Western Larch, © George Wuerthner
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Andy Kerr's Energy Index Page
I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. Thomas Edison |
The Larch Company
is now 100% climate neutral ("having little
or no effect on the Earth's climate") having
purchased carbon
offsets from the Bonneville
Environmental Foundation. (By the way, my
wife and I are personally climate neutral by
having acquired these green indulgences.) To
determine your personal carbon contributions to
the atmosphere and the subsequent global climate
change, run your personal numbers through the Carbon
Calculator .
New State-of-the-Art, Super-Insulated, Passive- and Active-Solar, and Toxic-Free Earth-, People- and Pet-Friendly Habitat More to come later on my new home, but for now, please see an article from the 2008 Green+Solar Building Oregon published by 3EStrategies. Energy Trust of Oregon will send you a free hard copy of the entire issue. Home Solar Hot Water System Click to see pictures and an explanation of our home solar hot water system. Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Investment Analysis Even if you pay 4¢/kWh for electricity and use a lightbulb one hour per day, your return on investment from switching from a standard incandescent to a compact fluorescent bulb is better than you can do in the financial markets (and it's tax-free). See the savings from switching to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. Larch Company Photovoltaic Power Station Three articles (in PDF format) in Home Power magazine fully describe the technical, economic and financial details of my 5+ kilowatt solar generating station: Grid-Tied Solar in Small Town, USA details the size, configuration, production capacity, safety features, etc.) and Mixing Business and Pleasure examines the economics of it all (13% internal rate of return). Making PV Pay describes Phase II constructed during 2006. Articles Building a Solar Business, published in Home Power magazine, is about my third photovoltaic panel installation. Making Sense (and Dollars) of Solar Hot Air Collectors published in Home Power magazine examines the financial benefits of supplementing my home heating with the sun. Cost Effective Hybrids examines the financial benefits of operating a hybrid electric vehicle, using my own 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid as an example. Toyota Prius (If your browser doesn't open the file or give you a download button, use your "Save As" command to save the page with a .PDF ending. If all else fails, send this blank e-mail for a copy of my Prius article.) We own a Prius and reviewed it for Homepower Magazine. Doing Well While Doing Good: Conservation of Energy as a Rational Financial Investment (another PDF file, see above) appeared in Homepower and considers the pure economic rationality of compact fluorescent bulbs, light emitting diodes light bulbs, solar water heaters, the Toyota Prius, and photovoltaic electric generation. Avoiding War and Helping Farmers, Industry and Environment If the portion of the Department of Defense budget dedicated to keeping cheap oil flowing from the Middle East was funded from the gas tax rather than the income tax, the price of gas would more properly reflect the cost, in dollars, if not blood. How 'Green' Is Your Electricity? Perhaps the new offering today are better called less-brown electricity. Global warming: Invest Now or Pay Later Abolish the Bonneville Power Administration This bloated and unnecessary federal bureaucracy no longer serves a useful function in the Pacific Northwest. Window Quilt is the most energy-efficient window shading available. Homepower Magazine is the best source on small-scale home-based renewable energy sources. Solar Energy Association of Oregon is a citizen advocacy organization worth joining. Rocky Mountain Institute is an excellent resource on sustainable energy. Real Goods Trading Company is the best source of renewable energy and other green household products. Electron Connection in the form of Bob-O Schultz was my electrical advisor for the Larch Company Photovoltaic Power Station. Oregon Energy Office can not only help you with the basics of renewable energy, but, if you file an Oregon tax return, how they will give you money to install solar hot water heaters, energy efficient appliances, renewable energy generating systems, etc. The aim here is efficiency, not austerity. Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy.
I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.
When oil could be pumped from a 69 1/2 foot well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1959, it was a cheap commodity; when it has to be piped through an 800-mile pipeline across Alaska from Prudhoe Bay, or extracted from the ocean floor in the stormy waters of the Atlantic, or shipped in supertankers all the way from the Persian Gulf, oil becomes an expensive luxury.
We will run out of air before we run out of oil.
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