Well it is the weekend and I have tasks around the house. But starting the day by checking my email and favorite news feeds I couldn't help but post this article about lawn mowing.

We are in a drought, so the photo above is NOT my lawn or mower, mine is borderline dead right now as I only water a few minutes a week. However, I still have to get out there and trim, pull weeds, put out ant stakes, etc...

The bullet points from the article:

Mow with a sharp mower blade.
Mow frequently and not more than 1/3 of the height at once.
Keep your grass 3 inches tall.
Use a mulching mower and leave grass clippings on the lawn.
Mow when the lawn is dry.
Consider an electric mower.

Hit the related link below for the full article.

Note this only saves water if you do not already do the things listed above. Dialing back the amount of water is still the best way to save water.

This morning I made an early start by going to Northgate High School to check on our solar panels and do a little house cleaning. It is a really big job to clean an area that big and I will have to return to do more.

Check out the power we are producing - click here.

This may sound odd, and it is. We are used to tires being made from rubber and petroleum based ingredients. The rubber will still be part of the recipe, but the petroleum will be replaced with other renewable ingredients like Orange Oil.

The great news is that we will probably have access to these in the near future.

From the article:

- Yokohama is now selling a model made with 80 percent non-petroleum material, substituting orange oil as the primary ingredient to make vulcanized rubber.

The new tire is called the Super E-spec (tm) and has already received the Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Award in 2008. Yokohama will initially market the tire for hybrid car models such as the Toyota Prius.

"The eco-focused dB Super E-spec mixes sustainable orange oil and natural rubber to drastically cut the use of petroleum, without compromising performance," Yokohama vice president of sales Dan King said. "It also helps consumers save money at the gas pump by improving fuel efficiency via a 20-percent reduction in rolling resistance." -

For more information click the related link below.

As many of you may know, I have been researching solar power for the school district, both thermal and photovoltaic. What you may not know is what they are.

Solar thermal refers to using the heat of the sun to heat something else. We use this type of solar to heat swimming pools or preheat water for use in our homes.

Solar photovoltaic is when we use the suns energy to create electricity. This is what we hear about on the radio with advertisements multiple times an hour lately.

Solar photovoltaic in simple terms, light from the sun hits a solar panel like the one shown above, and the energy in the light is redirected into wires in the panel. Once the energy is in the wire, it is looking to continue on its way somewhere, so we provide a path and work for it to do, like a motor, a light, or maybe charge a battery. Since the energy is coming from the sun in a one way fashion, the energy collected is direct current, or DC. This means that like a battery there is a plus and minus side to the power and for that reason the wires from the solar panel will be labeled "+" and "-".

When we put a lot of solar panels together, we chain them into groups that create the power we want. Just like stacking batteries in a flashlight, the values are additive. When we have a lot of solar panels working together we call it an Array.

Now to use the power to supplament wall outlet power, we need to do a few things to it. That is for another time. However, I will say that it involves a special device called an "Inverter" which makes DC power into AC.

I hope you find this informative and or interesting. I am looking primarily into Solar Photovoltaic for the district in order to offset our electric bills while reducing our carbon footprint. We do have 3 pools in the district that are scheduled to have solar thermal heating systems installed as soon as repairs to the pools are complete.

No related link on this one, it's all me. :)

We all see and hear the commercials, as well as get reminded by those around us that we need to wear sunscreen. Sunscreen has always been a subject that just seems to have a personal connection as much as scientific for a lot of people. The facts are simple enough, too much time in the sun will burn your skin and may disrupt cells making an increased chance for skin cancer.

What we do not often get is a real breakdown of which sunscreen is really better. We generally think that a higher number, SPF is better protection. This is only partially true.

The EWG is an Environmental Working Group that acts as a watchdog organization. This group has performed a study on over 1500 sunscreens and found that about 60% of them provide inadequate protection from the sun and have significant safety concerns.

Ironically, EWG says 41 percent of the products it tested contain ingredients that break down in the sun within minutes or hours.

There isn't one Coppertone product on EWG's list of recommended sunscreens and only two of the 50 Banana Boat and Neutrogena products were acceptable.

Based on price per ounce, the following brands were the most affordable that meet the EWG's criteria: Badger Balm SPF 30, Caribbean Solutions Sol Kid Care 25 SPF, Mexitan Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 or 30, Tropical Sands SPF 50 or 30, Solbar Shield Sunscreen SPF 40, Vanicream Sunscreen Sensitive Skin SPF 60 or 35, Goddess Garden Kids Natural Sunscreen SPF 30, Solbar Zinc SPF 38 and Jason Natural Cosmetics Mineral Based Sunblock SPF 30.

The key here is that SPF is based only on UVB protection. UVB is the light that gives you a sunburn. You may want to think that the B in UVB may really stand for Burn, it doesn't but its easy to remember that way.

There is no label or easy way to identify UVA protection. UVA is the light that gives you skin cancer and accelerates the skins aging.

The only ingredients allowed in the US that filter UVA are: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, avobenzone, and mexoryl. If you are a label reader, this may help.

For more sun safety tips follow the related link below.