October 16, 2009 at 7:31 am
· Filed under Kindle Bioneers Conference ·Tagged bioneers, conference, Eco, Environment, kindle, Maine, Portland
Last year I attended the Kindle Bioneers Conference in Portland Maine and had a great time so I will be there again this year. The conference starts today and covers a wide range of topics including culture, the environment, and politics.
Last year I blogged live from the conference and this year I plan to do the same but with one slight difference. Last time around I blogged over WiFi on my iPod touch and attached photos taken from my lousy 1.3 mega pixel Motorola Razor. This year I will be blogging from my iPhone and uploading photos in stunning 2.1 mega pixel resolution. I think you’ll see the difference!
If you are around Portland Maine today or tomorrow, I highly recommend that you check it out. If not, then stay tuned for live blogging from the conference!
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August 26, 2009 at 3:38 pm
· Filed under Buyer Alert ·Tagged moped, scooter, Tank Scooters, Scooter Depot, Scooterdepot.us, Scooter Warehouse, Sunny Sports, Chino, California, Chinese Scooter, Vespa, MC_U504, 50cc, Tank Sports, TK139QMB, Urban Viaggio, El Monte
I have always loved scooters. Every time I ride one, I feel like a spy in Europe and I often wear cliche khakis, button up shirt, and sun glasses while I ride around with a messenger bag. I took a vacation to Florida a year or so ago and rented a moped and since then I knew that I needed to own one. If you’ve read the older posts of this blog, you know that in the summer of 2008, I bought two electric mopeds which I later had to sell. Well this summer, my girlfriend and I decided to go halves on a brand new 50cc moped. If I knew then, what I know now, I would never have purchased the scooter we did. Take my advise and read this article before you purchase a new scooter. Read the rest of this entry »
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March 11, 2009 at 11:22 pm
· Filed under Wind Power ·Tagged Angus King, First Wind LLC, Friends of Lincoln Lakes, USM, Windaction.org, Wolfe's Neck Farm
Former Maine Governor, Angus King recently visited Freeport Maine to talk about wind energy. King co-founded Independence Wind, LLC which consults with companies on wind turbine projects in Maine and New England. King delivered his ideas on the future of wind energy in Maine to a crowded Freeport Community Center as the second speaker in a four part lecture series sponsored by Wolfe’s Neck Farm and USM PIRG. Read the rest of this entry »
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February 19, 2009 at 8:22 pm
· Filed under Wind Power ·Tagged Angus King, First Wind LLC, Friends of Lincoln Lake, Maine, Mars Hill, Turbine, UPC Wind Power Company, Wind
I was recently in Freeport Maine for a lecture presented by former Maine Governor Angus King titled, the Future of Wind Power in Maine. During the Q&A session at the end of the lecture, the co-founder of Friends of Lincoln Lakes Brade Blake stood up and made a big to-do about how wind turbines are “sprawling industrial wind sites” in response to the proposed wind farm near his cottage on Lincoln Lake. Lets examine a few reasons why Blake may just be a little off his rocker. Read the rest of this entry »
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January 10, 2009 at 1:11 pm
· Filed under Big Idea, Home ·Tagged Chill Your Bill, Effeciancy, Electricity, Green, Refridgerator, Sustainability
One of the largest consumers of residential electricity is your refrigerator. A fridge works by removing heat from inside and pushing it outside. You’ll notice the neato grill on the back of your fridge that cools the condensed fluid before returning to the compressor to absorb more heat. The key point to recognize here is that the warmer your home is (or at least the warmer the air behind your fridge), the harder it is for the heat to dissipate.
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December 29, 2008 at 10:12 pm
· Filed under Big Idea, Energy, Home, Solar Heating ·Tagged alternative energy, Heat Pump, Radient Floor Heating, Solar Heating, solar panels, swimming pools, thermal mass
A good friend of mine is always saying to me that he wishes they made an all-in-one alternative energy kit. His Acme alternative energy kit would consist of a large water tank painted black to act as a thermal mass, solar water heaters, solar panels, and a wind turbine.
I’ve been thinking about this model and realized that many people already have this system partially installed. Partially installed because many people have a swimming pool.
A swimming pool could be used as a solar mass collecting heat from the sun and stirring it for those cold winter nights. The pool would work really well with a heat pump and a radiant floor heating system. Most people just cover up their pool with an insulating cover anyways, why not make that an extra thick and rigid cover capable of supporting solar water heaters that would circulate hot water into the pool.
With a solar hot water photovoltaic hybrid system on your pool, you now have hot water, a warm house, and electricity. if you were to add a wind turbine, you would have your Acme alternative energy kit!
Lastly, in the summer time you could use your swimming pool and your water heaters in reverse to radiate heat out of the pool. With a swimming pool full of cold water you’ll enjoy a cool home all day. You would be able use your home to heat your pool for a mid day swim.
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December 23, 2008 at 4:12 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged Energy Density, Green-washing, Japan, Solar
In response to the article about a company that built a solar cargo ship that only derives 0.02 percent of its propulsion energy consumption from solar:
I couldn’t agree more. That’s green-washing alright. They would have been better off throwing those solar panels up on a roof top some where. I’ve been saying for a while that we need to consider energy density in our consumption. It’s easy to make electric cars because they require low energy density. However, you must have high energy dense fuels to maintain shipping and air travel. Electric airplanes just aren’t realistic with current battery weight. We should be conserving fossil fuels for airlines and shipping while also drastically cutting residential lighting, heating, and transportation fossil fuel consumption. I say, put a $0.50 / gallon tax on gas under $3.50 a gallon to curb consumption and raise money for infrastructure.
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December 12, 2008 at 9:12 pm
· Filed under Big Idea, Just For Fun ·Tagged Sustainability
Dear Readers,
Just thought I would let you all know about a new interest in my life.
Some friends from USM and I are organizing a new group called Sustainability Exchange.
The purpose of the group is to swap ideas, articles, news, and videos around sustainability. We’re hoping to start a podcast soon and one day we hope to give workshops.
Currently, we’re organized only as a facebook group but there are plans to synergize with an up and coming non-profit to help accomplish some mutual goals together.
I will keep you posted, but if you’re interested, join the facebook group because I’ve posted a ton of links.
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December 9, 2008 at 5:37 pm
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged Audubon, Portland, Together Green, Toyota
I’m contacting you today on behalf of Audubon to inform you of the TogetherGreen Fellowships that have recently been awarded to forty of the nation’s most promising conservationists, two being from Portland, Oregon! TogetherGreen wants you and your readers to meet these Fellows who will create a positive environmental change in your community. Two Portland, Oregon advocates are the proud recipients of a new national fellowship designed to advance the work of individuals with outstanding potential to help shape a brighter environmental future. Marcelo Bonta and Tony DeFalco are two of only 40 people selected from competitors nationwide for the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Program, part of a new conservation initiative of the National Audubon Society with support from Toyota.
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