Welcome to the world of Energy!

In Physics, Energy is a scalar physical quantity that shows the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that are subject to a law of conservation. Any form of Energy can be transformed into another form, but the total energy always remains the same: that’s the principle of the conservation of Energy.

Nowadays, about 18% of global energy consumption comes from renewables, such as Biofuel, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydroelectricity, Solar energy, Tidal power, Wave power and finally Wind power.
Indeed,the use of renewable energy has an enormous potential future thanks to sustainable development and global warming groups that have proposed the use of 100% renewable energy source supplies without using fossil fuels or nuclear power. For example, scientists from the University of Kassel have suggested that Germany can power itself by only renewable energy!

Secondly, there is the world’s first carbon-neutral zero waste town: “Masdar City”, a planned city in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirate. Masdar City aims to become the Silicon Valley for clean, green and alternative energy. A global centre where over 1,500 companies will converge to address one of man’s greatest energy challenges and city where current and future technologies will be funded, researched, developed, tested and implemented.

In fact, the project is expected to cost US $22 billion and take some 8 years to build. The city is planned to cover 6 square kilometers and will be home to 45,000 people and 1,500 businesses. It will also be the location of a University, The Masdar Institute Of Science and Technology (MIST) which will be assisted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology( MIT).

Among the first construction projects will be a 40 to 60 megawatt solar power plant. This will later be followed by a larger facility, and additional photovoltaic modules will be placed on rooftops to provide supplemental solar energy totaling 130 megawatts. Wind farms will be established outside the city’s perimeter capable of producing up to 20 megawatts, and the city intends to utilize geothermal power as well. Automobiles will be banned within the city!

Masdar will also attempt to reduce waste to zero. Biological waste will be used to create nutrient-rich soil and fertilizer, and some of the waste may also be put in use through waste incineration as an additional power source. As for industrial waste, such as plastics and metals, they will be recycled or re-conditioned for other uses.
Finally, the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) will be located in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, a site which is currently under construction. It will be the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city completely powered by renewable energy.

“People often ask why the UAE is undertaking such an extensive environmental initiative. The answer is that Masdar integrates the full technological lifestyle of modern time and places the UAE in a leading position in the field of renewable energy. We cannot keep living the way we are at the present moment ; Masdar is the future.”

Energy is our future!

Many people think that recycling is the be all and end all of helping this planet, however, this is simply not true, as many people have seen there are no truly perfect ways for recycling but true recycling does no start at the bin, it starts with the buying of products.

The first thing that you need to learn is that not only do you have to dispose of your material correctly but you must also buy the correct kinds of products to eliminate your waste, a quick example would be to buy your milk in recyclable plastics or to get your butter wrapped in wax paper rather than it being put inside a non recyclable plastic container.

As you can see not only do your disposal techniques have to change in order for the environment to get better but you also need to change your buying habits, for example, earlier mentioned was the buying of recyclable containers rather than the non recyclable ones. Granted you may end up paying a penny or two more but in the most case these products will usually cost you less to buy as the manufacturing costs of them are a lot cheaper.

Plastics are not the only thing you can look into though, for example, with food waste you would usually put it on a compost heap, however, you can not put a battery there and you can not put, or at least should not be putting your batteries in the bin. In fact with a quick search of the well known search engine Google you should be able to find companies that will actually take your batteries of you in order to dispose of them correctly.

This is also the same for old mobile phones as companies will take rather old and pathetic phones of you and may even pay you for them in order to either recycle for computer parts or to give to the elderly, as even without a sim card they can still dial the emergency number.

Also remember that those plastics you can’t seem to find a way around could still be washed out and maybe given to your local school or nursery as many play groups like to cut up egg containers and milk containers in order to make something to give their parents (that’s right your distributing the waste to others secretly). These are just a few examples of things you can do, in fact if you have children of our own then maybe you could use them in your day to day activities, lets face it playing with new things that you would normally put in the bin costs a lot less than buying your children new toys.

Lastly remember that cloths and other items that you don’t want can easily be sold in a car boot or given to charity, good luck with your recycling.

As of 9:15am, October 14, 2009, Lake Lanier has returned to full pool for the first time since October 2005. The lake had reached the 1050.97 foot level on December 8, 2008 and many declared Atlanta’s primary source of water dead. It has risen over 19 feet since then. Most Atlantans are probably sighing in relief as the memory of a four year drought has been replaced by other concerns. Unfortunately the problem is not over. Two other states and a federal judge have made that clear. So what can we do to solve the water problem? We cannot solve the political issues but if we are proactive as individuals we can lessen the impact of any future decisions. What follows are some ideas that you can employ in your own life to not only help water issues but save money.

Atlanta is one of the largest cities with the smallest sources of water. Many large cities started as ports at the mouth of large rivers.  Atlanta grew up around transportation. First were the railroads then the interstate highways and then an international airport. Metropolitan Atlanta grew from 1.5 million people in 1960 to over 5 million today.

Water used by Atlantans comes from the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers (ACF River Basin). In the area north of West Point, we withdraw from 700 million to 1 billion gallons per day. We return over 80 percent of that water during months we do not water our lawns and only 66 percent on average during summer months. Non thermoelectric power production (water is used in cooling towers) usage varies from 35 percent to 58 percent. Again during summer months we water crops for agriculture and lawns, so there is not only higher usage as a percentage total but also a larger percentage that is absorbed in the ground and not returned.

This takes us back to the original question. What can Atlantans or other citizens of cities with similar water issues do to help the situation? We consume a large portion of the total water used outside of electric generation and during our heaviest use in the summer months return much less than normal as we water lawns. The largest impact we can make is to rethink our yards particularly lawns. Outside of lawns our consumption of water for use in the home at best only returns 82 percent of the water used. So reduction of water usage in the home is important as well.

During the drought water restrictions prevented all outdoor watering. Most people found out which plants were drought resistant. While lawns did not look as good as normal during the hot summer months they did not die. With spring and fall rain the grass will usually recover. I grew up in Atlanta and nobody had irrigation systems. It may be time to rethink our landscaping. Grass is the number one consumer of residential water that does not get returned to the river basin. We need to consider shrinking lawn size, plant drought resistant grass and employment of drip irrigation. When I lived in Israel our landscaping used very little water and was lush.

In your home the majority of water consumed in the average household is in the shower. 25 to 35 percent is consumed during bathing. The average showerhead delivers 5 to 6 gallons per minute. Higher flow showers became very popular and rain heads can deliver even more. Today there is a wide range of showerheads that use as little as 2.5 gallons per minute without performance degradation.

While selection of the showerhead is important it is not the only factor. Depending on the distance from the water heater to the showerhead the water wasted can be significant. Two possible solutions are a tankless water heater or recirculation water systems. Tankless systems are on demand and located close to the shower. Recirculation water sends water periodically back to the water heater so that hot water is almost immediately available. The downside is an increase in electrical usage, but this can be mitigated with a timer. These can be retrofitted into existing homes. Also gray water recycling could be used but I will discuss this later.

Another area of high usage is water for toilets and vanities. Building code calls for low flow toilets but there are dual flush toilets that can significantly reduce water usage by allowing users to differentiate between solid and liquid waste. Existing toilets can be retrofitted. Vanity faucets waste lots of water as users run water needlessly while brush their teeth. While expensive, motion sensor faucets can reduce significantly water usage. Alternatively family education and awareness can reduce this waste.

The last area I will discuss in this article is grey water recycling. Due to quick growth in Atlanta, construction outstripped sewer capacity. The result was significant use of septic systems. The problem with septic is once used the water is not returned to the river after treatment. The water stays on the property. Long term if municipalities increase sewer capacity the gap of water used and returned.

In the interim, if the water we consume can be used twice it would reduce water loss. There are systems for grey water recycling that take water from showers, vanities or appliances that have no solid waste and treating it. This water is subsequently used in toilets.

To be certain, Atlanta faces an uncertain future with its limited resources and pending legal action. Other cities face the same problem. All these strategies can be employed by individuals while waiting for government solutions that may take years. Most of the ideas discussed will not only help solve our water issues but can save money. Water has been cheap until now, but as resources become scarcer this will change. These are not pie-in-the-sky ideas. Last winter as Lake Lanier reached ever lower levels there was concern that Atlanta would not be able to draw water from Lake Lanier. This is a real problem and incumbent upon all of us to make a difference. For more information:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/olympics/atlanta.wu.html

http://www.thewatergeeks.com/Water-Consumption-sp-16.html

Endangered Wildlife: A Global Issue

Across the globe, more and more animal species face extinction. From the rhinos and great apes in Africa, the elephants in Asia, to the tigers in India, animals are becoming increasingly endangered. Conservation organisers have now developed the concept of gap years for adults where people volunteer to do animal conservation work and take some time out from their jobs. Here are just 4 animals in need of a serious wildlife conservation strategy.

Where Have all the Tigers Gone?

It is estimated that there are only about 4000 tigers remaining in the wild worldwide, making them one of the most threatened species. The habitat of the tiger stretches across South East China, and from the Russian Far East all the way to Sumatra in Indonesia. However, tigers can mostly only be found in tiny isolated pockets.

Despite wildlife conservation efforts, tiger population numbers continue to decrease. Tigers are dying because they are being killed for use within the illegal wildlife trade. They are being shot, poisoned and trapped to sell on this market, and it will take the best efforts of those involved with animal conservation work to counter this effect.

The habitat of the tiger is also diminishing because of the expanding human population. The poor local communities also need the land to sustain themselves, and are depleting the vegetation and prey in the tigers’ habitat. Wildlife conservation projects will therefore need to carefully consider how to reduce the need of the local populations to depend on the environment in a destructive way.

Rhinos No Longer Roam in the Wild

Almost no rhinos are still found surviving in the wild. But not so long ago, these creatures were roaming across the entire African continent, and the Southern parts of Asia. There are five species of rhino in existence, two of which are indigenous to Africa, and three to Asia. Volunteers involved with animal conservation work are trying hard to preserve all of these species, some of which face imminent extinction.

The northern white rhino is now on the critically endangered list, and a subspecies of the black rhino is now thought to be extinct. There are some wildlife conservation success stories, however, with the populations of the southern white and northern Indian rhinos now on the increase.

The Great Apes Face Extinction

Found in both Africa and Asia, the great apes once had a mighty population. Now, these majestic creatures are under threat, and it will take concerted wildlife conservation efforts to save these gentle giants.

In Africa, bonobos, eastern and western gorillas face losing their habitat to humans. Human action is degrading and fragmenting their habitat, with civil wars making it difficult for volunteers doing animal conservation work to access the areas in need of protection. Poaching and disease is causing a serious threat to the populations, and wildlife conservation efforts need to be somehow increased.

The orang-utan is the only ape found in Asia, with its last remaining habitats being the Sumatran rainforests and the island of Borneo. These areas are diminishing rapidly, because of illegal logging, oil palm plantations and forest fires caused by human activity. A great way to give something back to nature and attempt to reverse human impact is to take a gap year for adults and help save animals such as these.

The Ivory Issue

Elephants were once the giants of the African and Asian continents, but now their numbers are dwindling, and in Asia and they face extinction. Wildlife conservation projects can only do so much to help these creatures, as people continue to illegally poach elephants for their ivory, meat and hides.

In Africa, elephants are primarily poached for their ivory, and poaching, alongside habitat loss, is placing them under threat. Wildlife authorities do not have the capacity to implement adequate wildlife conservation projects on their own, and volunteers to do animal conservation work are in high demand.

Elephants in Asia are nearing extinction, with the remaining elephant populations being small and fragmented. The biggest problem faced in Asia is the disruption and destruction of their migratory routes and habitat. Poachers also have their role to play, with poaching for ivory, meat and hides being widespread.

Growing your own vegetables and herbs is highly fashionable again. Not only is it cheaper than buying them, but is also healthier, if they are grown organically. Instead of using chemical fertilizers, it is recommended that you use compost. Making your own compost is not necessarily a pleasure, and often yards are such that they cannot easily accommodate them. So allow me to introduce you to kitchen composting!

As you know, compost is made up of garbage, which rots, reverts to mulch and then to rich soil, and becomes fresh nourishment for your growing plants. For anywhere between $20 for a compost pail, and $500 for a complete unit, you can now buy a kitchen composter, that is small enough to place on a counter, attractive, and convenient.

You scrape your leftover foods into the bucket. Coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable peelings, tea bags, and any fruit or vegetable parts can be placed in the composter. You cannot put any meat, bones, whole eggs, or dairy products (milk, cheese, etc.), in there. If you purchase the composting pail, you simply carry it out and add it to your compost heap in the yard at your convenience.

If you have but the full composting unit, the leftovers will be scraped into the bucket and usable soil will come out, ready to be placed right in your garden. The charcoal filters protect your kitchen from unwanted odors. They come in good looking crocks made of glazed ceramic that are dishwasher-safe, or bamboo, which is not. Composters are easily available and a convenient change from the stinky compost heap in the back yard!

As one of the components in the Energy360™ suite of services, Smart metering makes it easier for you to achieve your financial and environmental objectives. It shows you what your energy and financial commitments really are, while at the same time reducing your administration. In addition – and potentially even more importantly – it can enable you to make significant energy and carbon reductions.

Enjoy greater cost control
It’s a straightforward task to keep a close eye on your energy spend with Smart metering. It uses the same technology as mobile phones to send readings to us remotely at monthly or daily intervals – you decide which. We’ll apply the readings to your account and send you an accurate bill. You can even choose whether you want the bill immediately or in line with your next billing cycle.

See your energy usage at a glance
Smart metering means you have visibility of your energy usage through an online dashboard. It’s easy to analyze the latest state of play, compare readings and spot significant usage patterns. With these insights, controlling and managing your energy usage becomes very straightforward.

Reduce administrative overheads
The technology behind Smart metering means that you know you’ll pay only for what you use; you don’t have to spend time involved in checking figures months after the event. Smart meters also free your time from discussing your estimates and actual spend with your energy supplier. With these benefits there is no doubt that installing Smart Meters is the smarter way to manage your business energy.

British Gas Business offers a range of products and services tailored to the business market, including fixed price energy contracts, boiler and central heating services, an online business insurance comparison service, gas connections, and smart meter service for new energy supplies, conversions and upgrades.

Customers can visit http://www.Britishgas.co.uk/business for further information.

Technological advancements have made us a much more productive society. Unfortunately, these advancements have resulted in hazards to the environment. To avoid polluting our environment, many methods of disposing of technological waste have been implemented. Used Inkjet and toner cartridges are items that need consideration when thinking about the impact on the environment. Like other items such as soda bottles, plastic, and glass, ink and toner cartridges should not be tossed into landfills.

Recycling ink and toner cartridges is a great way to protect the environment, reduce e-waste, and conserve resources. As well, you may be able to make a bit of money. There are now many recycling drop off locations where people can drop off their old cartridges. Stores such as Staples have instituted a recycling program where they collect used cartridges. US Consumers will receive a $3.00 Staples reward for every ink or toner cartridge they return to their local Staples store. Companies such as HP and Dell provide postage-paid envelopes or a shipping label with a new cartridge in order to send the old cartridge back to them for recycling. As well, companies like Canon provide people with labels to print off on their website. Some stores will give a discount on your next cartridge purchase. Office Depot will send out prepaid boxes for customers to return empty ink or toner cartridges for recycling. All that one has to do is place the empty cartridge in the prepaid box and mail it back to them.

Another method of disposing of ink jet and toner cartridges is to sell them. There are companies that will purchase old ink and toner cartridges. The companies will fill them and use them again. The prices usually vary among companies but it can be up to a few dollars. There are a number of these companies online. You can also sell them on an online auction site.

If you continually use the same printer, you may want to consider refilling the cartridge for your own personal use. It is much less expensive than constantly buying new cartridges. Most computer and office retailers have refills; however, there are refill kits that you can purchase. There are a number of online stores that sell these kits. Filling ink cartridges involves using a syringe and drawing up ink and injecting it into the various slots of the cartridge. Make sure you use latex gloves in case you spill any ink on your hands. When refilling toner for a laser printer, you have to be careful you don’t break anything. Many companies will have someone come out to refill the cartridge. It can be complicated so it is important that you know what you are doing.

Because there is so much waste being dumped into landfills all over the world, we all need to do our part to protect the environment. Every industry creates waste, including the computer industry. Powder from toner cartridges and ink from inkjets should not be thrown into landfills. Toner cartridges and inkjets should be recycled. Not disposing of ink and toner cartridges properly can have detrimental affects on the environment.

Searching online for ink and toner printer cartridges? Then check out Tonsoftoner.com, one of the largest online retailers of brand name ink and toner cartridges including Brother ink, HP toner, Lexmark ink and more.

Take couches, for instance.  I’ve seen many unwanted couches left out for the garbage truck that look like they’re still functional.  There’s really no need to throw away furniture just because the upholstery is outdated, tatty, or simply doesn’t fit with your color scheme.  However, even the most eco-minded amongst us want our homes to look nice – which is where slipcovers come in.

Slipcovers are a simple and easy solution for hiding ugly upholstery or coordinating mismatched items of recycled furniture.  Yes, the greenest option would be to “make do” with an ugly couch, and of course each slipcover has its own carbon footprint.  However, when you consider that each slipcover that’s used can keep an old couch out of landfill and extend its useful life, this is surely a good thing for the planet.  Compared to the impact on the environment of replacing old furniture with new, slipcovers are a much greener alternative.  They are considerably cheaper than re-upholstery too.

A lot of ready-made slipcovers are made from cotton, which, as a natural fiber, is considered greener than synthetic polyester.  However, the truly green option would be to use a slipcover made from 100% organic cotton. 

From my research I’ve found that Sure Fit offers a limited range of organic sofa and loveseat slipcovers.  I would imagine these will prove popular and hope that other companies will follow suit by introducing more lines of eco-friendly slipcovers.  Since slipcovers can be used on most types of seat, it would be great to see some organic covers for dining chairs and other styles of furniture. 

If you decide to use slipcovers to give your furniture a makeover, bear in mind they come in standard sizes.  If your couch isn’t a “standard size”, with some creativity there are a few tricks you can try to get your slipcover to fit properly.  You may find your slipcover has a tendency to work loose if anyone sits on it, because it is slightly too big for your furniture.  In this instance, you could buy purpose-made plastic “grippers” to hold it in place, but I prefer to make my own.  Roll up some old magazines, secure them with rubber bands, and use these instead.  If you slide them into the cracks around the edges of your seat, they will help keep your cover neatly in position.

Old towels or blankets can be useful too.  They can be used to add padding to wooden or narrow arms before you fit a slipcover over the top.  They can also be fixed over vinyl or leather seats to prevent slipcovers from slipping on the shiny surface.

Using slipcovers is a green and easy way to breathe new life into old furniture that would otherwise be destined for landfill.  Just think how many ugly couches could be saved with a slipcover makeover.  Even if you can’t find a slipcover made from an organic fabric, using a slipcover is still a greener choice than buying a brand new couch just because yours looks tired or outdated.

Energy and sustainability fuel many facets of life in the world. A catalyst for homes, schools, industries, universities and businesses, the diversity of enterprises is driven by a common bound to move to a greener, more sustainable form of living. While we all use energy to power our daily activities, many people take renewable and sustainable methods for granted.

Environmental efficiency is on the rise because of technology and green sustainable methods progressing rapidly. Not only will these methods produce a healthier lifestyle and a reduction of your carbon footprint, it will save you money.

Living in a world where environmental sustainability is a vital concern to the future of mankind, it is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials and environmental degradation. As citizens of Earth, we are obligated to nurture and sustain this planet. Many older homes may still harvest obsolete and corrosive building materials which can create health concerns.

Commonly used to insulate boilers and pipes, most homes built after 1980 could harvest asbestos or other environmental defected insulation techniques. Asbestos is a form of insulation which is swiftly becoming obsolete because of environmental awareness and new protocols.

Asbestos could be present in different forms in buildings and homes built before 1980. If any asbestos is suspected, the best advice is to leave it un-disturbed. Touching or breaking it off may cause it to become damaged and release its fibers into the air.

Asbestos can be found in attics, pipes and ceilings. Improper insulation was used in millions of homes throughout the 20th century and while it is safe when enclosed or in good condition, deteriorated asbestos can cause a slew of health problems, such as malignant mesothelioma. With a latency period that lasts 20 to 50 years, it isn’t until the later stages of progression when physicians usually are able to accurately diagnose this disease.  Mesothelioma prognosis from physicians varies from patient to patient, but is usually poor.

With growing education and technology in green sustainable energy and building resources, many locations in the U.S. are swiftly changing their construction practices to suit the environment and the health of human beings. Most people are unaware to the fact that eco-friendly products can cut energy costs by 25 % per year. Due to these recycled materials, waste is decreasing in crowded landfills.

On February 17, 2009, congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Included in this act were extensions of the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives first enacted in 2005 as well as some new tax credits for people building or remodeling their homes using eco-friendly or “green” materials.

Building green with proper insulation will save you on bills. Rather than expensive and mal-treated wood, interior walls can be made from steel and concrete, avoiding many of the problems associated with asbestos and other insulation methods.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) conducted a study which estimated a new savings of $50-$65 per square foot for positively constructed green buildings. Currently, many cities in the U.S. have created lumberyards which re-store where you can purchase recycled building materials that are authentically strong and inexpensive.

The Department of Energy concluded that cooling and heating counts for up to 50-70 percent of all energy used in the average home in the U.S. In today’s state, this philosophy can also save natural resources. Rather than expensive and mal-treated wood, interior walls can be made from steel and concrete, avoiding many of the problems associated with asbestos and other insulation methods.

Environmentally sustainable insulations are made from recycled materials including cellulose, polyurethane foam and cotton fiber. Statistics show that the lcynene foam, for example, can cut energy costs by about 25 percent annually.

For one of the first times since its invention, lighting is taking center stage. One of the keys to developing a more energy efficient, “greener” world, lighting technology has become highly efficient. Where as other forward-looking measures to save energy, such as bio-fuels and wind farms, are still developing, effective lighting technology is available now. Yet, 85% of existing buildings are still being lit by dated, inefficient systems.

This is just one of the focuses of Lightfair International 2009, the world’s largest lighting trade show and conference. This event, which kicked off on May 5th in New York City, is focusing not only on the need for more efficient lighting and lighting innovation, but also how the latest U.S. government stimulus package will effect this green initiative and the lighting industry as a whole.

At the center of this discussion is Philips, the world’s largest lighting company and the company leading the way in solid state and other energy efficient lighting, as well as assisting governments around the world in the establishment of minimum lighting standards.

For more on Philips at Lightfair International 2009 please visit inr.mediaseed.tv/Philips_36509.