The heading of this article may seem like old news. However, consider how many people you know that have solar power as a primary source for their home. We probably all have knowledge of it, we know from a previous article that it is mature at 60 years old, and we hear about it all the time but it isn't mainstream until it starts to be ubiquitous. There is evidence that solar is now reaching maturity in the market place and not just technical maturity.

The push towards renewable energy over the last 10 years has created rapid growth for solar power, with signs that the industry is really starting to become mainstream. According to Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Association (SEIA), solar is now the fastest growing energy industry in the U.S. with massive growth predicted over the next five years.

"We can install so much solar energy that we will eliminate the need for any new coal or nuclear power plants in the U.S. ever again," say Resch.

The solar industry's gains continued with last week's announcement by the Department of the Interior that it will issue permits allowing the first utility-scale solar project on federal land. Over the last twenty years, 74,000 permits have been approved for oil and gas drilling on public lands and up until last week solar had received zero. This is an important step in the right direction.

Read more by following the related link below. The original article also includes a chart of the next 5 years growth prediction.

Is Wind Power Really Too Efficient? Click Here.

As many of you know already, October is energy awareness month. For me, their is an added notation because of my wind turbine project.

Things are looking good for commercial release. In the near future, you may be able to get your hands on a totally silent, high output, low RPM wind turbine that will work in many conditions a traditional turbine will not. I have recorded significant power with this turbine along the side of my house. I have recorded even more in the open space of my yard. Cross your fingers for me, it won't be long now.

Keeping with the energy theme, the AWEA has a recent publication that sites a change in incentives coming for micro turbines like mine. You may be able to take a 30% tax write off for the cost of a turbine during 2011-2016. This would really help all of us too.

I was made aware of a good link for learning about appliance efficiencies and how to get the most from them. I have written about these items here before but a nicely laid out site is always a great tool. You can visit the Appliance Help site by clicking here.

Remember, the best way to save energy is not to spend it. If you can line dry or hang clothes, go for it. If the dishes can drip dry, let them. If you can wear that pair of pants a second time, do it. All these things add up.

I'm sure if you are able to read this, you understand the job of soap. However, have you ever thought about how it does its job? Soap attracts dirt and breaks the surface tension of water allowing it to stick to surfaces and rinse away the offending material.

With this basic understanding, you can see why leaving soap behind when cleaning a spot on the floor will lead to an even bigger spot in the near future. It is important to rinse the location thouroughly.

Have you considered plain old hot water for the spot? I find that many small spots are caused by my kids spilling juice or water and the dirt from our shoes is then attracted to the location. Most of the time, using a bit of hot water and a cloth, followed by time to dry will get rid of the spot. Using hot water is much greener for the environment than chemicals and is a good first choice.

For tougher spots, I add a little rubbing alcohol to the hot water. The alcohol breaks the surface tension of the water, making it penetrate the spot and then it evaporates quickly leaving no residue to attract new dirt.

As a last resort, I use soap in the cleaning water. However, I make the solution weak and I rinse it well.

Next time you need to clean a spot, consider wheather or not it really calls for a chemical attack.

It wasn't that long ago that paper towels were not common. The idea of throwing away a towel after every use has become common place in my own lifetime. I don't know when, but what I can tell you is my grandmother didn't even keep them in the kitchen. If your experience is similar to mine, you probably can't think of a household right now that doesn't have a roll easily accessible around the kitchen counter or under the sink.

We need to change our thinking.

For routine cleaning like wiping down the kitchen counter, you can use a sponge or a kitchen towel. Not only do reusables like this help save trees, they save you money in the end. My preference for cleaning up spills is a microfiber cloth. Microfiber is very absorbent and is available in the big box stores cheap. There is a trick to making microfiber perform like a paper towel, DO NOT use fabric softener when you wash it. In fact, whatever type of cloth you might decide to use will absorb better if you skip the softener.

For windows, my first choice is newspaper if you subscribe. Remember the paper can still be recycled after cleaning windows. If you don't subscribe to a print newspaper, do what I do and use a microfiber cloth. Microfiber works really well. I can clean about 10 windows with one washcloth size towel before it is too wet to do a good job. To avoid lint, don't wash them with other laundry, get enough that you can save up a load of just microfiber rags and dish towels.

On the go, try to minimize your paper towel use too. How many towels does it really take to dry your hands? Try just one or two towels, and use the whole thing out to the edges. You may be surprised at how well they work. In fact, you might find that just one will remove enough "big drips" that your hands will air dry the rest of the way in just a minute or two.

My favorite TV personality, Alton Brown, is always talking about multitaskers in terms of kitchen appliances. This line of thinking applies other places too. Multitasking items help avoid excess production and transportation. This reduces the overall impact on the environment. As an experiment, try keeping a few rags folded neatly next to the paper towels, you may find a dozen ways to avoid using paper and discover what a great multitasker a good cloth rag or towel is.

By the way, I think Kleenex is going the wrong way with their new hand towels. If you washed your hands, then you are removing clean water from your hands. They want you to think that a damp towel might be full of germs or not remove enough moisture to dry another set of hands. I am personally amazed the product even hit the market.