Mindzle

Archive for April, 2009

Go Green In your house – And Save Too

If you would like to go green in your house, and save a little money at the same time, it’s never been so simple. As the planet faces a doubtful future of global temperature rises, which is thought to be the results of us all burning traditional fules indiscriminately, we all have a duty to do the best we will to redress the balance. These are some crucial pointers that may help you get started… Your house is where you spend a large amount of your earnings, so it is smart to be spending it as efficiently as practicable. You can begin to go green in your house by insulating the house. Flat insulation, wall hole insulation, double or maybe triple glazing – it’ll all make an incredible difference. Yes, there’s an investment to think about, but you may save in the long run, and save a lot too. We all use too much water.

Go green in the home by cutting back as much as you can. We could all, collectively, save one bln gallons of water a year by changing our old flush toilet cisterns.

The old ones use 3 and a half gallons per flush and the new high-efficiency ones use just over one and a quarter gallon. It creates a gigantic difference! If you probably did only this to go green in the home you would save twenty thousand gallons of water each year, and pay a ton less in water bills. The standard light bulbs that most houses have are extraordinarily incompetent. Compact fluorescent light bulbs burn around five pc of the old bulbs and they last ten times longer. They may cost a little more to buy at first, but this is a clear way to go green in the home and save a bundle in the long game. But you can do even better, The new LED lights are virtually twice as efficient as even the compact fluorescent light bulbs, and they are going to last even longer too. Heat leaks out of a home in winter and into the house in summer. Better insulation all round is a way to go green in the home. Look at your flat, your wall cavities, your windows and your doors. Sort out all these and you can go green in the home and actually save too.

Home uses are a drain on energy. Are you aware that modern washing powders are so good that they do not truly need hot water? Your washing machine uses the majority of its energy heating the water, so wash your garments cold.

They will clean great whilst you go green in the home. You might imagine your dishwasher is also an energy drain, Unusually , it’s not. If it’s used by you completely filled it uses less resources than if you wash by hand. When you know these tiny tips, it’s simple to go green in the home!

Ten years ago, if you would have told me that kids would be powering their mobile phones from their backpacks while walking to class, I would have laughed. Honestly, if you would have told me two weeks ago I still wouldn’t have believed you. But yesterday as I was hiking in Sedona, Arizona, I noticed a young lady with a solar powered backpack. Aligning the back of the bag were some small, flexible, and apparently efficient, solar panels.

Green technology is taking over, thanks to Obama’s green energy plan, and consumers are taking notice. Not only did I see a backpack covered in solar panels on my Sedona excursion, I saw wind turbines and solar power systems everywhere. If you’re thinking of joining the green technology revolution, and perhaps embark on a low cost home conversion, there are a few things you should know.

Tip #1: Buy discounted and wholesale. Solar panels and wind turbines can be a bit pricy, and though there are many incentives for going green, being smart about your purchase can make a big difference to your wallet. Discounted wind turbines , wholesale solar panels, and wholesale RV power kits can be a wonderful deal in disguise. Combine your savings on the green product, with the energy tax credit from Obama’s green energy plan, and your wallet will thank you.

Tip #2: If you are considering purchasing wholesale solar panels, know how much energy (in kilowatts) per day your home consumes. This will allow you to pick the correct panel system.

Tip #3: Have an idea of how much sunlight your solar panel area receives per day. Speak to your supplier about where to place the panels on your roof.

Tip #4: By understanding how many kilowatts each solar panel system produces, and how much energy you consume, you’ll know which product is suited to you. A one kilowatt solar panel system will generally produce about five kilowatts of energy a day.

Tip #5: Don’t forget about warranties and the energy tax credits you could receive.

Tip #6: Solar panels require little to no maintenance, while wind turbines will require regular service.

Tip #7: Consider property value. Both a solar panel system and wind turbines will increase your property value.

Tip #8: Wind turbines, much like solar panels, can generate from between 1 to 25 kilowatts of energy per day. As with solar panels, calculate your daily consumption of energy to decide on which wind turbine is best suited for you.

Tip #10: The energy production you should expect from a wind turbine will be closely related to the swept area of the rotor blades, which is based on the diameter of the rotor.

Tip #10: Don’t be fooled, this is a big investment that may take some time to reap benefits. It will be worth it in the long run.

Green Stuff Global
GreenstuffGlobal.com
info@greenstuffglobal.com
888-717-3597

Americas Capability To Sustain And Overcome The Oil Crisis?

The world is in a frenzy, the oil crisis is making economies to cause a downturn that may even be greater than the great misery. The war as they say is the cause. The budget deficit owing to 2008 is now over $400,000,000. This money certainly would have been put to better reason within America itself.

Conspiracy Theory

Most persons will say that the president of the United States waged bloodshed smuggle a middle eastern country due to oil America after all is one of the world’s largest oil consumer. Everything in the US is automated, or electrical. To run machineries you use oil wares, to produce high demands of electricity you barrel and barrels of oil to tear the generators.

It is quite little to assume that the former President whose family business is oil has a vested absorption leadership acquiring a country in consequence well-heeled rule mineral deposits. First of all it will make oil resources available anytime they want without having to bother with diplomacy and pass through another government. Sustain more free lunch thanks to the Bush family, because they have an oil trade if they answerability amuse geriatric fuel at market price then they entrust have massed earnings. The idea makes sense further and could very much be possible.

Sustainable Power Treasure

Political and idiosyncratic factors is not the whole issue. Other faces to this scenario is also possible. Yes, America is one of the world’s largest energy consumer, but America also has the largest preference of energy resources on Earth.

Geothermal, Hydro, Diddly & Other.

The United States of America is unmistakable due to the world’s greatest geothermal scene stimulation.

The Geysers located just north of San Francisco was the planet’s basic further largest wilderness steam occupation. The astonishing object about these power plants ( whereas there are several ) is that sewage waste from surrounding cities are pumped into the geothermal stabilize in order to cater the supply of steam needed owing to energy production. States allied thanks to Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Utah among others own their own geothermal plants.

Accurate the fourth tract with the largest hydropower capacity, the Americas revolutionized hydropower by roof plentiful dams in awfully calculated areas all over the US. Feasibly the largely received is the Hoover Dam. At the time sound was fully operational Hoover Dam was uttered to be the world’s largest electricity generating hydropower plant. Located on the cusp of Nevada and Arizona, the Hoover dam supplies electricity to the states of Nevada, Arizona and most of Southern California.

Rock Port Missouri is a city in North America who is powered by wind farms. Of the 56 states effect America over half have wind farms which help supply their security needs. Some states may have aesthetical issues, but wind farms will definitely pass into indispensable magnetism in the future especially when the impact of dwindling oil supplies from the east is felt.

A Closing Scenario

The States have its own oil resources deserved within its backyard. Texas and just off shore from New Orleans a new sight is emerging. That of drilling areas, but one commodity remains clear. Fossil fuel as an energy source is not viable for human health and the future of our environment. If you’re still asking why the American government is waging war for oil? Perhaps it’s not oil after all. Maybe it’s just a peace crusade with a sword in hand.

There’s a lot to understand about oil. Some of the facts has been shown above, but there is still plenty more to reveal and develop.

Did you know you can cook entire meals without any electricity or gas? It’s true. If you have access to the sun then you can cook with it.

Cooking with the power of the sun is commonly referred to as solar cooking, and you don’t need expensive gadgets or equipment to do this successfully either. Solar cooking requires sunlight of course, a bit of time, a few everyday items, and a willingness to experiment.

In the most basic form, solar cooking can be done easily as long as you have decently strong sunlight for a few hours. The stronger your sunlight is of course, the easier your solar cooking will be. In the desert southwestern areas of the United States for example, you can literally just lay food out in direct sunlight in the summer and it will cook quickly for you. We’re going to look at a little more than the basics here though.

There are two primary ways to cook food with solar power. One is to use what’s known as a parabolic cooker, and the other is to simply use reflecters.

A parabolic cooker is actually just anything you have on hand which has a slighly bowled, or parabolic shape to it. Round satellite dishes are excellent examples of this type of inward curved surface. The slight curve of a surface like this will allow you to concentrate the natural heat of the sun onto the food you’re cooking.

Parabolic cookers can be made with simple cardboard, or any slightly concaved material such as an old (small) sattelite dish, a small wok, or even a bent and curved trash can or barbecue lid. Using old materials for this is great because it allows you to recycle and it doesn’t usually cost a thing.

Most people choose to make their first solar oven with cardboard because it’s readily available, easy to work with, and free.

The best parabolic solar cooker will have slanted sides though, not upright ones. A slant of about 60 degrees outwards is ideal. Once you find the object you plan to use for your solar cooking, then you simply cover it with tin foil, mylar, or mirrors. Mirrors can actually be dangerous because too much heat is generated, so it’s best to start with aluminum foil. Cover your concaved object with the foil so that the shiny side is facing out. This will capture more of the sunlight shining down on your solar cooking, and help focus it onto your food.

Simple reflector style solar cookers are another popular option, and in many cases you don’t even have to put things together to make this work. With this style of solar cooking, you simply put a pot or pan out into direct sunlight and surround it on three sides with reflective material to help direct the solar heat to your food.

With either solar cooking design though, you’ll want to use either glass or dark metal cooking pots and pans. Dark metal helps attract and absorb the natural solar heat from the sun, and glass allow that solar heat to pass through easily yet stay trapped inside for cooking.

Depending upon the strength of the sunlight you have available and the solar cooker design you’re using, it can take anywhere from one to three hours to fully cook common meals for three to five people.

Of course you can also use solar panels to power a more conventional energy efficient stove or oven when the sun isn’t strong enough to use your solar cooker, or if you prefer to cook foods in a more traditional manner.

Call me a cynic, call me a conspiracy nut, just don’t call me a fool.
For some time now this wonderful nation of ours has been under attack. Our ideals, goals and history are being revised by those who believe they have the divine right to rule. They were born into wealth and see it as evolution on a social order, that money and power show superior genes. They were born to wield almighty power, and only they know right from wrong, that all of us “peasants” should gladly accept their divinations from on high. They are the moral authority; they are the authors of our destiny. They are above the law, above the constitution and beyond reproach. And they sell us this story in every media and outlet, and we buy it with enthusiasm.

Who are they? It would be simple and naive to say Republicans. As Former president George W. bush once said “This is an impressive crowd of the haves and have mores. Some people call you the elite, I call you my base.” At least he was honest about it. This group of elitists really is the base of the Republican Party, no matter their new-found populist mantra. But the Democratic Party is far from free of guilt. Following the overwhelming victory of Ronald Reagan in 1980, a new movement in the party began. This group of southern Democrats gained strength and momentum as Reagan began union busting.
This move by Reagan was both political and ideological in nature.

This is where I start to see the pattern. Reagan went about systematically destroying the unions for two related reasons. First the Democratic Party, his chief rivals, were heavily funded and supported by unions. Destroying the unions eliminated his opposition’s chief strength. And second, Reagan, and the Republican’s in general, were supported by corporatists that wanted unions to lose power and there-by strengthen the power at the top of their enterprises. After all unions represent democracy in the workplace, and what monarch (CEO) wants to deal with that?

In this power vacuum within the Democratic Party, caused by the fall of the unions, the new corporatist’s element gained strength. It is obvious why; to win major national and even regional elections you need money, mountains of it. The unions were smaller, less powerful and far poorer. They could no longer be relied upon to fund the party. The Blue Dog Democrats had the answer. Go to the same deep well the Republicans siphoned from. Support corporations over workers. Support the rich over the poor. Support anything that helps convince the rich, elite and powerful to fund your campaign. And boy did they.

I’ve never met a neo-liberal a.k.a. neo-conservative a.k.a. conservative who liked former president Bill Clinton. I’ve also never met an actual liberal who supported his policies. He was hated by the Neo-Conservatives because he was not a Republican. And the Republicans as a party are great at tearing down. They began his destruction in the eyes of their loyal followers even before he was elected president. And they put the petal to the metal the moment he entered the White House. They fabricated or exaggerated every possible failure or character flaw in the man. They should have loved him; he was as much a neo-conservative as Newt Gingrich. A Liberal president NEVER signs NAFTA. Even a true conservative never signs NAFTA. He continued the Reagan Tax cuts; he continued the ridiculous military spending of his Neo-Conservative predecessors. The only thing that stopped him from being openly embraced by the Neo-Cons was his party affiliation and that he didn’t openly support their social policies.

The Newt Gingrich Revolution
On the backs of trumped up scandal and outrage, the Neo-Conservatives took control of Congress in a sweeping victory. They denounced then President Clinton for being an adulterer; they denounced his Liberal agenda, and promoted populist change. Fewer taxes, smaller government, promote family values etc. And here is one of those moments when truth is spun on its head. Most of those promoting “family values” and “saving marriage” were adulterers caught in scandals beyond imagination. (Scandals)
This is the legacy of the so called “Moral Majority”. It goes to the old adage, “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” You cannot scream about illegal aliens and then hire them, you cannot fight a war on Drugs and use them (Ehem, Rush…), and you cannot condemn adultery and then have affairs. It makes a liar of you, and a fool of those that buy into your rhetoric.

This “Moral Outrage” is a screen, its cover, nothing else. As is their embracing of the Religious Fundamentalists. Organized religion has long been a tool of the powerful. Preach politics from the pulpit and use the church to promote your goals. Turn followers into evangelists, it is a very powerful tool.
If the modern Corporatists (I shy away from calling them conservatives, or Republicans as it crosses party lines) were to show their actual goals in the light of day, they would be hunted down and destroyed publicly. Their goals are as Anti-American as Stalin’s Russia. Grover Norquist put it succinctly: “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” I have no problem with cutting the government in half, in many ways I support that, but that is not what he is saying, he wants to be able to drown it in a bathtub, to kill it entirely. That is anarchy, not democracy. It is the goal of the Corporatists to utterly destroy the American Republic; after all it was George W Bush who said: “If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just as long as I’m the dictator.”

Never forget that his is the whole goal, starve government until it can be drowned in a bathtub, so that the wealthy can influence every decision for their best interests. Thereby turning a Democracy into a corporate state. Fascism in the 21st Century.
We are already on the brink. Maybe we have already slipped into it.

It was Eisenhower who warned, during his farewell address: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex.” He was Right, but we must guard against all of the industrial complexes.

Today the medical Industrial complex fights against Health Insurance for all, because it will cut into their profits. They claim that a state run program will have unfair advantages and reduce the quality of Healthcare. They claim that we will have to stand in lines to get medical treatment. (I don’t know about you, but every time I’ve been to an Emergency room I already have to wait for sometimes hours. At for profit hospitals) So how can it be that a not-for-profit system would hurt me as a consumer? I find this very confusing, if you listen to the Neo-Conservative Free Market ideologues, they state that the free market is always better for the consumer, competition keeps prices down etc. So how can a government run institution, not motivated by profit hurt the consumer? The truth is, it doesn’t, this is just the typical hysterical fear-mongering they promote to convince us to vote against our own best interests.

What we actually find, is that in a Free market eventually you always end up with monopolies controlling entire industries. A company gets an advantage, uses it to pressure competitors, gain market share, then they acquire the competitors, use the new size to pressure other competitors, and on and on, until only the one remains. Corporations have no interest in the public good; their only goal is to make a profit. It is the part of government to regulate the markets to ensure that the public is not being fed upon by predatory forces and to stop monopolies from forming in the first place.

In Health Care many people wonder why the costs have sky rocketed over the last 25 years. It doesn’t take a cryptologist to figure this one out. We deregulated the medical industry and allowed hospitals to become profit based entities. Me, personally, I do not want a hospitals decision to save a my life to depend on whether or not it positively affects the corporation’s bottom line.

It happened in banking, it happened in health Care, and it happens in every market we deregulate. Prices go up, and eventually the quality of service goes down. The Health Insurance Industry is trying to stop Healthcare for all, not because it will help American’s but because they are trying to protect their enormous profits, and overly generous Executive compensation. They know that an entity that doesn’t pay its CEO tens of millions of dollars a year has a competitive advantage. They know that an enterprise that doesn’t pay stock dividends has an advantage. Those advantages will reduce the cost of healthcare at the not-for-profit’s and cause the for profits to have to cut costs. But to do it without degrading the quality of care provided they will need to cut bonuses for executives and administrators as well as salaries and dividend payments, what do you think the likely-hood of that will be? So maybe they are right that it will cut quality at the for-profit institutions, because god forbid they cut administrative and Executive costs.

So this political battle, as with most we face, pits the Uber-Rich vested interests against those of the general American population. It is the Rich versus every one else. For the last 30 years the rich have won. Who will win this time?

This is not a Democrat versus Republican war; this is not a Liberal versus Conservative fight. This is the Rich Elite versus all of us. They control the media, the message, the government, and the economy. The economy has been taken hostage by Wall Street. The nation is being held at ransom by thieves, and criminals. There is a war on Terror, but the terrorists are not in some distant land, they are right here at home. They control the banks, they control the systems of money and they own our nation.

“During the short boom of the late 1990s, conservative analysts asserted that, yes, the gap between rich and poor was growing, but that incomes for the poor were still increasing over previous levels. Today most economists, regardless of their political persuasion, agree that the data over the last 25 to 30 years is unequivocal. The top 5% is capturing an increasingly greater portion of the pie while the bottom 95% is clearly losing ground, and the highly touted American middle class is fast disappearing.” — Project Censored.org

The numbers we now see on the distribution of wealth in this nation more match 3rd world nations than our other industrialized counterparts.

I’d like to end with this quote:
“…The concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few is the death knell of democracy. No republic in the history of humanity has survived this.” – GARRISON KEILLOR

The electric bicycle is the transportation of the future – available today. An electric bicycle can replace your 2nd or 3rd car, in some cases even your only car. The electric bike can do a lots of the trips you’re using your car for. Customers use their electric bikes to go work on a daily basis, go across college campus, go for a joy ride around town, go to the tennis court, or for shopping at your local Walmart.

“Ebikes are a new way to get around..”

Your electric bicycle can really do most of your trips as well as or even faster than your car. Make a list of how do you use your car. I bet you don’t go more than 8 miles 8 out of 10 times and don’t have to haul anything but your briefcase, backpack, and a shopping basket of extra stuff. Our new generation electric bike is very affordable and is now priced as low as $400 to $ 900 for a reliable vehicle. Electric bicycles are the new way to get around. Electric bicycles will replace your car, bus or train ride for all those shorter distance commutes.
Our typical electric bikes at around 18 mph for about 10 to 25 miles for each charge. Electric bicycles cost about $5 worth of electricity a year. Nothing beats driving our electric bicycles past a traffic jam. Electric bicycles take away the hills, the headwinds and getting the thing up to speed part. We provide 2 types of electric bikes, power-assist and power-on-demand. Power-assist electric bicycles are designed to do 50% of the work for you. This does not seem like a lot but really works great. They electric bicycles are much lighter than power on demand electric bicycles – they ride and feel just like a non-powered bike. There are no controls, just ride on your electric bike and the system will do the rest for you. What a great method to get back in shape or just help out on hills. Power-on-demand electric bicycles can climb a hill without any help from the rider.

recycled materials

Did you know that the United States produces more garbage that goes into landfills than any other country in the world? Yes, it is a sad fact that only 35 percent of our nation’s citizens adhere to a recycling program. This number is way too low. But you can make a difference. If you set a good example by following the “reduce reuse recycle” idiom, then perhaps you can get others to participate.

It is amazing how simple recycling can be once you know what to do. Your first step is separating your garbage waste from the recyclables. Environmental protection begins at home with you dropping the appropriate trash into its special waste bin. It is that easy. Sometimes there is money involved, as is the case with recycling aluminum cans. You take in a bag filled with cans and you get money back. How great is that?

Many schools and work places are not part of a recycling program. However, if recycling bins were supplied and appropriately labeled for glass, aluminum cans, plastic and paper, then no doubt people would join in the recycling movement and place their garbage in the appropriate containers. Have your employer send out a memo asking them to do so. Lead by example and always do your part. If others see your commitment, then they will likely follow suit.

Make sure you buy recycled goods. This helps recycling industries know that there are people out there who are concerned with the environment. Many of our day-to-day products can be purchased that contain recycled materials. You can buy notebook paper made from recycled paper goods. Many detergent and household cleaning products come in bottles made from recycled plastics. By taking this small step into consumerism you can help further the cause and still have the items you need for your home.

Environmental protection is everyone’s job. It is just a matter of getting the right information and help to more people. Each year, more and more people need to be involved in the recycling trend. If just one person convinced another person to recycle, then eventually this would snowball into thousands, perhaps millions of new recycling advocates. Before long the United States would stop producing so much landfill garbage.