Posts from — March 2007

Ego-trippers

We 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. (more…)

Ouch! Utility bills.

Last month, the UK’s gas and electricity suppliers joined in a fuel price war that saw British Gas then NPower then Powergen all lower their gas and electricity prices. British Gas, which cut gas bills by 17% and electricity by 12%. The suppliers have been criticized for introducing the new tariffs at a time when the coldest weather has passed, though British Gas’s price changes come into force earlier than the others on March 12th as opposed to April 30th.

NPower customers would pay 908 a year compared with the 953 paid by British Gas customers after the price cuts took effect, while Powergen, the country’s second largest supplier with 6 million residential customers, have reduced their prices to 913.

But critics are saying the companies aren’t doing enough (more…)

I’d rather wear my wellies

After announcing a few months back that she was quitting acting and settling down, Elizabeth Hurley has certainly been true to her word. She wed businessman Arun Nayar at the start of March, and now plans to settle on an organic farm.

Liz has been gushing about it for a while now, with friends and family encouraged to forego the traditional wedding gifts in favor of animals and trees for the farm. And the choicest gift? A Gloucester Old Spot Pig which would cost one of her guests 189. (more…)

Biodiesel while you sleep

This unit will take lye and methanol, react it with vegetable oil, and produce a direct substitute for diesel fuel, to be used in any diesel engine, with no changes or modifications to the engine or fuel system. From tractors to trucks, cars to generators, even your boat, if you have a diesel engine, you can make your own fuel, no fumes, no fuss.
We start with a standard electric water heater from our local Sears store, and a conversion kit from Biodiesel Warehouse. After removing the cold water inlet tube, we remove the bottom drain, and attach the valve “T” assembly. The pump then bolts on to the “T”, attaching the fuel transfer manifold to the top of the pump. (more…)

Wind gets more affordable

There’s been a massive boom in developing solar power technologies in recent years, with companies receiving tax breaks, but wind power has been decidedly ignored. Sure, large-scale wind power has had its production tax credit to anchor the industries’ rise, but what about small-scale wind systems? While a turbine is often the cheapest, and most realistic DIY option for off-gridders, in order to get a reliable energy supply you still need to spend a good $10,000.

So, the good news? Recently, the Rural Wind Energy Development Act was introduced into Congress that might even the playing field. (more…)

The perfect off-grid couple

Bookmakers William Hill have called ‘No More Bets’ and closed their betting on Britain’s Prince William getting engaged to his long term girlfriend Kate Middleton after a recent flood of interest. Off-Grid reported this news nearly three months ago (see the original story at http://www.off-grid.net/index.php?p=644). At the time we revealed exclusively that the couple will be given a massive off-grid mansion as their engagement present by William’s dad, Prince Charles. This is not the only journalistic coup from Off-Grid in recent weeks. Last month we broke the story of George Bush’s off-grid ranch, which has been repeated around the world. (more…)

A brand is born

A house being built at the behest of Florida State University (FSU) that incorporates hydrogen, solar and fuel cell technology is set to be wholly energy self-sustainable. It is following in the footsteps of the famous BedZed development in London by architect Bill Dunster – see his forthcoming book available on Amazon: From A to Zed: Realising Zero (Fossil) Energy Developments

The Off-Grid Zero Emission Building (OGZEB) is being overseen by FSU’s mechanical engineering professor, Anjaneyulu Krothapalli of the Sustainable Energy Science and Engineering Center (SESEC). “We are building a house that’s not connected to the grid, completely run by solar during the day, and the house during the night will be run on hydrogen,” he explained. (more…)

High rise office – Bengal style

Trying to get a bit of peace and quiet in the world’s most densely populated country, a Bangladeshi man with a head for heights has hit on the perfect solution, reports AFP.

Each day carpenter and aspiring writer Salim Hossen Gaus, aged 25, winches himself 30 metres (100 feet) in a precarious home-made pulley to a small wooden platform he has built at the top of a palm tree.

“I spend four to five hours minimum in the tree reading and writing, listening to the birds chirping,” he said, adding that his favourite authors were Shakespeare and the Nobel laureate, Bengali writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore. (more…)

Naked greed – Branson & biofuels

In the US and Canada, the race to find a cost-effective way of producing biofuel is hotting up. Rapacious entrepreneur Richard Branson is the latest to enter the field as part of a $3 billion ploy to green his image. With many new technologies emerging, it could be tough to decide which is worthy of investment and which will receive your household dollars. Branson is the emperor with no clothes, “a maverick marketeer, sitting on a bubble empire, inflated by the breath of lazy media,” in the opinion of one commentator.

This article covers six legitimate and successful biofuel techniques that are close to rollout:-

Chevron want to transform California’s transport fuel

Chevron Technology Ventures has committed to invest up to $25 million in the University of California, Davis over the next five years to research, develop and advance technology aimed at converting cellulosic biomass into auto fuel.

(Click more for rest of story – You can buy this guide from Amazon: Biofuels Master Guide – Renewable Energy, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Methanol, Energy Crops and Residue, Business Management for Producers (Two CD-ROM Set)) (more…)