Eight Green Gift Ideas

Copyright (c) 2008 Virginia Ginsburg
Giving green gifts is increasingly popular, as it provides an opportunity for your gift to stand out from the crowd and make a positive impact on the Earth.
When giving a green gift, you have to consider several elements, including the gift itself, its source, its packaging, and the company providing it. These elements all make an impact on the Earth, and thus deserve careful consideration.


First of all, the gift itself must be considered. Ideally, its contents should be organic, or at least have a minimum impact on the Earth. For example, paper products should be recycled; cloth products should be made of organic fibers like cotton, bamboo or hemp. Wooden products should be made of fast-growing woods or recycled hard woods.

Second, the packaging of the product should be minimal to reduce waste. Seek zero packaging when possible. Next best is recycled paper packaging. The least desirable packaging is plastic, which takes significant energy to produce and is difficult to recycle. If the only option is plastic packaging, seek minimal amounts of plastic.

Third, the source of the gift is important based on both human rights considerations and transportation costs. It's no secret that most U.S. companies manufacture their products outside of the U.S. This is sometimes the only option when it comes to economy, but you can be a conscious consumer by researching the country of origin to determine how likely it is that they frequently are cited for human rights violations. The fuel costs involved in shipping products from foreign countries vary, but can make a significant impact on the product's overall cost to the environment.

Finally, consider the company itself. It may surprise you to discover that some companies that sell green products are actually not green at all. They may actually be less than green companies. Other companies that use less sustainable products may in fact be greener overall when you consider product sourcing and packaging. The best thing to do is to think beyond the label on a product and do a little bit of research. Consider the concepts above and apply them to all of your green purchases for more conscious consumption.

Eight Easy Options For Green Gift Giving

1. Gift Certificates - require almost no transportation resources or packaging, and ensure the recipient will get exactly what he or she wants. Choose local, environmentally-conscious companies from which to secure the certificates.

2. Organic Products - are often sourced from environmentally-conscious companies that minimize their impact on the world. Consider clothing, accessories and beauty items.

3. Charity Donation - requires no transportation resources or packaging, and directly make a positive impact on the world. Check out organizations that benefit global resource initiatives, focusing on something meaningful to the recipient like water or air quality, or wildlife protection.

4. Local Home-Made Products - buying locally-made products supports the local economy and minimizes transportation impact. Look for hand-made gift items like bags, decorative boxes and children's toys.

5. Massage - a hands-on gift requires almost no waste, and the only products required are a little bit of massage oil.

6. Eco Spa Day - while many spas use treatments that are tested on animals and contain ingredients that don't meet the green standard, eco spas specialize in treating guests to luxury without negatively impacting the Earth.

7. Home-Made Food - if you like to cook, select the best organic and locally-grown products available and prepare a home-made meal that you can either share or drop off. Don't live nearby? Bake organic cookies and send them in the mail.

8. Week of Groceries - take the task of grocery shopping off their to-do list by visiting the local farmer's market or responsible grocery store. Remember to include some recipes for how they can cook the food!

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Real Solutions For America’s Energy Crisis?

America’s insatiable demand for oil, combined with soaring gas prices, has led to happy days for the oil companies. The money is rolling in so fast that they don’t know what to do with it. The spike in demand resulting from the economic ‘awakening’ of the populous Asian countries is also putting pressure on global oil supplies, and more oil fields are becoming depleted.
ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, BP and the other major oil companies don’t want to, or are not equipped to, deal with the reality that their market is slipping away. They know that alternate energy sources will soon be coming on line. But they’re happy with things just the way they are.


Their lobbyists are making sure Congress is aware of this. Just as the tobacco Industry in the 1970’s tried to disassociate smoking and cancer, the oil companies’ incessant TV, radio and newspaper ads are pushing “Junk Science” to retain their business model.

Despite clear evidence that America’s oil dependency is unsustainable, the major firms are determined to “stay the course.” They remain focused on finding oil, natural gas and coal, refining it to use in a multitude of products, and selling these products at a good profit.

How can we break free of this deeply destructive cycle? Fortunately, it’s an election year. We need to make our voices heard at the ballot boxes, through letters to the editor, by call-ins to talk radio, and by contacting our Congressmen and Senators.

Environmentalists and concerned citizens need to tell all Americans that:

• Global warming is a reality.

• Maintaining a continuous oil supply, at any price, is an increasingly difficult challenge. If you don’t believe this, just wait for a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that shuts down our oil platforms.

• The cost of oil is hurting the economy of the entire world, not just the United States.

Energy Solutions

America needs a portfolio of energy solutions, because no single technology is enough to guarantee immediate success and reliability. This portfolio includes:

• Conservation: Using the energy that we have more wisely as both a short and long-term solution. For example, Europe uses less than 1/2 the energy per person than we do in North America. If we copy their proven technologies, we could cut our oil usage in half. Then, we’ll have 12.5 million barrels of oil per day available to reduce oil imports and pay for the cost of new technologies. These new technologies include: more efficient and smaller cars and appliances, more efficient lighting, better building insulation, plus heat and moisture recovery from HVAC systems in large buildings.

• Renewable energy: Creating intermediate and long-term solutions through policy decisions that focus on developing renewable energy sources that don’t increase the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. We can decide to develop and use geothermal (heat from the earth), solar, wind, and tidal (ocean wave) energy.

• Improved technology: Discovering ways to use less energy per unit of production as a short-term initiative. One example requires the cooperation of companies that own mineral processing plants. These plants, which manufacture lime, Portland cement and other materials by cooking minerals in a kiln, can be optimized by using sophisticated mathematical modeling. They can use the information from the models to better control and reduce the amount of oil or natural gas needed to heat the minerals. However, these companies will act only when they are unable to recover their fuel costs from their customers.

Getting The Word Out

We need a massive worldwide energy education program which focuses governments and private investors on:

a) Generating renewable energy at a competitive cost -- including solar, geothermal, wind, tide, nuclear, and biomass energy (ethanol) -- which does not contribute to greenhouse gases. As we invest in developing these energy sources, the prices will come down and their reliability will increase.

b) Eliminating the emission of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) from carbon-based energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas.

c) Providing generous financing for renewable energy sources.

If you’re worried about the environmental health of our planet and your children’s and grandchildren’s future, it’s up to you to speak out. Now is the time to make our case to the media, elected officials, political candidates and big business.

The owner of an energy conservation company in the 1980s, Pat Benjamin is also an expert on political issues and independent politics. She is the author of The Perot Legacy: A New Political Path.

Contributions to this article were made by Dr. Milton Benjamin, an energy specialist.
About the Author
For more information on energy solutions, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_conservation. Get more information about The Perot Legacy: A New Political Path at http://www.theperotlegacy.com.

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Utilities - Alternative Energy

We tend not to think about where our energy comes from, but in recent times we have become more aware about our energy use.

The majority of our electricity is generated through power stations that utilise coal as a fuel source. However, recent concerns about the condition of the planet - as well as rising energy bills - have sparked an interest in alternative energy.


With many of us dependent on gas and electricity for everyday living, the rising cost ofutilities is a subject that hits rather a sore spot whenever it’s mentioned.

With spiralling costs as a result of the credit crunch affecting every household, many are now looking to alternative methods to help reduce their gas and electricity prices.

Sales of energy-saving appliances – such as eco-kettles and dryer balls – have increased as many of us look for solutions to our rising bills. 

And it’s not just inside the house that people are looking to make changes. Alternative energy generators, such as home wind turbine kits and solar panels, have seen a rise in popularity in recent times.

Energy generated from these external sources can be fed back into the property’s power supply, or can be sold back to the grid in the form of a reduction on your bill.

As well as land-based methods of harvesting natural energy – such as wind farms and bio-fuel generators – technological advances have meant we can now look to the sea in order to generate cheap electricity.

Tidal turbines are powered by undersea currents and generate energy in much the same way as a wind turbine. 

Because there is a constant water flow, the potential for feeding tidal power back into the countries’ energy supply can be seen as a good idea.

With growing uncertainty about energy prices and the rising cost of living, alternative energy remains a key talking point for both energy companies and environmentalists.

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About the Author: David is an experienced web author based in the UK

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Painting Solar Cells Onto Steel

Who knew painting could be so energy efficient? Swansea University researchers are looking into ways of painting solar cells onto pliable steel surfaces in the hope of generating electricity from the process. The allegation is that this method could produce the same amount of electricity as 50 wind farms.

Dr Dave Worsley, a Reader in the Materials Research Center at the University's School of Engineering has this to say:

"Corus Colours produces around 100 million square meters of steel building cladding a year. If this was treated with the photo voltaic material, and assuming a conservative 5% energy conversion rate, then we could be looking at generating 4,500 gigawatt of electricity through the solar cells annually. That's the equivalent output of roughly 50 wind farms."

Although this is really the first time the capabilities of the outside of the steel have been investigated, the University has high hopes of the prospects. One of the Doctorate students in the Engineering department had been exploring how sunlight interacts with paint. This exploration prompted a new development - "a photovoltaic method of capturing solar energy."

Photovoltaic means that the paint is capable of producing a voltage when exposed to radiant energy, especially light. The materials that Swansea is producing are, according to them, more efficient at capturing low light radiation.

The University initially performed the study via a research grant from Welsh Assembly Government's Welsh Energy Research Centre, and this allowed from a great deal of the beginning data to be accumulated. Because that study proved to be so successful, an additional £1.5 million was awarded to the project for further evaluations.

So, how does one paint solar cells onto steel? The University desires for this to be done through the same conventional methods that paint is applied to steel during manufacturing - through rollers. Worsley is also exploring cost-efficient ways to make this whole process transpire.

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Gimme a Green Cell Phone!

No, I'm not talking about LG's green-hued Mint Chocolate phone (although, if I were in the market for a new Chocolate, the green Mint would be my preference). What I'm actually referring to is a new type of technology that the wireless industry is testing out that will use alternate energy to power cell phones. Cell companies have "heard the call" of millions ofgreen energy advocates and, in response, have begun working on ways to change the methods they have had in place for years.

There is a variety of ways that the cellular industry can utilize in place of their current mode of providing this convenience to its users. They are realizing that cell phone towers may have the ability to be powered by wind turbines. For those who don't know, turbines are any of various machines in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid, such as water, steam, or gas, is converted to rotary motion.

These same cell towers could also be operated through the use of solar panels, making use of the energy of the sun to power up the cell phones. Antennas could also receive their back up energy from hydrogen fuel cells and computer equipment could be cooled through geothermal methods.

The wireless industry has come to realize, whether through their own conscience or through the voices of millions who care about the earth's current deterioration and eventual demise, all of the negative effects that its current methodology has had on environmental factors, and they seem to have a desire to alter their techniques in order to do their part to improve the condition of our world. However, my skepticism prevails, and it almost seems as if their concerns still reside more so in what impact this alteration with have financially. In other words, if this will save them money, they are more interested in attempting it.

The ideas that they have for this change over are still in the experimental phase, meaning it could take many years for this critical plan to be brought to fruition. To be fair, it should be noted that Sprint Nextel has been testing alternate energy sources for their cellular power since 2004, already using hydrogen fuel cells at 65,000 of its sites. In addition to this, Sprint has already been making use of many of the above mentioned alternates. T-Mobile is also attempting the application of some alternatives. T-Mobile's director of national operations planning mentioned tax incentives that are given to companies from states when using alternate energy resources.

The idea of "green" wireless technology is one step closer to attaining a more livable earth. Not only is there a certain amount of radiation that is emitted from the cell phone antenna, the electricity being used to operate cell phone towers is immense. Because the electricity is generated in the current, traditional ways, it wreaks havoc on Mother Earth. These new ideas that are being generated with some cellular companies (and I'm sure all will follow suit at some point) are crucial to the necessary end result of using alternative energy wherever is humanly possible.

About the Author:

David Tanguay is dedicated to providing research, reviews & helpful information to consumers and businesses. For more information related to Green Energy and Alternative Energy please visit http://greenenergyonline.org

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Renewable Energy Options For Data Centres

There is increasing pressure on the IT industry to adopt green business practices by making use of renewable energy. This pressure not only comes from outside factions such as environment organisations, but from within the industry itself, as the global energy crisis threatens spin out of control and send the cost of power soaring. Data centres are notorious power drains, which makes them the most obvious starting place when it comes to addressing renewable energy.

According to John Timmer from Ars Technica, set up costs, running costs and stability are three of the most important factors in determining the credibility of a power source. Timmer believes that renewable energy has the edge over carbon or fossil fuels because, even though the initial set up costs might be higher, the running costs are significantly lower than traditional energy sources. In addition, the price of renewable energy isn't likely to rise with demand, which means that running costs will remain relatively stable. Renewable energy is also less likely to suffer from periodic interruption owing to political instability or controversial world events.

As renewable energy becomes achievable, location will become an important determining factor in building data centres. We have already seen Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! choose the Pacific Northwest in the US for some of their data centres, so that they can benefit from the region's use of cheap hydropower. Upstate New York has also become a popular site for data centres, as it makes use of hydropower from Hydro-Quebec.

While hydropower is relatively stable and constant, one of the major problems with other renewable energy sources is that they are only periodically available. The sun only shines for a limited number of hours per day and the wind doesn't always blow, which means that the storage of renewable energy is of paramount importance. This is where hydroelectric power has the advantage, as storage systems have been in use for a long time already. Energy (in the form of water) is simply pumped into reservoirs during off-peak hours, which is then used when demand begins to climb.

Hydroelectric power systems have one major disadvantage, however, and that is the fact that they make use of fresh water, which is not always in abundant supply. Advances in desalination could play an important role here, however, by neatly circumventing the problem.

Techniques for storing solar energy have also been used for years, which makes this a viable alternative for data centres. Another factor that plays into the hands of data centre owners is the fact that the sun shines during peak usage times, so power supply isn't such a major issue at night.

According to John Timmer and Ars Technica, other options include charge storage, which is still experimental, chemical storage, particularly with the use of hydrogen, compressed air, which requires convenient, airtight geological formations and thermal storage. Iceland currently makes use of a combination of hydro and geothermal power, while an American data centre company claims to use the wind to generate enough power to keep all its systems running smoothly.

However you look at it, the business of renewable energy is big news in the world of IT. And as companies continue to grow, and demand for data storage continues to rise, renewable energy is likely to play an increasingly important role in IT business considerations.

Recommended sites:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080528-renewable-energy-and-the-future-of-the-datacenter.html?rel

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080617-energy-storage-to-smooth-green-power-sources.html

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Star Business Internet internet service provider and website hosting one of the leading Internet service companies specialising in business website hosting in the UK

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John McCain's Stance On Energy & Environment

Senator John McCain is making environmental news headlines again for taking a stance on climate change and distancing himself from the Bush Administration. In recent days, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate has campaigned in the Pacific Northwest touting his pro-environment commitment and agenda. McCain's commitment to fight global warming differs from current Administration policy and from many other standard-bearing Republican Party agendas.

For McCain, the cornerstone of his environmental plan mandates a "cap and trade" system. McCain argues that establishing a cap on carbon emissions and setting a national goal to reduce overall carbon emissions to 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 is a realistic, and effective way to tackle climate change. (In contrast, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have said they would set a goal to reduce overall carbon emissions to 80 percent of 1990 levels by mid-century.)

In McCain's analysis, establishing a national standard for tradable carbon emission permits will allow the so called "good carbon emitters" to offset the "bad" ones. Furthermore, a nationwide cap and trade system would provide the necessary incentives to promote growth of solar, wind, and other renewable energy industries. McCain does not offer specific policy or market tools for solar or wind technologies because he is confident that a cap and trade system would sufficiently bolster those and other similar renewable energy markets. Nor has McCain outlined a more detailed plan on how his cap and trade system would work or what industries and activities would be targeted.

For McCain, alternative energy means energy independence. As we've mentioned in previous posts, of the three current presidential front runners, John McCain most vocally favors reinvesting in nuclear power. He views nuclear energy as the most viable technology to meet the nation's electricity demands. In his speech he made in Oregon (and posted on his website), McCain views the nexus among energy, the environment, and national security as one of the most important issues facing our nation.

McCain's voting record, however, leaves critics dubious about his intentions and commitment toward the environment. The League of Conservation Voters who created a National Environmental Scorecard gives McCain a lifetime rating of 24 percent for his previous voting record regarding the environment. For this year's legislative session, McCain gets a Zero; thus far he's been absent for any of the environmentally related bills that have come up for a vote.

Critics point to inconsistencies in McCain's voting record. As an article in Monday's Washington Post points out, McCain has embraced some environmental provisions, yet shunted others not so seemingly different from the ones he supports.

Supporters contend that McCain, as a political maverick, has consistently distinguished himself from conventional Republicans. They cite that McCain was one of the first in Congress to acknowledge climate change and introduce legislation addressing the issue.

He's certainly savvy when it comes to renewable energy photo-ops. In February McCain stood in front of a solar photovoltaic manufacturer when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his endorsement for the Senator. On Monday, McCain restated his environmental policy at a wind power company in Oregon. Time may reveal whether these press events truly signify McCain's intentions toward renewable energy.

Find more solar panel, solar power, and solar energy information at Cooler Planet

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"The Clean Energy Scam" Article Critiqued

Michael Grunwald writes articles in Times Magazine and today I read one of his articles. The title of the article was striking, it read: "The Clean Energy Scam" in bold at the top of the first page. The subtitle stated: "Hyped as an eco-friendly fuel, ethanol, increases global warming, destroys forests and inflates food prices. So why are we subsidizing it?" The entire second page has on it a picture of what used to be a large portion of the Amazon Rain Forest, now it looks like farmland as far as the eye can see with a small patch of forest tucked into the lower right hand corner of the page, about the size of a small subdivision. Underneath the picture a statistic reads: "750,000 Acres of Brazilian rain forest was lost in the last six months of 2007 (equal to the area of Rhode Island)"

Deforestation is happening all over the world. Why is deforestation bad? Our forests store carbon. Carbon released into the atmosphere creates global warming. Grunwald writes, "Backed by billions in investment capital, this alarming phenomenon is replicating itself around the world. Indonesia has bulldozed and burned so much wilderness to grow palm oil trees for biodiesel that its ranking among the worlds top carbon emitters has surged from 21st to third." According to Grunwald, Malaysia is converting forests into palm oil farms so rapidly that it's running out of uncultivated land. The picture of what looks like farmland in the picture of Brazil on the second page is actually grazing pastures. Brazil is destroying its Rain Forests to raise cattle. Why? Because according to Grunwald, U.S. farmers are selling one-fifth of their corn to ethanol production. U.S. soy bean farmers are seeing the demand for corn rise and are switching to corn. Meanwhile our corn is getting more expensive because they can't produce it fast enough. To meet the global demand for soy beans, Brazilian soy bean farmers are expanding into fields previously used as cattle pastures. In turn, the cattle ranchers are clearing out the rain forest to make pastures for their cattle.

Our government, true to its form, in trying to find a solution to our dependency on oil, has created another problem for the world. In the article Grunwald writes, "Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled an eye-popping plan that would require all gas stations in the U.S. to offer ethanol by 2017... Barack Obama immediately criticized her - not for posing such an expansive plan but for failing to support ethanol before she started trolling for votes in Iowa's caucuses." Iowa is famous for corn which is used to make ethanol. Who is to blame? Our whole system of government is to blame, a system in which lobbyists control politics. The farm lobby is extremely powerful and it is influencing decisions. Our government has found a cheap and lucrative alternative to oil in which they are marketing it like crazy. What do you think is going to happen when the our government brings ethanol to every gas station in America? The rest of the world will follow, in order to compete, and soon all forests will be gone. We will destroy nature's way of trapping carbon and could drastically increase global warming.

http://www.TIME.com, "The Clean Energy Scam"

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Give Me 10 minutes and I’ll Give You the green future.

Green energy is the future
I don't know if you following the news or not, or whether you aware of the latest developments in politics economics and energy technology, but if you are, you probably already know how much buzz green energy technology are making these days. So give me a few minutes, and I'll explain in simple words the reason for that, and what I think the future is hiding.


The main reasons that renewable energy ("green") is so crucial are:
1. Oil prices are rocking high, rising above the most pessimistic predictions. This phenomenon have many reasons, but the most fundamental is the constant increase in demand, mainly from the developing countries, while the production rate is limited. Since fossil-fuels are limited, it will eventually run out, causing catastrophic economic crisis. This why experts think that it is so important to come out with renewable resources, that will solve this problem.

2. From the political point of view, oil is still belongs to the countries that have large oil reservoir, and many of these countries have a problematic agenda, that collide and even treat the western world. This why politicians try to devise new ways to get free form the oil needs, that will bring political freedom to countries without natural fossil-fuel resources.

3. The third main reason for the rising popularity of green energy is the growth in environment awareness among the public, and the concern about the effects that fossil fuels have on the environment, the air and the entire planet. using carbon-based energy market, causing a severe air pollution and environmental hazards to the wild life and plants. There are some evidences that support the notion that high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is the main cause to global warming, and more.

Three general ways are proposed to change the energy market:
1. use biofuels - this solution is more conventional and suggests that instead of using limited fuel reservoir, we will try to produce cleaner, and more efficient oil from natural resources like plants and animals oils and sugars. The two main biofuels used today are biodiesl, which is based on fats, and ethanol which is produced from plan sugars. both fuels are cleaner and renewable, buth the amount of agriculture products required to produce them and the inefficient production methods, make them inefficient and too expensive. So in the meanwhile this solution is sound, but in smal quantities and not as a global solution.

2. using alternative, natural energy resources. This approach, try to harvest the energy of the sun, the wind, the planet gravity (by using waterfulls), or the planet activity (geothermal). Thsi approach have some success already, and it si provide the most elegant solution for the future. However, these technologies are still not efficient enough and provide just a small fraction of the energy required. The current technology is still very expensive and not economical, but it is changing fast.

3. Nuclear power. nuclear power is an old solution, clean and elegant, but it is hold many risks and technological problems that prevent it from being a perfect solution. not all countris can exploit it, and it can be used to cause huge damage.

So what about the future?

As you can understand, the train of green energy is already running with full power, and the main reasons that preventing it from being the main leader of the energy markets is the technology. In such cases, we can be sure that further technological advances in the near future will realize the green energy as the main source of energy for tomorow.
I belive that it is a matter of few years until the technology of alternative energy and biofuels will burst trough the shell of inefficiency, and then it will swiftly replace all of the known energy resources. Soon we will see more and more production of biofuels, and cars that can use them, and more and more wind and solar farms, harvesting the sun and wind energy to produce electricity. The future is green, if you like it or not.

The critical mass of political economical and technological needs, was already achived, it is now the job of engineers and scientist to make it happen.

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Digital Electronics and Renewable Energy Go Hand in Hand

Someone once said "It takes money to make money," and that is mostly true. Today, we might add, "It takes energy to make money," with reference to all the wondrous digital electronics we use every day to conduct business and create things. Problem is that it can take quite a lot of energy to run all the computers, peripherals, big screen display and multimedia installations in our homes and offices. And a bunch more to keep all those cell phones, digital cameras, GPS systems, iPods and handheld gaming systems charged and ready to go. So while the cost of energy keeps rising, and more and more people realize that climate changes, pollution and diminishing oil reserves demand a move towards renewable energy sources, we consume more and more with all of our beloved electronics.

Does that mean that the very progress that brought us the wonderful world of digital electronics is also digging us into a deeper and deeper hole of energy dependence and spiraling monetary and environmental costs? It doesn't have to be that way. Business and the environment do not have to be at odds. There is, in fact, a green electronics movement that seeks to make our beloved electronics more energy efficient and environmentally friendlier. The movement covers the entire spectrum from huge international conglomerates pledging to recycle, reuse and conserve, all the way to electronics being more energy-efficient and either bio-degradable or easier to recycle, thus reducing what is now called "e-waste" from millions of tons of landfill to reused and recycled resources.

Saving energy and recycling makes perfect sense, and it's no surprise that there are now companies devoting themselves to green electronics and energy sustainability. After all, it's good PR and makes economic sense. But it goes farther than that. There are now even companies that sell both digital electronics AND renewable energy products. It's easy to see how a firm belief in renewable energy, conservation and sound energy policies may drive an environmentally conscious business owner to sell items like solar and wind energy products as well as digital electronics made by companies that have realized that business and society are interdependent and thus embraced green technology.

What is "green technology?" It can be products certified for low emissions, products certified to be more energy-efficient (like the Energy Star pledge and standard), or products using solar chargers or other energy saving technologies. It can also mean support of companies that are actively "going green" by increasing recyclable content, removing environmentally harmful substances, using renewable energy in the production cycle, and supporting environmental conservation causes and projects.

Why would companies go green? Because it's not only the right thing to do, but also because it's an increasing competitive advantage to be seen as a green company that cares about the environment. Just like a lot of consumers reject pesticides and insist on organically grown food products, more and more consumers insist on buying green, energy-efficient technology from companies that care. It's good to know that megahits like iPhones and Wii gaming consoles are made by such companies.

What we're seeing here is really an inevitable, accelerating trend towards smarter, greener and more efficient and conscientious consumption. We all must fight waste and embrace clean, sustainable, renewable energy.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Green Digital Electronics.

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Nuclear Energy and the Federal Deficit

The advantages of using Nuclear Power should be apparent to everybody with common sense, especially now with the resurfacing of the Global Warming and the Federal Deficit. Approximately 20% of the Federal Deficit is the value of imported oil.

The politics of nuclear energy, however, is rather complicated. In the U.S. the Congress has mainly favored nuclear energy, with the Republicans more so than the Democrats. Around 1990 a bill simplifying the licensing process for new plants became law. In the early 90s Congress voted to store nuclear waste in Nevada if the studies turned out favorable. Lengthy studies came out favorable around 2000, and in 2002 Congress voted to override the opposition oft he State of Nevada. Apparently lawsuits will tie up actual construction for a while, but it is expected that the storage of waste in Nevada will begin around 2010.

There has been a virtual moratorium on nuclear power plants in the United States during the past generation, and it has many causes. But one significant factor in the industry's decline was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) licensing process. This process didn't allow approval of the plants until after construction. This caused many costly delays while the completed plants were idling waiting for their operating licenses.

The old regulatory process, established in 1956, had been widely seen as a cumbersome failure. In 1992, the NRC established two new processes to streamline nuclear plant licensing. By 2003, however, after the September 11 attacks, the California blackouts, the steep rise in the cost of gas powered electricity and the growing concerns of global warming, nuclear power again became an option.

In contrast to the old Part 50 procedure, the new 10-CFR 52 or "Part52" regulation aim to settle questions about sitting, design, and operating licensing issues well before you start construction. Standardization of every aspect of an application's form and contest is also a crucial feature of Part 52. With this approach, the NRC will have to review and approve a specific design only once. After that, NRC needs to check only the areas where the applicant differs, such as environmental characteristics of the specific site.

According to Mechanical Engineering, October 2007, other future reactors will likely be one of the two designs below:

1. The AP-1000 power plant designed by Westinghouse, 1.1 gigawatt pressurized water reactor. According to Westinghouse, the design features two steam generators connected to the reactor pressure vessel and an array of passive safety system that don't require AC power or cooling water to be operational.

2. The other plant is General Electric design called the Economic Simplified Boiling Water reactor. The recirculation and safety system pumps have been replaced by natural gravity-driven water circulation and passive safety systems.

A switch to nuclear energy will cause there to be economic winners and losers. The potential losers will be tempted to resist the process politically.The winners, of course, are the nuclear industry itself as well as the construction industry. The public in general will win too. The losers are the coal industry, the oil industry, and the alternative energy industry. The alternative energy industry hasn't generated an appreciable amount of energy but has absorbed much Government money, and has absorbed much research energy in the academic world.

The capital cost for electric power plants is in the neighborhood of $1000 per installed kilowatt. It is somewhat lower for gas-fired turbines and often much higher for some nuclear plants (where construction delays and post facto safety regulations have raised costs considerably). These capital costs will have been largely amortized for nuclear plants whose license to operate is being extended.

Fueling a reactor for one year requires approximately 350,000 lb of raw uranium to produce about 1,000 MW of electricity for about 7500 hours. At $10 per pound, this is 0.04 cents per KW-h. These are rough numbers I found them in my notes.

Over 78% of French electricity demands are met by nuclear energy.This was one of the goals of the French Nuclear program, to decrease French dependence on foreign energy sources. As of September 30, 2007 there were a total of 197 nuclear power plant units with an installed electric net capacity of 169,842 MWe in operation in Europe and 12 units with 9,991 MWe were under
construction in five countries.

For Nuclear Power Plants in USA Statistics (Photius Coutsoukis) click the link below:

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/967_nuclear_power_plants_num

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/967_nuclear_power_plants_number_capacity_and.html

Have a Great Success
Gabriel Kazakias
http://www.wisenet-global.com
gabe314@optonline.com

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http://wisenet-global.com

My name is Gabriel Kazakias. I am presently a retiree spending most of my time maintaining our website. I am a graduate mechanical engineer with a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees having more than twenty five years experience working as a Project Manager for a major Nuclear Power Plant Utility.

If you were going to ask me if Nuclear Plants are safe, the answer is absolutely yes. The people that I came across not only in my plant but also during my visits to other Nuclear Utilities through out the country are the most sincere professionals that I have seen in my life.

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The Twin Draft Guard Saves You Money

Obtaining the ideal room temperature that you desire can be quite challenging with air entering into your place of residence. The Twin Draft Guard serves as an ideal resolution for this problem.

This door draft stopper keeps air from outside entering your house. By blocking the draft of air emerging from underneath your doors, the Twin Draft Guard keeps your air circulation system from over working. Would a room maintain ideal temperature with a window opened slightly or sealed closed?

The answer is pretty apparent; a tightly sealed, fully closed window will keep your room temperature ideal for longer periods of time. The Twin Draft Guard fixes this problem by keeping the air from outside of your house from entering inside.

When I was informed about this device and its benefits, I was rather curious. First, applying the Twin Draft Guard was really easy - just slip it underneath your door. It fits easily under most average sized doors. It has proven to be very effective in keeping air out.

In the past, I have used a variety of items, such as towels, to place underneath my door in the event of severe winters in order to retain the heat in my house. These methods were rarely effective, and were always a large inconvenience. Fortunately, I came across the Twin Draft Guard, which efficiently keeps out all of the unwanted air during extreme weather conditions with much more ease and effectiveness than any other method I have ever attempted.

Although many infomercials exaggerate the effectiveness of a product that is, in reality, an item that is not worth purchasing, the Twin Draft Guard actually has proven to decrease my spending on energy. Much emphasis is put on the fact that this is an energy-saving product, and although the savings are not huge, I have honestly seen an 8-10% decrease in my household's energy consumption.

Saving even a modest $5 every month utilizing the Twin Draft Guard makes it a worthy purchase. At this rate, within three months the product pays for itself, and afterwards it's the same as earning an additional $5 each month. I have found that this door draft stopper was an extremely worthwhile investment, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to decrease their spending on energy consumption throughout their household.

I would recommend that you consider the Twin Draft Guard as a way to help you to conserve energy. I am glad that I made the purchase and I really feel great about the results. I hope that the Twin Draft Guard will serve you well as well.

Travis is a business entrepreneur. He has started several small businesses and is passively searching for ways to make additional money. Save energy with the Twin Draft Guard and find out additional info at his Twin Draft Guard Review website.

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Which are the leading companies that use green energy?

The Green Power Partnership announced the top 25 companies using green energy as resource.
The leading companies are Intel, Pepsi and the US air force. As they say:

"These green power purchases help reduce the environmental impacts of electricity use and support the development of new renewable generation capacity nationwide. Purchase amounts reflect U.S. operations only and are sourced from U.S.-based green power resources. Organizations can meet EPA purchase requirements using any combination of three different product options Renewable Energy Certificates, On-site generation, and Utility green power products."

This is a great increase in the use of green energy, demonstrating the ability to turn our industry to green energy.
The EPA is producing this report several times every year and you can see their results of previous years.
There is also a report of the "100% Purchasers", In which Pepsi is leading at the top of the list.
I would suggest to compensate these companies with reduced tax, in order to encourage others to follow their leads in the green energy world.

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Tips to Get Free Gas

When you hear the word "free" and "gas" in the same sentence, you being to think if it's going to be some sort of scam or it's going to be too good to be true. Well in this case, I'm going to show you a few ways on you can legitimately get free gas. There are many possible ways out there that many people look over and don't even think about trying. I'm going to show you today on how you can get free gas.

Advertise on your vehicle - There are companies out there that will actually give you money for gas in return for advertising their company. This advertisement will usually be either a magnet of some sort or in some cases; the company might actually go out of their way to have a car professionally done for you to drive around. People who tend to drive a lot are usually eligible for these types of offers.

Paid for carpooling - Did you know that there are some states out there that will pay you for carpooling? States like New Jersey will pay you up to $100 just to carpool. Talk about having a great incentive! See if you state offers a deal like this that you can take advantage of.

Promotions - If you're about to buy a new or used car, check and see if any of the dealerships in your area are offering free gas giveaways or promotions when you buy a vehicle. Some dealerships will give you $500 gas cards, etc just for buying a vehicle. Just recently, Chrysler announced that they were going to give new buyers gas for $2.99 for 3 years guaranteed. This right there can save you a fortune!

Check out the banks - Just like the dealerships, the banks offer deals that are very similar. Some banks will offer gas gift cards if you simply sign up for a checking or savings account. There are websites out there that specialize in bank deals. Be sure to check out your local banks the next time you go in to do some banking, you'll be surprised what kind of deals are being offered.

Grocery cash back - Some grocery stores out there offer incentive programs if you purchase x amount of groceries. If the grocery store has a gas station, you may find that you'll be able to get so much back on your next gasoline purchase. This is a great way to save and most of the times you'll find that these coupon vouchers are as good as gift cards, there won't be any set spending limit.

As you can see by now, there are millions of ways to get free gas. It just takes a little research online and some extra time and you can get free gas in your vehicle. Try the above methods and see what kind of results you find. There are millions of websites out there that may offer contests related to gas cards. Time will pay off in the long run if you're willing to get free gas.

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Car driving on air? - no combustion?!

This video showa "the air car" - Idea of using pressured air instead of combustion, in the car. this will make a much cleaner and more efficient car.
The video from beyond tomorrow:


The compressed air moving the car instead of an regular engine. watch...

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A man made tornado as a source to alternative energy?

Recently I caught this crazy idea about using the natural flow of hot and cold air to create a "Atmospheric Vortex Engine".
He propose a way of producing a tornado-like twister that can concentrate mechanical energy and capture it to produce electricity. The mechanical energy is produced when heat is carried upward by convection in the atmosphere.

"The vortex engine consists of a cylindrical wall open at the top and with tangential air entries around the base. Heating the air within the wall using a temporary heat source such as fire or steam, will initialize the vortex. The heat required to sustain the vortex once established can be the natural heat content of warm humid air or can be provided in cooling towers located outside of the cylindrical wall and upstream of the deflectors. The continuous heat source for the peripheral heat exchanger can be waste industrial heat or warm seawater. Restricting the flow of air upstream of the deflectors regulates the intensity of the vortex. The vortex can be stopped by restricting the airflow to deflectors with direct orientation and by opening the airflow to deflectors with reverse orientation. The electrical energy is produced in turbo-expanders located upstream of the tangential air inlets. The pressure at the base of the vortex is less than ambient pressure because of the density of the rising air is less than the density of ambient air at the same level. The outlet pressure of the turbo-expanders is sub-atmospheric because they exhaust into the vortex."

The capturing of the energy will be using wind turbines. With wind turbines at the inlets to the arena, Michaud calculated that about 200 megawatts of electricity (enough to power a small city) could be extracted without draining the vortex of its power.

This concept can be developed further more, and be used to spin water to produce more energy, and other crazy ideas.

This amazing idea is still in planning stage, but have a very promising future.

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Passive and Proud: Green Energy Ideas for Your Home

Solar energy comes from the sun. A biology class will tell you that in addition to affecting climate and weather, sunlight provides the energy that sustains most life on earth. It also can be harnessed to provide heating, lighting and electricity. Solar power has become a hot topic lately, but this technology is nothing new – Native Americans, people in China and even the early Greeks have historically turned their buildings to the sun for heat.

These early architects were using what is known as passive solar energy. This technique makes the best use of regular building materials to trap heat with no additional mechanical equipment used. Floors, windows and roofs play a role in attracting (or deflecting) the sun's rays.

There are a number of ways to take advantage of solar radiation, starting with the house's placement. Having the house face the equator (we'll assume we're in the Northern Hemisphere, thus the house should face south) means that it gets the day's sunlight. Window orientation is also important – for optimal efficiency, most windows should point within 30 degrees of due south. Maintaining a small percentage of north facing windows will ensure that your home is comfortable year round (and not cooking in the summer).

Rock or stone tile floors and brick walls will absorb the solar radiation and continue to give off heat after the sun is gone. While common windows allow heat to escape, special windows with low-e coating, multiple panes, inert gas fill, and/or insulated frames can reduce heat loss 50 to 75 per cent. By sealing your building envelope and insulating well, you will ensure that the heat stays in the house. It can then be distributed through the house using a regular ceiling fan.

Direct sunlight is not the only important light to think of when considering energy use. By using overall daylight to light a space you can cut down the need for electrical lighting and the heat that's created by it. Artificial lighting has only been the main source of illumination since the 20th century. And using natural light may have added benefits for your physical and mental health. In addition to windows, daylighting makes use of skylights, light pipes (also known as light tubes), atriums, and light shelves to illuminate the interior. This is best considered when building, but with a few small renos your house can be much brighter, naturally!

Passive cooling is another way to cut your bills and become more energy efficient. This is especially useful in warmer climates, where air conditioning can be a major power consumer. Passive cooling refers to using things for shading, to absorb the heat, and goes hand in hand with passive solar energy. It can be accomplished using exterior landscaping choices – trees and other vegetation – or interior/exterior building options, such as shades, blinds or special glazing on windows.

Whether you are building a new home, looking at doing some renovations or just want to cut your energy bill, passive solar energy and cooling techniques are an easy way to incorporated green ideas into your home. With the rising interest in environmental issues, they make an excellent selling feature and they'll save you money.

This article was produced for Carolyn Gjerde-Tu and the team at Discover Davis Homes. For more information on real estate in Woodland CA, visit Carolyn – your online source for Davis CA real estate, discoverdavishomes.com

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Alternative Energy Investing

Analysts and financial planners can play a crucial role in helping you get it right with alternative energy investing. “We don't play around in the tiny cap stocks that have technology and not much revenue—the 'hope' stocks. We invest in companies with clear cash-generation plans in place,” are the words of Ben walker, who is a senior portfolio manager at the Gartmore Global Utilities fund out of London.

Still, the outlook is very positive overall—and healthy. “It is good to see that the number of renewable energy funds and the amount of money flowing into these funds is increasing,” according to chief executive of UK alternative electricity supplier Good Energy Juliet Davenport. “The renewable generation market is at an important stage in its development; it needs the continued support of the consumer, investor and government to ensure that it reaches its potential and really starts to make a difference to climate change.”

Many alternative energy investment portfolio advisors are confident that alternative energies derived from currents, tidal movement, and temperature differentials are poised to become a new and predominant form of clean energy. The French are actually fairly advanced at hydro power generation, and numerous studies are being made in Scotland and the US along these same lines. Some concerns are around the problems with the deterioration of metals in salt water, marine growth such as barnacles, and violent storms which have all been disruptions to energy production in the past. However, these problems for the most part seem to be cured through the use of different, better materials. Ocean-produced energy has a huge advantage because the timing of ocean currents and waves are well understood and reliable.

The reality is, the energy future is green, and investors would do well to put their money out wisely, with that advice in their minds.

About the Author:

Reginald Ross is an affiliate marketer who writes affiliate marketing articles.
For more information visit http://www.waterhousegold.com/alternative-energy.

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Believe it - We Will See Hydrogen Soon!

There is a lot of hype right now about hydrogen fuel and its possible uses. The technology is no longer theory; we are seeing in action. Unfortunately it could still be 10 - 20 years before we see this technology in abundance.

Many people look past the obstacles too easily, simply hoping for the prize at the end: clean, renewable, cost efficient energy. The main obstacles to overcome are storage, production, and use in vehicles.

Technology is coming along, but the storage of hydrogen is still very difficult. Since it is a gas at normal temperatures, hydrogen would have to be stored in pressurized tanks, if it were in gaseous form. Retaining enough fuel to provide a car with sufficient range would require that the tanks be under immense pressure (greater than can be obtained currently).

At present, practical hydrogen storage tanks are providing 100 - 150 miles to a tank of gas. To increase that number, researchers have investigated liquid hydrogen storage. In liquid form, the hydrogen would be more dense and able to hold more energy per unit volume. The ability to to maintain liquid hydrogen on a vehicle is still questionable however.

On top of storage, the future of mass produced hydrogen is unsure. Since hydrogen cannot be harvested from the air, it has to be extracted from compounds on earth. The two main processes for harvesting are methane extraction and electrolysis. Methane extraction is currently the most common way to obtain hydrogen, but experts believe that electrolysis will prevail in the future.

Electrolysis works by splitting water molecules in to H2 and O2 gasses by using electricity. Right now the process requires so much electricity, that it is not even practical to use on a large scale.

Even still, there are two types of hydrogen vehicles that people still clump into one. There is a hydrogen internal combustion engine and a hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle. The two types of technology are quite different. Vehicles powered by fuel cells are still very far off. The technology is still extremely expensive, but as technology improve and prices come down, these vehicles will be the cleanest and most efficient.

Right now the first option is much more likely, however. An internal combustion engine can run on hydrogen with only a few simple modifications. As soon as hydrogen can be produced and stored on a large scale, we will certainly see these types of vehicles on the road.

Despite all the negative aspects of hydrogen fuel technology, much research is going on, and progress is being made daily. By weight, hydrogen fuel caries more energy than gasoline, so it is a logical move to raise awareness in hopes of using it some day. Maybe most importantly, hydrogen could reduce prices at the pump by as much as 50%. It might be a ways off, but anything that can save us $$$ is ok by us!

For more information, visit Gas Savers

Russell is a Mechanical Engineer dedicated to helping people save money at the pump. His articles are well researched and informative on the subjects of saving gas, alternate energy, and hybrid technology.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Russell_Bennett

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Municipal Composting Programs - A Way to Go Green

Composting has occurred since plants first existed on the earth. When leaves and fruit fall from trees, and when plants die, they drop to the ground, enriching the soil through the process of natural decomposition. This is nature's way of composting.

Humans have been composting for decades, maybe even centuries. In our recent history, agricultural communities have used composting as a way to enrich their gardens and farmland. In the last two decades, a much larger movement of composting in urban areas has begun, and in recent years, composting has taken on its own popularity as a new way to "go green." City dwellers are becoming more aware of the benefits of compost in their gardens and flowerbeds, and they are realizing that it is best to recycle natural products back to the earth.

Municipalities have had a major influence in this movement with programs to dispose of recyclable waste. These programs allow, and sometimes require, citizens to collect their organic waste such as leaves, branches, grass, and other yard trimmings for composting. These programs vary in season and structure but they all have the same goal of recycling natural material to the earth's benefit. In many cases, after the material has been composted, the city sells the compost back to citizens who wish to purchase it for their yards or gardens. In this way, city composting programs provide two services: they allow city dwellers to compost their organic waste, and they also make compost material available for sale at reasonable prices.

A municipal composting program may seem simple, but it can be a large project to manage. First, the citizens of the municipality must be educated about what types of products can be collected and how they are to be contained. Some city composting programs only collect yard waste, while others also allow food scraps. Second, the city must decide how they wish to collect the waste. Some municipalities use bulk collection, where leaves and waste are piled in the street or yard and trucks come collect the debris. Another way to collect the waste is through drop off sites where citizens can take their waste to a central collection area. Other communities use container collection, where the waste is put in specific types of containers such as biodegradable brown paper bags or in reusable containers and is collected by trucks.

After trucks have picked up the organic waste, the material must be transported to a central composting site to be processed and composted. Several months later, the waste you threw out will be available again for resale to citizens as premium compost. Compost can be used in many ways. Premium compost is a great way to enrich your soil, control erosion, or simply help your plants grow bigger and stronger!

The US Environmental Protection Agency indicates that 24% of the United States' solid waste is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. Just think how much waste we could keep out of landfills if more cities began composting programs! With the ability to convert all this waste into premium compost and return it to the earth, these programs are hugely beneficial. If your city doesn't have an organized composting program, contact local officials in your area and prompt them to begin one. This is a way to get involved and give something back to this planet that we inhabit.

Ellen Bell works for Home Products n' More, a company dedicated to providing high quality products for your home, garden, and auto. Home Products n' More offers a great selection of leaf bag holders and eco friendly patio furniture. Check us out at homeproductsnmore.com.

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