How much water does the average American use in a day? 1,981 gallons, according to the water use calculator on the National Geographic website. Luckily, the calculator provides us with ways to cut that use. But first, some facts about water use in the U.S.:
• Only five percent of the water we use runs through hoses, taps, and toilets. The rest comes from the food we eat, products we buy, and energy and services we depend on.
• On average, 10 gallons of water a day are lost to leaks.
• Flushing the toilet can add up to 20 gallons a day.
• Using a dishwasher is actually more water efficient than hand washing.
• The average pool takes 22,000 gallons to fill.
• A gallon of gasoline takes nearly 13 gallons of water to produce.
So, how can we reduce the amount of water we use on a daily basis? Start by completing the footprint calculator (it’s actually kind of fun, the duck is cute!), then try some of the following:
• Recycling a pound of paper saves 3.5 gallons of water.
• Cut down on car washing, or go to a commercial car wash where the water is recycled.
• Become a vegan, not eating meat or dairy, and consume 600 gallons less.
• Let your lawn go brown, or plant native/drought resistant species.
• Take a shower instead of a bath. Use a low-flow showerhead and save 15 gallons during a 10 minute shower.
• Repair leaky faucets and toilets.
• (This one isn’t going to be popular) Don’t flush the toilet every time you go to the bathroom.
I remember clearly a few years ago, during a drought in the Northwest, when the top news story in my area was a brown lawn contest and how we shouldn’t be flushing every time we go. Implement just a few of these tips, and you can help save one of our most precious resources, plus cut your water and sewer bill.
August 26, 2010 in Green Design
About me: I give Economic, Social and Global trend briefings from some of the world's brightest minds at my blog http://saveriomanzo.com/ and http://saveriomanzo.blogspot.com/. I also provide true and tested financial planning and wealth advice. Most recently, over the past few years, I have become socially conscious and have been attempting to practise ways in which I can live my life more environmentally friendly. Along with some truly exceptional friends, we provide consulting and business development for small-medium sized businesses. In addition, I truly believe in being philanthropic, giving and doing unto other as we would have them do unto us. Some of my fondest resources are from Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture, David Rosenberg and what Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway is up to behind the scenes, as an example.
Saverio Manzo
.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Eight Actions for the Gulf and Beyond
I am extremely grateful to all of you who have decided to be a part of Collective Creativity at LinkedIn, and for all your generous and valuable contributions so far.
There is a Cree proverb that says, "Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money." The toxic oil spewing into the Gulf is so heartbreaking and massive that the warning of this proverb as it relates to the spill cannot possibly be missed by any one of us. This catastrophe is bringing each of us to our own personal crossroads about environmental stewardship.
Let's all heed the foretelling of the Cree and become part of the solution. Show that we are aware that organisms and the environment are one process, trees are our lungs, rivers and waters and oceans are our circulation, the earth recycles as our physical body, and the atmosphere is our breath. Let us show in action that we know we are one ecosystem. Let us not let the Earth become uninhabitable.
Many of us, overwhelmed by bad news on the ecological front for more than a decade, may almost by default find ourselves going down the road that allows shutting down and tuning out, passively letting bad go to worse. But let's change now to a way that leads to personal fulfillment and empowerment. Let's go down the road of action, following the invigorating, energizing, call to action that this current catastrophe has inspired.
Most of us have a little of both scenarios going on in ourselves. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the grief and complexity. This is why I invite you to continue to contribute to Collective Creativity, our LinkedIn group, to work together to create more proactive solutions and innovations to prevent problems like the Gulf from happening again.
The following eight steps are things that we can all do to become involved, compiled from feedback from my questions posted here at Collective Creativity on LinkedIn. Please continue your valuable contributions to this conversation and add your own!
1. Give direct financial aid through reliable agencies such as the United Way.
2. Support organizations such as Ocean Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, and others that are engaged in healing our ecosystem. Follow their recommendations for ways to help.
3. Volunteer and help organizations recruit others for habitat restoration activities and more. For example, gather hair from salons, groomers, llamas, sheep fleece farmers, feather donors, and others, for making oil-soaking boom via mattersoftrust.org.
4. Engage in global conversation and harness collective creativity with social networks such as our Collective Creativity group at LinkedIn.
5. Make conscious choices that are "green." For example, go through your cleaning supplies and stop using anything that has a Signal Word label with anything stronger than "Caution."
6. Support investments in technologies that are looking at sustainably and reversal of global warming such as Fuelcor Global
7. Educate yourself on very successful approaches to restoring the ecosystem such as of Allan Savory, who is the winner of 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
8. Support spiritual education that teaches people, especially the youth, the relationship between all life. Much of all that has happened to damage the world is a result of a dualistic approach in science where we created a distinction between biological organisms and the environment.
A new global movement of planetary healing needs both a short-term approach addressing the urgent need to act swiftly, but at the same time, a long term approach with action steps people can take in their everyday life. Healing this planet will be empowering for all of us. Planetary wellness needs to become a global movement, yet it begins with you and me, and the time to act is now.
Deepak Chopra
www.saveriomanzo.com
There is a Cree proverb that says, "Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money." The toxic oil spewing into the Gulf is so heartbreaking and massive that the warning of this proverb as it relates to the spill cannot possibly be missed by any one of us. This catastrophe is bringing each of us to our own personal crossroads about environmental stewardship.
Let's all heed the foretelling of the Cree and become part of the solution. Show that we are aware that organisms and the environment are one process, trees are our lungs, rivers and waters and oceans are our circulation, the earth recycles as our physical body, and the atmosphere is our breath. Let us show in action that we know we are one ecosystem. Let us not let the Earth become uninhabitable.
Many of us, overwhelmed by bad news on the ecological front for more than a decade, may almost by default find ourselves going down the road that allows shutting down and tuning out, passively letting bad go to worse. But let's change now to a way that leads to personal fulfillment and empowerment. Let's go down the road of action, following the invigorating, energizing, call to action that this current catastrophe has inspired.
Most of us have a little of both scenarios going on in ourselves. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the grief and complexity. This is why I invite you to continue to contribute to Collective Creativity, our LinkedIn group, to work together to create more proactive solutions and innovations to prevent problems like the Gulf from happening again.
The following eight steps are things that we can all do to become involved, compiled from feedback from my questions posted here at Collective Creativity on LinkedIn. Please continue your valuable contributions to this conversation and add your own!
1. Give direct financial aid through reliable agencies such as the United Way.
2. Support organizations such as Ocean Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, and others that are engaged in healing our ecosystem. Follow their recommendations for ways to help.
3. Volunteer and help organizations recruit others for habitat restoration activities and more. For example, gather hair from salons, groomers, llamas, sheep fleece farmers, feather donors, and others, for making oil-soaking boom via mattersoftrust.org.
4. Engage in global conversation and harness collective creativity with social networks such as our Collective Creativity group at LinkedIn.
5. Make conscious choices that are "green." For example, go through your cleaning supplies and stop using anything that has a Signal Word label with anything stronger than "Caution."
6. Support investments in technologies that are looking at sustainably and reversal of global warming such as Fuelcor Global
7. Educate yourself on very successful approaches to restoring the ecosystem such as of Allan Savory, who is the winner of 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge
8. Support spiritual education that teaches people, especially the youth, the relationship between all life. Much of all that has happened to damage the world is a result of a dualistic approach in science where we created a distinction between biological organisms and the environment.
A new global movement of planetary healing needs both a short-term approach addressing the urgent need to act swiftly, but at the same time, a long term approach with action steps people can take in their everyday life. Healing this planet will be empowering for all of us. Planetary wellness needs to become a global movement, yet it begins with you and me, and the time to act is now.
Deepak Chopra
www.saveriomanzo.com
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Pesticides, Cell Towers and the decline of the Bee population
The economic effect of a declining bee population is enormous. At best the price of food will skyrocket and there will be famine across the globe. At worst the entire human race is at risk of extinction. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees were gone the human race will be done in four years. The devastation to bee colony populations may be a result of cell phone towers emitting frequencies that disorient the bees. Dead bees are said to be found all around cell phone towers. This is serious stuff folks and it is not being widely reported
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe
By Lou Scatigna
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe
The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter
Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.
The decline of the country’s estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.
The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy.
Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed “Mary Celeste syndrome” due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives.
US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. “We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies,” said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS’s bee research laboratory.
A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the “irresponsible use” of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE’s director-general, warned: “Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster.”
Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010. “It’s getting worse,” he said. “The AIA survey doesn’t give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be.”
Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater. “Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers,” he said, adding that a solution may be years away. “Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure. Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms.”
In the UK it is still too early to judge how Britain’s estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies have fared during the long winter. Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers’ Association, said: “Anecdotally, it is hugely variable. There are reports of some beekeepers losing almost a third of their hives and others losing none.” Results from a survey of the association’s 15,000 members are expected this month.
John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers’ Association, put losses among his 150 members at between a fifth and a quarter. Eight of his 36 hives across the capital did not survive. “There are still a lot of mysterious disappearances,” he said. “We are no nearer to knowing what is causing them.”
Bee farmers in Scotland have reported losses on the American scale for the past three years. Andrew Scarlett, a Perthshire-based bee farmer and honey packer, lost 80% of his 1,200 hives this winter. But he attributed the massive decline to a virulent bacterial infection that quickly spread because of a lack of bee inspectors, coupled with sustained poor weather that prevented honeybees from building up sufficient pollen and nectar stores.
WHY BEES MATTER
Flowering plants require insects for pollination. The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide. As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape. Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfafa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.
Saverio Manzo
www.saveriomanzo.com
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe
By Lou Scatigna
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe
The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter
Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.
The decline of the country’s estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.
The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy.
Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed “Mary Celeste syndrome” due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives.
US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. “We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies,” said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS’s bee research laboratory.
A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the “irresponsible use” of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE’s director-general, warned: “Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster.”
Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010. “It’s getting worse,” he said. “The AIA survey doesn’t give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be.”
Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater. “Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers,” he said, adding that a solution may be years away. “Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure. Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms.”
In the UK it is still too early to judge how Britain’s estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies have fared during the long winter. Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers’ Association, said: “Anecdotally, it is hugely variable. There are reports of some beekeepers losing almost a third of their hives and others losing none.” Results from a survey of the association’s 15,000 members are expected this month.
John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers’ Association, put losses among his 150 members at between a fifth and a quarter. Eight of his 36 hives across the capital did not survive. “There are still a lot of mysterious disappearances,” he said. “We are no nearer to knowing what is causing them.”
Bee farmers in Scotland have reported losses on the American scale for the past three years. Andrew Scarlett, a Perthshire-based bee farmer and honey packer, lost 80% of his 1,200 hives this winter. But he attributed the massive decline to a virulent bacterial infection that quickly spread because of a lack of bee inspectors, coupled with sustained poor weather that prevented honeybees from building up sufficient pollen and nectar stores.
WHY BEES MATTER
Flowering plants require insects for pollination. The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide. As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape. Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfafa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.
Saverio Manzo
www.saveriomanzo.com
Monday, May 3, 2010
Eco-friendly, ethical and green ways to shop for food
Tips for more sustainable, eco friendly, ethical and green ways to shop for food rather than using supermarkets
In an ideal world, we would be totally self sufficient within a community set up. The next best thing would be to buy everything we could not grow or rear ourselves locally, seasonally, organic and therefore, fair trade. This would be a more sustainable way of life, more ethical, eco friendly and the perfect green option!
Unfortunately, this utopian vision does not exist for most of us and many of us rely on supermarkets to bridge the gap.
There are small, positive steps we can all take to shift the balance from supermarket shopping to more sustainable and ethical choices.
We still use supermarkets. Let’s face it, self sufficient changes don’t happen over night and old habits die hard, but we have probably quartered the amount we used to buy from them. We’ve recently switched to home delivery which has made a huge difference to the way I shop (and spend money). In addition one can join a food Co-Op, support local shops and use an organic farm shop. The aim is to gradually increase the amount of vegetables we grow ourselves and more importantly, learn how to preserve them better.
In reducing supermarket shopping, I have found that I spend less money. The convenience side of finding everything under one roof has been easily overcome when I’ve recognized the benefits.
How many of us come out of a supermarket with far more than we intended? Clever marketing encourages us to buy more than we need or want. Three for Two offers tempt us and more often than not we do not use everything and it gets thrown away.
Many “super”markets make you walk past books, cds, clothes and electrical goods before you even get to the vegetable aisle!
Changing shopping habits can feel very daunting but there are an increasing number of eco friendly and more ethical alternatives.
Local, independent shops.
Shopping in local grocery shops, butchers and bakers helps to keep your money in the local economy. Small retailers know they rely on your for their livelihood so you will feel more valued as a customer. Independent stores are often surprisingly willing to try new lines if you ask them and will often support local growers with a seasonal range of products. In some local village stores, around 80% of the fresh fruit and vegetables comes from nearby farms. At the local butcher, all lines are traceable; they know each farmer personally and packaging is kept to a minimum.
Box schemes
Sign up for a local fruit and vegetable box scheme where you will benefit from fresh, quality, seasonal and local produce delivered to your door. One great side effect of this is that you get to try new things. There is a while world of foods that you’ve probably never experimented with. Using a box scheme pushes you to be creative and explore new tastes. There are more and more schemes arriving almost daily on the net – look for a future post for some great options once I have had a chance to review them.
Food Co-op
Set up or join a Collective buying co-op. You will be able to buy bulk quantities of whole foods at around 25% less than health food shop prices. Ethical policies are usually top priority with food co-ops, so you can be sure you are making sustainable choices.
Farmer’s market
You can find some great things are farmer’s markets such as local, seasonal vegetables and fruit, organic lines, bread and preserves. They truly still a great option!
Grow your own!
The first step to self sufficiency! Even the most brown thumbed of us can manage a few crops. Herbs can be grown indoors in the kitchen windowsill, tomatoes can be planted in hanging baskets and sprouted seeds can be grown indoors. If you fancy having a go at growing your own but don’t have the space, look to rent an allotment through your local authority. This is a great way to meet people from your area and share tips.
As more and more people are interested in green living and embrace a sustainable lifestyle, our buying choices will influence the market. Prices for ethical, fair trade and organic produce will gradually decrease if we keep up the demand.
Source: lil'greenblog
Saverio Manzo
www.saveriomanzo.com
In an ideal world, we would be totally self sufficient within a community set up. The next best thing would be to buy everything we could not grow or rear ourselves locally, seasonally, organic and therefore, fair trade. This would be a more sustainable way of life, more ethical, eco friendly and the perfect green option!
Unfortunately, this utopian vision does not exist for most of us and many of us rely on supermarkets to bridge the gap.
There are small, positive steps we can all take to shift the balance from supermarket shopping to more sustainable and ethical choices.
We still use supermarkets. Let’s face it, self sufficient changes don’t happen over night and old habits die hard, but we have probably quartered the amount we used to buy from them. We’ve recently switched to home delivery which has made a huge difference to the way I shop (and spend money). In addition one can join a food Co-Op, support local shops and use an organic farm shop. The aim is to gradually increase the amount of vegetables we grow ourselves and more importantly, learn how to preserve them better.
In reducing supermarket shopping, I have found that I spend less money. The convenience side of finding everything under one roof has been easily overcome when I’ve recognized the benefits.
How many of us come out of a supermarket with far more than we intended? Clever marketing encourages us to buy more than we need or want. Three for Two offers tempt us and more often than not we do not use everything and it gets thrown away.
Many “super”markets make you walk past books, cds, clothes and electrical goods before you even get to the vegetable aisle!
Changing shopping habits can feel very daunting but there are an increasing number of eco friendly and more ethical alternatives.
Local, independent shops.
Shopping in local grocery shops, butchers and bakers helps to keep your money in the local economy. Small retailers know they rely on your for their livelihood so you will feel more valued as a customer. Independent stores are often surprisingly willing to try new lines if you ask them and will often support local growers with a seasonal range of products. In some local village stores, around 80% of the fresh fruit and vegetables comes from nearby farms. At the local butcher, all lines are traceable; they know each farmer personally and packaging is kept to a minimum.
Box schemes
Sign up for a local fruit and vegetable box scheme where you will benefit from fresh, quality, seasonal and local produce delivered to your door. One great side effect of this is that you get to try new things. There is a while world of foods that you’ve probably never experimented with. Using a box scheme pushes you to be creative and explore new tastes. There are more and more schemes arriving almost daily on the net – look for a future post for some great options once I have had a chance to review them.
Food Co-op
Set up or join a Collective buying co-op. You will be able to buy bulk quantities of whole foods at around 25% less than health food shop prices. Ethical policies are usually top priority with food co-ops, so you can be sure you are making sustainable choices.
Farmer’s market
You can find some great things are farmer’s markets such as local, seasonal vegetables and fruit, organic lines, bread and preserves. They truly still a great option!
Grow your own!
The first step to self sufficiency! Even the most brown thumbed of us can manage a few crops. Herbs can be grown indoors in the kitchen windowsill, tomatoes can be planted in hanging baskets and sprouted seeds can be grown indoors. If you fancy having a go at growing your own but don’t have the space, look to rent an allotment through your local authority. This is a great way to meet people from your area and share tips.
As more and more people are interested in green living and embrace a sustainable lifestyle, our buying choices will influence the market. Prices for ethical, fair trade and organic produce will gradually decrease if we keep up the demand.
Source: lil'greenblog
Saverio Manzo
www.saveriomanzo.com
Friday, April 30, 2010
Get Energy from Your Shoe!
A fun new technology that harvests power from a small generator embedded in the sole of your shoe has been developed by Dr. Ville Kaajakari at Louisiana Tech University (LTU).
The technology cannot power your house (yet), but it can be used for a range of useful purposes.
“This technology could benefit, for example, hikers that need emergency location devices or beacons,” said Kaajakari. “For more general use, you can use it to power portable devices without wasteful batteries.”
Kaajakari’s breakthrough technology uses a low-cost polymer transducer with metalized surfaces for electrical contact. Conventionally, ceramic transducers would be used, but given that they might not be comfortable or durable in the sole of your shoe, Kaajakari went with this soft and robust alternative that matches the properties of regular shoe fillings. Rather than putting a heel shock absorber in, this is put in and will supposedly create the same user experience (in other words, you wouldn’t notice the difference).
“Kaajakari’s innovative technology, developed at Louisiana Tech’s Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM), is based on new voltage regulation circuits that efficiently convert a piezoelectric charge into usable voltage for charging batteries or for directly powering electronics,” LTU reports.
Currently, the technology could not generate enough power to power very energy-intensive equipment, but eventually, in addition to being able to power sensors, GPS units or portable devices that don’t require a large amount of energy, Kaajakari hopes the technology will be able to create enough energy to power or charge common portable devices like cell phones.
If you keep up with clean tech news like this, you’ve probably seen this sort of “piezoelectric energy generation” thing before. So, why aren’t such technologies on the market yet? Well, piezoelectric energy generation doesn’t seem to be worth what it takes to make it happen in many cases. Dr. Kaajakari’s breakthrough technology is being featured in MEMS Investor Journal, a national online industry publication that informs investment professionals about latest developments in the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) industry, so perhaps some investors will see it and help it to move into a more prolific place.
Written by Zachary Shahan
Published on April 29th, 2010Posted in Clean Energy, Consumer Technology
Saverio Manzo
saveriomanzo.com
The technology cannot power your house (yet), but it can be used for a range of useful purposes.
“This technology could benefit, for example, hikers that need emergency location devices or beacons,” said Kaajakari. “For more general use, you can use it to power portable devices without wasteful batteries.”
Kaajakari’s breakthrough technology uses a low-cost polymer transducer with metalized surfaces for electrical contact. Conventionally, ceramic transducers would be used, but given that they might not be comfortable or durable in the sole of your shoe, Kaajakari went with this soft and robust alternative that matches the properties of regular shoe fillings. Rather than putting a heel shock absorber in, this is put in and will supposedly create the same user experience (in other words, you wouldn’t notice the difference).
“Kaajakari’s innovative technology, developed at Louisiana Tech’s Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM), is based on new voltage regulation circuits that efficiently convert a piezoelectric charge into usable voltage for charging batteries or for directly powering electronics,” LTU reports.
Currently, the technology could not generate enough power to power very energy-intensive equipment, but eventually, in addition to being able to power sensors, GPS units or portable devices that don’t require a large amount of energy, Kaajakari hopes the technology will be able to create enough energy to power or charge common portable devices like cell phones.
If you keep up with clean tech news like this, you’ve probably seen this sort of “piezoelectric energy generation” thing before. So, why aren’t such technologies on the market yet? Well, piezoelectric energy generation doesn’t seem to be worth what it takes to make it happen in many cases. Dr. Kaajakari’s breakthrough technology is being featured in MEMS Investor Journal, a national online industry publication that informs investment professionals about latest developments in the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) industry, so perhaps some investors will see it and help it to move into a more prolific place.
Written by Zachary Shahan
Published on April 29th, 2010Posted in Clean Energy, Consumer Technology
Saverio Manzo
saveriomanzo.com
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Considering Renewable Energy for your Home?
According to the Energy Savings, one third of people would pay more for a home that had been fitted with a renewable energy source such as wind, solar or geothermal power.
Half also want to know if their home is suitable for renewable energy, so the interest in sustainable forms of energy is definitely increasing.
But the research also reveals that around half of respondents are put off investing in renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines, because of the upfront cost of installing them.
That’s understandable; installing a solar water heating system, costs between $4,000 and $6,000, while a solar electricity system costs between $12,000 and $18,000.These can save you around $100 and $500 per year respectively, so payback is a long time.
However, recently the technological advancements of silica-based solar panels are being produced for less and less each year. Its just a matter of time when the installation costs of a solar-powered home-based system become cost-effective.
I guess for the moment, you don’t invest in a renewable energy system as a financial move; you do it because you want self sufficiency or you feel it is the right thing to do.
There are a few upsides to implementing renewable technology for your home; one is that there is now the option of selling back any excess electricity you produce to the grid for cash. In addition, the Energy Savings has a range of grants for converting to most renewable energy, and, don’t forget: the resale value of your home will be higher!
It’s worth checking out Government provincial and federal rebates and grants to see if you’re eligible for financial help with installing renewable energies. If the cost is still too much for you, then keep an eye on our Blog – we’ll be sharing tons of tips on going green on a budget. We plan to have heaps of ideas for more eco friendly living which are frugal too!
Saverio Manzo
saveriomanzo.com
Half also want to know if their home is suitable for renewable energy, so the interest in sustainable forms of energy is definitely increasing.
But the research also reveals that around half of respondents are put off investing in renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines, because of the upfront cost of installing them.
That’s understandable; installing a solar water heating system, costs between $4,000 and $6,000, while a solar electricity system costs between $12,000 and $18,000.These can save you around $100 and $500 per year respectively, so payback is a long time.
However, recently the technological advancements of silica-based solar panels are being produced for less and less each year. Its just a matter of time when the installation costs of a solar-powered home-based system become cost-effective.
I guess for the moment, you don’t invest in a renewable energy system as a financial move; you do it because you want self sufficiency or you feel it is the right thing to do.
There are a few upsides to implementing renewable technology for your home; one is that there is now the option of selling back any excess electricity you produce to the grid for cash. In addition, the Energy Savings has a range of grants for converting to most renewable energy, and, don’t forget: the resale value of your home will be higher!
It’s worth checking out Government provincial and federal rebates and grants to see if you’re eligible for financial help with installing renewable energies. If the cost is still too much for you, then keep an eye on our Blog – we’ll be sharing tons of tips on going green on a budget. We plan to have heaps of ideas for more eco friendly living which are frugal too!
Saverio Manzo
saveriomanzo.com
Monday, April 26, 2010
Just how "green" are you?
How eco-friendly are you?
As I start this wonderful Blog I thought it would be good to know just how green, eco-friendly I am. So I found this test by National Geographic that asks a few simple questions, such as:
- some questions about your opinions about the environment
- some questions about food you may or may not consume
- some questions about your household and how you live within your home
- some questions about transportation and how you get around
Pretty fascinating results for me personally - see just how you fair and what you can to to improve your score.
Cut and paste the following link to your browser:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/calculator.html
Saverio Manzo
As I start this wonderful Blog I thought it would be good to know just how green, eco-friendly I am. So I found this test by National Geographic that asks a few simple questions, such as:
- some questions about your opinions about the environment
- some questions about food you may or may not consume
- some questions about your household and how you live within your home
- some questions about transportation and how you get around
Pretty fascinating results for me personally - see just how you fair and what you can to to improve your score.
Cut and paste the following link to your browser:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/greendex/calculator.html
Saverio Manzo
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