With Al Gore winning an Oscar for best documentary for 'An inconvenient truth', and announcing the sequel, (supposedly) to be based on the book 'Plan B 2.0' I figure it was as good a time as any to write in my blog about one of my favorite movies.
If you haven't seen it yet, you must take a look. Hopefully I can convince someone to watch it, since I can't even convince Amy to watch it, or any of the other movies I have been motivated by lately. I watched this movie in theatres when it was showing here in Calgary, and ever since, I have been more motivated to do something, my recycling went from non existent to pretty good... I think. I can take about 4 large trash cans full of recycling every 3-4 weeks or so, plus all the cardboard on top of that, and I know that I could do better. Amy gets frustrated with me when I don't take the recycling out to the garage so when that happens, and it happens often, everything that should be recycled gets thrown out in the regular trash.
For those who have not seen this movie don't be surprised by the overwhelming guilt that you'll feel, most people I've talked to feel this way by the end. If your expecting answers, forget it, this movie fills you with questions, good questions mind you, questions we should have been asking ourselves a long time ago. Questions that will hopefully spur a motivation inside you. The movies purpose of course is to drive home the fact that global warming is more than just something Canadians hope for every spring.
Here's a random question for everyone that I have asked myself after watching this movie and still ponder on from time to time. that question being 'how do, or, do our environmental actions have bearing on us morally? ie. Wll we be held accountable for our environmental impact? I feel that we are somewhat accountable for our actions in this regard however, is it then a sin to litter? where could someone possibly draw a line. I tried to come up with some examples like littering, but as each persons situation begin different it made it quite hard, So another thought on this subject may just be that our actions towards the environment have there direct/indirect rewards and punishments while here on earth,(smog, lack of clean water, harsher weather systems) and that these things are not dealt with in the hereafter, just like, cars, homes, jobs, careers, clothes, just a couple choices I think that have little to no bearing on the hereafter. I hope my question makes sense, what are your thoughts?
All that being said, dont forget to watch the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth'
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Electric Cars
mmmmmm Electric cars...... (insert drool here)
I have been following the electric car movement for a while now and some major progress has been made in a very short time period. its not so much if they can make them viable, just how quickly a manufacturer can roll em out. and of course battery technology, always changing and getting better is really what is holding us up. The electric motor has already been at a solid technological level for some time now, however battery technology has only recently been pushed by investments and capital over the last couple of years.
We now have batteries that with a special 240Kw charger can be charged to 95% in 10 minutes giving you approx 100 mile range, however the range could be increased to almost double for a bit more on the sticker price, these particular batteries exist on the new 4 dr truck by Phoenix Motorcars available to California this Spring with limited production at 500 trucks and next year to 6000.
Still my favourite Electric car has to be the Tesla Roadster partially dependent on the Tesla name ( Nikola Tesla )and who he was. However the design and specs of this car speak for themselves with a 250 Mile range and 0-60 mph in 4 seconds this car touts better stats then probably 90% of the race cars out there and a lot better mileage given these stats comparatively, however unlike the Phoenix charging system the Tesla roadster is still charged over longer periods of about 4 hours, however if you can do this overnight in your garage, who cares. Make sure you check out there site, if anything for the pictures alone, this car is beautiful.
Recently I've also come across some interesting ideas such as 'Buy the car but lease the battery'. This could change things because the majority of concerns over electric cars are the batteries and there potential life spans. And with a lot of Battery companies competing to be the next technology used in Electric Cars you can never just tell where were gonna end up.
If you don't know the Electric car history or even if you do, you must check out the movie "Who killed the electric car"
Some other cars that are making some good waves
- Toyota Prius with Plug in option from Cal Cars
- Chevy Volt , just give me one with a Bio Diesel Generator instead and we might have a deal
- Toyota FT-HS could come out alright however its more of a hybrid concept
- Tango and you thought my Smart car was Small
I'm sure I'll post more on electric cars as they make more and more headway into a real market situation.
I have been following the electric car movement for a while now and some major progress has been made in a very short time period. its not so much if they can make them viable, just how quickly a manufacturer can roll em out. and of course battery technology, always changing and getting better is really what is holding us up. The electric motor has already been at a solid technological level for some time now, however battery technology has only recently been pushed by investments and capital over the last couple of years.
We now have batteries that with a special 240Kw charger can be charged to 95% in 10 minutes giving you approx 100 mile range, however the range could be increased to almost double for a bit more on the sticker price, these particular batteries exist on the new 4 dr truck by Phoenix Motorcars available to California this Spring with limited production at 500 trucks and next year to 6000.
Still my favourite Electric car has to be the Tesla Roadster partially dependent on the Tesla name ( Nikola Tesla )and who he was. However the design and specs of this car speak for themselves with a 250 Mile range and 0-60 mph in 4 seconds this car touts better stats then probably 90% of the race cars out there and a lot better mileage given these stats comparatively, however unlike the Phoenix charging system the Tesla roadster is still charged over longer periods of about 4 hours, however if you can do this overnight in your garage, who cares. Make sure you check out there site, if anything for the pictures alone, this car is beautiful.
Recently I've also come across some interesting ideas such as 'Buy the car but lease the battery'. This could change things because the majority of concerns over electric cars are the batteries and there potential life spans. And with a lot of Battery companies competing to be the next technology used in Electric Cars you can never just tell where were gonna end up.
If you don't know the Electric car history or even if you do, you must check out the movie "Who killed the electric car"
Some other cars that are making some good waves
- Toyota Prius with Plug in option from Cal Cars
- Chevy Volt , just give me one with a Bio Diesel Generator instead and we might have a deal
- Toyota FT-HS could come out alright however its more of a hybrid concept
- Tango and you thought my Smart car was Small
I'm sure I'll post more on electric cars as they make more and more headway into a real market situation.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Earthship
I have always been interested in sustainable off the grid designs, and whilst researching the Straw Bale Design I came across what is called Rammed Earth, essentially it is just a dirt wall compacted tightly and thick 18-24", which in turn creates what is called thermal mass. Thermal Mass allows the building to regulate its temperature by absorbing the heat during the day and releasing it when the ambient temperature of the home drops.
Now there are different methods for building these Rammed Earth homes and one that caught my eye is a design called an earthship which uses the idea of thermal mass and rammed earth a bit differently. They use old tires, dirt, and a sledge hammer to really compact the dirt into each tire, then stagger these tires up about 9-10 high depending on the height desired of your wall.
You create large U shaped rooms with the opening of the U facing South. On the large south opening you create a greenhouse effect with Large windows to allow the sun in during the day. The reason this appealed to me so much was because no matter the climate, whether Ontario or New Mexico they claim to retain a comfortable ambient temperature of 15 - 20 C with absolutely no other source of heat but the Sun, and no matter what the outside temperature is. One site claimed to have a 10C temp inside during construction without the windows on yet and -25C outside (also some cool graphs on that site). That said most people will still add a secondary heat source for the home to help raise the temperature on Cold days and because most building codes require it.
Now add on your Solar panels, Wind generator for electricity, a Solar hot water heater, your rain collection and waste water treatment system your ready to go all on your own.
I think the ideas suggested for water use and treatment are very ingenious but there are simpler more effective methods that I would probably use. and of course depend alot on the build location, I'll save some of these for another post.
Some other cool points of the earthship design are the soundproofing aspect, bulletproof, earthquake and hurricane resistant, even said to withstand a tsunami impact, the main walls cannot burn as there is no air inside the wall, made with local materials, and if it for some reason has to be taken down (depending on other materials used) very little harmful waste is present, and when you take into effect that the majority of rammed earth homes are and have been standing for 1000's of years in europe and abroad the chance of this thing standing for a long time is very high.
Some Websites I've looked at, earthship.org , earthpower1 which has a detailed journal of their building process, earthship.net has some good pictures, and if I didn't make much sense then check out this video, and if that doesnt satisfy you, google it
Now there are different methods for building these Rammed Earth homes and one that caught my eye is a design called an earthship which uses the idea of thermal mass and rammed earth a bit differently. They use old tires, dirt, and a sledge hammer to really compact the dirt into each tire, then stagger these tires up about 9-10 high depending on the height desired of your wall.
You create large U shaped rooms with the opening of the U facing South. On the large south opening you create a greenhouse effect with Large windows to allow the sun in during the day. The reason this appealed to me so much was because no matter the climate, whether Ontario or New Mexico they claim to retain a comfortable ambient temperature of 15 - 20 C with absolutely no other source of heat but the Sun, and no matter what the outside temperature is. One site claimed to have a 10C temp inside during construction without the windows on yet and -25C outside (also some cool graphs on that site). That said most people will still add a secondary heat source for the home to help raise the temperature on Cold days and because most building codes require it.
Now add on your Solar panels, Wind generator for electricity, a Solar hot water heater, your rain collection and waste water treatment system your ready to go all on your own.
I think the ideas suggested for water use and treatment are very ingenious but there are simpler more effective methods that I would probably use. and of course depend alot on the build location, I'll save some of these for another post.
Some other cool points of the earthship design are the soundproofing aspect, bulletproof, earthquake and hurricane resistant, even said to withstand a tsunami impact, the main walls cannot burn as there is no air inside the wall, made with local materials, and if it for some reason has to be taken down (depending on other materials used) very little harmful waste is present, and when you take into effect that the majority of rammed earth homes are and have been standing for 1000's of years in europe and abroad the chance of this thing standing for a long time is very high.
Some Websites I've looked at, earthship.org , earthpower1 which has a detailed journal of their building process, earthship.net has some good pictures, and if I didn't make much sense then check out this video, and if that doesnt satisfy you, google it
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A Blog
Been fighting the urge to join the Blogger revolution for some time, so here goes nothing.
I wanted a way to express my "Green Desires and Intentions" so here it is, I'm sure for most readers (if any)that my posts will be like gouging there own eyes out.... with a spoon none the less, that is of course if you react anything like Amy when I try to talk to her about anything Green.
As you may or may not know I am planning to go to School for ' Alternative Energy Engineering' this fall, and I thought that starting a blog would also be a good way for me to Keep in touch while we are gone, and let you know how school is going. Between me and Amy's Blog I'm sure that we can cover it all. I haven't been accepted yet and just found out that I have to upgrade my Math grade in order to meet the admission requirements, and trust me my fingers are crossed that everything works out, cause there is a lot of things to happen between now and then, ie. the Store, the house, the car, biggest garage sale ever, etc.
Hopefully no eye gouging will be done on this post so I will leave the really interesting stuff for next time.
I wanted a way to express my "Green Desires and Intentions" so here it is, I'm sure for most readers (if any)that my posts will be like gouging there own eyes out.... with a spoon none the less, that is of course if you react anything like Amy when I try to talk to her about anything Green.
As you may or may not know I am planning to go to School for ' Alternative Energy Engineering' this fall, and I thought that starting a blog would also be a good way for me to Keep in touch while we are gone, and let you know how school is going. Between me and Amy's Blog I'm sure that we can cover it all. I haven't been accepted yet and just found out that I have to upgrade my Math grade in order to meet the admission requirements, and trust me my fingers are crossed that everything works out, cause there is a lot of things to happen between now and then, ie. the Store, the house, the car, biggest garage sale ever, etc.
Hopefully no eye gouging will be done on this post so I will leave the really interesting stuff for next time.
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