds only go to die. Namely, 50-100 miles off-shore. The big problem, of course, is that there's no way to anchor wind turbines into the sea-floor if the sea-floor is 300 meters down (as it is when you get that far off shore.)
Why is why Norsk Hydro has been working on a prototype floating off-shore wind rig called the Hywind. Norsk Hydro's off-shore wind expertise comes directly from their experience with off-shore oil rigs. And now that off-shore oil is less interesting to Norway, Norsk Hydro happily developing this awesome new technology.
A pilot project with three 3 MW turbines will be installed before the beginning of 2008. But future plans call for larger farms with hundreds of 5 MW turbines producing as much as 4 terrawatt hours per year, or roughly enough to power 200,000 households.
More pics after the jump.
Via Inhabitat and Norsk Hydro
See Also:
-World's Largest Offshore Wind Project-
-NIMBY to YIMBY-
-The AeroGenerator-
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Written by Philip Proefrock
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Saturday, 30 June 2007 |
Once you have your solar photovoltaic panels in place on your rooftop,
how do you know how well they are performing? Maybe you're lucky and
you have net metering where you are, so you can sort of guess at it
because your electrical bills are lower than they were. But it would be
useful if you could get more information so you knew how much you were
producing and how much you were using.
Fat
Spaniel is an amusingly named company (with an overweight corporate
mascot) which offers monitoring services
for building power systems, particularly PV. They "provide hosted
data monitoring, management and control services that OEMs, installers,
and distributed utilities can use to optimize performance and ensure
investment returns for all types of renewable energy systems." And, as
a third party, they can help verify system performance to an owner,
rather than relying on the manufacturer's claims about what the system
will do.
Fat Spaniel monitoring shows both immediate and historical data from a
power system. Owners, users, and the merely curious can see how much
power a building is using, and how much of that is coming from a
renewable system. The monitoring system shows both building demand as
well as energy output by the generating system.
Power monitoring and display information can be beneficial in green
building where it can help gain an additional point toward LEED
certification. And state grants to encourage the installation of
renewable power systems also sometimes require a monitoring and display
component as a precondition for awarding the grant.
link: Fat Spaniel
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