US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton last week belatedly recognized that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of Mahmoud Abbas may not be a viable peace partner for Israel after all.
Too bad her husband already made that realization completely irrelevant by helping to immutably entrench the PLO den of killers as celebrated, peace-seeking international diplomats.
Like every other American president, Hillary would be more concerned about her own political future and legacy, and would without doubt fall prey to the Palestinian apologists that occupy the State Department.
Nor would Hillary be able to avoid pandering to the anti-Israel sentiments of the Arab world that control so much of the oil that fuels the American economy, despite her ranting about the current administration’s apparent basing of foreign policy on such energy concerns.
All the talk of developing alternative sources of energy and becoming energy-independent is nice, but Hillary knows as well as anyone that to suddenly stop buying so much oil from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world would cause an international diplomatic crisis of enormous proportions that would be far more deadly that forcing American consumers to continue paying rising gas prices.
So all the strong statements aside, it is extremely unlikely (barring direct divine intervention) that the future president of the United States, be it Hillary Clinton or anyone else, will give the Arab world the finger and tell the PLO to go to hell.
Enjoy the article? Subscribe to our email updates
15 comments so far ↓
1 Jeremy // Feb 12, 2007 at 2:01 am
Shalom, Hillary clinton is perhaps the most transparent candidate . She tries to be all things to all people. Pure plastic just like her husband Bill. Look out Israel if she is elelcted and God help the USA … Jeremy
2 Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant // Feb 12, 2007 at 4:29 am
Solar power industry heats up
By Los Angeles Times
Feb 11, 2007 - 12:11:23 am PST
Print this story Email this story
BERKELEY, Calif. — In the beginning, to explain the concept of a solar hot-water heater, Gary Gerber showed a homemade graphic of a black hose sitting on a lawn.
“Do you ever go out in the summer and turn on the hose and the water is hot?” he’d ask potential customers. “Well, that’s how it works.”
In those “stone age” days of the mid-1970s, there was no solar industry, Gerber says, just a small collection of “experimenters, forward-thinking people, inventors.”
Eking out a living was an impossibility: Gerber survived by selling cheese from his Volkswagen van. Three decades later, his Sun Light & Power can barely keep up.
A frenzied demand for solar power, or “photovoltaic,” installations has eclipsed the water heater portion of the business, and since 2002, sales have ballooned by about 66 percent annually — to more than $11 million in 2006.
Once the domain of hippies, whose off-the-grid escape doubled as an anti-establishment rebuke, renewable energy is now a pillar of California politics.
In recent months, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the California Solar Initiative to help bring solar power to a million rooftops, as well as a landmark greenhouse-gas reduction law. Cities throughout the Bay Area — California’s alternative-energy hotbed — are tricking out public buildings with solar panels, outfitting municipal vehicle fleets with plug-in hybrids and tweaking building codes to require energy-efficient features on new construction. Large companies are scrambling to certify their buildings as “green.”
And across the state, in locations not off the beaten path, solar installations on homes and small businesses have soared, thanks largely to rebates for systems tied into the state power grid.
While 1998 saw 87 installations of such systems — which relieve strain by feeding excess solar juice back to the grid — the number exploded to nearly 6,000 in 2006, with the Bay Area well in the lead, according to California Energy Commission data.
For Gerber, 53, it is a head-spinning state of affairs.
Curly-haired and soft-spoken, Gerber today looks the part of an engineer in his pressed khakis and checkered button-down shirt, four pens aligned in his front pocket. But he remains a zealot of renewable energy, down to the solar watch on his wrist.
Though Gerber is not the biggest player in the increasingly competitive industry, he is among a handful of believers who came of age in the mid-1970s boom, survived the gloom of the ’80s and ’90s and emerged to thrive in today’s market.
“Gary’s experience mirrors the industry’s experience overall,” said Brian Gitt, executive director of the nonprofit Build It Green, which promotes energy-efficient building in California.
“Here’s this pioneer who’s been doing this for 30 years and weathered the hard times. Now, he’s able to take advantage of the insane growth we’re experiencing. It’s equivalent to the beginning of the Internet boom.” Solar power has had previous brushes with the mass market: In 1891, Clarence M. Kemp designed the first commercial solar water heater. “The Climax” was the wealthy household’s alternative to heating water on the stove, and six years later, nearly a third of Pasadena, Calif., homes sported one. But by the 1930s, use of plentiful natural gas had killed the Southland industry.
Interest revived after 1973 oil crisis.
The nascent industry focused on water heaters and passive thermal features to keep houses warm.
A company of young architects formed by Tom Butt — now a Richmond city councilman — hammered together homemade solar panels, but they could find no contractors willing to build the projects they devised.
Word got to Gerber, who, one project shy of a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, queried fellow students in 1974: Did anyone want to go into business?
The ragtag Sun Light & Power worked under Butt’s contractor’s license and built solar collectors with redwood framing and fluorescent tubing. The first customers: Gerber’s parents.
With a zero advertising budget, referrals to Sun Light & Power came through Butt’s company or word-of-mouth. A $5,000 loan from Gerber’s uncle served as the company’s “little pot of operating capital” for five years.
“I really didn’t know how I was going to make the next payroll, and then a check would arrive,” Gerber said.
A key to sustaining him was cheese, which he sold from his Volkswagen to delis, restaurants and the co-op in Quincy where his sister lived in a tepee.
Federal and state tax credits eventually boosted business — and in 1979, President Carter mounted 34 solar collectors on the White House roof to power the West Wing’s hot-water heater.
In 1980, Gerber sold the mobile cheese business and went full time to solar.
But President Reagan moved in and the White House solar collectors came down. The tax credits disappeared in the mid-1980s and the industry plunged “over a cliff,” Gerber recalled.
Then in 1991, the phone rang.
It was Terry Galloway, a wealthy chemical engineer and early solar devotee whose home had turned to ash in the Oakland Hills firestorm.
Galloway wanted to rebuild bigger and better — photovoltaic panels, solar water heating systems for house and pool, and passive features. The massive project was cutting-edge: To computerize it, Galloway had to write 250 pages of code. Gerber’s was one of only three listings under Solar Energy in the Yellow Pages. Galloway laid out his proposition.
“It was very, very quiet on the other end of the line,” Galloway recalled.
The venture gave Gerber a blank canvas.
The house contained features nearly unheard of at the time: a ground source heat pump, which tapped solar energy collected by the Earth; a passive nighttime cooling system that drew in night air and recirculated it by day, and the computerized code that choreographed it all.
“There wasn’t anything off the shelf to buy, so we had to just invent it,” Gerber recalled. “Most of what I did was I threw out crazy ideas, and Terry just kept on saying yes.”
In 1998, industry activists successfully fought to institute cash rebates for grid-linked systems — part of a California Energy Commission program to promote renewable power. Fears over Y2K gave the industry another boost, as people concerned that the grid would collapse sought self-sufficiency. Four years of state tax credits followed, beginning in 2002. Those expired last year, but a tripling of the federal tax credit filled the gap.
The financial measures, combined with concerns about global warming and a dwindling oil supply, have stirred keen consumer interest.
“It was huge,” Gerber said of the government incentives, which have fueled the bulk of business growth. “Not only is it `free money,’ which everybody likes, it lent credibility to the industry.”
Market researchers project a quintupling of the clean-technology industry by 2015 — to $51 billion. Gerber is working at capacity, installing as many photovoltaic panels as he can obtain from Mitsubishi — which entered the California market in 2005. U.S. demand in 2006 outpaced the supply of polysilicon, the silicon crystal wafers used to make the cells, though shortages have been alleviated in the last few months.
Build It Green is working with more than 70 public agencies across California that have developed or are developing green building policies — up from two in 2003.
The group’s certification training sessions for engineers and architects once drew about two dozen. They now sell out at 100 and more have been added. The group “green-certified” 600 building professionals in the last three years, but expects to certify 600 more in 2007.
As Gerber’s company booms with the times, he has redoubled his effort to leave no eco-footprint.
His fleet of trucks run on bio-diesel. There’s the all-wool carpet (a renewable resource that doesn’t emit harmful gases, as synthetics do), the special wall paint (low in volatile organic compounds) and Gerber’s electric car, charged from the solar-power system that’s bolted to the roof of his rented office.
The conference room and table are built from reused sunroom glass, and every piece of furniture is a hand-me-down or salvage job.
Bustling through the space are dozens of bike-riding, recycling, green-loving workers selected not for their technical skills — those came later — but for their commitment to the cause. One noted in his application essay that he had reused the same shampoo and conditioner bottles for 12 years.
The pay is now good enough that some of his employees are buying their own homes — a fact that makes Gerber’s eyes well with tears.
Company employees recently went on a group outing in Oakland to see “Who Killed the Electric Car?”, the documentary on the politics behind General Motors’ decision to pull the plug on its production electric vehicle.
At evening’s end, Gerber fetched his own electric car, and when he pulled up to the curb he was startled by applause: “I got a standing O.”
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
3 Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant // Feb 12, 2007 at 4:29 am
MANDATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY – THE ENERGY EVOLUTION –R12
In order to insure energy and economic independence as well as better economic growth without being blackmailed by foreign countries, our country, the United States of America’s Utilization of Energy Sources must change.
“Energy drives our entire economy.” We must protect it. “Let’s face it, without energy the whole economy and economic society we have set up would come to a halt. So you want to have control over such an important resource that you need for your society and your economy.” The American way of life is not negotiable.
Our continued dependence on fossil fuels could and will lead to catastrophic consequences.
The federal, state and local government should implement a mandatory renewable energy installation program for residential and commercial property on new construction and remodeling projects with the use of energy efficient material, mechanical systems, appliances, lighting, etc. The source of energy must be by renewable energy such as Solar-Photovoltaic, Geothermal, Wind, Biofuels, Ocean-Tidal, Hydrogen-Fuel Cell etc. This includes the utilizing of water from lakes, rivers and oceans to circulate in cooling towers to produce air conditioning and the utilization of proper landscaping to reduce energy consumption. (Sales tax on renewable energy products and energy efficiency should be reduced or eliminated)
The implementation of mandatory renewable energy could be done on a gradual scale over the next 10 years. At the end of the 10 year period all construction and energy use in the structures throughout the United States must be 100% powered by renewable energy. (This can be done by amending building code)
In addition, the governments must impose laws, rules and regulations whereby the utility companies must comply with a fair “NET METERING” (the buying of excess generation from the consumer at market price), including the promotion of research and production of “renewable energy technology” with various long term incentives and grants. The various foundations in existence should be used to contribute to this cause.
A mandatory time table should also be established for the automobile industry to gradually produce an automobile powered by renewable energy. The American automobile industry is surely capable of accomplishing this task. As an inducement to buy hybrid automobiles (sales tax should be reduced or eliminated on American manufactured automobiles).
This is a way to expedite our energy independence and economic growth. (This will also create a substantial amount of new jobs). It will take maximum effort and a relentless pursuit of the private, commercial and industrial government sectors’ commitment to renewable energy – energy generation (wind, solar, hydro, biofuels, geothermal, energy storage (fuel cells, advance batteries), energy infrastructure (management, transmission) and energy efficiency (lighting, sensors, automation, conservation) (rainwater harvesting, water conservation) (energy and natural resources conservation) in order to achieve our energy independence.
“To succeed, you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality.”
Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant
Northridge, CA. 91325
Feb. 12, 2007
P.S. I have a very deep belief in America’s capabilities. Within the next 10 years we can accomplish our energy independence, if we as a nation truly set our goals to accomplish this.
I happen to believe that we can do it. In another crisis–the one in 1942–President Franklin D. Roosevelt said this country would build 60,000 [50,000] military aircraft. By 1943, production in that program had reached 125,000 aircraft annually. They did it then. We can do it now.
The American people resilience and determination to retain the way of life is unconquerable and we as a nation will succeed in this endeavor of Energy Independence.
The Oil Companies should be required to invest a substantial percentage of their profit in renewable energy R&D and implementation. Those who do not will be panelized by the public at large by boy cutting their products.
Solar energy is the source of all energy on the earth (excepting volcanic geothermal). Wind, wave and fossil fuels all get their energy from the sun. Fossil fuels are only a battery which will eventually run out. The sooner we can exploit all forms of Solar energy (cost effectively or not against dubiously cheap FFs) the better off we will all be. If the battery runs out first, the survivors will all be living like in the 18th century again.
Every new home built should come with a solar package. A 1.5 kW per bedroom is a good rule of thumb. The formula 1.5 X’s 5 hrs per day X’s 30 days will produce about 225 kWh per bedroom monthly. This peak production period will offset 17 to 2
4 cents per kWh with a potential of $160 per month or about $60,000 over the 30-year mortgage period for a three-bedroom home. It is economically feasible at the current energy price and the interest portion of the loan is deductible. Why not?
Title 24 has been mandated forcing developers to build energy efficient homes. Their bull-headedness put them in that position and now they see that Title 24 works with little added cost. Solar should also be mandated and if the developer designs a home that solar is impossible to do then they should pay an equivalent mitigation fee allowing others to put solar on in place of their negligence. (Installation should be paid “performance based”).
Installation of renewable energy and its performance should be paid to the installer and manufacturer based on “performance based” (that means they are held accountable for the performance of the product - that includes the automobile industry). This will gain the trust and confidence of the end-user to proceed with such a project; it will also prove to the public that it is a viable avenue of energy conservation.
Installing a renewable energy system on your home or business increases the value of the property and provides a marketing advantage.
Nations of the world should unite and join together in a cohesive effort to develop and implement MANDATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY for the sake of humankind and future generations.
The head of the U.S. government’s renewable energy lab said Monday (Feb. 5) that the federal government is doing “embarrassingly few things” to foster renewable energy, leaving leadership to the states at a time of opportunity to change the nation’s energy future. “I see little happening at the federal level. Much more needs to happen.” What’s needed, he said, is a change of our national mind set. Instead of viewing the hurdles that still face renewable sources and setting national energy goals with those hurdles in mind, we should set ambitious national renewable energy goals and set about overcoming the hurdles to meet them. We have an opportunity, an opportunity we can take advantage of or an opportunity we can squander and let go,”
solar energy - the direct conversion of sunlight with solar cells, either into electricity or hydrogen, faces cost hurdles independent of their intrinsic efficiency. Ways must be found to lower production costs and design better conversion and storage systems.
Jay Draiman
Northridge, CA 91325
Email: renewableenergy2@msn.com
4 Charles Wesley // Feb 12, 2007 at 4:50 am
Was the 2 last post a blog spot advertisement . As for Hillary (Go Home) .But George still thinks it can work . So no help there .
5 Ryan // Feb 12, 2007 at 10:34 am
Jay,
Thanks for commenting, though in the future, please link to long articles rather than posting them in their entirety.
I am 100% certain that the US is capable of becoming energy independent. I mean, if we can destroy an entire city by splitting a hydrogen atom, then we can develop the means to power our cars with water.
The problem, as I pointed out in my post, is the diplomatic crisis that would result in the US halting its purchase of so much Arab oil, thereby destroying the economies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.
No president in this age of political correctness and “global unity” is going to want to be responsible for that firestorm.
6 Nerah // Feb 12, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Ryan, great to have you back!
Hillary Oh! Lord Help us people are not really that ignorant are they? They wouldn’t? They would
%@#, Much Prayer! If we start purchasing as much gas for our autos as possible from non middle east souces it would help a little of course the issues are far greater but ..go to..
http://www.terrorfreeoil.org
7 Ryan // Feb 12, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Thanks for the link, Nerah! Looks like an outstanding initiative.
8 Charles Wesley // Feb 13, 2007 at 2:53 am
The big picture to me is that the oil dependency was to be to set up the current scenario by which God’s plan was to be carried out . God gave Ishmaels seed the riches of the world . Those oil fields were God’s plan . Just think where the Arab nations would be without them . They would still be shooting muskets instead of a nuclear ambition . It’s too late to change anything if God would allow . We are at the point of no return . Even the crazy Iranian prez. has determined that the time is very close where we will cascade into Tribulation . We have no control of the will of God . So shall it be written ,so shall it be done………… God’s word is eternal.
9 Ryan // Feb 13, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Charles,
Agree with you 100%, but I don’t believe that means we should just sit back and watch God’s will play out. We have a role to play in the whole affair, even if it is to oppose the actions of the other side, which God Himself is allowing.
As an example, consider that God allowed the Jews to go through a Holocaust to set the stage for Israel’s rebirth. But that doesn’t mean Christians should have sat by and just watched rather than battle the forces carrying out that Holocaust.
A biblical example would be the fact that God used Babylon as an instrument in His hand to punish Israel, but then Himself turned on Babylon because the Babylonians had gone too far in executing His judgement.
God’s Will will be done, no doubt. But that doesn’t excuse us from playing our role.
Anyway, not my intention to contradict you. Just my take on how things work.
10 Joyce // Feb 13, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I believe that God’s Will will be done. But I also believe that God expects us as Christians to stand, and fight, against the injustices of this world. And I also believe, that it is a test for Christians to prove how faithful, and obedient, that we are in our service to God. Because if we just sit back, and do nothing, then we appear no different than the rest of the world. And the Bible makes it very clear that we as Christians are to be different from the rest of the world. And I believe that prayer is very important, but I also believe, that God expects to fight against the evil in this world.
11 Nerah // Feb 14, 2007 at 12:34 am
no one believed the Nazis and look what happened; People in many counties handed Jewish peoples over, thousands upon thousands… why? were they antisemitic? I don’t think all of them were I think they were afraid, fear immobolizes, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind. 2timothy1:7 There is a song by Skillet called alien Youth , it starts out The aliens have landed, then sings world wide Jesus domination… A little radical? some might think.. I say #%$# NO WE ALL SHOULD HAVE SUCH ZEAL FOR YESHUA!!! the radical muslims are killing people for thier religion, we need to get radical and take over for Yeshua, spread the Gospel in whatever way you feel God is leading.. If we can immobolize the little towel headed nazis by immobolizing thier oil or lessoning thier religion or informing people, and PRAYER!!! EVEN FOR THE MAIN IRANIAN NAZI HIMSELF! although thats a hard one. can I say that?
12 Charles Wesley // Feb 14, 2007 at 3:43 am
You should not take #%$# in vain . LOL Kill them all and let God separate them out . That would work . I am pretty much sure God is going to do that anyway .
13 Joyce // Feb 14, 2007 at 11:20 pm
You are so right Nerah, we as Christians should have zeal for God. Unfortunately though some Christians when they get saved don’t seem to have that zeal they just seem to take God’s gift of salvation without giving much in return. Oh of course they repent of their sins, and change their life for the Lord, if they are truly saved. And also they may, or may not, attend Church, and tithe regularly, but that’s all the zeal that they feel is necessary. But I feel that God expects more from us than that. I believe that God expects Christians to take a stand, and fight against the evil in this world. And also to witness to people, and to help lead them to the Lord. I don’t feel that is too much to expect, for his gracious gift of salvation. So I hope, and pray, that in these troubled times ahead, that all Christians will serve God with their total commitment to him, and His Word, against the evil ways of this world.
14 Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant // Jun 26, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Energy Independence begins with Energy efficiency - It’s cheaper to save energy than to make energy.
Updated
MANDATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY – THE ENERGY EVOLUTION –R18
By Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant
In order to insure energy and economic independence as well as better economic growth without being blackmailed by foreign countries, our country, the United States of America’s Utilization of Energy Sources must change.
“Energy drives our entire economy.” We must protect it. “Let’s face it, without energy the whole economy and economic society we have set up would come to a halt. So you want to have control over such an important resource that you need for your society and your economy.” The American way of life is not negotiable.
Our continued dependence on fossil fuels could and will lead to catastrophic consequences.
The federal, state and local government should implement a mandatory renewable energy installation program for residential and commercial property on new construction and remodeling projects, replacement of appliances, motors, HVAC with the use of energy efficient materials-products, mechanical systems, appliances, lighting, insulation, retrofits etc. The source of energy must be by renewable energy such as Solar-Photovoltaic, Geothermal, Wind, Biofuels, Ocean-Tidal, Hydrogen-Fuel Cell etc. This includes the utilizing of water from lakes, rivers and oceans to circulate in cooling towers to produce air conditioning and the utilization of proper landscaping to reduce energy consumption. (Sales tax on renewable energy products and energy efficiency should be reduced or eliminated)
The implementation of mandatory renewable energy could be done on a gradual scale over the next 10 years. At the end of the 10 year period all construction and energy use in the structures throughout the United States must be 100% powered by renewable energy. (This can be done by amending building code)
In addition, the governments must impose laws, rules and regulations whereby the utility companies must comply with a fair “NET METERING” (the buying of excess generation from the consumer at market price), including the promotion of research and production of “renewable energy technology” with various long term incentives and grants. The various foundations in existence should be used to contribute to this cause.
A mandatory time table should also be established for the automobile industry to gradually produce an automobile powered by renewable energy. The American automobile industry is surely capable of accomplishing this task. As an inducement to buy hybrid automobiles (sales tax should be reduced or eliminated on American manufactured automobiles).
This is a way to expedite our energy independence and economic growth. (This will also create a substantial amount of new jobs). It will take maximum effort and a relentless pursuit of the private, commercial and industrial government sectors’ commitment to renewable energy – energy generation (wind, solar, hydro, biofuels, geothermal, energy storage (fuel cells, advance batteries), energy infrastructure (management, transmission) and energy efficiency (lighting, sensors, automation, conservation) (rainwater harvesting, water conservation) (energy and natural resources conservation) in order to achieve our energy independence.
“To succeed, you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality.”
Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant
Northridge, CA. 91325
May 31, 2007
P.S. I have a very deep belief in America’s capabilities. Within the next 10 years we can accomplish our energy independence, if we as a nation truly set our goals to accomplish this.
I happen to believe that we can do it. In another crisis–the one in 1942–President Franklin D. Roosevelt said this country would build 60,000 [50,000] military aircraft. By 1943, production in that program had reached 125,000 aircraft annually. They did it then. We can do it now.
“the way we produce and use energy must fundamentally change.”
The American people resilience and determination to retain the way of life is unconquerable and we as a nation will succeed in this endeavor of Energy Independence.
The Oil Companies should be required to invest a substantial percentage of their profit in renewable energy R&D and implementation. Those who do not will be panelized by the public at large by boy cutting their products.
Solar energy is the source of all energy on the earth (excepting volcanic geothermal). Wind, wave and fossil fuels all get their energy from the sun. Fossil fuels are only a battery which will eventually run out. The sooner we can exploit all forms of Solar energy (cost effectively or not against dubiously cheap FFs) the better off we will all be. If the battery runs out first, the survivors will all be living like in the 18th century again.
Every new home built should come with a solar package. A 1.5 kW per bedroom is a good rule of thumb. The formula 1.5 X’s 5 hrs per day X’s 30 days will produce about 225 kWh per bedroom monthly. This peak production period will offset 17 to 2
4 cents per kWh with a potential of $160 per month or about $60,000 over the 30-year mortgage period for a three-bedroom home. It is economically feasible at the current energy price and the interest portion of the loan is deductible. Why not?
Title 24 has been mandated forcing developers to build energy efficient homes. Their bull-headedness put them in that position and now they see that Title 24 works with little added cost. Solar should also be mandated and if the developer designs a home that solar is impossible to do then they should pay an equivalent mitigation fee allowing others to put solar on in place of their negligence. (Installation should be paid “performance based”).
Installation of renewable energy and its performance should be paid to the installer and manufacturer based on “performance based” (that means they are held accountable for the performance of the product - that includes the automobile industry). This will gain the trust and confidence of the end-user to proceed with such a project; it will also prove to the public that it is a viable avenue of energy conservation.
Installing a renewable energy system on your home or business increases the value of the property and provides a marketing advantage. It also decreases our trade deficit.
Nations of the world should unite and join together in a cohesive effort to develop and implement MANDATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY for the sake of humankind and future generations.
The head of the U.S. government’s renewable energy lab said Monday (Feb. 5) that the federal government is doing “embarrassingly few things” to foster renewable energy, leaving leadership to the states at a time of opportunity to change the nation’s energy future. “I see little happening at the federal level. Much more needs to happen.” What’s needed, he said, is a change of our national mind set. Instead of viewing the hurdles that still face renewable sources and setting national energy goals with those hurdles in mind, we should set ambitious national renewable energy goals and set about overcoming the hurdles to meet them. We have an opportunity, an opportunity we can take advantage of or an opportunity we can squander and let go,”
solar energy - the direct conversion of sunlight with solar cells, either into electricity or hydrogen, faces cost hurdles independent of their intrinsic efficiency. Ways must be found to lower production costs and design better conversion and storage systems.
Disenco Energy of the UK has announced it has reached important
milestones leading to full commercialization, such as the completion of
field trials for its home, micro combined heat and power plant (m-CHP).
The company expects to begin a product roll out in the second quarter of
2008.
Operating at over 90 percent efficiency, the m-CHP will be able to
provide 15 kilowatts of thermal energy (about 50,000 Btu’s) for heat and
hot water and generate 3 kilowatts of electricity. The m-CHP uses a
Stirling engine generator and would be a direct replacement for a home’s
boiler.
Running on piped-in natural gas the unit would create some independence
from the power grid, but still remain connected to the gas supply
network.
Whereas heat is supplied only when the generator is running (or
conversely electricity is generated only when heat is needed) a back-up
battery system and heavily insulated hot water storage tank seem
eventual options for more complete energy independence.
FEDERAL BUILDINGS WITH SOLAR ENERGY – Renewable Energy
All government buildings, Federal, State, County, City etc. should be mandated to be energy efficient and must use renewable energy on all new structures and structures that are been remodeled/upgraded.
“The government should serve as an example to its citizens”
A new innovative renewable energy generating technology is in development. The idea behind Promethean Power came from Matthew Orosz, an MIT graduate student who has worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in the African nation of Lesotho. Orosz wanted to provide electric power, refrigeration, and hot water to people without electricity. He and some MIT colleagues designed a set of mirrors that focus sunlight onto tubes filled with coolant. The hot coolant turns to pressurized vapor, which turns a turbine to make electricity. The leftover heat can be used to warm a tank of water and to run a refrigerator or an air conditioner, using a gas-absorption process that chills liquid ammonia by first heating it.
IS TECHNOLOGY BEING HELD BACK
New Solar Electric Cells - 80% efficient
Mr. Marks says solar panels made with Lepcon or Lumeloid, the materials he patented, … Most photovoltaic cells are only about 15 percent efficient. …
A major increase in daily petroleum output is deemed essential to meet U.S. and international oil requirements in 2020, and so we should expect recurring oil shortages and price increases. Only by expediting the diminishing our day-to-day consumption of petroleum and implementing of efficiency and renewable energy policy can we hope to reduce our exposure to costly oil-supply disruptions and lower the risk of economic strangulation.
Jay Draiman, Energy Consultant
Northridge, CA 91325
Email: renewableenergy2@msn.com
Posted on: 06/26/2007
15 unity ppo health insurance blue // Jan 9, 2009 at 7:30 am
maternity health insurance unity ppo unity ppo insurance health cost
Leave a Comment