I opted to put my laundry out in the backyard as opposed to dryer......whattaya know on this glorious 99 degree day it dryed the cloths in a 1/3 of the time.
I am also changing all my lights to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs.
If every household in the U.S. replaced one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road. CFLs provide high-quality light, smart technology, and design, requiring less energy while lasting longer than typical incandescent bulbs.
Posted by rimasco on :
Thats only if you replace one light bulb folks! just think if you replaced all! Now thats a crazy stat!
2 light bulbs = 2 million cars HHMMMMMMMMMM? 3 ....
Almost unbelievable....hmmmmmmmm
Posted by rimasco on :
I also started bottling my farts.........just in case!
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
If you can afford the gas, and don't care about conservation or the environment, now's a great time to buy a Hummer! The prices are great!
Posted by glassman on :
yep, and if you are hydraulicaly impaired? it'll make you feel better...
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Precisely! LOL
Posted by rimasco on :
What a shock this thread doesnt have much traction.....HENCE THE ENERGY CRISIS!!
LMAO! ALL THESE THREADS!
Putin Jabs Bush: ‘We Certainly Would Not Want…The Same Kind of Democracy As Iraq
Medically retired soldier concludes: "We are pawns" in Iraq
Israeli troops move into Gaza
Putin
threat to america
Acid oceans from increased carbon dioxide due to human activities
$77/barrel Oil
islam in america
And nobody wants to talk about the very basic part of the solution.....and easiest!
I still cant figure out why we're in all these explosive situations???
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by glassman on :
OK another good way to save energy?
shower with friends...
let the dog wash the dishes... Posted by T e x on :
Heard at car lots across USA, nowadays:
"That thang don't have a hemi, does it?"
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Good point!
quote:Originally posted by rimasco: What a shock this thread doesnt have much traction.....HENCE THE ENERGY CRISIS!!
LMAO! ALL THESE THREADS!
Putin Jabs Bush: ‘We Certainly Would Not Want…The Same Kind of Democracy As Iraq
Medically retired soldier concludes: "We are pawns" in Iraq
Israeli troops move into Gaza
Putin
threat to america
Acid oceans from increased carbon dioxide due to human activities
$77/barrel Oil
islam in america
And nobody wants to talk about the very basic part of the solution.....and easiest!
I still cant figure out why we're in all these explosive situations???
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by rimasco on :
Today im checking out solar panels for the roof of my house
Posted by Bob Frey on :
Took out the circut breaker for the kids room now she can't leave the light on all day.
Posted by rimasco on :
LMAO! I turned into my father with that SHlT!
Posted by rimasco on :
Funny part is they look at you like youre their friggen jailer when you do it. LOL
Posted by rimasco on :
My father was able to pull something fro the frige like Bruce Lee ripping out a mans heart
Posted by rimasco on :
Interesting read....read about where the govt will buy power back off of you and tax breaks and incentives
The utilities are required to buy back excess power. It's pretty cool.
Posted by rimasco on :
I would like to make my house utility company FREE...not only for $ purposes...but for the independence of being at their mercy! Or even in a time of outtages.
When was the last time you heard of Con Ed or Keysapn lowering their prices? They never will! I dont care how many resources they stumble on in the future. Everybodys gouging across the board and im sick of it.
Theres so many more advantages then meets the eye..my favorite would be telling the Sauds F off we dont need your oil
Next on list....WOOD BURNING STOVE or i could just go with baseboard elec...nahhhhh i like the way a vintage wood burner looks
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
I've wanted to get "off the grid" my entire life. It's pretty hard for a renter. When I own my own home, I will.
Posted by rimasco on :
We have become so dependant on these companys....they could quadruple there prices and what could we do....
My brother inlaw spends a nice chunk of his check in fuel commutting to work every day...i feel bad for him cause hes praying they lower gas and I know it aint hapnin...well its gonna go alot higher first
Posted by rimasco on :
LOL Maybe come election time it'll fall off for a bit......
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
That it will. LOL
Posted by glassman on :
the worst? is construction workers.. they CAN'T live next to the job, the job is moving all thetime...
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Many can't afford to live anywhere near where they work. I was pulling in $80k at an engineering job about five years ago. I still had to commute an hour to and from work as the real estate and rent prices were out of reach anywhere closer.
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Granted, I didn't check out the crack houses. LOL
Posted by rimasco on :
BINGO GLASS!! My inlaw is in construction. Hes all over the 5 boroughs. He lives in Jersey....keep in mind the Verrazano bridge is now 9 bucks!
Posted by Sasquatch on :
Solar panels are good. Solar water heaters can be good too.
I want a big windmill personally. But I gotta get the land to put it on first.
Methane converters are getting a lot of attention too. Finally a place to put all that cow sh*t and make it work for you! They've had a lot of stories in the papers around here about dairy farms moving to converters and opening up whole new revenue streams for farmers.
Honestly...I almost want big business to stay out of the renewable resource game a while longer. Gives the few small farms left a chance to get the foot in the door to help themselves stay alive.
Posted by bdgee on :
I have forgotten the numbers, but a suprising percentage the cost of energy (usually electricity) is actually the moving of it from the supplier to the user (usually electric transmission lines) and the maintainence of that transportations system.
It becomes obvious quickly upon consideration that the simple act of not having an energy provider would lower the cost of energy dramatically. Certainly, though, those businesses that now supply our energy and those in the business of transporting it are NOT going to want that to become the norm. (There is also a significant saving due to loss of energy during transportation vs. a system that does not require transportation of the energy.)
What is needed is a scheme that produces the energy that is needed on site and that provideds the user with a non-poluting source of energy that is itself non-poluting. The savings from not having to pay the cost of transporting the energy from a provider to a user wound, over time, pay for the initioal cost of installation.
Such a system can be hypothesized as a combination of solar and wind generated electricity, NOT used directly but, first, as a source of separating the hydrogen and oxygen of the water molecule, then, those gases stored rather than storing electricity in expensive batteries, second, and then, third, the hydrogen feeding fuel cells for the actual energy to use.
It produces no grenhouse gasses, relies on no outside energy sources, and leaves behind no noxous or dangerous waste.
Posted by rimasco on :
My brother inlaw was just telling me yesterday about those solar water heaters...very simple and sensible
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Why stop at cow sh*t? There's an endless supply of human waste as well. Take a dump, power your porch light!
quote:Originally posted by Sasquatch: Solar panels are good. Solar water heaters can be good too.
I want a big windmill personally. But I gotta get the land to put it on first.
Methane converters are getting a lot of attention too. Finally a place to put all that cow sh*t and make it work for you! They've had a lot of stories in the papers around here about dairy farms moving to converters and opening up whole new revenue streams for farmers.
Honestly...I almost want big business to stay out of the renewable resource game a while longer. Gives the few small farms left a chance to get the foot in the door to help themselves stay alive.
Posted by bdgee on :
I don't go into the mountains and back woods anymore because my knee won't let me, but when I used to, I packed in a plastic watering can, the kind meant for sprinkling flowers. Fill it with water from a cold mountaain stream and set it the sun for a couple of hours, then tie it over head by the handle and.......hot shower!
Posted by Gordon Bennett on :
Very innovative bdgee!
Another thought, every new home built should be required to at least have solar panels on its roof.
Posted by bdgee on :
Although I like the thought, Gordon, I don't think that is a good idea. The minute you pass such a regulation, the "regulators" will decide to "define "solar panel" and we will end up with someone's brother-in-law's business telling them that what the business sells is a "solar Panel"
There are extensive research results proving that with a pile of rocks and some sort of "sheeting" to contain and direct the heat (plastic, aluminum foil, even old wooden shiplap) it is possible to keep a house, anywhere in the country, heated through the winter via solar heat. (In one of my previous lives, I did a thourough study and produced a map of the "recoverable" solar and wind energy potentials in the contiguous 48. Away from absolute mountain tops (I could not obtain data there), there is plenty of usable solar and wind energy, just about anywhere.)
It certainly would be possible, with modern technology, to replace standard roofing shingles with plyable plastic solar cells that would be installed much as shingles are now, would last the same amount of time, and, with mass production, cost about the same as the shingles, while supplying the building with sufficient electricity to match or exceed most needs.
But would such roofing meet some law-maker's definition of a "solar panel"?
Posted by T e x on :
what legislation could do is frame the context in energy-audit terms: "structure A capable of producing x watts of power" with "y minimum load." ( In other words, not able to buy a series of conventional generators and meet requirements that way. ) Then let folks meet the requirements with products/innovation of their choosing.
Posted by bdgee on :
Yep, and there also is siding and window panes and so on and so forth.
It is important, though, to avoid the temptation to "store" the electricity in batteries with present day battery technology. Present day batteries are really 19th century devices and extremely inefficient and poluting.
Posted by T e x on :
lithium ion getting pretty good; eg, my Milwaukee gun has been pretty good with ni-cad batteries...lottsa recharges, good power...much more than a "homeowner" version...well, their new line (28-volt) supposedly has the power of corded tools, batteries last longer between charges and recharge quicker... not saying Li-ion "the answer," but "battery technology" in general is getting real attention these days.
Posted by bdgee on :
I'll point out where a tremendous waste of energy is and how to reclaim much of it.
Just like the roof of a house, the roof of a car can be covered in simple solar cell material (rather than paint) that is wired to the battery to charge it and to the car's electrical system to supply it. When you first start your car, there is a significant discharge of the battery that then is recharged via the alternator (generator) and that is a physical drain on the engine, requiring a meaasurable amount of energy and, thus, a measurable amount of gasoline. With modern computer chips, the control and maintainence of such a system would go on un-noticable.
Although that is a seemingly trivial amount of wasted fuel, multiply that over the billions of engine startings every day and you get a very significant savings of gasoline (or whatever other sort of source supplies power to the car).
Posted by 4Tune4Me on :
My electric bills doubled in May because that's when PSE&G starts their summer rates...Heating oil was around $.65/gal 10 years ago...now I feel lucky to be offered contract pricing at $2.69/gal payable by end of July. Not to mention the propane that we need to run the dryer, stove and heat part of my house. AC just went and the man tells me that my 10 year old units are garbage with SEER ratings of 10. No wonder I have $350 electric bills in the summer.
Switching to solar sound great but even with a 30% discount, I'm looking at about 10K outlay at least. H E L P .....
Posted by 4Tune4Me on :
Oh, and a great way to save energy is using dimmers and sensors for auto shut off of lights. Aside from using less electricity, dimmers can extend the life your bulbs exponentially. At least, I got that right.
Posted by rimasco on :
Bdgee i like your idea for the car .....even ifs its only to start it
Posted by bdgee on :
rimasco,
I only stated the idea for the starting system, but with a computer chip in control, much of the electrical needs of a car might be fed with solar cells. Think about a car driving across West Texas on a summer day. Yhe airconditioner might need more power, but there isn't much else in a car, even a stereo, that couldn't be fed from solar cells rather than an alternator, hence, the gas milage wouldn't be cut by that amount of drain to run an alternator.
Posted by farmgirl on :
Here in Claifornia with rolling blackouts. I am turning everything off in the house for 2 hours a day and making the kids read at the library. They run there comuters all day and if my kids are not on them someone else is. 1 hour reading then 1 hour computer. No electricity at my house.
Posted by bdgee on :
farmgirl,
I'm reading that Califirnia is in serious trouble with electricity again.
And I'll bet that, like Enron did before, some power companies are making a killing.
All this free market bull ignores the greed of the very wealthy, who seem to think the "little" people were put on this Earth for them to exploit.
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