Florida's place in the energy delimma

I recently read an article I ran across written back in 2007 about Florida and the energy/global warming issue. You can find it here (http://www.climatebiz.com/column/2007/08/24/florida-dark-horse-alternative-energy-race) This was the comment I posted there and think is worth posting here too.

I don't understand where the writer gets the information to base the comment "neither large-scale wind projects (no wind) nor large-scale solar projects (too much cloud cover) are viable here". I recently did a little research on wind here in Florida and understand that the Atlantic coastline from Georgia down to the Cape is a "prime" location for "wind harvesting". And although we may have more than our share of cloud cover, if solar tech was implemented throughout both the residential AND business markets and then combined with both large and small scale wind power, we could reduce our dependence upon 'dirty' fuels dramatically. And speaking of large scale projects... why is it that everything has got to be large scale to be worthwhile or worthy of government/corporate sponsorship? If the goal is truly to make important and sweeping changes to the way we generate power throughout the state, why not fund small-scale projects and concentrate on a distributed power network approach to energy production? Consider this: During the recent gasoline price crisis, we've been told to drive a few miles less, inflate our tires and carpool to force the price of fuel down. So, by the same logic, distributed power production (i.e., residential solar and wind installations, community based wind farms, small business incentives to do the same, etc.) should be what we're being encouraged to implement. Yet most of the 'solutions' I hear about more often are either large-scale projects like new nuclear plants and 'clean coal' conversions or new and mostly unproven biofuel tech and the like that won't even be viable options for years to come and may not actually reduce GHG problems anyway. I liken it to the recent talk about allowing off-shore drilling for oil. That is to say, that it may very well increase supply and theoretically reduce fuel prices, but it obviously won't make any difference in our near future since it is estimated that it will take at least 10-15 years for any new wells to come online and affect supply, and again won't help reduce GHG at all.

Is HHO (OxyHydrogen) Fuel a smart way to go?

Ok... I've been doing some reading, research and experimentation with "hydrogen fuel cell technology" and have found some interesting stuff.

Firstly, don't be confused when I talk about a "hydrogen fuel cell" in this context. I'm not talking about high-tech storage systems for liquid hydrogen, I'm talking about an "on-demand" device that uses electrolysis to break the oxygen and hydrogen molecules out of water. Of course, it takes quite a bit of electricity to release enough gas to feed the average car engine, but one of the extraordinary things about this whole idea is that your car already produces more electricity than it needs, so there should be enough 'spare' energy to energize your electrolysis cell without even having to add any batteries or additional generator/alternator.

Second, a gaseous fuel of hydrogen & oxygen can actually CLEAN your engine from the inside out! Even if you mix your OxyHydrogen gas with a more conventional fuel such as natural gas or propane, or even using vapors of liquid fuels (like gasoline, alcohol, ethanol, etc.) your engine will run cleaner, cooler and more efficient, and the exhaust will release many times less toxins into the atmosphere.

Third, although the corporate world will fight tooth and nail to keep this type of technology off the shelf, it is such a simple thing to build that I believe we'll begin to see more & more of these installed 'after-market' in home garages across the country. And the conversion to gaseous fuel from liquid gasoline is one of the least expensive alternative energy adaptations. And these conversions can be performed on just about any car. Of course, every different make/model will need to have some slightly different configurations so I don't know if we'll ever see a 'universal' kit made, but from my experiments with different components for the electrolysis cell, I estimate that a complete conversion to an on-demand hydrogen/oxygen (or hybrid fuel) system can be done in most cases with an investment of less than $1000 (give or take depending on some variables such as labor prices for someone to complete the job for you if you're not a mechanically inclined person, etc.)

If you're interested in talking about a conversion for your car from liquid to gaseous fuel, especially if you're thinking about using hydrogen, email owner@youhelpbuild.com and let's chat about it.

Last night I had this crazy little dream... really.

I somehow found a way to get a motor home, diesel of course, packed up all my junk and I took off across country toward Arizona. Don't ask me how I got the motor home cuz I have no idea how I would acquire such a thing with no money and a credit score approaching a negative number. Anyway, I painted my cell phone number all over the thing touting my services for computer repair and my love of alternative energy, strapped a 55 gallon drum on the back and the first chance I had, I converted the thing to run on biodiesel fuel. Every time I stopped for food or sleep, I looked until I found a restaurant to supply used cooking oil to fuel my trek. Along the way I made money for necessities by fixing PC problems and setting up wireless networks for people. Before long, I was setting up wi-fi hotspots and websites for restaurants & hotels along the way, all the while educating people on the alternatives to fossil fuel. Offering to show them how they could save money by converting to biofuels (which can actually be made easily and safely in their own backyard or garage) and how they can use solar or wind power to reduce their dependence on the local utility company. By the time I got to AZ, I was able to afford to get settled AND I was able to convince my friend that we could start our own electric car conversion company. She's a very special lady, not only because she can put up with me for more than a day, but also because she used to be an aircraft mechanic and has experience & knowledge that makes her indispensable. At first, she & I simply built our own little electric car from junkyard parts, and in less than a month ended up with a snazzy little racer that would blow the doors off anything else in the state both off the line and in the quarter mile. From there we had people coming to us from all around the city to build them one too. Kids looking for an awesome 'tuner', neighbors hoping to save money since the price of gasoline had gone through the roof, and even local news celebrities were putting us on the six o'clock news and asking if we could convert their news vans. Soon enough we had a list of advance orders so long that we knew we'd have to turn it into an "real" business with a production facility, employees and everything. With the help of other friends, family and people that we had helped, I soon found a run-down shopping mall, converted it into our new production facility, and with our newfound success we were able to build a new kind of company... rather than a publicly traded corporation that siphoned profits to pad the pockets of a privileged few, we fed the profits back into the company and employees providing them with much better than a 'living wage', benefits that surpassed even the top 5% of the corporate CEO's and we built such a strong working community that we began to actually take a toll on the oil & car companies. It happened within such a short time that they never knew what hit them. We didn't try to introduce some new type of automobile since reinventing the wheel is just a bit too much to ask. We simply converted anyone's 'gas guzzling' junker to a clean 100% electric or biofuel enhanced serial hybrid that could be plugged in & charged via the grid or by plugging into solar/wind power (which we began to sell and install as well). We began buying up entire junkyards full of old gasoline jalopies and refurbishing them into electrics, not to sell outright for profit, but to offer to employees and eventually to charities and public transport companies. And the more we made, the more our employees shared in our success.

Soon we were providing educational benefits to cover entire families, tearing down old broken down neighborhoods and rebuilding energy efficient, bio-friendly homes in their place and 'giving' those homes away at cost to those people who needed them most, as well as providing them to employees of the company at cost as well. Whole communities were built on the concept of distributed power production and eco-friendly design and soon we had created what once was called a 'boom-town' with family owned shops and businesses, and a place where families could live without stress or fear because everyone had what they needed & wanted, and if they didn't there was no reason to take from others because all they had to do was ask for the help they need.

Ever hear of Utopia Colony? (Yes, I'm a HUGE Star Trek fan... even DS-9) What's to say it's not possible?

Ok... maybe that last part wasn't in my dream. I just added that part as I wrote this because I want desperately to believe it could work. If we could collectively work toward such a goal, it's really NOT impossible. I don't believe that such a place or plan can solve ALL of the problems throughout our society, but I do believe that it could make it MUCH easier for us to handle what problems that would be left for us to tackle. I know it sounds more like some cartoon fantasy than a plan for the future, but tell me something... where would you rather live if you had a choice? All it would take is the belief (faith) in ourselves to work together and create that reality. Are you willing to be one of the few that believe in something better and work for it, rather than spend the rest of your life following the rules of the corporate pigs that keep us working for their benefit rather than our own? It is all a struggle, no matter which you choose, but why struggle to make their lives easier and keep our lives the same, or condemn our children to that same life? Let's put our energies into working for a future that our prodigy can enjoy and be proud of rather than dooming them to the same day-to-day, worthless grind that we've grown to believe is the only way to get by. What do you say? Ready? Ok... now I'm gonna hit you with the big 'sales pitch'... where I tell you how I need your help to get started. So, how much am I gonna beg you to pry out of your already overstretched budget? How about a buck? (two if you're willing) I don't think anyone else should break their bank account to help me, but if this reaches even 1% of the people throughout the country, and if only a small portion of those people can find an extra 4 quarters that they can contribute, I should be able to make this dream a reality, or at least get a good start. The goal isn't to take the money & run, the goal is to start a small, grass-roots movement to help educate as many people as possible to the benefits of using alternatives to fossil fuel while building a new kind of company. Not a profit driven megacorporation dedicated to the almighty greed of a few suit wearing power mongers that couldn't build anything with their own hands, but a community driven company dedicated to the people that actually do the work to build something special. Got a buck you can spare for a truly good cause? Give up a mocha latte or buy a small fry next time you're out and then log on to http://theFuture.YouHelpBuild.com and find the DONATE button. Or better yet, take a look at some of the neat stuff that you can buy there. Anything you purchase through the site gives us a small commission which is the same as a straight donation, and you can find some really cool gifts and alternative energy stuff too! Solar cell phone chargers, DIY home wind generators, T-shirts, bumperstickers, and even toys for the kids. Either way, any help you can provide will get us that much closer to making a true difference.

Thanks for everything...

Just a quick post to thank everyone that has helped me to find my way in this strange little world. Keep being green.

How much is it worth to you?...

I've wondered for a while why it is that I always hear & read that it isn't economical to use solar, wind and geothermal power whenever possible or converting to Ethanol to reduce carbon emissions.

I know many people that will drive an extra 5 miles out of their way when they know that they can save a few cents per gallon on the gasoline for their car. Averaging 15 gallons per fill, that might save them as much as $0.45 total, or if they fill once per week around $25.00 per year. Yet, that DOES NOT reduce emissions or the use of fuel, it simply puts a small amount of money back in their pocket. But I suspect that there are extremely few people who would drive out of their way to purchase ethanol MIXTURES (remember, commercial Ethanol fuel is still mixed with fossil fuels). I don't have much direct knowledge of that only because Florida residents haven't been given that option yet due to the lobbyists that have our state legislature wrapped up in the 'oil blanket'.

I'm also curious why not very many individuals (let alone businesses) are willing to push this country's corporate & government interests toward 100% electric vehicles? Ever since their very earliest development of powered transportation we collectively realized that those machines that were driven electrically were MUCH more economical overall, not only because they would provide "clean" rechargeable transportation, but also due to the fact that there are fewer moving parts to break down, and much less overall stress & vibration which tends to allow what moving parts there must be last much longer. And this was even before solar electric power was even considered! Now, not only can we can create a vehicle that will travel much further on a single 'charge', but we can develop multiple charging sources to include solar, wind, geothermal as well as fossil fuel resources (although MUCH lesser the latter). So why is it such a difficult idea to get across today? Is it possible it is because those that make the most money do so only if petroleum continues to be the primary power source for our transportation? I mean, let's face it folks... if you really want to take a close look at it, the only 'reason' behind not doing everything within our power to get away from fossil fuels is that those that own/control the oil interests realize that renewable energy and 100% electric transportation across the board isn't PROFITABLE!!! At least, not for them, but for the average citizen it is the best way to reduce the cost of living HANDS DOWN! Not only would we spend less to charge an electric vehicle (especially if we use solar & wind as the primary charging source) but that in turn would reduce the transportation costs of EVERYTHING ELSE WE USE.

Here's a quick challenge out to any of you readers who study economics: I believe that about 85% of the cost of ANY product that you purchase on a retail shelf is actually the cost of the energy that it took to get it there. Can anyone out there prove or disprove that?

So, let me take a quick sec to restate the top question of this entry... How much is it worth to you? Really!

Let's see about whether it's worthwhile to install solar or wind generators for your home. If the average cost per kilowatt hour is $.10, and you use 2000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month (approximate amount of energy consumed in a typical household in Northern US is 2613-2857 kWh/mo - Source : Department of Energy Annual Energy Review 2006) then let's try to figure out a few other details. If you install a 120 watt PV array (a couple of solar panels on the roof) and you get 'good sun' for an average of just 2 hour per day (yeah, right) then you can produce around 7200 watts (7.2 kilowatts) of electricity per month. If you have a 400 watt wind generator on your home/property with useable winds (around 7mph in most cases) for an average of 2 hours per day you can produce around 20,000 watts (20 kilowatts) of electricity. And you should remember during our discussion that energy costs have skyrocketed over the past couple years, so these estimated costs/savings are definitely low. PLUS, as more consumers buy solar & wind systems the demand for them will drive the prices down for them as well. And of course, if the demand for fossil fuels drops, the prices will drop for them as well. Then you can take the additional step of changing a few other things around your home (i.e., using energy star appliances, increasing insulation, using programmable thermostats & timed lighting and of course using compact flouresent or LED array light bulbs, etc.). Once you take all of these 'small' steps toward reducing your addiction to fossil fuels, you begin to find that you've reduced your overall costs, as well as becomming somewhat 'energy independent' as well. (For some great information on energy use in the U.S. visit this MIT.edu page.)

I haven't mentioned the savings to us all in healthcare costs relating to the poisons in our atmosphere due to fossil fuel use (just take a look at how much carbon your car puts into the atmosphere and then add all of the other poisonous gasses and carcenogenics). We haven't discussed the overall effect on our day-to-day lives by being surrounded by quiet, clean transportation and a healthier, greener planet. And I don't even want to get involved in the discussion about how our national security and economy would be strengthened by becomming completely energy independent. That is for a completely different blog. But if we really take the time to answer the question: how much is it worth... What do you think?

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Personal Air Vehicles (PAVs)... I like the idea!

This I got from a blog I found today on a great site
(check it out)...
Flying Cars? Maybe Soon a 40 MPG Airplane.

"...NASA’s PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) Challenge just may be the ticket. The PAV Challenge is a contest modeled after the successful “X-Prize” Space flight competition. To stimulate rapid innovation and progress in PAV performance, NASA has funded $2,000,000 in cash prizes for the PAV flight competition.

Personal Air Vehicles (PAVs) will be a new generation of small aircraft that can extend personal air travel to a much larger segment of the American population. As a solution to America's future mobility needs..."

After reading thru the comments on the page regarding the article, I had to say...

"My thought is that we need to concentrate on 100% electric powered aircraft (and vehicles too), recharged via Solar, Wind and thermal transfer technologies (the earth isn't the only place there is naturally occurring heat that can be used to create electricity is it?) therefore reducing our impact on our environment while allowing more transportation options. It's absolutely ridiculous to suggest that we all just travel less, or just give up on flying. Maybe it's not NEEDED, but it sure would have less impact on our environment than more & more roads, not to mention the amount of waste rubber from millions of tires wearing away from millions of miles driven over those roads every single day.

Anybody ever think about trying to design ULTRALIGHT PAVs? All electric personal aircraft build for the short & medium range commuters, able to take off & land in very short distances and rechargeable (sp?) via solar systems AND plug in charging technologies? I'm not a pilot, or an aeronautical engineer, or even a real genius... but I'm really curious what arguments can be made against it :) (I know, that's probably inviting WAY more than I want to hear, but I really am curious)"

OK... up, up and away we gooooo.....

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