Off the Grid

I ran across this article on wind mills and people who live near them in the last week about a new “syndrome” for anti-windmill people and hypochondriacs to have:

Living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation, according to groundbreaking research to be published later this year by an American doctor.

…

Some of the earliest research into the impact of low-frequency noise and vibrations was undertaken by Portuguese doctors studying the effects on military and civil personnel flying at high altitudes and at supersonic speed. They found that this exposure may also cause the rare illness, vibroacoustic disorder or VAD, which causes changes to the structure of certain organs such as the heart and lungs and may well be caused by vibrations from turbines. Another powerful side effect of turbines is the impact which the light thrown off the blades – known as flicker – has on people who suffer from migraines and epilepsy.

Campaigners have consistently argued that much research hitherto has been based on written complaints to environmental health officers and manufacturers, not on science-based research.

So, by this guys results, everyone in Toronto must be suffering horribly from the giant wind mill right in the center of the city. This would be easy to check; look at the records of the “symptoms” this guy reports before and after the windmill was built. If there is a jump, then there actually may be legitimacy to his work.

If there isn’t, he may just be noting that people who live on farms like it quiet and when it’s not quiet, they get agitated and have either nocebo symptoms or old symptoms of pain that they notice more.

1h.

ps. I’m not affiliated in any fashion with “The wind industry [who] will try to discredit [him] and disparage [him].”

Although many of us have chosen to be more environmentally proactive in our personal lives, when it comes to the office things may differ. As a person who is dedicated to the environment, does this impact the workplace you choose?

In today’s economy there’s not much of a choice when it comes to jobs so it’s hard to be picky. Instead, look around your office and see what changes can be made. Many offices are unintentionally wasteful and although many recycle, that’s not really enough.

But who spearheads the quest for a greener office. Is it you or someone else? Does it have to be the boss?

Don’t sit around and wait for someone else to take charge, try to brainstorm ideas to improve your workplace. However you may have to pass your ideas by a boss or two to get them implemented. And try to get a few colleagues on board with you. If you are just trying to get everyone to go green yourself, you might be fighting a losing battle. Having a committee of sorts will definitely encourage more people to go green!

A few ideas:

• Consider purchasing ‘green’ office supplies including those that have been recycled
• Take a look at the paper you use (and waste) and see if it can’t be trimmed down a bit
• Purchase fair trade, organic coffee for your break room
• Use energy efficient bulbs

These are just a few ways that you can make your workplace greener. Having a green office is good for everyone!

And check out Greening your Office for more tips!

President Obama talked in a recent speech about making cars more fuel efficient and more green. What’s in this plan? First up is tougher rules on greenhouse gas emissions. Auto makers have until 2016 and a national average for greenhouse gas emissions will be set.
But does this really help?

Actually it does. Pollution from cars kills 30,000 people a year in the U.S. As well, more than half of those living in the United States live in areas that fail to meet air standards at least several days of the year. But what about here in Canada? It’s not as bad as that, is it? Looking at stats from 2005 show that from 1995 to 2005 ground level ozone ( a key component in smog) grew 12%. And we know that number is rising.

So think about that the next time you are buying a car. Look at fuel efficiency and determine if your car is as green as you think it is. Check out carconsumption.com where you can enter the make, model and more of your American car and determine exactly how much fuel you are consuming.

Other tips to make your car greener include:

• Reduce your air conditioning
• Check your tire pressure regularly
• Get fuel injectors cleaned

Learn more about greening your ride at treehugger.

And happy driving!

An Aerogarden in action

I definitely do not have a green thumb. My plants die quickly (or sometimes painfully slowly) and there’s no instinct within me to cultivate them properly. However the idea of growing my own vegetables appealed to me. Last year, I had a tomato plant that I managed to wrangle a few tomatoes out of but now I wanted more.

For Christmas I received an Aerogarden and wow, what a great way to go organic and move your way to getting off the grid. If you don’t have cultivation skills then it doesn’t really matter. All you do is fill it with water and leave it. It grows on its own.

Of course, you can grow herbs and vegetables on your own, but this is a great jumping off point for people who are not sure if they can do it.

By why grow your own food?

Growing your own food is less expensive and reaps greater rewards. You get fresh food at your fingertips that tastes better and has no pesticides.

So what exactly is Hydroponics?

Simply put, it’s a manner of growing plants without the use of soil. It instead uses nutrients to maintain its growth.

What’s great about hydroponics (and not just the Aerogarden) is that it allows food to grow in places where there is no soil, such as balconies of apartments or city blocks. As we build more buildings and preserve less space for the growing of food, hydroponics will come in handy. Hydroponic farming also uses less water. And while plants are desperate for CO2, hydroponics can increase CO2 levels in their greenhouse to enrich growth.

Are Hydroponics the way of the future? In actual fact, it’s prominent right now. Eurofresh Farms in Arizona is the largest hydroponic farm. They sold 125 million pounds of tomatoes in 2005.

Hydroponics is definitely a method that everyone can get on board with. Has anyone had success with their own hydroponic growing? Share below in the comments!

To learn more, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics

This is a very cool way to get power from the sun. I think one day mirrors may be the most efficient means of collecting solar energy on a cheap and massive scale.

MADRID, April 27 (Reuters) – Spanish engineering company Abengoa has begun operating a 20 megawatt solar power plant that is the world’s biggest, using a tower to turn the sun’s rays into electricity and can supply 10,000 homes, it said on Monday. The PS20 plant in the southern province of Seville uses 1,255 mirrors to focus solar radiation at the top of a tower 165 metres high, in order to boil water to drive a turbine and generate electricity.

Of course, you can make your own solar heat collection unit at home to cook food, in a solar oven. The boiled water in a solar tower is just another way to use solar heating and generate electricity from the sun’s free and renewable energy. Photovoltaic cells (solar panels) are not required in this method.

–
Hat tip to TGB.

This is exciting news. Tesla motors, the creators of the Tesla Roadster, a 100% electric sports car, just got $350 million to develop a 100% electric family sedan.

Regarding funding, I am excited to report that the Department of Energy informed Tesla last week that they expect to disburse funds from our $350M Model S loan application within four to five months. The Obama administration has thankfully made it a top priority to move quickly on the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan program, as this will both generate high quality jobs in the near term and lay the groundwork for a better environment in the future.

As we’ve discussed before on Off the Grid, having a 100% electric car allows people who want to get off the grid more freedom than ever before. By having the car electric, it will be possible to charge said car with Off the Grid electric sources like wind power or solar. This means, with a Tesla sedan, Off the Grid families will be able to travel at their leisure without being dependent on grid sources of power like gasoline.

1h

This is an off-the-grid masterpiece [Note: link is in French] located in the heights of the Swiss Alps — specifically, Mt. Rose. To be completed by the end of September 2009, this beauty will provide 90% of its required energy from the sun and 100% of its water from the surrounding glaciers. Starting in 2003, this building was planned, developed and constructed with the Studio Monte Rosa to be a energy efficient jewel in the clouds.

Ecologically, it’s not perfect, it still requires helicopter fuel to reach and natural gas to provide the final 10% of the required energy. However, compared to previous mountain lodges, it is decades ahead of it’s time.

As a piece of art, it’s wonderful. As a proof of concept for other off-the-grid homes, it’s perfect.

Not only does the construction of pieces like this further develop technology, but it allows us to learn from the mistakes and solutions that they have come up with.

1h

Here are some computer geeks explaining how they would hook up a generator to power-outage proof a home, or even take it off the grid. It seems Slashdot.org’s main editor has been plunged into a multi-day power failure, and he’s asked the thousands of readers for how they would deal with the problem.

If you like home made bread, and sunny days, you may want to consider a solar oven. Lord of Wealth (GAB as I call him) shows us just how bread practically makes itself if you leave dough out in the sun (in an easy to obtain box).

- An example of a solar oven at an “eco-fair” in Regina this Spring.

While I would recommend the Sun Oven as a quite a useful contraption, for non portable use or a large family I might suggest people attempt to build a larger one that has bigger reflectors, a more stable tilting mechanism (the worst flaw of the Sun Oven) and perhaps the turntable I mentioned. I would also consider any charity project delivering Sun Ovens or some other variant of a solar oven to be a good, long term solution to fuel costs, carbon emissions and deforestation in the 3rd world.

I now know I can make cheaper, better bread with a lower carbon footprint than a commercial bakery. Now I must find a source of locally grown, organic hard wheat and a quality hand mill.

- When cooking you must leave the lid closed to maintain the trapped heat level

-This clever design lets you rotate the oven directly toward the sun without difficulty.

~Saskboy

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Here’s a Saskatchewan supplier of a differently designed solar cooker that can conveniently boil water.

I found out about the new movie “Garbage Warrior” through the NewsTalk980.com website. Looks interesting, if you keep an open mind.