admin answers:

I looked this up and it seems good, but then I started reading about why people are opposed to it. They say things like it is poorly written and that this law will keep problems that are being worked out with renewable energy. I have a link to what I was reading it is.

Http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_7_(2008)

click on the link to find the answers

admin answers:

101 Ways To Live More Ecologically

1. Avoid disposable in favor of reusable
items.
2. Avoid drying rags in a clothes dryer.
3. Avoid power appliances when handpower works.
4. Avoid highly processed foods.
5. Avoid using styrofoam—it can’t be recycled.
6. Avoid watering driveways and sidewalks.
7. Be responsible and creative with leftover foods.
8. Buy in bulk goods to reduce wasted packaging.
9. Buy energy efficient electric appliances.
10. Buy foods without additives.
11. Buy foods without preservatives.
12. Buy food and goods from sources you trust
13. Buy large quantities to reduce shopping trips.
14. Buy living Christmas trees.
15. Buy locally grown food and produce.
16. Buy organic, pesticide-free foods.
17. Compost your food scraps.
18. Discover and protect watersheds in your area,
19. Don’t burn trash or other smoky materials.
20. Drain cooking grease onto paper bags, not paper towels.
21. Drive a fuel-efficient car.
22. Drive less: walk, bicycle, carpooland use public transportation.

23. Eat foods low on the food chain; avoid meat.
24. Eat more natural, nutritious foods.
25. Educate elected representatives on ecology.
26. Exercise regularly.
27. Explore and learn about your bioregion.
28. Grow your own food, even a small amount.
29. Hang dry some or all of your clothes.
30. Heat your home less and wear warmer clothes.
31. Heat your home more with renewable energies.
32. Hold a potluck dinner to discuss local ecology.
33. If you use a dishwasher, turn off the drying cycle.
34. Install a water-conserving device in your toilets.
35. Install a water-conserving showerhead.
36. Insulate your home to maximum efficiency.
37. Invest for social responsibility as well as profit.
38. Invest in solar power, where practical.
39. Invest in well-made, long-lived clothing.
40. Keep hazardous chemicals in safe containers.
41. Keep appliance motors well adjusted for efficiency.
42. Mend and repair rather than discard and replace.
43. Oppose meddling in ecological balance.
44. Oppose private development of special areas.
45. Oppose roadside use of defoliants.
46. Organize or join a neighborhood toy exchange.

47. Pick up litter along streets and highways.
48. Plant native trees and shrubs around your home.
49. Plant trees throughout your community.
50. Plant your living Christmas tree.
51. Practice preventive health care.
52. Practice responsible family planning.
53. Prepare only as much food as will be eaten.
54. Protect your favorite distinctive natural areas.
55. Purchase goods in reusable/recyclable containers.
56. Put a catalytic converter on your wood stove.
57. Put toxic substances out of reach of children.
58. Recycle aluminum.
59. Recycle glass.
60. Recycle newspaper.
61. Recycle old clothes.
62. Recycle plastic.
63. Recycle used motor oil.
64. Recycle your unneeded items.
65. Re-use paper bags.
66. Re-use plastic bags for storage and waste.
67. Save up for full loads in clothes washers.
68. Save up for full loads in dishwasher.
69. Shop by phone, then go pick up your purchases.
70. Speak out about your values in community groups.
71. Support efficient energy sources in your bioregion.
72. Support elected representatives on ecological issues.
73. Support energy conservation in your bioregion.

admin answers:

India is a great country for economic development. India got variety of natural resources and also human capital. The saving rate in India is more than 32%. As per theories of Economic Development , in any country , when the saving rate crosses more than 15%, it can take off. That is what our Late Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi used to say.

We have good agriculture due to existence of water irrigation created by Multipurpose Projects like Bakranangal, Nagarjuna Sagar et.,.The contribution of Green Revolution is great. During Nehru era , lot of Industrial and Agricultural Development has taken place,
During Nehru era lot of Public Sector Under Takings such as HAL, HMT, BHEL and SAIL were established. Subsequently many other Public Sectors were added.

Next comes the Transportation. The Air India, Indian Railways and Lot of State Road Transport Services are forming basis for sustainable Economic Development.

Finance: The RBI and Public Sector Banks along with Private Sector Banks are taking care of basic investment needs in the country.

Service Sector:Some how we have killed Indian Postal Services and paved way for creation of lot of courier services. Existence of IITs, IIMs and vast number of Engineering and Management collges takes care of Technical support for sustainable E.D.

The factors of production Land (Raw materials), Labour, Capital and Organisation are available plenty for sustainable economic development.Of course cause for many scams too.

We are having good export potential in agricultural goods, textiles and other industrial goods

Besides, we have ready made market for everything that makes fulfulment of demand side for economic development.

We have more than required qualified professionals to take care of Economic Development.

Having confident about sustainable Economic Development in the coming future, we also to be cautious on the following areas.

Need for alternative energy sources. Pertrolim products are playing havoc with our Budgets.
Go for more and more atomic /hydel/thermal/Bio mass power plants to meet the growing needs.
Do everything to over come supply constraints so as to control inflation less than 7 to 8% of GDP.
Development of Infrastruction.
Clean administration.
Support for agriculture for sustainable development.

If only WE CONTROL CORRUPTION AND ADHRE TO FAMILY PLANNING NORMS, INDIA CAN EVEN TAKE NUMBER ONE POSITION IN THE WORLD. Any doubts?

admin answers:

Nice Question!!!!!!!
I think Sustainable development is more necessary today not only for India but for all countries.
Think of the future development while living in the present,this is the only perfect strategy if any country wants to survive in today’s competitive world.
The resources available are extinguishing and if the country does not plan for it’s conservation properly,it will have to face many hardships in future.So sustainable development is must today.
Talking about India,Indians should respect and preserve the resources it has gained and try to use them cautiously.

When you take a look at the bigger picture, sustainable development objectives include three interdependent components:
Social issues
Economic issues
Environmental issues.
These issues need to be resolved..

And also,Rural Development is necessary for India,because most of India is resided in rural areas..

admin answers:

Energy created in a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy, or atomic energy.

Energy from sunlight is stored as chemical energy in wood and other organic material, using a process called photosynthesis. This energy is released as heat when wood is burned.

Geothermal energy is produced by heat beneath earth’s surface.

It is wind energy that turns a windmill, which pumps water or produces electricity.

Gasohol, sometimes called ,E10 is a fuel mixture of 10% anhydrous ethanol and 90% gasoline that can be used in the internal combustion engines of most modern automobiles and light-duty vehicles without need for any modification on the engine or fuel system.

Waste also referred to as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, or junk is unwanted or unusable materials.

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by hydropower, i.e., the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants.

Geothermal power (from the Greek roots geo, meaning earth, and thermos, meaning heat) is power extracted from heat stored in the earth. This geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals, and from solar energy absorbed at the surface.

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available renewable energy on earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.

Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood chips and garbage may be used as biomass. However, biomass also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibers or chemicals. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes organic materials such as fossil fuels which have been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum.

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet’s atmosphere into space.

admin answers:

I have a degree in Environmental Studies and currently work as an Environmental Education Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador. I’m working with the local municipality to increase recycling and better garbage management – i.e. Not burning the trash. I also work in the schools and teach kids about the environment. I’m also learning and speaking Spanish 🙂

During college, I worked for one local and one national environmental non-profit. With the first job, I worked to inform landowners of their rights when they have oil and gas on their land that the federal government has leased. I also informed them, through fact sheets, etc, about what things about oil and gas drilling causes concern, i.e. Road placement, waste management, water contamination.

The second non-profit I worked for was a regional one with national reach. I worked on a biodiesel bus for 4 months traveling the country with 3 others and engaging the public about sustainable biodiesel, local foods, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. We traveled 7 states and worked at 70+ events in 50+ communities. These events ranged from a small ag store in rural South Dakota and farmers markets to a large corn / music festival in Colorado.

I was paid $10 – $11 per hour at the non-profit working to inform people about carbon fuels and was paid about $12,000 for the four month bus tour.

There are a whole host of environmental non-profits out there, but you may want to start by looking at Greenpeace. They have a list of jobs on their website and that’ll give you an idea what type of jobs are in the area. Also, look for and contact local environmental groups. You’ll have to have a degree and likely start as an intern if you’re in college working toward achieving a degree. These groups are interdisciplinary and look for people with a whole host of backgrounds including environmental related degrees, economics, history, public relations, business management, web design, law, etc.

As far as the degree is concerned, there are a bunch of different degrees from a ton of different colleges. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies. I studied science, politics, and cultural views toward the environment. Others are more science based or business based. It depends on what you want.

Good luck! It feels really good working for something you believe will really help “save the planet.”

Also, as an added note, to address Sienna’s comment about the definition of non-profit. It legally means you can’t sell the business for a profit and any profit made during the sell of the entity goes back into the organization.

admin answers:

I have a HUUUUGE list for free available at www agua-luna com it’s like 33 pages long & would just spam this whole answer. But here’s a few cut from the list below. If you’d like the entire list feel free to visit www agua-luna com or email me through the site directly & I’ll send you a free copy.

Also Agua-Luna com now offers Carbon Offsetting Credits, since our Team of Volunteers is already accomplishing several carbon eliminating projects, we’re now converting the carbon offsets to you. Visit www agua-luna com for a FREE carbon calculator to calculate your carbon footprint for free & more info on carbon credits.

You could also Volunteer with us, planting a tree or working on a Sustainable Renewable Energy Building Project in Mexico OR The Amazon. Again see www agua-luna com for more info.

If you can’t join us here are some ways you can at least contribute from home..

Recycle paper, cardboard, newsprint & magazines.
Recycle aluminum cans.
Recycle all batteries.
Recycle & reuse. Roughly 50% of the average person’s trash can be recycled. Don’t forget that hazardous waste like batteries, your printer’s ink cartridges, & cell phones can be recycled too! Find out how & where to recycle in your area. Always buy recycled paper. Just 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees.
Just because your community doesn’t pick up all recyclables on the curb, it doesn’t mean there are not viable alternatives nearby. Check with dry cleaners, supermarkets, manufacturers, your local public works department & civic organizations to find out where recycled goods can be dropped off, at a location near you.
Did you know that just in 1995 alone, recycled toner cartridges kept over 21,000 tons of trash out of landfills? Believe it or not, now you can recycle your printer’s toner cartridges! Every year, Americans throw out enough printer cartridges to stretch from Los Angeles to New York City & back again. Toner cartridges can be recycled, having just as good a performance as an unrecycled cartridge. To recycle your toner cartridges, find a local business that does printer cartridge recycling, or contact the manufacturer of your current toner cartridge & ask about a cartridge recycling program.
Not only should you recycle, but buy products that are recycled. By purchasing these products, you are helping to conserve natural resources, & to protect the environment.
Wash clothes in cold water.
Hot water is unnecessary for most clothes. When needed, use warm water.
Fill your toilet tank.
Put a plastic bottle or two, filled with water & rocks, in your tank to reduce the amount of water used in each flush.
Clean your filters.
Clean the filters of your air-conditioners once a month to improve energy efficiency. While you’re at it, change your car’s filters as recommended in your manual.
Get a low-flow shower head.
Stop at the hardware store on your way home, & get a low-flow shower head. Takes a few minutes to install, & it’ll save gallons of water a day.
Lower your thermostats.
If you use heating, get by with less heat & wear warmer clothes. If you use air-conditioning, get by with less cooling & wear cooler clothes.
If it’s a nice sunny day, hanging clothes only takes a few minutes, & you’re using solar power instead of electricity to do the job. It also makes your clothes last longer.
Turn down your water heater.
Most people have their water heater’s thermostat turned up too high, wasting energy. Turn it down to 130 degrees, saving energy but still hot enough to kill bacteria.
Use CFC light bulbs.

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online & on-site workshops, seminars & internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

admin answers:

Do you mean how would it change us if we discovered that global warming is merely a fear campaign? Because obviously most of us already believe that we are living in a time of man-made global warming. And even without the effects of man’s works there is evidence from other planets that our whole solar system is going thru a time of “global warming”. Even knowing we live on the verge of an energy crisis, that we are quite possibly only months from a crisis in transportation of food into cities, of failure of heat and lights to millions, Americans continue to buy SUVs that suck down gasoline as if an oil pipeline ran directly to each person’s front door and a huge gap grows between the rich and the poor. Huge houses are built that take tremendous resources to light and heat for the upper class and a growing lower class struggles to have food and a decent place to live and basic health care. For this lower class, global warming, is just something that means their lives are more miserable because they can’t afford air conditioning in the hotter summers that are lasting longer. What would happen from a planetary wide trust that global warming is happening? Exactly the same thing that is happening now. Too few people who have power are willing to give up their luxuries. The oil companies are going to suck the last dollar they can from this planet.

I’m afraid I haven’t even begun to make an answer to your question. I didn’t really understand exactly what your question was. But maybe I’ve made a start at a dialog.

Having seen your additional explaination, I see that my approach was wrong. Were we to assume that a significant majority of the population of the world truly believed that global warming was about to bring about catastrophic changes to our planet I suspect that we would see centralization of power and martial law become the norm. The U.N.’s Agenda 21 and our own government’s recent cavalier treatment of the Constitution is already setting the stage for such centralization. Use of all petroleum based fuels would undoubtedly be rationed and limited to military and goverment use, except by special permit. Solar, wind and nuclear power would be the main power sources available to our world to begin with tho’ undoubtedly, there would be a rush to find new power sources. People would have to choose between having nuclear powered electricity or no electricity as coal powered electrical plants were shut down. Undoubtedly, to begin with, there would be “brown outs”– times when the electricity was shut off to reduce the amount of man-made emissions. It would become illegal to run air-condition unless temperatures were in the 90’s. The demand for solar panels would probably drive the price up, tho’ with a world wide crisis and more demand, better cheaper ways of manufacturing them might come about so that the price might drop, making solar power for every home eventually a reality. But there could be other crises. In large, inner cities, there could be a very real possibility of starvation and lack of water. Without fuel for trucking to bring food to cities, grocery shelves would be depleted within days. When there is no electricity to run pumps, there’s no water. Certainly this is a grim outlook and is it to be hoped that authorities would have planned ahead better, but considering the fiasco of Katrina it seems safe to say that at least some cities in the world would be in dire straits as fuel stores were depleted or hoarded by government and military. Without food or safe drinking water, many city dwellers would undoubtedly try to make it out into the countryside, but they would find no welcome there. Though country dwellers would at least have the possibility of raising there own food, even if anything has been left to them under martial law they are going to be desperate to hold on to what they have for themselves and their families. If the world population truly believed that global warming is going to bring on a crisis for our planet, each nation would do well to immediately begin putting in place the infrastructure for switching to the alternative energies we have available now i.e. Wind, solar, and nuclear. Tho’ nuclear power has it’s inherent problems they must be overcome to provide safe power for the world. While I am not a Globalist and will never support Agenda 21, a true world crisis deserves a world solution. Industrialized nations having been the major cause of the green house effect, should rightly bear the brunt of the expense of the research and development of new technologies for dealing with the crisis.

And then, after all this, is there harm in believing in theoretical B.S.? What if this is just the excuse needed panic people into accepting martial law? Look at all the freedoms we’ve given up since 2001 because of the fear of terrorists. So if we were afraid our world was really, really in trouble and we were all going to die, what might some give up, to save themselves? I say, it can do a lot of harm to believe falsehoods. Especially ones that panic you into ill-conceived actions. In the end, you are more likely to wind up with a far worse situation than the one you thought you were working against.

admin answers:

Good question David

From my understanding (and I fully support the amendments to the RET by the way), domestic REC values will be $40 each for the next six months, and the solar multiplier for domestic PV will remain as it was been until then as well. After that time both the value of the RECs AND the amount of PV multiplier will be reviewed and changed as needed which will ultimately mean less capital subsidies for domestic systems. Bare in mind that PV prices have been plummetting lately, which in effect means the subsidy CAN be reduced and system out of pocket costs remain about the same.

If more RECs are generated than needed in that timeframe, the target will be temporarily lifted and then adjusted/corrected as we get closer to 2020.

Hope that helps, and we’ll see how things develop. I’m involved in a sustainability group who will be doing a PV bulk purchase soon – we’ve been waiting for this amendment before going ahead with it as without it, the phantom RECs from the solar mutiplier have been eliminating any net climate benefits.

Edit : I clarified the situation with a policy advisor and if a system is generated now (or in the next six months) the RECs created will count to the 2010 allocation which will mean less slice of the pie for large scale renewables, and therefore the REC is essentially wasted. Advice is to purchase a (domestic) system ONLY if you can defer the RECs generation until after Jan 1st to make sure it will fall into the new system.

Also, here’s the official media release… Http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/minister/wong/2010/media-releases/June/mr20100625.aspx

admin answers:

/i became a solr tech by starting with in house training/self training. It was a start up company, now getting bigger. If i was not exp. And wanting to start out, i would look for a renewable energy diploma. Here in NC, they offer it at NC State. Its 3-week long courses that cover thermal, pv, radiant floors, and business aspects of the solar industry. Show this diploma to any solar comp, and your ahead of the game.

(a benefit would be if your skilled in electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and carpentry) Good Luck

admin answers:

C- respiration essentially converts Carbon stored as sugars into CO2

B/trick question- non-renewables:
release CO2, as well as other pollutants (SO4, CO, NOx etc); as they release pollutants they cannot by default, be clean fuel;

non-renewables typically are in finite amount (it takes tohusands/millions of years for organic matter to turn into oil) and by definition cannot be sustainable.

They do save money in that they are currently cheaper per unit energy than renewables, although once the infrastructure for renewable energy production is in place the cost will decrease so B is only valid in the short term.

admin answers:

My definition of living green is trying to reduce my negative impact on the earth. I strive to live a sustainable life, meaning, what I do today can continue to be done without destroying any part of the ecosystem. I focus on my consumer habits, starting with reducing what I buy and consume in general. I also look for natural ingredients, sourced as close to home as possible and grown or made with minimal chemicals. I avoid plastice, disposable and single use items. I buy most of my food directly from the organic farms and ranches in my area. Both of our vehicles are hybrids and we have arranged our lives so we don’t commute far. I conserve electricity and water and recently installed a solar system on my home.

The opposite of that would be the average American lifestyle. Americans use more than twice the energy per person than any other nation in the world, we contribute to CO2 emissions at almost 4 times the rate per person and China. We are burying massive amounts of recyclable materials in landfills. We are pumping toxins into our ground water, streams, lakes and air. We have more things, we have more debt and our consumer habits are responsible for more rain forest destruction than any other activity on the earth.

admin answers:

Heck no!

As a kid, my father was together with a few other families out to start a commune. None of our neighbors were visible from our house. We had running water and electricity, but only my father used it in his ‘communications room.’ Otherwise, we went by kerosene light, and pumped water by hand from the well. We grew our own veggies, ate wild blackberries, and had chickens for eggs and meat, all in preparation for the ‘transition.’

And he still needed a job in town, while the rest of us worked all day to prepare that day’s food. It sucked.

The noble savage is a chimera. He’s too busy trying to feed, house, and protect his family to be concerned with bigger philosophical issues, much less keep himself disease free and keep the lice out of his beard. Only in the more socially sophisticated societies where the general populace were able to move beyond the hunter/gatherer model and concern themselves with topics like philosophy, virtue, art, learning, justice, humanity, and equality.

And who wants to go back to an average 50 year lifespan?
Ma and Pa Kettle? They didn’t make that kettle, they bought it from Sears and Roebuck. Same with Pa’s old rifle.

Now, I’m not saying that having those kind of survival skills isn’t valuable, but living that life generally requires you to practice those skills to the exclusion of most others.

Because the way technology goes (cell phones already beat the crap out of those crappy old Star Trek communicators) I could see the day when everybody lives green in houses that natively produce energy with the byproduct of oxygen, drinking water, fertilizer, and recoverable solids, and everything is wireless. We are on the verge of it, already. If we can work out cold fusion, we’re all set. Everyone’s mounting interest and involvement in funding the development of new energy technologies (the bills just keep passing for the funding, go figure) practically guarantees that this problem will eventually be solved through typical capitalistic models.

No ma’am, I’m all for progress. We humans can and do screw up everything we attempt, everywhich way from Tuesday, but we tend to always have the highest of ideals that, after long, long circulation, experimentation, trial, and error, eventually make it out. Human equality (oh fine, I’ll say feminism) for example. It’s the mainstream idea, in the world, these days. We haven’t worked the kinks out on every level of society, but there is no utopia.

I think we’ll get it closer to right before we blow the whole shebang to dust. Really, I do.

admin answers:

I think you can take any of the LEED certification programs to learn more; i just heard of it through this company called GotGreenKits.
This company called GotGreenKits came up with this clean-by-color system to educate ppl about sustainable green cleaning to conserve energy.
In case ur curious, this is a natural green cleaning system that actually works a lot better than most products; and the system is intend to improve indoor air quality for the kids and family members! It was first used by professional cleaning service to clean doctor’s office and real estate buildings, and you can ONLY buy their products online!

admin answers:

It is hard to find grants to start a business. Or for supporting game inventions. If your invention supports sustainable energies, you may be able to find some grants. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html

“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE’S NONE.
Http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. Minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs

admin answers:

I believe those goals should be allocated to government agencies rather than companies. Companies should focus their energies on making money for their investors.

Actually governments do not do a real good job at that so how can you expect companies to do better?

admin answers:

I agree with you, unfortunately the oil industry has a lot of money and well you know how that goes. Currently there are several research and development programs going on relating to alternative energy sources. Examples are Methane, ethanol, and hydrogen. Keep you fingers crossed that one of these experimental energy resources hits pay dirt.

admin answers:

The most?
USA
China
and probably Brazil

China uses very little reneawble energy, Brazil fuels all their cars with ethanol made from sugarcane, so they’d probably have the most, the USA would be in the middle

Countries that use the least would be small, poor, sparsely populated countries, Bhutan is probably one of them

admin answers:

Hey Patrick, this concept has been around since about 1998 when it first surfaced in regard to solar panels. There was a lot of complaints that solar panels never earn back their, “Embodied Energy,” which is a phrase referring to how much energy it takes to mine raw materials, ship them to a factory, build the product, ship it to it’s destination and install it. To be honest, it is difficult to put an exact energy price on something like that, there are almost limitless variables, such as which mine was used, where it was shipped, how it is installed and used in the end, and so on. A non profit group called, Solar Energy International finally offered some grants to a few colleges to research this. In the end, they couldn’t come up with an exact timeline, but a range based on the above variables.

First of all, solar panels actually do repay their embodied energy some time between 1.5 and 6 years after they are installed. Virtually all manufacturers warranty their product to last at least 25 years, and typically they operate well beyond this time. Similar work was done later with wind turbines, and the results are very similar. The main difference being the range of payback time is wider, meaning it’s possible for a turbine to repay its embodied energy faster, like in less than a year, but it may take as long as 9 years. This is because shipping a utility sized wind turbine can take a huge bite into its embodied energy budget depending on how far it has to go. Solar panels can fit in the back seat of a good sized car, some wind turbines have specially designed hauling vehicles that might have to drive across the country, or across the street. But when you look deeper down this rabbit hole, you eventually learn that non of this matters, I’ll explain.

Electricity has been around since Thomas Edison nearly burned down his house running high amounts of current through bailing wires inside old mason jars, so it isn’t going away anytime soon. The question becomes, “What is the best way to produce it?” Let’s assume you build a 10 KW wind turbine, and put it alongside an efficient conventional power source, say a natural gas fired turbine 10 KW generator. Which will earn back its embodied energy faster? The answer is the gas generator never does. You have to remember that once you build a natural gas generator, coal plant, or any other non renewable energy based power plant, you now have to feed it fuel for the rest of it’s life. It’s conversion rate will always be something below 100%, so in the end it slowly digs itself a deeper and deeper energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the wind turbine has a chance to get even in it’s lifetime. This is the key to what makes renewable energy so great, it’s really the difference between buying a home and renting an apartment, one day the home will be paid off, the apartment never is.

We live in a home that is powered by the wind and sun today. About 12 years ago we started looking into solar and wind when our electricity was constantly going out. It began as a small backup plan, just to run a few lights and some electronics. Over time it became more of a hobby and lifestyle, like growing your own tomatoes instead of buying them at the store, we just grew electrons in our garden. Now our home generates over 90% of its own electricity, and we use the power company as our backup source. Even though it will take years to get even with the power bill, it’s worth it to us, and we’ve turned a lot of heads. Once each year now I am invited to the local schools to teach solar power to the 5th graders, then they run a field trip out to our house to see a working solar and wind powered home. Since then the power companies have been busy building wind farms and looking into solar, geothermal and biomass energy. They even have a methane plant alongside a landfill in the next county. Most people are not aware of these things, but they are happening. They are busy complaining about wind mills never earning back their manufacturing energy, solar being too expensive, or hybrid cars not really saving and gas. There is research on these subjects, and it’s available for the asking if you look for it online. My suggestion is you look into it and become better informed insteading of asking hacks like me online for advice. I’ll include some sources below. Hope this answers your question. Good luck Patrick, and take care, Rudydoo

admin answers:

You are on the cusp of dynamically changing world with respect to renewable energy consultant types. I suspect that in 4 to 5 years, much of this world will be relatively specialized with respect to specific energy sources (i.e. Wind, solar, biomass, etc…). Specialized or not, I;m guessing that the consultant world with respect to energy systems will be divided into two groups: the scientific/technical and then the planner/project manager groups.

The scientific/technical types are going to need a math and science background and probably some type of an engineering or physics degree. The planner/project manager types are going to need some business, city planning, and systems management/anaylsis types of courses. Still, if you’re from the technical side of the house, it would help to be able to smooze and speak with the folks funding, politicing, and managing the projects you’re working on. And if you’re from the planning/managing side of the house it would help if you had at least some type of idea what you’re talking about from a technical stand point.

You speak of being a senior. What are you doing this summer? If you already have a bit of physics under your belt, how about starting in on some stats, taking a speech course, or brushing up on some chemistry? The first year of college is pretty much spent taking a series of undergraduate requirements. The function of the undergraduate requirements is to ensure that students are working at par when they start their major’s courses, give them a sampling of subjects they haven’t particularly been exposed to before, and give them a little bit of a general education so that they can funciton in the real world outside of their little group of departmental geeks. Your goal this next year should be to get a firm understanding of a well rounded set of courses; these will form the foundation for the rest of your college career which you either learn now or struggle with the rest of your time. (It’s sort of like learning fractions. Some of us learn and understand them from the onset; others of us struggle and then learn to understand them somewhere between college chemistry and the end of our calculus series.)

Meanwhile, start with your high school and college advisors, high school and college instructors to try to figure out what course work could or should comprise a “Renewable Energy Consultant Degree” . But, be sure to troll the internet to see what other institutions are offering in their assorted green, environmental, alternative energy, and other programs; don’t forget to try to read the course descriptions for skills/things taught and the names of the required textbooks. Troll the internet to see what empolyers are seeking in terms of knowledge and skills for those being hired to perform renewable energy consultation. Ultimately you will learn what you should possess in terms of knowledge and skills despite the name of your degree. And, you may find that there is an institution out there teaching the course work that fits your vision and understanding of what a renewable energy consultant is.

admin answers:

The most dangerous assumption is that people would care about their future and the future of human societey. Underestimating how much people are addicted to cheap unsustainable energy.

Then the assumption that the global industrial growth sytem: fossil fuel, logging, agri-business, transport …; would all accept that they only have 15-20 years to failure unless they change their practices now.

So the assumption that people would listen to the concensus scientific evidence rather than the media that is trying to sell more consumption is doomed. Media have all the best communicators to tell their story, science only has facts.

The solution is a great turning from industrial growth society to a sustainable culture based on a recognition of the limits of growth and peoples empowerment and taking responsibility for their footprints http://www.greatturningtimes.org

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As a feedstock for transportation fuel, algae oil offers many benefits:

Renewable and sustainable
Essentially carbon neutral
Reduces other harmful emissions
Does not compete for land used by traditional oil crops like soybeans, rapeseed, or palm kernel
Uses water efficiently, and has the ability to clean it as well .
Petroalgae certainly has the potential to help solve some of our problems doesn’t it.

admin answers:

Energy is simply energy – it is no colour. The green and alternative relate to how they are produced. So usually they will end up either as motive power for a vehicle or in the national grid along with all the non-green electricity made from coal. So what is it used for? The same as any other energy is used for.

admin answers:

In general, now is a great time to get into the field, as it is still relatively young and growing fast, so there’s an overall lack of truly experienced workers in the field. But whether or not you will easily find a job really depends on what you want to do in the sector and what your background is. For positions that don’t require any real technical knowledge about the field (i.e. Public affairs, legal, accounting, finance, construction), then jobs should be pretty easy to find, even with no formal training/certificate in renewable energy. There are some positions, such as engineers, scientists, environmentalists, or developers where you can probably find a position without any previous experience, but the certificate you mention would certainly help in getting yourself noticed as someone who is really motivated and desiring to be in the field. Then there are the most technical positions, such as plant operators or consultants where a formal degree would probably be most helpful in landing a position.

In short, the course you mention is a great idea to get started, but you should also do some research on the exact position you’re interested in to see how much background employers expect you to have in the field. For some positions, a short course may be sufficient, in others, it may not be. But if you are motivated and persistent, do all you can to learn about the field and talk to people in the field, and eventually, you should be able to land a position.

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Energy related employment relates to jobs whihc are within the energy industry. Traditionally, these are coal mining, oil and gas extraction, oil field equipment, refining and petrochemicals. It could now include sustainable energy jobs such as wind turbines and wave power generators

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Using resources in a way that can go on forever. Which means banning use of minerals (oil, gas, coal, metals), and promoting recycling and solar/wind energy.

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Solar energy is energy from the Sun in the form of heat and light. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the Sun, along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for over 99.9% of the available flow of renewable energy on Earth.

Solar energy technologies harness the sun’s heat and light for practical ends such as heating, lighting and electricity. These technologies date from the time of the early Greeks, Native Americans and Chinese, who warmed their buildings by orienting them toward the sun.

Solar power is used synonymously with solar energy or more specifically to refer to the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This can be done with photovoltaics, concentrating solar thermal devices and various experimental technologies.

admin answers:

Solar power usually refers to making electricity from the sun. Solar energy may refer to this and also sometimes using the heat energy from the sun. Thermal solar collectors may use solar energy to make solar power.

Solar energy is only beginning to be explored in our society. In other societies (ancient Greece for example) there were laws to prevent one person from blocking the sun from the land of another as the sun was important for heating. The sun’s energy stored in chemical bonds has been very common in our society. Oil is king. This has marginalized direct solar energy use. The amount of Solar energy in our society depends upon what you are including. Direct Solar? Wind? Biomass? Hydro generation? Here is one site that adds it up to 13%: http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=21381″>

2 the economics of solar is also subject to definitions. Real cost or cost including politically gained subsidies. Gasoline may cost $3.00 at the pump but estimates of its real cost are from $10 to more than $20. Nuclear power is also heavily subsidized. Solar is just getting into the game and is taking time to get its political markers in place. When it comes to efficiency solar is far more direct and has some distinct advantages. Http://www.catalystmagazine.com/component/content/article/45/1128-pay-at-the-pump-uncovering-the-true-cost-of-gasoline http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1715&first=2490&end=2489 http://www.ringnebula.com/project-censored/1976-1992/1988/1988-story11.htm http://environment.about.com/od/renewableenergy/a/solar_power.htm

3. Direct Solar energy and renewable solar energy is substantially more eco friendly than using fossil solar energy. Shading environments with solar collectors changes environments this may have effects to be considered. Some large scale solar power installations need water in environments where this is scarce. Wind generators may have an adverse effect on flying wildlife. And hydroelectric dam may add unusual pressure on the Earth’s crust. Http://solareis.anl.gov/guide/environment/index.cfm http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27solar.html

admin answers:

Here is a list of sujects that you should research on the internet which will provide a comprehensive answer:

1. Double glazing will creat a near vacuum that is an excelelnt insulator from heat loss (or gain) by convection or conduction. A special coating on the outside surface will also reduce gain through radiation
2. A cavity between the internal and external walls filled with insulating materials will cut down loss through the walls. This material should be made with a fibre with high resistance to conductivity and have a reflective (shiney silver) coating form aluminium on one side. Walls can be wood or brick/stone
3. Floors should be suspended from the earth but lined underneath by similar insulation materials to the walls.
4. Roof should have plastic lining that prevents draughts and then a fibre insulation underneath also with reflective coating.
5. Clay tiles or metal roof is fine.
6. Doors should have effective draught excluders to prevent heat loss this way.
7. Add a heat pump system that extracts heat from atmosphere outside and upgrades it to provide background heating in loops located underneath your flooring. This is also reverseable in Summer to provide cooling.
8. Heating should be electrical using low cost power at night or if gas then a condensing boiler shoudl be used that extarct maximum heat from combustion.
9. Solar heating panels on roof can pre-heat water
10 small wind turbine can cut down on power
11. Use low energy light bulbs
12. Always cook with lid on pots
13. Use showers and not baths for washing
14 Separate waste water from sewage and save for watering garden
15. Have toilets that flush small amounts for Urine and larger amounts for larger objects
16 collect rainwater from roof and store for other uses
17 Hetaing should be thermostatically controlled for effficiency
18 If you liove in a very cold country then facing South Helps. If a hot country then facing East ensures heat in mornings
19. If you want something unusual the try a micro gasifier heating system that exports excess energy to power on the grid but otherwise you create your own heat and power in a CHP unit
20 consider buring waste packaging and wood in a multi product stove located in your main living are with balanced flue so that you do not suck air in from outside

I hope that this helps

Good Luck

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GE is within the green energy industry because it is a company that produces green technology, but not all of GE is considered green technology, which consists of renewable and sustainable energy technology only. Don’t make the mistake of confusing industry with technology. GE still makes plenty of products that aren’t green.

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In 2004, the worldwide energy consumption of the human race was on average 15 TW (= 1012 W) with 86.5% from burning fossil fuels.[1] This is equivalent to 471,000 PJ (= 1015 J) per year. As shown by the difference between the first two images in this article, there is at least 10% uncertainty in the world’s energy consumption. Not all of the world’s economies track their energy consumption with the same rigor and the exact energy content of a barrel of oil or a ton of coal will vary with their quality.

The remaining worldwide energy resources are large, with the remaining fossil fuels totaling an estimated 400 ZJ and the available nuclear fuel such as uranium exceeding 2.5 YJ (1 YJ = 1024J). Mostly thanks to the Sun, the world also has a renewable usable energy flux that exceeds 120 PW

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There’s an old paper floating around that you can find by Googling “nrel energy payback”. At least, the consumer summary of the study will come up. You can then pursue the original paper. That’s from about 10 years ago, and suggests an energy payback of 1 to 4 years, depending on the type of panel. We assume photovoltaic panels, of course. Additionally, the National Renewable Energy Labs could be a good source for finding other papers.

If you are at a University or large Corporation, ask your librarian for help.

I was at the Engineers for a Sustainable World conference a couple years back, and one of the presenters pointed out the fact that carbon payback time depends on the source of energy used to produce the panels, and the source of electricity that the panels are displacing. For example, it takes a certain number of kWh to produce a kg of aluminum for the frame. If the electricity came from a coal-burning plant, the carbon content is high. If it came from hydroelectric, the carbon content is nil.