From the monthly archives:

March 2007

How to build a Water Motor

by sspence on March 31, 2007 · 3 comments

in ENERGY

The Water Motor
The Water Motor

We all know how an industrial electric motor operates. You have a power switch. It turns electric current on and off to an electric motor, which then does work. That work can be pushing a cart, a fridge, a submersible water pump, or any number of rotary devices. What do you do off the grid, in the mountains of South America, where there is no power supply? What do you use to give power supply for your electric motor? Enter Ron & Diane in Bolivia, and their “Water Motor“. A unique Micro-Hydro device that uses the power of a falling stream to power stationary devices like saws, mills and generators like home generators and so on.

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My off-grid school, by Oprah Winfrey

March 28, 2007
My off-grid school, by Oprah Winfrey

Glitz is good Oprah's opened a new school as part of her Leadership Academy in South Africa – and it’s off-grid! Although it’s more out of necessity than for lofty environmental reasons – electricity and water at the site are unreliable, and the building only used to have four toilets. “The Seven Fountains ” is Oprah’s second school in South Africa, after the exclusive – and controversy-laden - Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg opened in January. That project was criticized for spending $40m on a school for only 152 pupils

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The Google of Renewables

March 28, 2007
The Google of RenewablesRoscheisen...world-beatingAlternative Energy is the Internet of the new millenium: world-changing new technology that is causing a Venture Capital stampede. The question is: how to pick the winners. All solar technologies balance the three requirements that make solar power price-competitive with other methods of power generation: efficiency (the fraction of light energy that is converted to electricity), manufacturing cost, and longevity. Using nanotechnology, a private company called Nanosolar claims it has optimized these three requirements. and can build solar panels which are more efficient, cheaper and longer-lasting than any other company. "Our mission is very simple," says their web site: A Solar Panel on Every Building.

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Solar pool heaters

March 22, 2007
Solar pool heaters

Fancy a swim? Solar hot water heaters can be a cost-effective way to heat the swimming pool at your off-grid palace. Even multi-million dollars homes in places like Monterey, California, have installed solar hot water heaters to reduce the potential energy costsof their swimming pool. This isn’t just a celebrity trend, though – you can buy ready-made solar pool kits to that are easy to install in the off-grid shop starting at $220 (J125) - whereas you'll have to dish out around Ł700 on ebay, and for US customers kits start at around $600 going up to $1,175.00. You'll need to provide the PVC piping, diverter valve and a support or rack system for some of these. It’s even possible to build your own from a discarded radiator and a can of black paint.

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Branson’s New Toy

March 21, 2007
Branson’s New Toy

Mine, all mine Richard Branson’s got himself another island to play with. There won’t be a huge hotel complex or golf course – instead, Branson is hoping to make Moskito Island into an eco-resort. Or does that sound too good to be true? Branson's first tourism venture was the Residencia Hotel in Majorca where his people famously barred the public from using the local beach, cutting down old trees as a barrier. Branson's new island takes its name from the Moskito Indians who lived in the area from before the 1500s – and not from an excess of mosquitoes as it might suggest. It’s only 124 acres in size – and one mile away from another Branson celebrity retreat, Necker Island. Branson wants his latest purchase to serve as an eco-friendly example to the rest of the resorts out there. He said: "I was terrified that Moskito would end up in the wrong hands and be ruined.

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650 Festivals and Camps – 2007 Calendar

March 17, 2007
650 Festivals and Camps – 2007 Calendar

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Bush sees the light

March 16, 2007
Bush sees the light

Alleluja It seems George Bush has been listening to the light gods – he’s recently given White House funding to a project trying to harness energy from sunlight and interior light to wirelessly power everything from cellphones to signboards. The company – Konarka Technologies – takes its name from an ancient temple in India dedicated to the sun god Surya, and was founded by Berke and Alan Heeger, who shared the 2000 Nobel Chemistry prize for showing that certain plastics can be made to conduct electricity.

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Mobile Homesteading

March 16, 2007
Mobile Homesteading

Schoolbus RV Check out the Mobile Homestead. Michael & Millie have documented their mobile, school bus conversion so others can learn and duplicate their work. The 1991 GMC/Ward 66 Passenger School Bus is shown at the various stages of conversion, and all the steps taken to convert it into a rolling home are documented. They have other projects, like a travel trailer and talk about their composting toilet as well. Other School Bus Live-ins: "Bus Links"

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Vanity Fair’s greenwash

March 15, 2007
Vanity Fair’s greenwash

Ego-trippersWe think Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and singer Bono are the chewing gum stuck to the shoe of the green movement, but Hollywood's green elite know better.It seems not a month goes by without some magazine doing ‘the Green issue’, and Vanity Fair loved it so much the first time, they’re doing their second green issue this May. Last Wednesday night’s Natural Resources Defense Council gala gave the usual green suspects – including Leonardo DiCaprio, Glenn Close, Bette Midler, Kevin Bacon, and John Mellencamp – a chance to praise editor Graydon Carter's greenness.

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