Day to Day Green
Archives 

Show All

  • 2015
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
      • Some Solar Power Systems Use Water Adding Confilct for Arid Locations
        10/30/09



        As most of you know, there are many types of solar energy systems to take sunlight and make electricity. What a lot of people do not know is that some of the systems need water to operate. The connection may seem fuzzy, but it will be clear as day in a minute.

        In the c

      • Flintstones House Had Real Life Inspiration But Was Unaware
        10/28/09



        Clearly built from local materials this house in Portugal immediately reminded me of the Flintstones house. This home is real, two stories and even the wood for interior stairs was collected locally.

        Follow the link for some more neat architecture.

      • Warning About Halloween Face Paint
        10/27/09
        Not to scare everyone, but you should know what you put on your childs skin. There are some face paints that have questionable ingredients.

        The testing, by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of health and environmental groups, found that many face paints -- including those used

      • Vertical Farms - Do They Make Sense?
        10/27/09
        I have had my questions about this. I just didn't see how growing fresh fruit and vegetables in city environments would be economical. The related link has a lot of good points about the subject. From an economic standpoint, it really can't work with our current situation. Consider how

      • Just Good Advise - About GPS and Safety
        10/27/09
        This is not energy related, but I have been using a GPS for about 7 years now. I have had a Garmin V and a Tom Tom. I loved the Garmin, but the Tom Tom was years newer and had really cool features. By today's standards, both of mine are out of date. My Tom Tom software runs locally inside m

      • Worlds Most Efficient Solar Cell Has a New Record at 35.8%
        10/26/09



        Lets start by saying that all solar cells are not created equal. This is not a solar cell as mentioned in a previous article, this is a compound cell. This is much like stacking cells, but it is a lot more complicated. These are the kinds of cells used on satelites. The stackin

      • Neal Hot Springs in Oregon Will Be Producing Power With Geothermal
        10/23/09



        Making use of natural Hot Springs to make electricity is not new. This particular site is new. The sites second well was completed on October 15 and is known as "well NHS-5". U.S. Geothermal initiated the development drilling at Neal Hot Springs located in eastern Oreg

      • Solar Lantern for $10 Aimed at Developing Nations
        10/22/09



        The Kiran provides up to 8 hours of bright light on a single day's charge using its highly-efficient LEDs that produce about five times more light than a kerosene lantern.

        Find out more at the related link.

      • Dell Creates Covered Parking with Solar
        10/21/09



        This environmentally friendly parking lot at Dells Round Rock Texas headquarters will generate 130,000KWh of green electricity annually. This is great use of a parking lot and is something I have been actively researching for our school district.

      • 28 Percent of Power is Used for Heating the Average Home
        10/20/09
        An easy do-it-yourself project that should offer an immediate payoff in lower bills is to insulate your water heater. Particularly if your heater is in an unheated part of the house, a fitted water heater blanket can pay for itself quickly. Also insulate at least the first 6-10 feet of hot water sup

      • Wines - Boxed Vs Bottled
        10/19/09



        Many wine connoisseurs will have a hard time with this. If the aging is done in the barrels and the wine produced will be consumed within a year, the box should have equal quality wine arrive at the table as a bottle. To go a step further, the box does not allow air back into the

      • Do Low Rolling Resistance Tires Make Enough Difference To Justify Cost?
        10/16/09



        The Department of Energy says 5 to 15% of fuel economy is used for overcoming rolling resistance. This means your existing car could benefit by 5% or more from low rolling resistance tires. The trick here is that this tire type is almost never produced for your basic or larger ve

      • 6 Year Old Boy Is Safe - Never Took Balloon Ride
        10/16/09
        This really is a happy ending. I figured I better post this in case someone stumbles on this entry sometime in the future.

      • 6 Year Old Boy Not In Balloon When It Landed
        10/15/09
        (CNN) -- A runaway balloon has touched down in Colorado after a 6-year-old boy untied it from his family home in Fort Collins.

        The boy was not inside the helium aircraft when it landed, CNN affiliate KMGH reported.

      • 6-year-old Colorado boy floats away in balloon
        10/15/09



        Keep thinking positive! This is one brave kid who probably did not have any idea what kind of ride he was in for.

        See the article at CNN. I hope he makes it out of this safely.


        From the article this far:

        The helium balloon was tethered to th

      • Electric Bicycles Get Stylish
        10/15/09
        Over at the EcoFriend blog, there is a nice entry with lots of pictures showing off a new, very stylish electric bicycle. The bike is designed to be compact with 20" wheels while the configuration is for someone who would normally ride a 28" wheeled bike.

        The motor is a 250 wat

      • Drive to Link Wind and Solar Power for a Unified Grid
        10/14/09
        There is an article in the Wall Street Journal about a "super station" being proposed for connecting the major electrical networks. The purpose would be to allow renewable energies to be transported between regions without an entirely new infrastructure.

        See the related link fo

      • The Rain Has Come!
        10/13/09
        Well, if you live around here, then no doubt you have noticed the rain. Parking lots are flooding, rivers close to overflowing and roofs leaking. We have been very busy dealing with this storm. Check out my August 7th posting about El Nino and you may see some correlation with the prediction of a

      • A Reminder of the Basics - Save Energy to Help the Environment
        10/09/09
        These are easy and have an additive impact on your budget and the environment, a win-win.

        1. Turn off lights when you leave a room more than 5min, even at work. If you are the last one out the door, you are responsible for the impact.

        2. Carry your own water. Do not buy bottl

      • Save a Tree, Stop Junk Mail
        10/08/09
        A while back, if you stopped your junk mail, they probably just moved the bulk mail to another address. This is because we need to all get on board to stop it. Now with a global awareness of how trees help the environment, it is likely that stopping the junk mail will actually have an impact.
      • Green Food - Cooking for Budget and Planet
        10/07/09


        This may seem an odd fit, as you know I sometimes throw these types of subjects into the mix. The food you prepare at home has an impact on the environment as well as your budget. The budget often causes us to buy more processed or chemically altered food that has a higher yield and th

      • Is Renewable Energy Destroying Natural Landscapes?
        10/06/09

        Photo from the original blog - follow related link.


        This is a question raised on another blog. I think there are some good points in the article and heightened awareness can help prevent problems.

        We need to consider the impact of renewable energies. Solar panels

      • The Worlds Largest Windfarm Officially Went Online at 9pm Last Night
        10/05/09
        From the article:

        Texas is now home to the world's largest wind farm. The 781.5 MW Roscoe wind complex has been completed and went live last night at 9:00 p.m.

        Built by E.ON Climate & Renewables, the $1 billion farm covers 100,000 acres of land across four counties in

      • EPA Intends to Curtail Greenhouse Gas Emissions
        10/02/09
        The New York Times has an article about the EPA and GHG's. As Congress is slow to take action, the Obama administration has encouraged the EPA to regulate GHG's.

        If this happens, it will affect large producers such as power plants. After my article yesterday, this is really re

      • Do Renewable Energy Sources Pay For Themselves
        10/01/09
        It has been brought to my attention that certain renewable energy sources do not pay for themselves. I've been told there is no real return on investment - or is there? In my mind, a product or resource that I have come to depend on and refuse to do without is something I pay for. If I have

      • Avoid Toxins, Use Natural Cleaners
        10/01/09
        This subject pops up periodically - Cleaners. Keep in mind, there are options that don't come with extra packaging, advertising and expense.

        Baking Soda has a ton of uses. White vinegar is often overlooked for its cleaning properties as well. Here are a couple good recipes for cle

    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June