Posted in Green Technology on Mar 16th, 2012
When you combine Marc Thiessen’s argument that Energy Department investments in green energy reek with political favoritism with the CBS allegation that $6.5 billion of the $30 billion of Energy Department guarantees for green energy is at risk for immediate default, it is easy to conclude that government involvement in green energy is bad for [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Feb 23rd, 2012
When I lived in Texas cogeneration was a popular option with chemical plants who required high pressure steam for their processes. When I moved to Ohio I was surprised that steel plants were not taking advantage of their process. Today I found this article in the Dayton Daily News, Bill clears path for $310M AK [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Feb 21st, 2012
From the Spiegel Online we get this update on solar power and subsidies in Germany. For people who have done the solar power calculations for northern latitudes the findings in this article are not surprising. The math is pretty easy. What is newsworthy is that it took €8 billion ($10.2 billion) in subsidies in 2011 [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Feb 1st, 2012
Last month I wrote a follow up, Follow up on Green Technology that pays for itself, in which I said that the additional insulation I put in the ceiling resulted in a 10.2% drop in kilowatt hours and a $29.78 drop in the total bill. Another month has passed and I was hopeful that the [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Jan 30th, 2012
A few weeks ago I made a comment on an article, Energy Efficiency: Cheapest Power Around, but Getting More Expensive, about my belief that we were wasting money on some of the energy efficiency initiatives sponsored by electric utilities. In the article they state, IEE’s report didn’t get at how each dollar of utility energy [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Jan 2nd, 2012
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about installing additional insulation in the ceiliing, Green Technology that pays for itself. Recently I was pleasantly surprised when I received my December electric bill. It was down 38.8% compared to last year. The drop was larger than I expected so I decided to update my spreadsheet [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Dec 23rd, 2011
I was curious how much mercury comes out of compact fluorescent lights since the EPA was so concerned about electrical power plants and my power company was so insistent that I take some free compact fluorescent lights. It sure sounded strange to have my power company begging me to take the lights. The logic being [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Dec 14th, 2011
This week an American Lung Association ad, Red Carriage Advertisement III, caught my attention. This ad associates childhood asthma and to the pollution generated by power plants. In my life I have never seen an asthma attack triggered by pollution from a power plant so I am skeptical. Today I decided to check on their [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Dec 14th, 2011
I read the article, Tainted EPA Report on Fracking Blasted by Gas Co., and just had to confirm the details. Could the EPA have been this incompetent? Here is an excerpt from the Encana web site discussing the EPA report. I thought Encana’s discussion of the two deep monitoring wells the EPA drilled to be [...]
Posted in Green Technology on Nov 20th, 2011
I just finished installing some green technology that pays for itself. Yes, I installed insulation in the ceiling of our house. In my case half of our electrical usage occurs in the months of December, January, and February so adding insulation should have an immediate impact on our electrical bill. In my case I could [...]
On this day, the Virginia Tech community reflects on the vibrant lives of the 32 students and faculty who were tragically taken from us a year ago. Through light, art, and music we pay tribute to each and every person we lost. We gather to honor our friends, colleagues, and family members. We will never forget.