Here is an energy saving tip that you probably have never thought about. Do you know that it takes more electricity to display a white or bright background on your computer monitor than a black or dark background? How big is the difference? Rather minor for each individual page or monitor. However, if you are the worlds most popular search engine that minor difference in electricity could make a major impact when added up throughout the course of a year.
I introduce you to Blackle. Blackle is a Google custom search embedded into a mock up of the Google home page using a black background. There is a little widget on the page that tells how much electricity has been saved so far by using Blackle instead of Google. Important note here, they are not trying to take the place of Google, just raise awareness of how changes in web design techniques can make a difference in energy consumption.
Learn more about Blackle
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Clean Coal Propaganda
Clean coal fuels is a way to take dirty old coal and use it to provide completely clean power to everyone. Or that is what the mining industry and the National Mining Association would like you to believe. They want you to think that coal can provide us with gasoline grade fuel that does not pollute or contribute to climate change. This is in fact PROPAGANDA.
The NMA has put this spin into a new site http://www.futurecoalfuels.org/. This is intended to rally people behind the cause of turning coal into a liquid fuel. They site energy independence from foreign oil and cleaner fuels that will not contribute to global warming as the reasons why we need this technology. Energy independence, maybe, but at what price? Who cares if we are independent of foreign oil if we further damage the climate and completely collapse the global economy? The fact of the matter is that these people are trying to trick you into supporting their agenda which will help to damage the climate.
I am going to break down the science to some basic truths. We will cover some basic chemistry. First of all, fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) are all what we call hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon can be any molecular chain that consists of different combinations of hydrogen and carbon. Energy is released from these chains when they are exposed to both oxygen and heat (read: fire). Your result is the flame or explosion you get when these are burned or combusted in an engine. These reactions always have two products, water and carbon dioxide - CO2. Anything else that is produced is incidental, we really only care about the CO2 for the purposes of our discussion. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and the more of it that is in the atmosphere the warmer our climate gets. Coal is a hydrocarbon and when burned, in whatever form, even if cleaned of other impurities that cause toxic pollution, it will still add CO2 to the atmosphere. That carbon which was trapped below ground as coal, oil or natural gas is now in the atmosphere heating up our planet.
There is no such thing as "clean coal". The fact of the matter is that any time you burn a fossil fuel you are doing damage. Speak out against the propaganda.
More reading: Greenpeace on "Clean Coal"
Modern technology Owes ecology An apology.~Alan M. Edison
Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find. ~Quoted in Time
The NMA has put this spin into a new site http://www.futurecoalfuels.org/. This is intended to rally people behind the cause of turning coal into a liquid fuel. They site energy independence from foreign oil and cleaner fuels that will not contribute to global warming as the reasons why we need this technology. Energy independence, maybe, but at what price? Who cares if we are independent of foreign oil if we further damage the climate and completely collapse the global economy? The fact of the matter is that these people are trying to trick you into supporting their agenda which will help to damage the climate.
I am going to break down the science to some basic truths. We will cover some basic chemistry. First of all, fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) are all what we call hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon can be any molecular chain that consists of different combinations of hydrogen and carbon. Energy is released from these chains when they are exposed to both oxygen and heat (read: fire). Your result is the flame or explosion you get when these are burned or combusted in an engine. These reactions always have two products, water and carbon dioxide - CO2. Anything else that is produced is incidental, we really only care about the CO2 for the purposes of our discussion. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and the more of it that is in the atmosphere the warmer our climate gets. Coal is a hydrocarbon and when burned, in whatever form, even if cleaned of other impurities that cause toxic pollution, it will still add CO2 to the atmosphere. That carbon which was trapped below ground as coal, oil or natural gas is now in the atmosphere heating up our planet.
There is no such thing as "clean coal". The fact of the matter is that any time you burn a fossil fuel you are doing damage. Speak out against the propaganda.
More reading: Greenpeace on "Clean Coal"
Modern technology Owes ecology An apology.~Alan M. Edison
Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find. ~Quoted in Time
The Internet Belongs to the Little guys
Some companies and organizations just don't seem to understand that at the moment the Internet belongs to the little guy. It is possible that will change after the Net Neutrality debacle pans out, but that is not certain yet. Everyone has a voice on the Internet. It is easier than ever to create a web site or blog these days. Some companies are still denying the truth and trying to control what makes it to the web.
Case in point: The Minerals Council of Australia, tried to force the shut down of an environmental website, "Rising Sea Levels. Brought to you by Mining", by the group Rising Tide. The website was a satire on the Mineral Councils own
"Life. Brought to you by mining website. Bringing a copyright infringement case against the group they hoped to shut down the site and crush their opponents. What they did not take into account is the very nature of the Internet, it belongs to the people. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the story, which found its way to Slashdot, and now the mining association has increased the exposure of the very site they were trying to shut down ten fold. The site has probably seen more hits in a week because of this legal non-sense than it would have gotten in a year otherwise. Smart move...
The Internet made the world a much smaller place. People can communicate and share stories in ways not dreamed of thirty years ago. You will also find that the audience of the Internet is generally very unforgiving of the idea of shutting down the voice of the little guy. This is because it is the little guy that makes the Internet interesting. Blogging and social sites like Myspace have added even another facet. Everyone can have an opinion and it is easier than ever to broadcast it to the world. When you try to take on one of these little guys you are making an implicit threat to all the other little guys out there. They start to rant on you, sympathise with your enemy, and you will lose. When it comes to the Internet the "big fish" need to cut the brute force crap and try to be part of this COMMUNITY. That is what it is, a community, and no one can control it.
Little guys, rejoice, you have won...
Case in point: The Minerals Council of Australia, tried to force the shut down of an environmental website, "Rising Sea Levels. Brought to you by Mining", by the group Rising Tide. The website was a satire on the Mineral Councils own
"Life. Brought to you by mining website. Bringing a copyright infringement case against the group they hoped to shut down the site and crush their opponents. What they did not take into account is the very nature of the Internet, it belongs to the people. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the story, which found its way to Slashdot, and now the mining association has increased the exposure of the very site they were trying to shut down ten fold. The site has probably seen more hits in a week because of this legal non-sense than it would have gotten in a year otherwise. Smart move...
The Internet made the world a much smaller place. People can communicate and share stories in ways not dreamed of thirty years ago. You will also find that the audience of the Internet is generally very unforgiving of the idea of shutting down the voice of the little guy. This is because it is the little guy that makes the Internet interesting. Blogging and social sites like Myspace have added even another facet. Everyone can have an opinion and it is easier than ever to broadcast it to the world. When you try to take on one of these little guys you are making an implicit threat to all the other little guys out there. They start to rant on you, sympathise with your enemy, and you will lose. When it comes to the Internet the "big fish" need to cut the brute force crap and try to be part of this COMMUNITY. That is what it is, a community, and no one can control it.
Little guys, rejoice, you have won...
CFLs
OK, I started this post trying to educate people about CFL light bulbs. What did I realize? This is not a science blog. I mean, I will touch on scientific subjects, but I am not looking to list stats and statistics. So this post is going to do a lot of directing you to other sights that actually already have the stats. I will do something I have hesitated to do in the past, all links will be to a pop up window.
CFLs is the abbreviation. Those squiggly light bulbs that are supposed to save the planet... Well maybe not save it by themselves, but they will sure go a long way. These nifty little lights use about a third, 33%, of the electricity of a incandescent light bulb producing the same amount of light. Yeah, I know, one light bulb does not use that much electricity, but a billion light bulbs do.
Currently there is an idea out there called "18 seconds". 18 Seconds is a venture by yahoo and other corporate sponsors. The idea is that it takes only 18 seconds to change out one light bulb from your standard incandescent to a CFL. The numbers are astonishing if every household just took those 18 seconds to change out one bulb. From The 18 seconds website:
Why are CFLs so much more efficient? Your standard incandescent light uses 10% of its electricity producing light, 90% of the electricity it uses creates heat. The light is actually a side effect because every bulb is just a small heater. CFL lights still produce heat, but the ratio is amazingly better. Did you realize that if your bulb is producing that much heat it will require more electricity to cool your house in the summer?
Some people will decry these light bulbs for the mercury that they contain. After all mercury is an incredibly toxic substance. However, the amount of mercury contained in each bulb is less than the amount of mercury that a coal burning power plant will release into the air to power an equivalent incandescent bulb.
Finally, I will congratulate and endorse a company I used to loath. Walmart has launched a campaign and taken the lead in pushing CFL lights to the public. In a New York Times article we see that Walmart has flexed it's retail muscle to back these energy saving bulbs too. I hate to use so much blocked quote text, but this next part is just too good not to get the whole block...
So what is the point of all this? Should you go out and replace all of your bulbs today? My answer is no. That is what I did, and it is expensive, but for me it was a matter of principal. For everyone else, I just suggest you replace light bulbs with CFLs as your old ones burn out. Every bulb you buy will pay for itself in savings on your energy bill and you will help do you part with every bulb you change. For more information:
CFLs is the abbreviation. Those squiggly light bulbs that are supposed to save the planet... Well maybe not save it by themselves, but they will sure go a long way. These nifty little lights use about a third, 33%, of the electricity of a incandescent light bulb producing the same amount of light. Yeah, I know, one light bulb does not use that much electricity, but a billion light bulbs do.
Currently there is an idea out there called "18 seconds". 18 Seconds is a venture by yahoo and other corporate sponsors. The idea is that it takes only 18 seconds to change out one light bulb from your standard incandescent to a CFL. The numbers are astonishing if every household just took those 18 seconds to change out one bulb. From The 18 seconds website:
What kind of difference can one CFL make? Consider this: If every AmericanDid I mention that those $8 billion are in saving by consumers? We are not talking about saving energy companies or the government money, we are talking about you and I saving money. And 2 million cars worth of pollution not being put into the atmosphere by coal burning power plants... WOW.
swapped just ONE bulb for an ENERGY STAR labeled CFL, it would collectively save more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent burning 30 billion pounds of coal,
and remove 2 million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere.
Why are CFLs so much more efficient? Your standard incandescent light uses 10% of its electricity producing light, 90% of the electricity it uses creates heat. The light is actually a side effect because every bulb is just a small heater. CFL lights still produce heat, but the ratio is amazingly better. Did you realize that if your bulb is producing that much heat it will require more electricity to cool your house in the summer?
Some people will decry these light bulbs for the mercury that they contain. After all mercury is an incredibly toxic substance. However, the amount of mercury contained in each bulb is less than the amount of mercury that a coal burning power plant will release into the air to power an equivalent incandescent bulb.
Finally, I will congratulate and endorse a company I used to loath. Walmart has launched a campaign and taken the lead in pushing CFL lights to the public. In a New York Times article we see that Walmart has flexed it's retail muscle to back these energy saving bulbs too. I hate to use so much blocked quote text, but this next part is just too good not to get the whole block...
I loved this part especially... Normally it is the environmental movement who gets muscled around by big companies. Recruit a heavy hitter like Walmart and now people listen. Nice job Walmart, you have won a customer!Light-bulb manufacturers, who sell millions of incandescent lights at Wal-Mart, immediately expressed reservations. In a December 2005 meeting with executives from General Electric, Wal-Mart’s largest bulb supplier, “the message from G.E. was, ‘Don’t go too fast. We have all these plants that produce traditional
bulbs,’ ” said one person involved with the issue, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because of an agreement not to speak publicly about the negotiations.
The response from the Wal-Mart buyer was blunt, this person said. “We are
going there,” the buyer said. “You decide if you are coming with us.”
In the end, as Wal-Mart suppliers generally do, the bulb makers decided to come with the company.
So what is the point of all this? Should you go out and replace all of your bulbs today? My answer is no. That is what I did, and it is expensive, but for me it was a matter of principal. For everyone else, I just suggest you replace light bulbs with CFLs as your old ones burn out. Every bulb you buy will pay for itself in savings on your energy bill and you will help do you part with every bulb you change. For more information:
Modern technology Owes ecology An apology.~Alan M. Edison
Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find. ~Quoted in Time
Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us. ~Henrik Tikkanen
Monday, October 15, 2007
Biofuels vs. Fossil Fuels
You may be asking yourself about this whole "biofuel" thing and why it is any better than what we currently use. The reason has very little to do with our fear of running out of oil, although that is the popular reason given. It has much more to do with carbon dioxide.
Oil is a fossil fuel and contains numerous hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon is a molecule consisting of hydrogen and carbon that has an energetic reaction when exposed to flame. When a hydrocarbon is burned or combusted it produces water and CO2. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas which traps heat in the atmosphere contributing to global warming. The carbon dioxide in fossil fuels had been trapped below the earths surface and now is being put back into the atmosphere.
Biofuels are also hydrocarbons. They too create water and carbon dioxide when combusted. You may ask yourself, "why then if biofuels create carbon dioxide are they any better than oil?" The reason why is that the carbon they use to produce the hydrocarbon was already in the atmosphere. It was taken out by a plant, produced a hydrocarbon and then re-introduced through combustion. By using a biofuel you are not putting more carbon into the atmosphere that was below the surface, you are only cycling through what is already there. In that case, we are not adding any more CO2 to the atmosphere and no longer contributing to global warming.
So why wouldn't we switch?? Mostly because biofuel production has not reached levels that it can sustain our needs yet. Because of that, people are not switching, and the need for more fuel is not driving production. So we are in a stagnated cycle. Really it would take something like the federal government switching over their fleet to biofuel or another large market driver.
Oil is a fossil fuel and contains numerous hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon is a molecule consisting of hydrogen and carbon that has an energetic reaction when exposed to flame. When a hydrocarbon is burned or combusted it produces water and CO2. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas which traps heat in the atmosphere contributing to global warming. The carbon dioxide in fossil fuels had been trapped below the earths surface and now is being put back into the atmosphere.
Biofuels are also hydrocarbons. They too create water and carbon dioxide when combusted. You may ask yourself, "why then if biofuels create carbon dioxide are they any better than oil?" The reason why is that the carbon they use to produce the hydrocarbon was already in the atmosphere. It was taken out by a plant, produced a hydrocarbon and then re-introduced through combustion. By using a biofuel you are not putting more carbon into the atmosphere that was below the surface, you are only cycling through what is already there. In that case, we are not adding any more CO2 to the atmosphere and no longer contributing to global warming.
So why wouldn't we switch?? Mostly because biofuel production has not reached levels that it can sustain our needs yet. Because of that, people are not switching, and the need for more fuel is not driving production. So we are in a stagnated cycle. Really it would take something like the federal government switching over their fleet to biofuel or another large market driver.
Eco Sapien
I am an Eco Sapien. My own little term, but my way of saying I care about the earth, the environment, and how we as people take care of the earth. The name comes from a combination of Eco, short form of ecology, and of course part of the scientific name for our species, homo sapien.
The purpose of Eco Sapien is to bring you news on the environmental front, articles on the latest advances in green technology, and to bring some critical analysis to some of the green-washing going on out there (I'm looking at you corn based ethanol).
There are some really cool things going on in the environmental sphere at the moment. I am here to help you figure out what is real and what is hype.
The purpose of Eco Sapien is to bring you news on the environmental front, articles on the latest advances in green technology, and to bring some critical analysis to some of the green-washing going on out there (I'm looking at you corn based ethanol).
There are some really cool things going on in the environmental sphere at the moment. I am here to help you figure out what is real and what is hype.
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