3p Contributor: Lexington Blood
Recent Articles
FuelMeister II: Personal Biodiesel Processor
One problem consumer’s face when wanting to use biofuels is building an in-house processor for creating biodiesel to further shave costs. This is no small feat so Renewal Biodiesel has created a second generation do-it-yourself system that makes it a snap. The system is aptly coined the FuelMeister II. The biggest benefit to this system is cost savings, producing your own biodiesel fuel can bank you as little as .70 cents a gallon!!
The FuelMeister II is faster, safer, and easier to operate than its older sibling. The FuelMeister creates biodiesel out of used cooking oil, methanol, lye, electricity and tap water. With these ingredients properly blended the FuelMeister can kick out 80 gallons of clean-burning fuel every day. This fuel can be used to power your vehicle or even your home or both.
Hycrete Admixture: concrete waterproofing solution
Michael Rhodes was one of the masterminds behind solid rocket fuel over 40 years ago. Today he is throwing his chemical genius into the concrete arena. Welcome Hycrete Admixture, a blend of metallic ions and calcium moleculesthat react to seal the capillaries in concrete.
The result is a waterproof concrete through and through. Hycrete eliminates the need for external membranes, coatings, and sheeting treatments, which means that old concrete does not need to lay to rest in a landfill, it can be crushed and recycled. Hycrete concrete provides a valuable and sustainable approach to corrosion protection and waterproofing through a advanced yet simple evolution in performance concrete construction.
LED Bulbs: Efficient lighting is here to stay…..
The introduction of LED light bulbs into the market has been hindered due to several factors. Namely: lumens (brightness) color (led produce blue radiance vs. white) market promotion and affordability. Although LED bulbs for residential and commercial applications are not quite where they need to be, they are starting to scratch their way into the market this year with more force than ever before.
Technology has brought the bulbs to a point where they are bright enough to compete with standard bulbs if not better. Also, the color that has plagued the bulbs for some time, being the hazy soft blue tones that are common has been dealt with as well, be it by a diffuser or through bulb technology itself.
In-house Gray Water Systems: Simple solutions for water management
Nearly half the water used in the home is flushed down the toilet. There are many solutions for under sink gray water units that help save and recycle usable water. A strong contender among the competition is the AQUS gray water system which efficiently captures the water from the sink and transfers it to the flusher. This handy unit can save up to 7 gallons of water per person each day, that figure adds up real quick.
The trick? The sink water first runs through a simplified dispenser or filter of sorts that houses bromine and chlorine tablets. These tablets kill the bacteria from the polluted sink water. A 5.5 gallon holding tank lies beneath your vanity and is attached to the dispenser. A modified p-trap directs the water from the sink through the dispenser and into the tank.
HardiePlank Siding: Tough, good-looking, green
A fast favorite among green builders is the super durable HardiePlank siding. Not unlike the HardieBacker many of us are familiar with using when laying down tile. Composed of wood pulp, cement, sand and water, the end product will not rot, crack or split. The green benefits are many including the recycled components and the relative low embodied energy for manufacturing.
Compared to other siding options this product stands out as the main contender for a sound and sturdy green building material. It is also versatile; it can be faced to resemble that of stucco wood clapboards or cedar shingles. HardiePlank can also be pre-painted at the factory for those ready to install and walk away. In a world where wood siding needs constant maintenance and vinyl siding is toxic and flammable HardiePlank is the easy choice. The big kicker is it comes with a 50-year warranty. When green builders weigh the costs with the reward, HardiePlank seems to tip the scale in its favor. What potential homeowner is going to complain about an eco-friendly, low-maintenance, durable , and good-looking buidling material that lasts and lasts?? Just another smart way to provide sonsumers with something better while profiting at the same time.
Nanoantennas: Solar arrays that absorb energy even in the dark!!
A collaboration of physicists, scientists and businesses have teamed up to create cheap and highly effective solar cells on a nanoscopic scale. Spearheaded by the Idaho National Laboratory, this team is onto a fresh way of producing solar panels that can continue to absorb energy even after the sun has set. The technology, not only efficient at nearly 80%, will also be cheap to manufacture, at estimated pennies a yard.
A specialized manufacturing process will stamp tiny square spirals of a conducting metal onto a think sheet of plastic that have been coined “nanoantennas.” At the slight width on the order of 1/25 the diameter of a human hair, these nanoantennas can absorb energy produced through the infrared spectrum. Infrared energy is produced in massive quantities by the sun, a portion of which is absorbed by the earth only to be released as radiation after the sun has set. These nanoantennas can absorb energy from both the rays of the daylight sun and the heat radiated from the earth at a higher efficiency than modern solar cells.
Focus the Nation: How would you spend $100 billion in a clean energy movement?
Today, all acroos the country, participants are tuning in and submitting their two-bits on solutions to global warming in a “teach in” called Focus the Nation. More than 1,600 institutions, the majority of which are colleges and universities are involved in this solution think tank.
This gathering of minds involves faculty-led symposiums and round table discussions. The nice feature to it all is there will be an online ballot for anyone who wishes to submit what they think the top five solutions to global warmning should be.
Tonight, at 8 ET, there will be a live webcast coined The 2% Solution, which is produced by the National Wildlife Federation. The title is directly linked to the proposed goal of reducing carbon emissions 2% a year.
The webcast will host a live panel discussion as well as clips from the actor/activist Edward Norton, including many high profile scientists and global warming experts. The viewers will be able to send in text messages on how they might choose to spend $100 billion in a clean energy revolution.
The webcast will be broadcasted through Earthday Network TV and can be viewed at www.earthdaytv.net More information can be found at focusthenation.org
Wood-Pellet Stoves: Efficient Heat
The 1980′s witnessed the inception of wood-pellet stoves but the benefits and efficiency of this innovative product, has not showed its face until recently. A pellet stove is a small electric unit that burns small pieces of recycled and compacted sawdust pellets. The advantages to wood pellet stoves are many, for one, they are extremely efficient, use inexpensive fuel and produce very little waste.
The fuel are the tightly compressed pieces of sawdust which are released into the stoves through some complicated machinery which adds new pellets to the fire when more fuel is needed. All that is required of the user is dumping pellets into the hopper when it is empty. The mechanical auger transfers the pellets into the fire as needed.
Green Class Meters: Energy Monitoring
Are you curious to know your energy consumption within your home or business? Here is a simple and easily integrated device for your home or business. Considering the world-wide focus on green building sustainability this is a good measurement point for determining your energy consumption. E-Mon has recently introduced a line of Green Class meters. The E-mon D-mon Green Class meters are a useful tool for monitoring your energy usage data.
The meters provide a wealth of information such as usage trends and a record of the impact that your home or business is having on the environment. For example, a responsible business recently incorporating an energy retrofit will be able to verify the continual effectiveness of an energy savings initiative. It can even be displayed as a statement piece in a lobby or waiting room, highlighting your company’s resolve on reducing its footprint.
Amazon Kindle: Save Trees, Support E-Book Readers
As much as I love to read, turning pages one by one, breaking a new paperback book into a well-weathered memory to trophy in my book case, I realize it is costing some forest, somewhere, a tree.
Although e-books have existed since the 90′s a portable platform designed just for e-books that is truly functional has not been available until recently. I read up on two products out there, Sony Reader, which I liked, and the Amazon Kindle, of which I liked a little better.
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