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Your Articles

Eco20/20 is looking for people who love to share. As you know we post guest articles. These articles are great for people who want to share their well researched ideas with a large audience. If you think you have a great article, send it along. We will review it and maybe even post it for our energy friends to look at.

Beer for Biofuel

I could not resist writing about this news clip. The AFP reported that biofuel for the Democratic National Convention is being made for beer scraps. First off that is just tickling to me. Secondly, why can't companies do this more. There is so much food and bi-products that go to waste. There should be companies that turn it into fuel. It makes economic sense.

Going "Green"

There has been a lot of talk back and forth about what it means to go green. Sometimes people get upset when they see other people not doing what they suppose is the correct thing.

Let us all take a step back and talk with each other. We have become so focused on being just one thing, whether its green, democrat, republican, conservative, liberal. All these labels can sometimes hinder our thinking. We must all be open to possibilities from most angles.

The ability to learn new things is a tremendous thing, and we should all take advantage of it. With that said, visit that site you never go to, or listen to that radio show you don't agree with. Most importantly, smile at the person next to you and wish them a great day.

Bats and Wind

Some people love them, some people are afraid of them. Whatever the case may be, is there a serious environmental hazard with wind farms. There needs to be some serious research into bats killed vs. wind turbines. One thing to think about is the increase in how many turbines over the next five years there will be. If the number of bats killed is relatively low, than turbines are fine, but it needs to be investigated.

Hydrogen Sooner than we think?

I recently read a fascinating article about the distribution of hydrogen. There are a group of scientists who are trying to change the catalysts used to create hydrogen from Biofuel. In their research they have used inexpensive metals. This allows easier distribution of hydrogen. Instead of storing hydrogen at fueling stations, they will be able to store Biofuel and produce the hydrogen there. While this is years away, if perfected, it could possibly solve the distribution problem.

Imploring Russia

We need to implore and demand that Russia not annex its neighbors. Instead of investing all this effort into its military, they should focus on their own citizens. The amount of ingenuity that could be accomplished would be enormous. Imagine the incredible energy sources that the county could use for good.

What doesn't Google own

Google amazes me continuously. They recently announced that they will begin to start researching geothermal energy. This is a pretty cool thing for Google. What is more uncommon about this company is that they already own some solar power companies and invest money in research on hybrid cars as well.

At the rate they are going, they might have a hand in nearly every future energy source out there. Not too shabby for a search engine.

Australia continues to amaze

Australia continues to be at the forefront of clean energy. They may follow up their solar energy push, with a clean energy push. Between the two energy sources, the country could become an even better tourist spot for eco-energy people.

Global Warming

Here is an interesting article from England's Guardian. I thought it was interesting, hope you enjoy it as well.

China, the pollution, the Olympics

There has been a lot of talk in recent days, obviously with the Olympics taking place in China. Beyond the amazing acrobatic and athletic feats, it is all entirely overshadowed by human rights and pollution. To look past and say that they should or should not have been held there will be for others to discuss. What is important, is to see whether this can be taken and help improve situations on the ground in the enormous country.

Human Rights. Tibet!, that alone speaks for itself. What is somewhat more troubling is looking back when I got braces. As many of us do, when we grow, our mouth sometimes needs braces. Maybe the cute little girl who sang the opening ceremony so beautifully could have used some. If you do not know already, the girl was deemed, not cute enough to be shown. I thought woman has image problems in the west.

Pollution, may favorite topic. China is an enormous polluter. The sad thing about that is, they don't need to be. I image a formerly great empire, that cared about its people more than its public image. We cannot even see its public image, because it is too filled with smog. China should work with the west to help further clean energy innovation and production. A real energy change would come about so much quicker if they would realize that.

Try these articles

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0319/p09s01-coop.html

http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/suscoasts/krismin.html

Clean energy is a need for everyone. We are determined to help educate and learn, we hope you are too.

Greenbar

I want to take a minute to write about an awesome site and aspect of their web browser that people should have. I write this not only because we are listed, but because it is extremely useful. Greenbar is a bar that has green blogs, websites, newsfeed, and a whole lot of other great green sites.

They have created a great bar that is useful for everyone. It does not matter where you live, they do a great job. We proudly have their button on our homepage and hope that you will check them out.

Energy ideas welcomed

I love learning about new ideas, and thing that I did not know before. One of my favorite parts of the website is the section dealing with government grants. It gives people an opportunity to take an idea and maybe put it into action. If you are one of those people, go for it.

If you find any grants that I don't know about, please pass them along.

Companies installing solar to save money

This is a great article showing how business are using solar power in order save money on energy. More companies could used this model to save some money as well.

Australia rocks

I love Australia, they continue to kick but in renewable energy. If this companies succeeds in building the plants that he wants to, it could power 8.5 million homes. Wow!

Australia continues to be one of the leaders in solar energy according to the Australian Business. They are planning to build the worlds largest solar power plant. The plant should be completed and running by 2011. It will products 250 megawatt's of electricity. How much is that? one megawatt = powering 1000 homes(Department of Energy). This new power plant will power 250,000 homes.
To go along with this great news WorleyParsons wants to build 34 more plants by 2020.

Russia and Georgia

While the two countries have no officially agreed to a cease fire, should we worry about world oil supply?

Oil supply all over the world is problematic. With the current craziness going on in Russia, the price of oil may go up further. We need to work together to quickly get to alternative fuels and vehicles.

Part 1-Interview with Dr. Buxbaum

Interview-Dr. Buxbaum-Hydrogen Economy-Can We Get There? - The best bloopers are here

Does Water for Gas Work?

Do Water Powered Cars Really Work? - More free videos are here

The Pickens Plan

I am not so particular where or who puts forth clean energy plans. In this particular case, it happens to be from a very wealthy and well to do individual.

The Pickens Plan.

Let us begin. The very basics of his plan. 20% of our energy production would be produced from wind farms built up and down the middle of the country, primarily on farms. 20% of natural gas that we currently already produce would be free to power our cars. We have an abundant amount of natural gas.

Mr. Pickens plan is innovative and well thought out. It has garnered support, most notably The American Wind Energy Association. Having more wind farms makes sense on different accounts. First, while they are somewhat expensive to purchase and install, they produce a good amount of energy when all put together. Secondly, they can be used on farmers lands. The farmers can rent their land to wind companies, therefore helping out the bottom line of struggling farmers. Third, new industry coming to rural towns is a great thing for the local economy.

A few concerns that I have with the Pickens plan. First I really do commend someone stepping up and trying to put forth any real plan. I support the idea of more wind farms in middle America. The issue and problem long term that this plan may have is that to cross over enough gas station to distribute natural gas will take some time. For the past few year the car companies have pushed hydrogen fuel cell cars. To switch again when hydrogen distribution has not been figured out could be even more catastrophic on the car industry that is already extremely shaky.

Some Alternative Ideas

There may not be a reason to push the 20% natural gas production over to fuel our cars. If we produce 20% more wind over the next ten year, then we could create a clean energy option for car companies. Let me explain.

There are two big hurdles to electric cars. One, the battery technology is not quite there. Two, even if the cars were mass produced we don't have the clean energy to run them. The Pickens plan could be modified.

Over the next ten years, chances are, the battery technology of electric cars will be up to par. Two, if we still push for the 20% wind power production, it will allow natural gas production to replace some of the coal plants. Furthermore, solar power should become a major energy source for homes over this next period. Finally, with the ever expanding geothermal push, we could see a dramatic push for clean energy over the next ten year.

We will not see a total reduction of "dirty" energy over the next ten years, not sure it is so realistic.

The Pickens Plan is a great start to a great and important debate. We need to have an all encompassing plan to address total energy production, wind and natural gas are of course part of that discussion.

Clean energy petition

A couple of weeks ago we started a clean energy petition. Regardless of you political persuasions, we focus on clean energy. We hope that everyone signs up to help make a little difference today!

linking the blog

For all those who are wondering about linking the blog to the site, it will happen soon, we are working on that as I type.

Thank you.

Induction oven

Just read and wrote about an induction oven. What is really cool about this oven is that the stove top does not get hot. If you want to learn more check it out. I would love for the price of this thing to go down, so more people can afford it.

Geothermal Systems-Everyone should have them

Energy prices are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. If you own a home and have to pay for heating and cooling you know that the price to do so is becoming increasingly less affordable.
What if you can pay the same monthly bill, and produce your own energy and not have to pay the energy companies for gas, propane or oil? Why not buy a geothermal system.

We decided to do some research and decide whether a geothermal system could make sense for the average consumer. As we are headquartered in Michigan, we decided this would be a great place to start.

Michigan is a fairly cold place in the winter, so if a system could make sense here, it would definitely make sense in other areas.

We contacted energypath.com and geothermalspecialties.com for pricing and information. (A quick note, these are all general numbers, each particular home or business is unique.)

A fully installed geothermal unit in an existing home costs roughly $16,000 to $30,000. A replacement geothermal unit is replaces both your current air conditioning and heating units.

Currently in Michigan it costs about $4500 for propane, $2400 for gas and $860 for Geothermal a year. Gas, propane and heating oil go up yearly, while the price of geothermal remains fairly constant.

The prices for heating/cooling your home do not include the delivery charges or taxes that are paid.

Does it make sense to install a $20,000 unit in your home, and is it cost effective? Yes, the item that makes geothermal make sense for today's market is many.

First of all, you can finance the unit. Instead of putting a bunch of money up front you can spread out the cost of the unit.
Secondly, you are replacing you ever increasing bills with one bill that remains constant and is generally half of what you were paying before.
The worst case scenario that we can see is that you basically are breaking even on the bills, but the way energy prices are going, we cannot see that happening.

One final note, a geothermal unit, this can be a fairly good selling item on a house. In today's housing market, any advantage you can create will help in trying to sell a home.

If you would like to find out more about buying a geothermal unit please email us.

Geothermal Power

Why aren't more companies and businesses taking advantage of this great resource. The renewable energy field is quickly growing and becoming much more cost effective. It seems to me that geothermal gets overlooked quite a bit. For example, recently I read that a Seattle High school saved $66,000 a year by installing a geothermal system. Why don't more places do this.

Money? One possible answer could be that the initial installation cost is a bit expensive. However, if one gets this as loan and then pays it off over time, the amount of money saved will easily pay for itself with a few year.

I would love to get some feedback and see if anyone wants to learn more and see how we can work on saving some energy.

What is wrong with Congress!!

I am rarely flabbergasted and actually upset very few times. Today is one of those times. Congress over the weekend abruptly took off and went on vacation. This normally would not be a big deal, as everyone deserves a breather from work. What is not okay is that they accomplished nothing when it came to energy.

When one thinks of an energy plan, we may consider something long term. For example the 25% by 2025 plan.

However, they did not address anything. The renewable tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. If congress is interested in the United States being energy independent, why ignore this and go on vacation. If I have something that needs to get done, I stay late at the office and ensure that it gets done.

A real energy policy needed to get DONE!

Congress failed. We need a ten year approach, as we know there are no quick fixes. We need long term research and short term relief.

Renewable and Non Renewable should be looked at immediately.