Mean Green

When speaking of alternative household energy, many of us would probably think that this is a very expensive option to settle down with. On the contrary, alternative home energy is important to save electricity and to balance nature. Since this was discovered, many individuals and business groups have started enjoying its economical benefits. By using this, you are able to utilize a good source of power for your homes while eliminating your electricity bill.

It is possible for anyone to use an alternative home energy source, in replacement of their conventional electricity coming from geothermal plants. We have been paying expensive electric bills because geothermal power is very expensive to create no matter where you are. Due to the high cost of this type of electric power people are always concerned about their power consumption and it might hurt their wallets.

The demand for alternative home energy is increasing since the Earth is currently experiencing the effects of global warming. Producing solar energy for electricity is quite simple, as you only need the energy from the sun. Alternative home energy is relevant especially when there is no electricity or when you are experiencing a low voltage. This alternative energy will serve as a backup for inevitable cases like this. Solar energy is easy to install and it does not emit air pollutants so it is environmental friendly.

The solar grid is a rectangular grid that absorbs energy particles from the sun and converts it into electricity. This grid is placed on the rooftop to capture rays from sun and then convert it into energy until such time that it becomes an electric power that we can use in our households. There are other effective and proven alternative in acquiring energy. We can also acquire from winds using wind turbines. We can also use biofuels, these actually come from living organisms or manures which are processed to create an power of energy by means of combustion.

The main purpose of using an alternative home energy is to allow you to consume energy freely without having to worry about its effects to the natural environment. By using this type of energy, you are helping the environment reduce the effects of global warming. You will also worry less for low voltages because you are using and consuming natural energy and its supple is endless. Alternative solar energy can also be produced using affordable methods like boiling hot water. Actually, most power companies get energy from the steam. Making your own alternative energy source lets you save lots of money. This alternative home energy aims to improve our lives and help our environment recover from the damaging effects of some of the latest technologies known to mankind today. Solar energy gives clean electricity.

Building your own alternative home energy source, like solar panels is very easy and inexpensive no a days. The key to successfully building your own solar panels is a quality, do it yourself, guide.

Solar power is a totally clean energy source. It does not create any dangerous emissions or hazardous waste byproducts. This renewable resource could easily provide all the power that the world needs if properly harnessed.

Unlike wind power which creates a lot of irritating noise and scares and kills animals, solar power is totally silent and harms nothing or no one.

Biofuels are being touted as an alternative energy source. They however take a big bite out of agricultural production like corn and soybeans. This only creates food shortages. And, much of the South American rain forest has been destroyed to provide farmland for biofuel production.

Fossil fuels are burned to transport and process biofuels offsetting most of the advantages of them. And, chemical fertilizers are used to grow them.

Solar power production however has no such negative impact. Sunlight is produced 92 million miles from earth and is constantly bathing it with this clean, powerful and renewable resource. The only processing needed for sunlight is accomplished with simple solar panels.

The costs associated with burning fossil fuels are enormous. Consumers and businesses in the U.S. alone already spend approximately $700 billion to $1 trillion every year on these fuels, and bear the immeasurable costs of the pollution caused by them through damage to the environment and our personal health.

So, the question “how does solar power work to help the environment” is answered. This clean energy source is available to most of us, but it can be expensive to purchase. A complete system, depending on the size of the home can run as high as $20,000 or more. Luckily, there are do-it-yourself options where the homeowner can build their own solar panels and save a small fortune in the process. Guides are available than show how to build these panels for a few hundred dollars using parts available at local stores.

The world’s leading oil producing nations can really count their blessings that oil – one of Earth’s most valuable resources – is found within the depths of their sovereign territories. Oil revenue has helped to enrich these nations, and the lives of their denizens.

For example, countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council have created Sovereign Wealth Funds, as a result of high oil revenues, rising economic growth and strong domestic demand now and in the foreseeable future. According to Morgan Stanley estimates published in September 2007, the assets of the Sovereign Wealth Funds of United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, account for 52% of the world’s total sovereign wealth funds.

To have an appreciation of the magnitude of the wealth of these oil-producing in the Middle East, look no further than the first comprehensive analysis of the Islamic financial industry published by The Banker in November 2007. It is not my intention to leave you breathless, so do not hold your breath as you read the following fact:

Sharia-compliant assets grew by 29.7% over 2006 to reach US$500.48 billion compared to 16.3% for the Top 1000 World Banks in The Banker’s July 2007 global listing.

Thus the rate of growth of Islamic Finance is at a mind-blowing rate of twice the rate of growth of conventional financial services. This can surely attest to rising wealth and liquidity from the recent oil prices boom of oil producing nations, such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Kuwait. Institutional and private investors within these countries have also developed an increasing preference for Sharia-compliant Islamic financial instruments.

Who Else Has Benefited from Oil

Of course, it is you and I. Can you ever imagine life without oil?

As you step out of your house, you would have noticed cars, motorbikes, public buses plying your streets and highways. About ninety percent of these vehicles are powered by oil. This is the most obvious example of how we have benefited from oil. Petroleum and diesel, the by-products of the oil distillation process, have enabled us to move around with greater ease, cover greater distances and travel faster than with a bicycle or by walking.

There are also other ways by which we have benefited from oil. By-products of the oil refining process have also produced raw materials for various manufacturing processes, and have created detergents, deodorants, eye glasses, plastics, tires, ink, crayons, bubble gums and heart valves.

So Have We Become Totally Dependent On Oil?

I am afraid the answer is an affirmative “Yes!”. We probably can’t imagine life without our cars yet. The car has almost become part of our body, our entire existence. Should that dire day come when global oil supply is running low, and gas stations are out of gas, you will probably be screaming for help.

What about those crayons? Most of us would probably be not too affected, though artists and children will most probably be lamenting the lack of crayons to express their creativity or doodle around.

Detergents and dishwashing liquids? I am confident that through the ingenuity of mankind, we will be able to conjure up some magical potions, which will replace oil-derived detergents and dishwashing liquids, and be equally, if not more effective at cleaning those stubborn stains and to keep our clothes clean and fragrant.

Many household items are made from plastics. Maybe we could make a switch to metal or earthern ones. With growing myopia syndrome among the world’s population, the shortage of eye-glasses could result in many ‘blind mice’ wandering around blindly. This could be alleviated with the use of Lasik treatment for the correction of eyesight, and hopefully other futuristic non-oil-based alternatives for making eye-glasses.

It is impossible to give an exhaustive listing of the items that have been derived from oil, given the multitude of oil-derived products in our lives. Such is our dependence on oil. This dependence on oil can be a real curse to us when oil runs out.

Oil As A Weapon

Given the pervasiveness of oil and products derived from oil, we would view the fact that oil is being produced by only a handful of nations – consisting of both friends and foes to the United States of America – with caution.

With about eighty percent of the world’s readily accessible reserves located in the Middle East, it is a matter of grave importance to be always prepared for adverse developments arising from unfavourable policies with regards to oil, so that the nation will not be held ransom and be beholden to the whims and fancies of some unfriendly and ideologically different regimes.

Wars have been fought over oil during the late late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The most recent being the Iraq War. It is expected that wars will continue to be fought over oil.

However, it is not just wars between nations which we would do well to be cautious about, but also guerilla wars waged by terrorists against governments and oil installations. Their terrorist acts may inadvertently impact the lives of ordinary people, like you and I, adversely.

Hence, this dependence on oil can be a real curse.

How Can You Prepare Yourself For Unexpected Oil Shortages?

There is no simple answer to this multi-faceted question, given the far-reaching effects that oil has on our lives. For a start, you can consider doing the following:

Drive Less. Try to plan your trips in advance. Cover as many destinations in one single trip, instead of using your car to run every single errand. Learn to wean yourself off your car, and try using public transport, or to go by bicycle (if the distance is not too far). Start Using Alternatives. Biofuels and combustion hydrogen can now be used within internal combustion engines. Buy A Hybrid Car or Petrofree cars. Hybrid cars use both petroleum and biofuels for greater engine performance, and helps you achieve greater gas mileage. Electric cars and hydrogen cars, which do not use petroleum, have also been introduced.

It is heartening to note that biological alternatives exist for industrial uses, such as plastic production. Hence, commonplace daily items could be replaced with biologically derived ones, should the price of oil remain high or grow even more exorbitant.

How To Manage This Blessing Or Curse

While we continue to enjoy the blessing that oil has given us, we should prepare ourselves for the worse when oil supplies are cut or depleted. By adequate preparation, we can ensure that this blessing does not turn into a curse on our daily lives.

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Carbon credits are an element used to aid in regulation of the amount of gases that are being released into the air. This is part of a larger international plan which has been created in an effort to reduce global warming and its effects.

The plan works by capping the amount of total emissions that can be released by one company or business. If there is a shortfall in the amount of gases that are used, there is a monetary value assigned to this shortfall and it may be traded. These credits are often traded between businesses. However, they also are bought and sold in international markets at whatever the determined market value for them is.

There are also times when these credits are used to fund carbon reduction plans between trading partners.

As previously stated, the central idea is that using these credits will eventually mitigate the effects of global warming. Some detractors claim, however, that the plan does more to make money for its developers than it does to save the earth from itself.

Most countries of the world participate in the credit program. The main formal mechanism is part of what is called the Kyoto Protocol. The goal of the group is to meet emission reduction targets. Over 170 countries make up part of this agreement.

The United States has signed the protocol but not ratified it. This is not due to disagreement with its principles. Instead, concern has primarily been expressed over specific exemptions it holds as well as on the effect it would have on the U.S. economy.

There are a number of countries that work with people who are interested in decreasing the size of their carbon footprint in an effort to help save the environment. These people are not mandated to use carbon credits, but they are adamant about using them in the right way. Many companies will sell the credits to such individuals who want to try to make a difference.

Although the process that must be followed is somewhat complex, essentially what happens is that carbon offsetters will buy the available credits from an investment fund or from a company that specializes in carbon development and has combined all of the credits obtained from a number of individual projects.

Carbon projects may focus on such areas as reforestation, fuel-switching, carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency. Many major examples deal with renewable energy options. For instance, focus may be placed on creating and advancing wind turbines for wind power, or working with biomass for the creation of biofuels. Solar panels, solar lighting, and solar heating are also important alternative energy areas.

In many ways, the actual quality level of these credits is based in large part on the validation process of the fund development group that is sponsoring the project. A certain level of trust must be placed in these companies that they are managing the credits in the proper manner.

The main reason why this whole project has come about is because of the burning of fossil fuels by industries across the globe. Proponents to the program claim that using carbon credits will make companies more responsible and will even make some companies more money if they manage the credits properly.

Because the program is relatively new, it is difficult to assess how the issuance of credits is being received and observed. The first international treaty was produced in 1992, negotiated in 1997, and signed between 1998 and 1999. It was not put into force until 2005. Upcoming years will demonstrate its efficacy and determine any necessary future adjustments.

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When speaking about renewable energy, we are talking about power which derives its energy from resources which will not be diminished from the use. Renewable energy is a substitute for the non-alternative energy of fossil fuel due to other reasons than non-depletion.

One fundamental advantage of renewable energy, and environmentalists’ favorite reason to tout its use, is that there are no greenhouse gases or other pollutants emitted as there are with the burning of fossil fuels. Alternative energy, or solar, water and wind power, are certainly not new although they have received much attention recently. Wind, solar and water power have been utilized as power sources in both developing and developed countries for a long time, but they have yet to be used as a primary source of energy for any big metropolitan area.

The generation of power from alternative energy sources has become somewhat more common in recent times as people have increasingly become aware of issues such as climate change due to fossil fuel byproducts and depletion and the political or social worries about nuclear power. There are numerous countries and non-profit, environmentally conscious organizations that are endorsing the use of alternative energy by enacting tax incentives for its use and by subsidizing the cost of transitioning from fossil fuel to renewable energy.

The flow of alternative energy has to do with naturally occurring phenomena. Tides, sunlight, wind and heat are all created by geothermal events and all are sources of renewable energy. Each of these sources of energy has unique characteristics pertaining to where and how we can use them.

Most technology which transforms renewable energy into power which we can use is solar powered either directly or indirectly. The atmospheric system of the earth maintains equilibrium such that the heat which radiates into space is equal to the amount of radiation received from the sun. The quantity of energy contained in the atmosphere approximates the earth’s climate. The bodies of water of the earth, or its hydrosphere, absorb much of the radiation which is received from the sun.

And much of that absorbed radiation is in the lower latitudes surrounding the equator. The energy is dispersed throughout the earth, though, by both ocean and wind currents. It is thought that the action of the oceans’ waves may play a role in the transference of mechanical energy between ocean and atmosphere by means of wind stress. Solar energy additionally is instrumental in the distribution of precipitation which is utilized in hydroelectric energy production as well as in plant growth which ultimately results in biofuels.

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The world is a place where greed and speed have predominated, but recently even the gods of pace have acknowledged that they either have to embrace environmentally friendly options or become extinct like the dinosaurs of old.

‘Earth Car’ gets the Formula 1 ball rolling

Team Honda was the first of the Formula 1 teams who turned talk into tactics and two years ago they opted to make an environmentally conscious statement by branding their cars not with corporate labels but an untarnished and uncorrupted map of planet earth.

Granted, this small contribution to the burgeoning problem of carbon gas emissions didn’t do anything practical, other than to constantly remind us of the failings of Formula 1 and FIA bosses to take this challenge to heart.

The motorsport moguls have every intention of becoming the high-tech pioneers and unequivocal leaders in the ongoing battle against climate change, one of the unpleasant facts of life that has the potential to destroy us all.

FIA President, Max Mosley, and company have effectively outlawed any further development on petrol engines and have instead put their formidable financial backing and expertise behind innovative and a more hybrid approach to the development of increased power.

Biofuels a solution

Formula 1 can learn something from the United States where the Indy cars have been running on ethanol for quite some time now and there is plenty of discussion around the possibility of utilising biofuels instead of the dangerously low reserves of fossil fuels left in the world today. Formula 1 racing cars currently burn nearly a litre of fossils fuels per kilometre, an equation that cannot possibly be sustained, even for another season.

KERS could change the face of F1 forever

One of the ideas that has manifested itself in KERS, or kinetic energy recovery systems, is that of harnessing the energy lost during braking by re-using it to boost acceleration. When you consider that racing cars have to brake from speeds of over 200mph to 50mph in 2.5 seconds, then it is a given that an enormous amount of energy is lost through braking and the consequent heat loss associated with braking.

Energy allotments may be introduced

Another idea that looks fit to materialise is that by 2011 each Formula 1 team would be given a parcel of energy for each race on the Formula 1 calendar. This parcel would shrink year by year and the team that wins the race would be the team that has utilised the energy the most efficiently and effectively.

This would mean a major shift from a sport where fuel consumption has always been the major contributing factor, to a sport where the effective energy use of the racing car is paramount.

Team Honda’s battle to reduce their carbon footprint

Team Honda have made a concerted effort to reduce their carbon footprint by

- introducing a recycling scheme at the Honda plant

- providing incentives to their work force to cycle or walk to work

- using low energy light bulbs throughout and installing solar panels on the roofs of all the trackside motor homes

- holding video conferences instead of flying to meetings

- turning off all lights and computers at night

It is worth remembering that it’s not only the grandstanding gestures that make the difference but a whole range of little ones too.

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