tagged w/ renewable
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Richard Cogdell is the Director of the Institute for Molecular Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Glasglow, Scotland.
Richard was led to a career in studying bacterial photosynthesis by a desire to learn and understand basic photosynthesis, he "wanted to know how natured worked."
In 1995, Richard's research group, in collaboration with others, used protein crystallography to determine the three dimensional structure of a light-harvesting complex from the purple bacterium, Rhodospsedomas acidophilia.
This breakthrough led to two key elements in the understanding of bacterial photosynthesis. One, once you have established the structure you can understand its function. Two, this view of a light-harvesting complex attracted an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the fields such as chemistry, physics, mathematics and biology.
Richard's current challenge is to take the process of photosynthesis (using solar energy to make a fuel) and apply it to the world's energy needs in a sustainable manner.
To do this, Richard says "you must break photosynthesis down to it's four most basics steps", absorb solar energy, concentrate it, break it apart and make a fuel. These are the steps that must be duplicated if they are going to be successful at creating sustainable, renewable energy.
The first two steps, says Cogdell, are like a solar battery (easy to recreate). The hard part is finding ways to use renewable energy to drive the chemistry. That's the process Richard spends most of his time working on and he uses the concept of an artificial leaf to help explain this complex process to the public.
According to Cogdell, if the current rate of investment continues, it will be approximately five to six years before we see a small pilot system that demonstrates the feasibility of the process.
Richard emphasizes that if mankind wants to survive, we must find a way to convert solar energy into fuel because when fossil fuels run out so do we.Richard Cogdell is the Director of the Institute for Molecular Cell and Systems... more
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We have already seen that the research team from MIT has detected living trees’ capacity to generate electricity. According to researchers, this faint amount of electricity is actually created by an imbalance in pH between the soil and a living tree. They have figured this out by doing experiments with platinum electrodes and indoor plants.We have already seen that the research team from MIT has detected living trees’... more
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Residents of a West Bank village with no electricity have been helped out of the darkness by unlikely benefactors – a group of Israelis who installed solar panels and wind turbines to illuminate the Palestinians' makeshift homes. The villagers of Susya live in tents and caves with power lines darting right above their dwellings, connecting a nearby Jewish settlement to the power grid while bypassing them entirely. It was this lack of basic services that drew the physicists from Comet-ME, a group of pro-peace Israeli scientists and activists, to this dusty, desolate area. Now the entire village of 300 people has access to power that is reliable, free and green. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/your-details/43054-israeli-scientistsactivists-bring-green-power-to-west-bank-village-susya-south-hebron-mountains-Residents of a West Bank village with no electricity have been helped out of the... more
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worrg
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1 year ago
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With all this talk about clean energy being more expensive than traditional sources it helps to know the facts. Coal is the beneficiary of huge subsidies. How? By having average Americans pay the health care costs associated with polluted air and rivers. Not to mention the destruction of entire mountains leading to the collapse of smaller local economies across the state of Virginia. Capitalism only works when the market is truly free, and that means "true accounting". This isn't about more government regulation or less. Its about accurately pricing the environmental goods we all use for free. While many may have moral objections to the commodification of the environment, others may recognize the economic benefits of allowing a "free" market determine how we make the best of our planet, our health, and our lives.
http://chge.med.harvard.edu/programs/ccf/documents/MiningCoalMountingCosts.pdfWith all this talk about clean energy being more expensive than traditional sources it... more
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Everyone is talking about “green jobs.” While many people are eager to become employed in the sustainability sector, there are naysayers who don’t believe that they actually exist. This article provides examples of changing industries outside of the traditional cleantech sector.Everyone is talking about “green jobs.” While many people are eager to... more
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Ecotech Institute, the first and only college focused entirely on preparing America’s workforce for alternative energy careers in renewable energy and sustainable design, today announced growing demand for its Electrical Engineering Technology Program. As research continues to underscore the importance of an overhauled power sector, related job skills will be critical and Ecotech’s program is in the forefront for career training.
Ecotech Institute, which is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, launched in Denver, Colorado in April 2010 with seven highly practical renewal energy degree programs and one certificate program that provide graduates with skills that are valued by today’s alternative renewable energy employers.
According to The 21st Century Electric Utility: Positioning for a Low-Carbon Future, a Ceres Report authored by Navigant Consulting, “The successful 21st century electric utility company will be very different from the utility of the 20th century. To remain competitive, today’s utility must respond to the risks and opportunities from climate change, carbon costs, volatile fuel prices, emerging clean technologies, expanding energy efficiency programs, increasing customer expectations and competing third party energy providers. Responding to these challenges will require new core competencies and revised business models for U.S. utilities.”
“Ecotech’s Electrical Engineering Technology Program is in high demand for its ability to prepare graduates for careers that require highly technical knowledge in the new energy economy,” says Alison Wise, Director of Career Services at Ecotech Institute. “For example, as the aging grid moves toward Smart Grid technologies, our students will have the knowledge base to sustain lifelong careers in this changing industry.”
This program prepares students for alternative energy careers while focused on the fundamentals of electrical engineering. Ecotech’s state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities allow students the opportunity to apply theory and graduates will be well prepared to become electrical engineering technicians.
The Electrical Engineering Technology Associate degree requires 96 credit hours of education. Upon successful completion of this program, students should be able to:
• Apply electrical and electronic theory and related knowledge to design, build, repair, calibrate, and modify electrical components, circuitry, controls, and machinery;
• Perform diagnostic electrical analysis;
• Meet industry standards within the electrical engineering field;
• Apply safety principles; and
• Coordinate a successful job search.
To learn more about Ecotech Institute, visit http://www.ecotechinstitute.com/. Applications are being accepted now and financial assistance is available.Ecotech Institute, the first and only college focused entirely on preparing... more
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As every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the sun's energy and convert it to electrical energy.
link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110105102725.htmAs every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the... more
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Despite the threat of deforestation, people and industries still need wood to manufacture certain products, or do they? What if an environmentally friendly replacement for wood could be developed? Germans Juergen Pfitzer and Helmut Naegele have created an alternative to wood called ArboForm. This sustainable plastic-like material is made from lignin, a component of wood and a by-product of the paper manufacturing process.
Read more: http://www.whitespace.bz/ws/web/forms/pulse/PulseMainArticle.aspx?id=510Despite the threat of deforestation, people and industries still need wood to... more
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This mobile power source by Rollergen is a source that charges your battery while you bike, with your own leg power. In other words: cycle your power, bike to make electricity, make your own energy with this rechargeable battery. It's so amazing that if you bike for only ten minutes, you'll be able to charge your cellphone from empty to full, with your own energy!
The founders of Rollergen have over 120 years of experience in electromagnetic design and were able to produce a very powerful battery: it can make 30 watts of energy each time.
When that battery is fully charged, the electricity gathered can charge any USB products such as cell phones, your laptop, camera, iPod and even the iPad. It's you, cycling your power with this battery bike. If only I was a biker, my iphone would always be charged!
I hope you enjoyed learning how to make your own energy with Rollergen!
Overview of Rollergen, from their own website:
Energy is plentiful. It comes from many different, equally valid sources. And it is not owned by anyone. Here's how you can make your own.
Cycle your power with this high wattage mobile power source. Turn pedal power into electric power. Charge your USB devices.
Enables off-grid adventures. Centerpiece of emergency preparedness.
Boasts Silicon Valley’s latest technology electromagnetics, battery chemistries, and power electronics. Designed by High Tide.
Highlights:
- Rechargeable
- Removable
- Makes 30 watts
- Make your own energy!
- Rechargeable bike lights
- Use charged battery as camping light
- 1/50th of the cost of the equivalent in AA batteriesThis mobile power source by Rollergen is a source that charges your battery while you... more
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The research, which is ongoing and was begun by Mr. Charles Moore in 1997, has revealed a deadly nightmare for organic life. There is a proven process in which any hydrocarbon-based material can be converted back to high-quality light oil by a brief application of heat and pressure... http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/372-oceans-of-plasticThe research, which is ongoing and was begun by Mr. Charles Moore in 1997, has... more
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worrg
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2 years ago
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Washington: President Barack Obama on Monday renewed his commitment to a “new beginning” with the Muslim world, vowing no let-up in US efforts to promote Middle East peace, curb militant violence and boost economic development.
Seeking to build on his outreach to Muslims in a speech in Cairo last June, Obama used a US-hosted Muslim business conference to underscore what his administration has done so far and to pledge further work to overcome mistrust.
While Obama has made progress toward mending America’s image in the Islamic world, he still faces stiff challenges in his handling of the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the nuclear standoff with Iran and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I knew that this vision would not be fulfilled in a single year, or even several. But I knew we had to begin and that all of us have responsibilities to fulfill,” Obama told the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.
The focus on business development marked the Obama administration's strategy of trying to broaden the conversation with Muslims beyond the "war on terrorism" that dominated the Bush-era approach and alienated many.
But, speaking to an audience of 250 business people from more than 50 countries, Obama also waded into some of the hot-button issues between Washington and the Muslim world that he acknowledged “have often been a source of tension”.
Many Muslims are especially disappointed by Obama’s failure so far to advance Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking despite promising in his first days in office to make it a high priority. He assured his audience he would not abandon US diplomatic efforts, which have been stymied by a dispute with Israel over Jewish colony building and divisions among the Palestinians.
“Despite the inevitable difficulties, so long as I am president, the United States will never waver in our pursuit of a two-state solution that ensures the rights and security of both Israelis and Palestinians,” Obama pledged.
But he offered no new initiative to revive long-stalled peace talks. Obama also asserted that the United States was “responsibly ending” the war in Iraq and “in Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond, we're forging new partnerships to isolate violent extremists, combat corruption and foster the development that improves lives and communities.”
The two-day conference sought to deliver on a promise Obama made in his Cairo speech, in which he pledged to do more to boost economic development and bolster US business ties with the Muslim world.
Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, had been widely criticized by Muslims for the perception that his administration viewed them mostly through the lens of terrorism.
Under Bush, America’s image in the Muslim world suffered mostly because of the Iraq war, the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and the Guantanamo detention center.
“There’s so much more we can do together, in partnership, to foster opportunity and prosperity in all our countries,” Obama said as he sought to focus more on talking about doing business together.
He announced a series of efforts, including exchange programmes for women in technology and for high tech leaders from Silicon Valley to share their expertise, said his global technology and innovation fund would “potentially mobilize” more than $2 billion in private capital.
“The new beginning we seek is not only possible, it has already begun,” Obama said, echoing the language of his Cairo speech.
“It exists within each of you, and millions around the world who believe, like we do, that the future belongs not to those who would divide us, but to those who come together; not to those who would destroy, but those who would build.”
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke challenged the entrepreneurs to take “the tremendous success that all of you have had individually and expand it throughout the Islamic world.”
In addition to Locke, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other senior US officials will participate in sessions alongside private sector experts like Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, Grameen Bank founder Mohammad Younus and Arif Naqvi, head of Abraaj Capital, the largest private equity firm in the Middle East.
While the summit was widely viewed as a positive step, analysts said Obama ultimately would be judged in the Muslim world not by his hosting of business conferences but on his handling of big geopolitical issues.
Aside from the Middle East, Obama has struggled to advance on other fronts. The administration is pushing ahead with its strategy for the war in Afghanistan despite increasingly brittle relations with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.Washington: President Barack Obama on Monday renewed his commitment to a “new... more
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Solar-cell manufacturing in Frederick, Maryland, dates back to the mid-1970s. BP Solar, one such company, was so profitable it was in the middle of building a $97 million expansion to create more jobs in the solar panel industry. Now the BP Solar building is being demolished and 320 people in Maryland are unemployed.
What happened?
The answer is, the federal government got involved and destroyed the free market generated profitability of the making of solar panels. Here’s how: the Obama Administration has spent billions of dollars to create “green jobs.” Through his tax incentives and credits for those businesses that manufacture renewable energy products, he created a glut in the marketplace. With so many businesses now producing solar panels (most of them overseas in anticipation of a booming U.S. market), the cost of panels has been nearly cut in half, making it impossible for businesses like BP Solar to stay in business in the U.S. In an effort to create green jobs, hundreds of green jobs that had been around for 30-plus years were lost. Ironic isn’t it?
Because companies like BP Solar can’t survive in the U.S. anymore, due to the market being over-inflated with far too many subsidized companies creating a surplus of solar panels, they move to where business is more cost effective. Places like China, India, Mexico and Poland, where less overhead, lower labor costs and fewer taxes make for a friendlier business environment. Businesses in the U.S. pay huge corporate and property taxes, as well as absorb skyrocketing energy costs. Even if the government subsidized BP Solar, like it has done with so many other green industries, it would not have been enough.
Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government flatly states, “The market is no longer sustainable because of the glut caused by the overproduction of solar panels. This is a problem unless the government plans to subsidize these companies forever.”
Not only is the U.S. hard on businesses to begin with, but by meddling in the free market, the federal government has made conditions far worse — for everyone.
“320 jobs. That is absolutely absurd,” says Audrey Scott, former Secretary of Planning for the Ehrlich Administration, about the number of jobs lost at BP Solar. “In the Western part of the state jobs are a very critical issue. It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs.”
You can lay some of the blame of the closing of BP Solar on the State of Maryland’s laws and regulations. Other businesses have left the state and moved to Pennsylvania or elsewhere to more business-friendly environments.
“Maryland is very anti-business and that is one of our issues,” Scott says. “What our government is doing here in Maryland at the present time is getting in the way of the job creation. The regulations and the horrendous atmosphere and environment for jobs and for business here in Maryland are just unacceptable.”
Sound familiar? While Maryland’s drop in 2007 to 47th worse business tax climate, according to a nonprofit Tax Foundation report played a big role in BP Solar’s decision to close, the overall business climate in the U.S. contributed to the shutdown as well. It’s not only solar panels that are being manufactured overseas, it’s other renewable energies as well — even by those companies that received “help” from the federal government.
For example, of the $2 billion already spent on wind power alone, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year, nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines. And wind energy is just another industry receiving some of money spent on this “green” initiative. There are still billions more dollars being spent by the federal government on this initiative.
Obama’s method of subsidizing these renewable energy companies and interfering in free market environments is not original. Spain is a good example of a country that has done exactly what Obama is trying to do. An Institute of Energy Research (IER)-commissioned study coming out of King Juan Carlos University in Madrid by Gabriel Calzada found that, for every green job created, 2.2 jobs in other sectors have been destroyed. Furthermore, Spain’s government spent $758,471 to create each green job and used $36 billion in taxpayer money to invest in wind, solar, and mini-hydro from 2000-2008. The country’s unemployment rate is currently at 19.4% and is nearing insolvency.
Does the U.S. really want to continue down this same path?
It is time to learn from the mistakes of others before it is too late. America is next in line to becoming insolvent, as ALG News has previously reported.
“It is lunacy to expect top-down, Soviet-style economic planning to work in America,” says Wilson. “It has failed all over the world. We need to let markets work. Before the government got involved, 320 Americans were profitably building solar panels in Maryland. Now, they are unemployed.”
When walking the streets of Frederick, Maryland, you sense sadness and frustration. Peoples’ hopes are replaced with despair. Maybe if the federal government would have left the free market system alone, BP Solar might have had a chance and continued to produce solar panels and more jobs.Solar-cell manufacturing in Frederick, Maryland, dates back to the mid-1970s. BP... more
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Solar water heaters are an improvement over gas heaters, they are affordable and it's a good first step that people can take to help change how we get our power.
http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/3896Solar water heaters are an improvement over gas heaters, they are affordable and... more
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This is just one short clip of 13 which can be found at Evan Kopelson's blog Green Media News along with Evan's written coverage of the presentation.This is just one short clip of 13 which can be found at Evan Kopelson's blog... more
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“battery”/
DOEs new renewable energy Venture Capital unit ARPA-E has just funded an entirely new kind of liquid battery innovation from MIT professor Donald Sadoway, that works like an aluminum plant running in reverse; producing power instead of consuming it.“battery”/
DOEs new renewable energy Venture Capital unit ARPA-E has just... more
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Designer Fernando Brizio has designed a dress that can be (air quotes!) “recycled”. The design works like this: The dress has pockets all over it. Slide colored felt pens into the pockets. The ink bleeds into the cloth, creating circular patterns. Wear the dress. When you get tired of the color or just feel the need for a change, toss the dress in the washer and the ink will disappear. Now you have a blank slate to work on once again.
http://www.whitespace.bz/ws/web/forms/pulse/PulseMainArticle.aspx?id=321Designer Fernando Brizio has designed a dress that can be (air quotes!)... more
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The largest residential solar system in NYC is located just a few blocks away from NNEC's office in the heart of Manhattan.
We decided to take a short walk over to Kips Bay Towers, a residential complex with over 1,000 units, where the 55 kW solar system is now producing five percent of the building's electric demand.
Check out this story and learn why New York is a key location for the development of solar power.The largest residential solar system in NYC is located just a few blocks away from... more
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NNEC
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3 years ago
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The sun had just crested the distant ridge of the Rocky Mountains, but already it was producing enough power for the electric meter on the side of the Smiley Building to spin backward.
For the Shaw brothers, who converted the downtown arts building and community center into a miniature solar power plant two years ago, each reverse rotation subtracts from their monthly electric bill. It also means the building at that moment is producing more electricity from the sun than it needs.
"Backward is good," said John Shaw, who now runs Shaw Solar and Energy Conservation, a local solar installation company.
Good for whom?
As La Plata County in southwestern Colorado looks to shift to cleaner sources of energy, solar is becoming the power source of choice even though it still produces only a small fraction of the region's electricity. It's being nudged along by tax credits and rebates, a growing concern about the gases heating up the planet, and the region's plentiful sunshine.
The natural gas industry, which produces more gas here than nearly every other county in Colorado, has been relegated to the shadows.The sun had just crested the distant ridge of the Rocky Mountains, but already it was... more
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This is a Modest Proposal. Some people will think it's anything BUT modest, but people scare easily these days. Take a point; our atmosphere smells like Hell, literally. Any minute we may all choke to death. And that isn't a fantasy; it's a fact, attested to by sober scientists. Add a codicil; under no circumstances will Americans give up their cars and roads, and return to rail travel . . . and don't mention the sky, for good and sufficient reasons. They will not surrender their cars, ever; they'll die first. And so will the remaining pedestrians.
Take another point; the steam automobile. For thirty years, steam cars ran faster, more cheaply, and more safely than gas-fueled cars. And they did NOT emit poison fumes, not ever. Then, they vanished, for reasons which had absolutely nothing to do with engineering, ecological good, or cost. They were outsold, by vast amounts of money poured into advertising, by good old American salesmanship, which always works hardest when selling an inferior product. The gas car won. Now, look, Wow.
Over the last few years repeated attempts have been made to revive steam cars as a commercially sold vehicle; every such attempt has suddenly, and often rather mysteriously, stopped, just short of actual production. Now, with the current yells of pain from gassed citizens, you keep hearing of a steam car . . . next year, maybe. But somehow not today.
Lear, who made huge promises, invested millions in development, and was, according to publicity, ready to actually produce a steam car, suddenly, and with no good reason, stopped dead in his tracks. Again, I won't speculate about possible reasons; do your own paranoia trip.
Third point. Groups and communes, popping up here and there, looking for economically feasible ways to make it. Well, not all of us are farmers.
All right. A commune; ten, twenty, or more people, a farmhouse, and a great big barn, and maybe none of them are farmers. Machine tools; a good big lathe, a milling machine, some welding equipment, sheet metal tools, and access to one of those great mines of spare parts, the American auto junkyard.
All of these people are working, together; not the way men work on a Detroit auto line, but each at the craft he does best. In that big barn . . . building steam cars, one at a time, as cars were once built till the assembly line was invented. The frames and parts may be rebuilt junked gas cars, at least at first. The engine and boiler? Right now, anyone who wants can buy a steam power plant for an automobile, which he can bolt right into a standard American car, lobotomized of its poison-gas guts; the price, last I heard, ran around $1200 for the works. Maybe our communards buy these engines, and maybe, after a while, they buy merely rough castings, boiler tube and other raw parts.
FOLLOW LINK ABOVE FOR REST OF ARTICLEThis is a Modest Proposal. Some people will think it's anything BUT modest, but... more
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A dynamic group of business and government leaders has formed the CleanLaunch Technology Incubator, designed to serve entrepreneurs developing new technologies and to develop and nurture start-up clean tech companies throughout the region.A dynamic group of business and government leaders has formed the CleanLaunch... more
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JenCSG
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3 years ago
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