Matrix and solar energy



solar energy powers soldiers 69 300x202 Matrix and solar energyThere is research and than there’s RESEARCH that really points to the way things are going. It hasn’t been that long now since the BP rig explosion brought a new urgency to the cause of saving life on planet earth. Pretty strong words. But ultimately that’s what the green movement is all about. We all can do something about it. The use of dirty energy this time had a group of Chilean miners trapped under the ground digging for coal. They were lucky. Chile and the world breathed a sigh of relief; they all made it out alive. And then there was the other oil rig that sink in the Gulf not long after the BP tragedy (didn’t see too much about it) that left oil rig workers bogging in the sea waiting to be rescued…and they too made it. Maybe solar power and renewable forms of energy will come the to rescue of human civilization. For that energy we look up; and not down drilling into the ground or deep into ocean floors to find and burn oxygen killing coal and oil. Here’s the news…Mike Casey, President of cleantech research firm Tigercomm said,

Dirty energy executives and their lobbyists talk about how ‘cheap’ fossil fuels are, but they don’t want to talk about how much they’ve lived off government handouts for the last 150 years. We should do what most Americans want and push these industries off the welfare rolls. Then we can have an honest conversation about how ‘cheap’ coal and oil really are.” What Casey is talking about is a new nationwide poll finds only 8 percent of Americans want to continue the roughly $10 billion per a year given to fossil fuel interests by the federal government. The survey finds that 73 percent of Americans want half or all of these subsidies repurposed for policies that support solar and other renewables. Not surprising, “Solar and other forms of renewable energy are being increasingly attacked as ‘not ready’ because of policies that promote their scaling,” Casey said. “Solar companies have a lot to gain by a stepped up, collective defense of their brand.”

The poll found that 80 percent of Americans are unaware of how much of their tax money goes to highly profitable fossil fuel corporations, such as ExxonMobil and Massey Energy. Support for solar is wide and deep among Americans of virtually every demographic and political viewpoint. The vast majority of consumers have strong positive associations with solar energy.

THE MATRIX

80 percent of American adults rate “solar power” favorably (compared to 76 percent for wind power, 62 percent for natural gas, 39 percent for nuclear power, 32 percent for oil, and 29 percent for coal). – More than 70 percent rate solar energy as “an energy source I trust” and “safe for future generations.”  – 74 percent believe that solar energy is a “long-term solution for the country’s energy needs.” The Tigercomm LLC survey was conducted by Gotham Research Group between September 23 – 26, 2010. The findings and conclusions are primarily based on an analysis of a nationally representative survey of 1,013 adults, 18 years and older.

Yes the movie the Matrix is science fiction as is Avatar, but both get it right. Does art imitate life or life imitate art?

A lifetime of solar green discoveries


6a00d8341c630a53ef013487e7a49a970c 800wi A lifetime of solar green discoveriesKarl Wolfgang Boer stumbled upon a few little yellow crystals in a drawer of a German physics lab. The accidental discovery would turn out to change his life and the future of green energy.
The crystals were cadmium sulfide (CdS) platelets. The scientist investigated both the electrical properties of the crystals, and his long-term research would lay the groundwork for CdS-based solar cells.
Boer recently published a memoir, “The Life of the Solar Pioneer Karl Wolfgang Boer” (iUniverse, 2010). Written in conjunction with a foreign-languages professor, the book documents Boer’s life journey –including growing up in Berlin, his personal family trials, immigrating to the United States, and chiefly his scientific discoveries that helped to shape solar power.

From a young boy fascinated by physics, setting up little chemistry labs in his parents’ basement, Boer became a trailblazer for alternative energies technology.
In 1973, Boer created the Solar One house, the first house to convert sunlight into electricity and heat. He also helped to develop the American Solar Energy Society, has written numerous books on solar energyand has explained why CdS improves solar energy conversion. He recently spoke

NEW ECO FRIENDS SHOP

Borrow a cup of sugar and learn about solar too


Want to learn about solar power? Knock on your neighbor’s door. With 648 community solar tours registered to date the ASES National2972626805 eb5f1f2aea 150x150 Borrow a cup of sugar and learn about solar tooSolar Tour is the world’s largest grassroots solar event. This event offers you the opportunity to tour innovative green homes and buildings to see how you can use solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies to reduce monthly utility bills and help tackle climate change.

Maybe it’s tricky to connect the dots between climate change and human survival on the earth, but it is real and we all have an opportunity to something about it. For an interesting perspective listen to a green renaissance IV or read author Archil Daug’s writing.

NATIONAL SOLAR TOUR – HOUSTON 2009

This year ASES (American Solar Energy Society) expects  more than 160,000 participants will visit some 5,500 buildings in 3,200 communities across the U.S.

Now in its 15th year, this event is coordinated nationally by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society in collaboration with dozens of outstanding partner organizations. It takes place annually during the first Saturday in October in conjunction with National Energy Awareness Month. Among the menu of solar solutions showcased in this year’s National Solar Tour are investments that have helped a couple beat Wall Street with their green ROI, an Iraqi war veteran now fighting in the renewable revolution, solar-powered homes, schools, public agencies, condo complexes — and businesses that run the gamut from solar-powered poultry farms to funeral homes.

Richard Burns ASES National Solar Tour Manager  says“Interest in the solar industry is cooking, and consumers across the nation are eager to sample its wares, which bring enticing tax credits, cash rebates, improved property values and cleaner communities to home and business owners across America.” To learn more about the Solar Tour, find a tour in your area, or register your own solar tour.

Clifftop home is both gorgeous and green


exteriorellisx wide community 300x192 Clifftop home is both gorgeous and greenJoanne Ellis’ new clifftop home on Bainbridge Island shows green can also be gorgeous.”It’s pretty darn awesome,” Ellis says in describing her dream home with floor-to-ceiling windows that look east to Seattle. Yet its drama and Puget Sound location is only part of its allure. It’s also energy-efficient.
Courtesy of Coates Design
“The whole house is designed to passively cool and heat itself,” Ellis says. It’s oriented to capture sun and shade, and its concrete floors and concrete interior wall hold the heat.

On a 100-degree day last year, she says the house was comfortable without air conditioning. Ellis” home — chosen as “This Week’s Green House” — earned the top or platinum rating in June from the private U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. Her architect Matthew Coates says it’s the first LEED-platinum house in Washington that’s not in Seattle. The 2,450 square-feet home, which has a separate 700 square-foot apartment, spared no expense on its green features, which include geothermal heating, two 1,500 gallon cisterns, a vegetated roof, a 4-kilowatt solar array and Loewen triple-pane wood windows. Read on