Product Features
- Beads change color in the sun
- 100 in pack
- Teach Students About Solar Energy with this Exciting Science Toy
- Fun Educational Experiments!
Click Here For More Information
Solar Energy Beads - Beads change color in the sun!
Saturday, 17 May 2014
Solar Energy Beads - Beads change color in the sun!
Solar Energy Beads - Beads change color in the sun!
Friday, 16 May 2014
OWI 6-in-1 Educational Solar Kit
Product Features
- BEWARE OF FAKE MERCHANDISE: Purchase from Amazon.com to assure you receive original OWI merchandise. OWI does not license to any companies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia or China. OWI PRODUCTS ARE ONLY PRODUCED IN TAIWAN
- OWI products include 4 color retail boxes and instructions in English
- Great for first time science experimenters
- Learn how solar energy can be used to generate electricity
- Illustrates how light energy from the sun can be transformed to electrical energy and mechanical motion
Click Here For More Information
OWI 6-in-1 Educational Solar Kit
Renewables the solution to UK's critical fossil fuel shortage – report
Renewables the solution to UK’s critical fossil fuel shortage – report
The UK faces a desperate shortage of natural resources such as oil and coal, according to a troubling new report that underlines the need for significant investment in renewable energy.
In new analysis, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) have comprehensively mapped known international reserves of resources, also looking at supplies of food and water.
They found that the UK’s own reserves contain only enough oil to last 5.2 years at the current rate of consumption, with just 4.5 years of coal and three years of gas.
This means the UK is slightly better off than some of its neighbours – France, for example, has less than a year’s worth of oil, gas and coal.
However, some other European states are far better off. Russia has enough oil to sustain itself for over 50 years, with over 100 years of gas and more 500 years of coal, based on current internal consumption.
Norway has enough natural gas to last itself 420 years, while further afield, Qatar could continue consuming its gas reserves at the current rate for over a millennium.
“These maps show vulnerability in many parts of the EU and they paint a picture of heavily-indebted European economies coming under increasing threat from rising global energy prices”, said Dr Aled Jones, director of the GSI.
Prof Victor Anderson, also of the GSI, added that the report highlighted the need for alternative energy sources.
“The UK urgently needs to be part of a Europe-wide drive to expand renewable energy sources such as wave, wind, tidal and solar power”, he said.
Above: European resource maps for coal, gas and oil (click to enlarge).
Increased energy security is one of the biggest advantages that domestically produced renewable energy brings.
This came after the Conservative party pledged to cut support for onshore wind projects and the Coalition government altered subsidies for solar power, making investors uneasy about the prospects of renewable projects.
The analysis is the first phase of the GSI’s ambitious Global Resource Observatory project, a survey that will provide an international database of national demand, supply and flow figures relevant to global resource security.
The first published findings also include a map of food reserves, finding that while Europe, America and Russia are well stocked, Africa the Arabian Peninsula and the Caribbean are highly dependent on imports.
Photo: johnny choura via Flickr
Further reading:
Guy Hands: Ukraine crisis shows importance of renewable energy
MPs criticise government’s short-termist national energy security plan
Energy security, fuel poverty and social change: the lowdown on renewables
Investments in renewables must increase, warns UN
Global Sustainability Institute to map effects of global resource shortages
Register with Blue and Green
To leave a comment on this article, fill in your details below to register, alternatively if you are already registered you can login here
Renewables the solution to UK"s critical fossil fuel shortage – report
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
There are two different sorts of wind turbine; Vertical and Horizontal. Each one executes their own function and they each of their benefits and their disadvantages. You should choose the one that is finest for you and your needs. They do have one point in common which is that they create power from winds. They merely do it differently. Upright centers wind turbine has the primary rotor shaft running vertically rather than horizontally. This instructions could have its benefits and downsides. The benefit is the gearbox can be put in all-time low of the generator, unlike the horizontal turbines. All the weight is not at the top of the tower.
It also does not have to be pointed in the direction of the wind. The downsides of vertical axis wind turbines is that there can be pulsating torques that can take place throughout each turn when the generator is running in the exact same direction as the wind. They generate a smaller quantity of electricity from the wind.
Various Types of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines
Windmill with a turning sail. This type of turbine is the most recent around as it seems like sails on a ship once it is up and running. The sails can expand or agreement to the changing winds. There is 3 sails on it and the speed is handled with magnetic counter that broadens or gets these upright sails. It has a control system that will certainly help to manage the sails so the damage will be minimal. The sails may tear but the frame is durable and will last with the storms.
Aerodynamic generator is comprised of airfoil base that is created to capture the kinetic energy flowing from a synthetic present to the center. It could make use of many of the air mass that goes through by redirecting it over the upper turbines. It can reply to wind and streams, creeks, oceans or various other free flowing water supply.
Darrieus Wind Turbines are effective but due to their dimension and form they could produce cyclic stress on the tower which could use it out faster. It features 3 blades that function well in higher winds. They are held up by exterior frameworks that are connected from the ground up.
Giromill is a type of dish that functions three vertical blades. It is self beginning so the upkeep is low. These sorts of mills a reduced blade rate but they could create a high performance and success in channeling the electricity from every turn of the blade.
Savonius Wind Generator mills have two scoops that are used for wind sale. Some do come in three scoops that make it self starting. They resemble long helicopter blades that are bent in an instructions. This style and shape is to offer sufficient energy to be ample.
Windstar Turbines has straight aluminum cutters that are attached on each end of the rotating shaft. This windmill features greater than one rotor and they each have their very own twin braking device that has pneumatic disc brakes. They are designed for solid powerful winds.
The benefits to running a vertical axis wind turbine is that they are simpler to maintain and lessen expense, can stand up to mostly all wind, reduced higher, smaller sized and less complicated to transport. The disadvantages are they take twice as much time to create efficient energy from winds, require to be set up on level land, reduced beginning torque, some models make use of guyed cords which could include anxiety down. The layout and the preference of the consumer make the most effective option when it pertains to selecting the right one for you.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Solar Energy
In order to know where to find solar energy you must first know what solar energy is. Solar energy is energy from the sun. When the sun is shining solar energy is being produced as it sends the heat radiating to the earth.
Click Here For More Information
Solar Energy
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
DENSO Expands Its Line Of Cabin Air Filters
LONG BEACH, Calif. – DENSO has expanded its line of First Time Fit Cabin Air Filters to accommodate a wider range of vehicles.
The company has just released its 2014 First Time Fit Filter Catalog, which offers one of the most complete product lines of oil, air and cabin air filters in the industry. Focusing just on cabin air filters, this catalog includes 189 cabin air filter part numbers that cover 115.6 million units in operation. As cabin air filters are relatively new and are not available on all vehicles, these new part numbers cover a majority of the vehicles on the road that came equipped with a cabin air filter.
This expanded DENSO product line provides coverage for the following makes: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Scion, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. To maintain optimum air quality in the vehicle, cabin air filters should be checked and replaced approximately every 12 months, according to DENSO.
To make it easy to find the correct filter, the 2014 First Time Fit Filter Catalog includes applications by manufacturer, reference information on new numbers, supersessions, complete photo guide by part number, buyer’s guide by part number, cross-reference by competitor and UPC barcode reference.
“Consumers need to know that replacing the cabin air filter is just as important to the passengers as the engine air filter is to the vehicle,” said David Jack, senior manager of Thermal Product Management. “We expanded our DENSO First Time Fit Cabin Air Filter product line so we have 88 percent coverage for domestic and import automotive and light-duty truck applications through the 2014 model year, and we will go up to 90 percent coverage later in the year. For people with allergies and other sensitivities to airborne agents, replacing the cabin air filter allows the passengers to breathe cleaner, fresher air, which makes any journey more enjoyable.”
To obtain a copy of the 2014 First Time Fit Filter Catalog or any other DENSO catalog, contact your local DENSO representative or call 1-888-96-DENSO (Option 2).
DENSO Expands Its Line Of Cabin Air Filters
Wind-energy projects must nagivate rules to protect birds
A national bird conservation group has signaled its intent to sue the federal government over new rules that give legal immunity to wind farms that unintentionally kill protected bald and golden eagles.
The American Bird Conservancy notified the U.S. Department of Interior last month that it will take legal action in response to the new rules that went into effect in January. They allow wind farms to obtain voluntary 30-year “take” permits, which protect them against prosecution for accidental eagle deaths. Previously, wind companies had been allowed to seek five-year permits.
The wind industry has praised the change for offering much needed, long-term certainty on what had been a legal gray area, while some conservation groups have called the permits a license to kill. Ultimately, the legal fight might not have great consequences for South Dakota, where there’s little evidence indicating the state’s wind farms are causing eagle fatalities.
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Gary Hanson said while high numbers of reported golden eagle deaths are reported in wind-farm accidents in California and Montana, “there really haven’t been many reported at all in South Dakota. I don’t know if there will be much effect here.”
Joe Sullivan, regional policy manager for Wind on the Wires, a wind industry advocacy group, said overall that about 2 percent of golden eagle mortality is attributed to wind farms. Echoing Hanson, he also said South Dakota’s wind farms are not in areas commonly used by golden and bald eagles.
Paul Bachman, executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said the longer permits reflect the reality of financing wind projects.
“It’s almost necessary,” he said. “No bank is going to put up financing unless you have the ability to control your costs. You need to know what your costs are going to be throughout the lifetime of a project.”
Other protections
In an announcement of the regulatory change in the Federal Register in April 2013, U.S. Fish and Widlife proposed to safeguard eagles despite issuing 30-year permits by forcing energy companies to commit up front to taking steps necessary to protect the birds.
“We intend to incorporate into the terms and conditions of the permit a commitment from the applicant to implement additional specified mitigation measures that would be triggered if new scientific information demonstrates that the additional mitigation measures are necessary for the preservation of eagles,” the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wrote. “These additional specified mitigation measures could be described in detail in the permit so as to reduce uncertainty with respect to costs.”
Good luck with that, said Michael Hutchins. He’s the national coordinator of ABC’s Bird Smart Wind Energy Campaign.
“The methods to mitigate the impact of wind turbines on birds and bats are highly untested,” he said. Of the permit change, he said: “Basically, this is a big experiment with our public resources in the balance.”
ABC has other concerns. Because wind-energy companies self-report bird fatalities, the veracity of those numbers is difficult to verify, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife maintains the information as proprietary. Such lack of transparency makes it difficult to get a true fix on bird and bat deaths caused by wind-energy projects, Hutchins said.
“Birds and bats are a public trust resource,” he said. “he public has a right to know how many are being killed. We can’t find out. Nobody will tell us.”
Estimates range as high as 880,000, Hutchins said. The number of deaths related to wind farms might seem insignificant when compared with U.S. Fish and Wildlife estimates of other sources of bird mortality. Collisions with buildings might kill 97 million to 976 million birds annually, and collisions with vehicles 60 million, according to the federal agency. As many as 72 million birds might die of pesticide and other poisoning annually, and cats are fierce predators of songbirds, killing an estimated 39 million birds annually in Wisconsin alone, according to one study.
Hutchins counters that number of birds killed by wind farms “is not trivial,” especially in light of all the other dangers birds face. “The impacts are cumulative. Altogether, they are really hammering the native bird populations,” he said.
ABC strongly supports wind energy, Hutchins said. But it must be adequately regulated and fit within a larger philosophy of reducing the world’s dependence on petroleum, coal and natural gas.
“Wind and solar both can be quite destructive if they’re poorly sited and poorly managed,” he said. Such projects need to stay away from critical bird and bat habitat. In addition, renewable energy development must be accompanied by a corresponding reduction in fossil fuel plants. “It’s not happening,” Hutchins said.
A robust application of the federal Endangered Species Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ideally should be part of a series of comprehensive federal and state guidelines for permitting wind-energy development, Hutchins said.
“Now, it’s a free-for-all out there,” he said. “There’s stuff going up everywhere.”
Hanson said the PUC in South Dakota takes wind-energy permitting decisions seriously, and it doesn’t need a heavy overlay of federal regulations. He does, however, argue that 30-year permits should be reviewed at five-year intervals.
“Thirty years is too long to extend a permit without having a review,” Hanson said.
He is not troubled by the lack of a requirement for independent reporting of bird and bat deaths.
“It’s not something someone could hide very long unless they are out there picking up dead birds. … I don’t think we need a government bureaucracy checking on that.”
Whooping cranes
But while eagles might not be in great jeopardy from wind power development in South Dakota, Hanson is concerned about endangered whooping cranes.
“There are fewer than 500 whooping cranes. The flyway for whooping cranes is right down the corridor of the best locations for wind turbines. I am very concerned with the whooping crane population,” he said.
While the cranes tend to be high flyers when they migrate, they could be at risk from wind turbines during takeoffs and landings into wind farms at dawn, dusk and at night. Hanson said if the federal government were to require wind turbines to shut down during whooping crane migrations it would make “great sense.”
Again, federal intervention might be unnecessary, claims a wind industry advocate. Wind on the Wires’ Sullivan said he knows of one planned South Dakota wind-power development abandoned because it would have conflicted with whooping cranes. This is typical of developers’ reluctance to court environmental problems when siting new wind farms, he said.
South Dakota has enough wind to potentially generate 900,000 megawatts of wind energy.
“When you’ve got that much developable wind, why waste time on a 200-megawatt chunk that has got all those problems associated with it?” Sullivan said. “There is so much low-hanging fruit out there.”
Ironically, might the ABC lawsuit make South Dakota more attractive to wind-energy developers?
Competition is fierce among states to site new wind farms, and South Dakota’s tax structure puts it at a disadvantage, Bachman said. But if the ABC lawsuit forces the federal government to more aggressively protect eagles from wind turbines, would developers look more favorably on South Dakota where eagle mortality from wind farms so far doesn’t seem to be a big problem?
“That’s an interesting question,” Bachman said. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer. It seems logical, but there’s no way to predict that.”
Migratory bird mortality
Many human-caused threats affect bird populations
number of birds killed
each year by wind turbines
killed by oil and wastewater pits
killed by communication towers
60 million
killed by cars
72 million
killed by pesticides
97 million
killed by windows
174 million
killed by power lines
39 million
killed by domestic cats,
in Wisconsin alone
Sources: Associated Press,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wind-energy projects must nagivate rules to protect birds
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)