Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us. ~Henrik Tikkanen
(Photo: Jim Motavalli)
NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK – We hear a lot of talk about the “smart grid,” and it sounds high-tech and cool, not to mention just around the corner. A look at how General Electric is preparing for this brave new future was both exhilarating and sobering.
Exhilarating, because it promises to give consumers considerable control over their energy efficient destiny. We’ll be able to order our energy-conscious appliances to run only when the time-dependent rates are low, and switch to half-power when peak use sends those rates soaring. We’ll see our real-time power use displayed on “smart meters” and home energy managers. We’ll plug in our cars, and let the grid decide on an optimal charging time.
Sobering because it isn’t here yet, and won’t be tomorrow either. There are 140 million electric meters in use in the U.S., and just making them “smart” will take at least 10 years, GE officials said. Replacing all the transmission lines that make our grid “dumb” — i.e., unable to move wind power generated in North Dakota to, say, New York, where there’s a big population waiting to use it — will take much longer and cost much more. Estimates of total cost range from $100 billion to $2 trillion.
The Obama administration’s $11 billion in smart grid stimulus funding certainly helps, but even the most optimistic estimate sees a relatively long timetable and huge investment for the full vision to be realized.
Dialing in the smart grid at GE in Niskayuna.
(Photo: Jim Motavalli / iStockPhoto)
While at GE, I watched a technician simulate what it would be like for the grid to take control of my power use, and visited the “kitchen of the future,” a row of cutaway appliances (with neon tubes substituting for stove burners) at General Electric’s Global Research HQ in Niskayuna, New York. A computer monitor would allow me to cut my dryer’s electric use from 4.5 to 2.5 kilowatts when rates spike (and increasing drying time in the process, of course).
GE unveiled what it called the “Net Zero Energy Home” concept, but it didn’t say whether it would actually build one for us to play with.
An Ipsos poll commissioned by the company shows that three out of five people would “change their electricity consumption behavior” after the smart grid was introduced, because they could see how, for example, leaving a light on affects their bill. Some 73% of respondents (in the U.S. and the UK) wanted to learn more, and half of Americans (a third in the UK) were willing to pay more per month for smart grid benefits).
Electric vehicles (EVs) are also part of the smart grid, of course. In fact, its appearance appears to be neatly timed to coincide with the first plug-in hybrid cars — which will mostly be charged during off-peak hours. According to GE’s Natarajan Venkatakrishnan, charging an EV uses as much power as your whole house is likely to consume in a day. If every plug-in hybrid owner came home and plugged in at 6 p.m., grid disaster could soon ensue.
EV startup companies, from Aptera to Bright Automotive, are equipping their cars with software to interact with the smart grid when it’s available. My guess is the cars will be on the road before the grid is ready.
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More from The Daily Green
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc
Now I am not talking about a vegitarian diet…I’m talking about an ORGANIC diet!
I know for a fact that in the last 3 years, organic foods have really hit the market hard. Almost everyone of us could look through our kitchens and find organic dairy, produce, or meat products (along with everything in between).
With organic foods and products flooding the market, the idea of leading a healthy life is no longer just an idea…it’s a reality…for anyone! I know for a fact that my overall level of feeling healthy, has increased dramatically since I started replacing what I eat with organic substitutes.
I never would have thought that what I had been eating and buying from the store for years, was actually playing a part in my over all health…even though I was doing everything I could to lead an above average healthy life. Due to the addition of healthy organic foods into my life…I feel I am finally reaching my standard of a healthy life.
Non organic foods contain so many things that in my opinion are harmful to our bodies. Things like non-organic chemical based fertilizers, pesticides, and herbacides put into the mix of the growth process with all of our normal produce from the grocery store. Then you have the wonderful advancement in our food production… GMO ’s (genetically modified organisms) which involve the process of modifying the genetic structure of what we eat!
I’m sorry I just want food…I don’t feel that it is right to have all of these harmful chemicals introduced to us via what we eat. We eat to live and be healthy…not to line the pockets of mass food producers….bottom line.
I know eating organic and living a healthier ‘green’ life seems like it is somewhat out of reach due to the cost factor…but it is a must to really think about you and your family’s overall health. I’ve had to cut back on some of my family’s luxuries like going out to eat all of the time…but I know for a fact that I am dodging the bullet when it comes to the exposure to harsh chemicals and genetically modified foods. And not only that…I know for a fact that when we sit down for dinner every night…my family is gaining the right nutrients they need to live a healthy ‘Green’ life.
Think about the following the next time you go shopping for you and/or your family:
- Your buying food that has been introduced to chemicals
- The safety of your children…because it is a fact that children ARE more vulnerable to everything (this also includes the safety of people over 65)
- The organic produce, meat, and dairy products that are available to you, more than likely traveled half the distance to your grocery store than your non organic foods (meaning they are fresher). Not only that, they are normally produced by MUCH smaller farms.
- In reality organics really are not more expensive. I know the price tags are higher(which with conventional produce this can be a sign of underpaid workers) but there are many hidden costs in conventional foods including: billions of dollars in federal agriculture and energy subsides favoring big business, chemical regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal, and environmental damage (and the cleanup involved). These are not necessary and are harmful to us and our planet.
- Organic foods TASTE BETTER and have higher level of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial nutrients.
- Finally the organic foods you see, as you browse though the grocery store, are required (in order to be certified USDA Organic) to be free of: GMOs, rBGH or rBST (growth hormones in dairy products), antibiotics, and the arsenal of chemicals that are introduced to conventional non-organic foods.
I hope this post hits home a little bit and brings you and your family closer to a ‘greener’…healthier lifestyle.
Thank you for reading and don’t stop expressing your green!
Putting solar panels on the roof (or side) of your skyscraper is so 2008. If you really want some efficiency without all those complicated photovoltaics. If you really love renewable energy, and you also like EXTREME temperatures, you should just buckle down and put a solar power tower at the top of your skyscraper.
And that’s the idea of the Almeisan Tower that’s been designed for Za’abeel park in Dubai.
The tower would be a home to an observation deck, a cafe, a children’s library and community meeting space, and would produce enough electricity to power itself, and several neighboring buildings. The solar power portion, at the top, would simply be a bunch of rotating mirrors that focus the sun’s light on a point at the peak of the structure. That point would get so hot that water pumped through would vaporize, and turn a steam turbine to create electricity. It’s not a new idea, eSolar is building several of these plants in America now, and they’ve been producing power in Spain for years.
But I’ve never seen anyone planning on sticking one on top of a building.
Solar thermal power is generally more well suited to centralized power generation, where lots of energy can be produced off-site on cheap land in sunny areas. But I’m not going to fault the building’s designer, Robert Ferry, for thinking outside the box. I hope this thing gets built, if only because it’s kinda awesome.
Via Inhabitat
It seems like in the last few years, the awareness of climate change and our personal affects on the environment have increased 10 fold. Is this where we are heading???Is a ‘greener’ world really what is in store for the future?If it is…how do people adjust and get their…
Just though I would share this cool tool from www.safeclimate.net, it is a carbon footprint calculator! Simple to use and with it you are only 3 questions away from realizing your personal affects on the planet!
Here it is, follow this link and start right now!
Then come on back and learn how you can reduce your affects on the climate, with our tips and advice!
Thanks everyone…have an eco-friendly day!
Investing in Renewable Energy, Green Technology and Water
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The water stocks directory is part of the content at the Water-stocks.com portal at Investorideas.com that also features the Investing in Water Podcast.
According to water expert Bill Brennan in water investing podcast recorded earlier this year,
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The complete renewable energy stocks directory is now members only access page.
The directory features stocks listed on the TSX, OTC, NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, ASX, AIM markets and other leading exchanges. The directory includes info and links on Alternative Energy Funds, Biogas and Ethanol Stocks, Energy Efficiency Stocks, Flywheel Stocks, Fuel Cell Stocks, Geothermal Stocks, Hydrogen Production, Micro Turbine Stocks, Solar Stocks, Green Transportation, Wind Power and Wind Energy Stocks and recently added Green Infrastructure Stocks.
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With all the sun that hits our home’s roof, we’ve got to do something with it, right? The good news is solar panels are becoming more popular and more affordable.
Solar panels, or cells, are photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity. The photovoltaic cells are made of a semi-conductor material, such as silicon. When the sunlight strikes, the energy is partially absorbed into the semi-conductor material, shaking the electrons loose, which forces them to flow in a current, yielding the energy to power your house.
The cost for home solar panels ranges from $8,000-$30,000, depending on what kind of system you want. The least expensive systems are for smaller units that aren’t looking to be completely, “off-grid.” Being off-grid means that you are completely independent, and if your solar fails, you don’t have the option to use conventional energy.
The more expensive systems are for large houses that use a lot of energy and want to be entirely energy independent. While many people will want to have energy independence, there are a few incentives for staying on the grid.
For instance, when you have more energy than you need, you have the option to sell your excess energy back to the electric company. Alternatively, if you live in a cloudy area, it might make more sense for you to use solar energy only part of the time.
You will need to have a professional come out to access your home. One of the aspects of your home that’s evaluated is the orientation of your roof. Solar cells typically need to be on a south-facing roof with no shade. Shading as little as one little square of your solar unit can cut power in half.
What exactly are Green Funds?
There is a lot of thoughts and ideas going around the world today about living and buying green which means to stick with the products, companies, and organizations that are for saving our planet. This type of thinking has also gone into major markets such as the stock market. There are funds that are called Green Funds which are stocks from companies that do not pollute the world and are for natural resources. There are many products that are now being sold in order to help save the earth and keep the air that we breathe clean.
It is nice to know that there are Green Funds that investors can invest in order to keep their beliefs about helping mother earth stay healthy. The investors like to have a portfolio that states they will only deal with companies and their stocks who not only care about making the money that they are making through the market but also care about what their products and services do for the world that our children and grandchildren are going to grow up in. This actually states just how far the message of a clean world has gotten.
If a message can break the barriers of money, it can just about do anything and these investors that are only investing in Green Funds are continuing the message onto other prospective investors. The more that we do to preserve our natural resources and keep our world clean, the better off all of us will be. There are many websites on the Internet that will have lists of stocks that investors can invest in that are connected to companies who follow the message of keeping the world clean and green. It is these websites that people who want to invest in stocks should visit to learn about these funds.
Most of the Green Funds that you will find are small funds, but they are still on top in today’s market due to the fact that they focus on the green technology that is growing on a daily basis. People should definitely invest in the environment because this is what is our future and these funds are out there waiting for anyone to invest in them. There are many types of these funds that you can invest in that have to do with helping the environment and alternative energy and it is these funds that have sustainable practices.
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Green investing is a great way to not only find some healthy investment returns but also make sure your money is funding socially responsible companies. Green investing means your money is earning you an investment return
while you’re helping to back the companies who are doing the right thing by the environment or by the community.
With green investing you could be making money while you’re helping the environment. An example of green investing could be to invest your money into companies researching and developing alternative energy sources or by investing into companies that make a positive impact on the environment.
Socially responsible investing began by appealing to investors who preferred not to have their money funding companies involved with things like tobacco, gambling or alcohol.
In more recent times green investing now screens out companies who are abusive or irresponsible toward the environment or their communities, companies who might practice poor labor relations or lack corporate integrity. This also means their green investments advocate companies that are making a positive impact on the environment or the community.
So how do you get started in Green Investing?
The simplest way to put your money to work in green investing is to invest it into an SRI mutual fund. A Socially Responsible Investment mutual fund does all the management of choosing green companies with decent returns for you.
A side effect of green investing is that over time as more people pour money into socially responsible companies, this action is sending a message to those companies who are guilty of extreme environmental pollution or poor labor practices that the community has become less tolerant of their corporate practices.
Are Green Companies a Good Investment?
Many governments around the world have begun legislating greener practices relating to a lot of industries in response to public feedback and concerns for environmental damage. As more companies scramble to find ways to comply with legislations and also find ways to meet public approval, green research and environmentally friendly products are on the rise.
This means many green companies are increasing their market share over time, but it may not necessarily make it a good green investment.
As with any other investment, it’s wise to check the individual company for how they generate revenue and whether the company is performing well in terms of available cash flow and overall profitability.
For example, a new green start-up company specializing in green energy research might be funded by government loans, grants and investor money, but may not be producing any revenue of its own, so trying to calculate investment returns on a green investment like this would be difficult at best.
Overall, green investing is a great way to have your investment money aligned to your personal preferences but it’s still important to consider the total investment package and how your money would be put to work before jumping in.
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