Extreme Environmentalism and Drilling For Oil in The US

We have seen a circus of accusations at oil CEO's, and various statements that oil drilling would NOT make a difference, unbelievable.

Congress and us

Congress thinks we, Americans, are stupid and have zero intelligence. I see clearly as does anyone who understands economics, that we must drill. Scandinavian countries are extreme environmentalists, and several are doing offshore drilling, because technology has made it environmentally friendly to do so. Why are our representatives resisting the truth on the actual time before drilling makes a difference? Could it be there are other reasons. Some have made a profit betting on high oil prices, so how many others are making those oil prices personally benefit them? Pickens is pro wind, solar and alternatives, but he is also pro drilling in ANWAR and offshore according to his interview on CNBC last week.

The source of supply

Supply and demand are important to costs, but even more important is the source of that supply. I want to state that it is really simple what is going on. When you have nations who supply oil to the world and are syphining off ASTRONOMICAL huge profits in US dollars, then you see that they have control of the world's economy. They are the speculators and manipulators who control the price of oil, and invest heavily in world markets. We have more oil in the United States than Saudi Arabia, but our extreme environmentalists, congress, and lobbyists have stopped us from drilling, or seeking to use that oil due to their own agendas. Technology is such that it would not harm the environment, or any bugs, animals or other endangered species to go into ANWAR, Montana or the Rocky Mountain area to take out of the ground what's there as a natural resource. Most of the leases owned by the oil companies are useless, because it would not be financially feasible to use them at this time, nor cost effective at a price per gallon that is reasonable. A television special on those lands, leases, costs and product has already been done.

I am not saying that we should destroy our forests or harm our natural environment, because it is possible to be conservative of resources, and at the same time use them for what they were intended; our consumption. Our extreme environmentalists would have us think that we are evil if we want to drill at home, on the continental shelf, or in ANWAR. Anyone using investments in high oil prices at our expense is the problem. That type of attitude is about controlling oil and gas, taxing into bigger government, and not about caring for our families in need of relief, or those who transport our goods. I am an independent, and I can see that both sides are more concerned with political ambition than finding the solution to our economic problems. We cannot allow anymore dollars to be sent overseas, while Americans are duped into believing that the lowering of oil by the barrel this last week has solved the problem. We have been there before, and let's go forward now, so that we aren't caught in this barbed wire again. America must do it all, oil drilling, wind, solar, alternatives. if it doesn't spiral the cost of food commodities.

Please see the list of predominately Muslim countries that supply oil below, and what they are paying for gas. If nothing else, it should jar your mind to realize that we are subsidizing their gas, so let's get our oil out of the ground now! I am all for alternative fuels, but if congress would expedite the new leases on a fast track we could have the oil in three years. I have always supported wind, solar and natural alternatives at a cost we can afford, however unless they are mass produced it is just hot air to talk about using them to replace fossil fuels in large enough quantities to relieve us from dependence on foreign oil. We need to do it all!

LIST OF RECENT GAS PRICES PER GALLON IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES:

Iran .40

Saudi Arabia .45

Libya .50

Swaziland .54

Qatar .73

Bahrain .81

Egypt .89

Kuwait .90

These are statistics that may vary somewhat due to barrel prices fluctuation, and their government. HOWEVER it is enough to make your blood boil, to know that you are paying for these countries to have lower gas prices, than we have experienced in decades. All of this stalling makes me wonder how many politicians are voting on their tax portfolio's instead of the best interest of their constituents. Let's take a look at how much we are losing, while they reap a windfall at the expense of other's suffering. Drill now, Drill everywhere, and do not allow the drop in oil barrel prices lull us into another deceptive sleep. Apathy is not a family value, but it has destroyed nations. Tell your representative to vote to remove the drilling moratorium, pass the drilling in ANWAR, and NOT to put their financial interests, before your economic interests!

Kii Kynzer: http://thefreedomplatform.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kii_Kynzer

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The Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF)

The G8 Gleneagles Summit in Scotland two years ago asked the World Bank to produce a roadmap for accelerating investments in clean energy for the developing world, in cooperation with the other international financial institutions.

The Clean Energy Investment Framework (CEIF) identifies the scale of investments needed to:

increase access to energy, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa;accelerate transition to a low carbon economy; andadapt to climate variability and change.

According to the Framework, the power sector needs $165 billion in investments each year this decade. Only about half of that is financed. Tens of billions of US $ per year are also required to cover the incremental costs of transitioning to a low carbon economy.

A CEIF Action Plan, which provides an update of work undertaken to date as well as actions planned by the World Bank Group in support of the CEIF, will be a background paper for discussion in the Development Committee at the World Bank – IMF Spring Meetings in April 2007.

Towards a Low Carbon Development Path

Moving to a low carbon path will require a long-term equitable global regulatory framework to reduce greenhouse emissions – a framework:

in which rich countries show leadership by supporting developing countries in exchange for the global benefit of greener, smarter growth;

that provides certainty to stimulate research and development in transformational technologies; and

that allows carbon markets to thrive and bring financial flows to developing countries to the tune of $100 billion within a few decades.1 According to Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), these financial flows could go a very long way towards addressing climate change in developing countries.2

Emmanuel Ayomide Praise is a world leading internet entrepreneur and investor. Some of his areas of interest include sport management, merchandise, ownership, internet entrepreneurship, investments, media and writing amongst others.

Business URL: http://www.emmapraise.blogspot.com, http://www.nigeriasoccer.blogspot.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emmanuel_Ayomide_Praise

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Grants for Clean Energy Business

Grants from the state or federal bodies are given to further a specific interest like a particular area economic development, or to invest in a particular area where research is needed or a particular industry which will help grow the state economy.

A clean environment is one such area where almost all the state governments are promoting businesses to invest in research and develop cleaner environment friendly technology for use of consumers or other consumer industries. To promote this the state governments have specific bodies set up like in the state of Pennsylvania it is called the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. If you need to check them out the website is depweb.state.pa.us.

Most of the programs are focused towards helping businesses to invest in research and in turn expand the use of eco-friendly technologies which will help in saving energy costs, use alternatives, save the environment and also boost the economy.

Here is a look at the programs currently on offer in the State of Pennsylvania

The total of $12.8 million is available for grants through the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA). Of this $11 million is for businesses and projects which are willing to relocate to the state and or have innovative or breakthrough projects for advanced energy. For those skeptics who say that grants are not there, here is some data to look at and ponder over. Beginning 2005, PEDA has given $31 million for projects that invest in clean technology projects.The name of the other two grants is Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants and the other one is Energy Harvest.

So before you think of applying for a grant make sure that you have gone through various states energy development programs and that may give that extra edge in your business.

Amit writes about grants for small business in energy production area specifically and has a resource to put together information about grants for small business in consulting area.

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Is Biomass Really a Clean Energy Resource?

As we strive to find alternative energy resources, many possible solutions are on the table. Biomass energy is one such solution or is it?

Biomass energy like biodiesel or ethanol is unique in that it has existed in primitive forms since the early days of mankind. Burning wood in a cave is a form of biomass energy, which is simply the conversion of an organic material in a manner that produces heat. For example, a fire converts the organic wood into heat. Therein, however, lays the problem.

Global warming is a much debated issue with everyone having a strong opinion and no one seemingly willing to listen to the other side. Whatever your view on this subject, what is clear is we are producing an absolute ton of carbon-based gases in our modern civilization. This is a key issue since the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is a key factor in climate regulation on our planet.

To understand the problems of biomass as an energy form, one has to understand the biomass cycle that occurs on the planet. Simplified, the biomass cycle regulates the amount of carbon in our atmosphere. The biomass, primarily in the form of plants, uses carbon to grow and the biosphere effectively acts as a sponge for carbon. This sponge effect, however, has limits. As with a sponge in your kitchen, the biomass can only suck up so much carbon at one time. When there is too much carbon in the atmosphere or we shrink our “sponge” with deforestation and such, we run the risk of overwhelming the atmosphere with carbon gases. If our atmosphere has excessive carbon, heat is trapped and all hell begins to break loose. From a practical standpoint, this means our relatively mild climate on Earth will start becoming more chaotic. After the most recent hurricane season, that definitely is not a good thing.

Taking the biomass cycle into consideration, the negatives of all biomass energy production are that they create more carbon gases. A caveman sitting next to a fire in a cave is using biomass energy to produce heat, but the black smoke is a very nasty carbon pollutant. In modern terms, biomass energy doesn’t really resolve the amount of carbon we are putting into the atmosphere. Yet, there is an argument on the other side of the biomass coin.

Proponents of biomass argue it is a better energy source than fossil fuels. The basis of this argument is that plants [biomass] have taken in much smaller amounts of carbon gases over a shorter period of time than fossil fuels. Thus, burning them is a carbon neutral situation. The problem, of course, is that even if this concept is correct, we are not cutting down our carbon emissions. At this point in time, we need to be reducing carbon gasses, not maintaining our current output.

It is indisputable biomass has its problems. It is a better alternative than fossil fuels, but how much so?

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.

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

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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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5 principle sources Green energy resources?

In the article ‘ The pillar of green energy ‘ The writer state 4 main sources of “green energy”:

1. Solar power – This is stated as the best source of energy we have, which is a abundant, free and clean. But it is still inefficient enough to replace petroleum based fuels.
2. Biofuels, like ethanol and biodiesel – These are also a way to store the sun’s energy, the way living creatures does it.
3. Athmosphere – using the power of the wind, waves and waterfalls to produce electricity.
4. Hydrogen - using chemical principles of common gases to produce energy.
5. earth – harvesting the heat that the planet itself produce - geothermal power.

These 5 pillars seems like a comprehensive review of the field.
However there some other possible sources that were not mentioned there, but they are disputable like nuclear power, lunar power and more.
There are some interesting videos over there that demonstrate these pillar – worth watching...

go to the pillars of green energy

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What Is The Outlook For The Availability Of Fossil Fuels?

I think this article is comparable to the people who slow down on the highway to look at an automobile accident. You are not involved in the accident, yet you surely are curious about what is happening. At the present time we can sense the presence of a disaster, but we do not have enough information to feel that we can get involved. My push to adopt renewable energies is based on our continued polluting of the environment with the burning of fossil fuels. We know that we must slow down this pollution so that our quality of life will not be severely degraded. There is another piece of information needed to prod us into action, and that is how long do we have before we run out of fossil fuels? As a current member of the earth, I am concerned that we leave future generation's sufficient energy to bridge the gap from fossil to renewable fuels. This, to me, is looking at the car wreck. How long do we have until we are the ones involved in the wreck?

The majority of Americans now think that climate change is a problem and that global warming is real. But there still is not a sense of urgency. Every year the US emits CO2 that equals the equivalent weight of 1.2 billion elephants (2 trillion pounds using average size elephants). It is time to stop ignoring 1.2 billion elephants in the room. It is time to implement a plan that will adopt renewable energies at a pace to stabilize the environment from CO2 pollution and then, hopefully, start to reduce the amount of pollution we must derive this plan with an eye to how long our reserves of fossil fuels will last. Once we derive this plan we then can look at future generations and inform them "Here is the plan".

The development of modern civilization has been dependent on both the availability and the advancement of energy. We have witnessed a progression from animal and steam power to the internal combustion engine and electricity generation and to the harnessing of alternative sources of energy. Because of our reliance on energy sources, it is also important to understand the impact of energy use on the environment. All aspects of energy, the way it is produced, distributed, and consumed, can affect local, regional, and global environments through land use and degradation, air pollution and global climate change via greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the foreseeable future, it is very likely that fossil fuels will remain our largest source of energy. However, fossil fuels are finite resources and there is concern not only about both domestic supply and U.S. reliance on foreign supplies but, also, with the increasing cost of these fuels. The research on the longevity of fossil fuels is an exciting adventure in itself. I will touch on some of the theories before I conclude this series of articles. Given the slack of a decade or two, the best summation of the longevity of fossil fuels is presented in "Wikipedia, Fossil fuel: Years of production left in the ground with the most optimistic reserve estimates (Oil & Gas Journal, World Oil)".

Oil: = 45 years

Gas: = 72 years

Coal: = 252 years

With the slack of plus or minus 10 years, most projections are consistent with the Wikipedia numbers. . The popular Hubert peak theory projects that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum oil production tend to follow a bell-shaped curve. "Olduvai revisited 2008" from The Oil Drum blog is an amazing study. This theory was first laid out by Richard Duncan in1989 when he observed that world energy per capita had been declining for a decade. The Olduvai waveform for oil starts in 1950 which is consistent with the Wikipedia projections that the waveform will be completed by 2053.

The energy consumption of a nation is proportional to its Gross National Product (GNP).i.e. (The higher the GNP of a nation, then the higher its consumption.).To maintain our accustomed standard of living, we require the amount of energy that we are burning now to maintain our lifestyles. With the depletion of fossil fuels this will require renewable fuels to fill in the gap.

How do we hammer this information into a plan? A roadmap needs to be derived that utilizes the adoption of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energies into our energy consumptions needs. Technologies such as stuffing CO2 into caves should not be adopted until they are proven. A plan that incorporates renewable energies with fossils fuels usage would be more realistic for our country to follow.

How do we proceed?

We must continue tax incentives for the renewable energy sectors to incubate their growth. Our House of Representatives in Congress has passed a bill to renew the energy tax incentives that are due to expire December 31, 2008. President Bush threatens to veto this bill because it taxes the Oil Industry $19 billion dollars from multi-billion dollar profits. The president's premise is that the oil companies require these profits to continue exploration of new oil. Politics aside, we desperately need to find new sources of renewable energy.

We need to demand that our local and national leaders produce renewable energy action plans. There are pockets of leadership like Arizona and California. This leadership needs to be at a national level to be successful for the USA. Once this is accomplished we will be well on our way for future generations.

I have a BS and MS in Metallurgical Engineering. Thirty six years spent in the development of semiconductors. Business experience in start up business plan. Currently, an oyster farmer and interested in helping the environment by deploying solar energy. Please visit my Blog http://environmentalhelp.typepad.com/ for further discussions.

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2008 The Funding of Alternative and Green Energy Innovations

The cost of using fossil fuels to make energy for our nation is getting to be an economic burden on our middle class and country. Using Oil for fuel in our cars is causing significant problems with monetary outflows. Burning coal is polluting the air and that is a challenge to our health and environment. Luckily there is some good news on the way.

Clean Coal technologies are coming forward and this will prevent pollution in our coal-fired power plants. Also high fuel costs are helping us as well. How does that help us you ask? Well, Alternative Energy capitalization is getting to be pretty viable with gasoline on the coasts approaching $4.00 per gallon isn't it?

In fact, I see that we have some Venture Capitalists, and Investment Banking Firms, putting their money where their mouth is, along with some pretty decent initiatives for Government Funding, some of which are from the Bush Administration.

It seems that once Carbon Nano-Tube manufacturing becomes viable, environmentally safe and creates economies of scale to lower costs, we will see Hydrogren Cell technologies for transportation kick off. Why, because the compressed hydrogren leaks from tanks too easily, but carbon nano-tubes can prevent this challenge.

With the high cost of fuel it makes other alternative energies much more viable, it makes hybrid car costs look pretty good on a Return on Investment graph as opposed to the huge operational costs associated with $3.00 per gallon or higher gasoline. All this is ushering in a new age of technology and alternative energy and that can only be good for America.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

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What Is The Best Solution To Rising Oil Prices?

Global warming and environmental destruction is one of the most talked about issues in our present day society. There are so many ways to protect our environment and save some money at the same time. Do you think increasing your vehicles MPG (Miles per Gallon) by fifty percent or more would have a positive impact in our environment? How about having a positive impact on your wallet?

With the price of oil skyrocketing, the issue on the top of everyone's mind is saving money at the pump. I was recently in Connecticut, driving home to Rhode Island. The price of one gallon of gas at one Mobil station was over four dollars. I remember reading on Yahoo! that Connecticut is the second highest state for gas prices. I was shocked when I saw that outrageous price, Three dollars is high enough, imagine paying four or five dollars per gallon! Soon, it may cost over one hundred dollars to fill up your gas tank.

If we do not end our dependence on fossil fuels soon, not only will our wallets shrink, our environment, along with its wild inhabitants will also suffer. Most of the narrow minded people in our society believe the answer to these rising prices is to drill for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuges. It is obvious that these people only care about themselves, and not our miracle planet. Oil is obsolete. We should have ended our dependence on it many years ago, but the oil companies billions were at stake. Recently, I was searching for some alternatives to oil. Finding some these money saving secrets was very difficult. Fortunately, I did track down some incredible fuel saving secrets that the oil companies hate.

Yours in Natural Health,
Viny D'Errico

Discover these secrets Here

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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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What everybody ought to know about investing in green energy?

With the oil prices roller coaster, the increase in demand for energy in developing countries and the emergence of new technology making the investment in renewable energy resources an attractive idea.
However there are some considerations that have to be made before investing in green energy company, in order to make sure that this is a good investment.
Although I support the idea of investing in renewable energy resources, and believe that this is the near future of high yield investments, I have to put some warning before opening the wallet:

Investing in green energy is usually investing in the environment more than in the company
You must know that with current technology, of the traditional renewable energy equipment: solar power, wind energy, biofuels etc. we cannot achieve the same efficiency that we can achieve with the old technologies of fossil fuels. In many cases these companies are supported by the public demand for clean energy, which is more expansive and may be not compelling in the future.
Many of the green companies today enjoy governmental of other support that inject life into their failing business plan. So make sure you understand their business before you invest.

What is the business plan?
Since green energy is tend to be more expansive even with the raise in oil prices, you have to make sure that they can show good sales reports, and that the earnings of the companies are real, from actual customers, and not from research funds, or public money. Investing in a company have to relay on good plans for the future and sound business plan, like any company. Bad business plan will fail, even if the ideas behind it are brilliant, and it is enjoying political support.

What is the technology?
I think that one the ways to decide whether a company is a good investment in the renewable energy industry, is to understand the technology. For my opinion, in order to succeed in the green energy world in the future you must have a new, good technology which is superior in its field, and proven to work. I know that it is hard to evaluate that, but I think that this is the key to the doors of the alternative energy future. Only technologies which are efficient enough to compete with traditional energy sources in the economical sense will survive in the upcoming decades.

Availability
Anther thing you have to consider is the real availability of the technology offered. Make sure that this technology relay on resources which are available in the area in which the company operates, and that the resources are really sustainable. A solar power company have to be working, in a sunny environment etc.

So to conclude, I have to say that investing in green energy today have a huge potential, but it is also risky. make sure you understand the technology and the business plan before spending the money. I think that it is worth it, and you will not be sorry.

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The politicians intervention is not welcome for all green energy resources

I have just saw the article in solar energy now, that claims that politicians should not intervene in the solar energy markets,
The reasons he presents are about letting the free market to promote competition between different technologies, so that the companies will compete in research and development and not in getting federal funds. I have to agree with that, and even add some thoughts of my own:
1. The politicians will find it easier to promote large companies that can support them, that will usually build large projects like solar or wind farm. This is nice, but I think the the future of green energy should rely more on personal use of small devices that can produce electricity at the consumer site, allowing each consumer to be in charge of the energy he produce, and preventing large factories and long electric lines, that harm the environment.
2. Politicians usually don't understand the technology and tend to follow the ones who offer them more financial support (the large firms) and not the ones who really have a better solutions.
3. The time frame of politicians is too narrow, and they do not plan for the far future. However, green energy is more about the long run!

In general this is true to all sorts of green energy resources.
Lets keep the suggestion of the solar energy now dude, and invest in better technologies.

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Bill O'Reilly on Oil and Iran - O'Reilly Creates Mass Confusion Over Record Oil Prices

Listening to Bill O'Reilly and the comic book version of reality he espouses is enough to give one a serious case of heartburn. In a recent Talking Points memo entitled "We are all in Danger", O'Reilly pins the blame for $138 a barrel oil on the "gangsters" in the OPEC oil cartel, claiming they are pumping up the price at the pump in an attempt to destroy America. Conveniently, O'Reilly neglects to mention that the price of oil is not actually set by OPEC, but by the light sweet crude oil contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX. He also fails to note analyst estimates that as much of 60% of the current oil price is pure speculative froth due to commodity traders gone wild.

OPEC countries are obviously enjoying the record prices, as are other oil exporting countries such as Canada. But that doesn't mean they caused the price surge. As is too often the case, O'Reilly's analysis is misleading and inaccurate. It's mainly the US investment industry that has caused the run up in oil and gas prices, thereby enriching not only themselves but also the "enemies" of the United States in the process. The arithmetic of a high oil price is pretty simple. Investment banks, hedge funds, the oil and gas industry, and other financial speculators have made untold billions off of the massive commodities bull market of the past 8 years, and run-of-the-mill Americans are paying more out of pocket for just about everything as a consequence.

Instead of using his platform to inform Americans about the true causes of record oil and gas prices, O'Reilly has unfortunately chosen to spin the issue into a baseless and inflammatory attack on OPEC countries, such as Iran and Venezuela, with which the US is currently embroiled in a tense geopolitical stand-off.

Don't "Dig it"? Then why not "Flush it?" Because the worst is more interesting than the best!
Randall Taves is the founder of Flushit, a social news and entertainment site devoted to taking the very worst that humanity has to offer and exposing it to the ridicule and public mockery it deserves. Check out Flushit's Roll of Shame today at: http://www.flushit.net/

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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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