Google.org Powermeter – electrical usage info in your hands

Google.org Powermeter – electrical usage info in your hands If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. So Google is going to make it easy for you to measure and see,  just what your household electrical usage looks like.  Google PowerMeter, now in prototype, will receive information from utility smart meters and energy management [...]

Auto Parts Plant Poised for Switch to Solar and Wind

Auto Parts Plant Poised for Switch to Solar and Wind Feb.13, London Free Press Presstran and Formet, two automotive parts manufacturers under the Magna family, may diversify into solar panel and wind turbine production. The Presstran plant could produce 1.5 million solar panels per year, starting in June, if the deal finializes. Presstran’s owner, Magna, [...]

Greening the Grid – No Nukes

Greening the Grid – No Nukes I feel like a child from the 60′s, chanting NO NUKES! Fact is, the nuclear reactors that were built in the 1960′s and 70′s are now coming to their life’s end. These reactors have been patched and retrofitted, held together with bubble gum and duct tape (I hope not!), [...]

Mirrored treehouse pictures

Mirrored treehouse pictures The concept of a treehouse covered in mirrors, so it reflects the surroundings, is not new. This picture was posted to the Internet over a year ago. If the surroundings look similar in all directions, the treehouse becomes almost invisible. Here’s yet another mirrored treehouse image released to the public domain in [...]

Our Climate is Changing: How should we respond

Our Climate is Changing: How should we respond? Feb.11, 2009 –  London Ontario Canada Dr. Gordon McBean, a Professor at the University of Western Ontario, Chair for Policy in the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and  a member of the Nobel Peace Prize winning IPCC, spoke last night on “Our Climate is Changing: How should [...]

Furling – Protect Your DIY Wind Turbine

Furling – Protect Your DIY Wind Turbine   You’ve worked hard building your own wind turbine and you look forward to windy days. But a severe wind gust could rip the blades right off and long term high wind levels could burn out your alternator. You need an automatic (passive) furling system for your DIY wind turbine. [...]

Cradle to Cradle – concept and certification

Cradle to Cradle – concept and certification Cradle to Cradle (C2C) means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material re-utilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility. Most of our existing [...]