In December 2008 an Ice Storm barreled through the northeast knocking out power. Much of the New England states were left in the dark for several days while the rural areas went weeks without electricity. For some people they found refuge in a community shelter and for others, well, they were prepared – backup systems or a small generator. My family had a generator but, unfortunately it ran on gas and we ran out, the road we live on was littered with power lines and fallen trees. Three days past before town officials were able to go down the road with a loader to clear one lane. Once there was a lane cleared we went looking for a place to buy gas, after 40 miles of traveling and several detours we found a place that was able to pump the gas because they were on backup power from their generator. While pumping the gas tanks full and watching the panic of the society trying to function with no electricity, it was then and only then, I realized we have an addiction problem. 

    We as Americans take for granted the power that flows into our house from power lines. We take for granted that gas stations will always have gas for us -no matter how expensive. We take for granted that our oil tanks in our house will always be filled so we can live in a comfortable heated zone. The American culture for the last 120 years (since the invention of the car) has lived leaving a destructive carbon print on the earth.
 

    The point of this is we as Americans are addicted to fossil fuel energy whether it is gas or diesel for our vehicle, oil for our furnace, or electricity (generated from coal or oil plants). Like every good addiction breaking the habit is painful. Are we as a society really committed to changing or are we just willing to make small changes that really amount to nothing. Are we willing to invest money now in solar for our homes, community buildings, or even the streetlights that guide our way in the dark? Are we willing to place some wind generation on our hill sides, near the ocean, or any wind alley that could supply energy for society? Only you and I together as a working group willing to resolve our addiction to energy can answer this question. 

    We now have solutions to resolving some of our energy addiction; the new Government is focusing on green energy, clean burning coal, and hybrid cars for our future. Solar companies are making strides in improving photo voltaic cells, Wind generation companies continue to improve technology that can power a neighborhood. Wood pellet stoves can heat your home efficiently while burning clean not adding any more to the carbon print than the wood would if it rotted away. We are getting there as a society but, will our efforts continue with no days off till we have reversed the damage we have done to our fragile earth. Only time will tell.

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Resources for Alternative Energy

There are many different forms in which alternative energy is available.

One of these is solar power. Solar power is driven by photovoltaic cells, and these are progressively getting less expensive and more advanced. Solar energy power can be used for electricity, heating, and making hot water. Solar energy produces no pollution, as its input comes completely from the sun’s rays.

However, much more work still needs to be done in order for us to economically harness the sun’s energy. For the time being, the resource is a little too conditional—storage batteries are needed to be used as backups in the evenings and on inclement days.

Wind energy has become the most-invested-in (by private investors and governments together) alternative energy source for the time being. The great arrays of triple-bladed windmills are being placed all over as “wind farms”, to capture the motion of the wind and use its kinetic energy for conversion to mechanical or electrical energy. Of course, there is nothing new about the concept of a windmill for harnessing energy.

Modern wind turbines are simply are more advanced variations on the old theme. Of course, the drawback to wind energy is…what do you do when there is a calm, still day? Needless to say, during these times the electric company kicks in for powering your home or office. Wind energy is not altogether independent.

Hydroelectric energy is available as a source of alternative energy, and it can generate a substantial amount of power. Simply put, hydroelectric energy uses the motion of water—its flow in response to gravity, which means downhill—to turn turbines which then generate electrical energy.

Needless to say, water is ubiquitous; finding sources for driving hydroelectric turbines is, therefore, not much of a problem. However, hydroelectricity as a source of alternative energy can be complicated and expensive to produce.

Dams are often built in order to be able to control the flow of the water sufficiently to generate the needed power. Building a dam to store and control water’s potential and kinetic energy takes quite a lot of work, and operating one is complex as well,and conservationists grow concerned that it.

Of course, a dam is not always needed if one is not trying to supply the electrical needs of a city or other very densely populated area. There are small run-of-river hydroelectric converters which are good for supplying neighborhoods or an individual office or home.

Probably the most underrated and under-appreciated form of alternative energy is geothermal energy, which is simply the naturally-occurring energy produced by the heating of artesian waters that are just below the earth’s crust. This heat is transferred into the water from the earth’s inner molten core.

The water is drawn up by various different methods—there are “dry steam” power plants, “flash” power plants, and “binary” power plants for harnessing geothermal energy. The purpose of drawing up the hot water is for the gathering of the steam.  The Geysers, approximately 100 miles north of San Francisco, is probably the best-known of all geothermal power fields; it’s an example of a dry stream plant.

To Discover how You Can Power Your Home With Alternative Energy Click Here

To Learn how You Can Convert Your Vehicle to Run on Water Click Here

For Information on How To Build Your Own Electric Car Click Here

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During the old hot rodding days,oil was king. It was also only about 25 cents a gallon, and everyone thought there was an endless supply. Then we were hit with the oil shock of the seventies, and we realized that there was not an endless supply of oil (only of lines at the gas tanks) and we had to change our ways. Big, gas guzzling cars had to give way to economy models,and many of the traditional car companies suffered. But continued hish oil usage still threatens the supply.

This fact has forced the world to look at alternative sources of energy to fuel our vehicles. What knd of alternatives are suitable to running cars? Let’s have a look at the facts.

There are many forms of alternative energy, primarily from the forces of the earth: water (tidal or hydroelectric), air,waste (biomass), the sun and the earth itself. But currently, we only meet 10% of our energy needs through these alternative natural sources. Coal, gas and nuclear fuel supplies 88% of our needs, and oil 2% For vehicles, however, oil is by far the biggest source of power. Diesel and gas oils powers most of the cars, trucks and SuVs on the roads today. Biodiesel fuel such as vegetable oil, methanol and ethanol are starting to be used in some buses. Using the same logic, we should be able to make our cars into mini-windmills or mini solar panels. But this use is limited and we nee to find a longer-range solution.

What does the future hold?

Using alternative energy directly in cars is not practical. What’ the solution, if not windmills and solar panels? Hydogen as a source of fuel for vehicles has proven to be the most viable. Many hydrogen powerd vehicles exist today, and more are being developed.

How do we involve alternative energy more in our lives? Hydrogen as a source of power is extracted form a number of different natural resources, such as water, biomass, coal and methane. The best source is water and many cars today are being run on fuel cells that extract hydrogen from water.

There are many processes to extract hydrogen molecules. But, in general, all of these processes require electricity tofunction. As the world’s population grows, the demand for power and energy grows with it. That will help the popularity of hydrogen power, but this type of alternative power will eventually be replaced by other, more efficient types of alternative energy.

So the quest for other, better energy sources for our vehicles will continue. We may see the day when an extremely powerful solar cell or roof mounted turbine will power a car for miles.

For now, the present problem of finding alternative energy solutions to power our vehicles continues. The task is large, but it is certainly is achievable.

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Homeowners have a terrific opportunity at hand to do two very important things. First, they can save themselves money by generating free electricity for their homes. In the process they will also have a positive impact on our environment. DIY solar power gives every homeowner the opportunity to do both of these things. In fact, it is possible to generate so much electricity that you have extra to sell back to the power company and make a profit.

Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. The oil and gas we use to power our homes and vehicles will be gone some day and that day is not that far off. This has become truer than ever as country such as china and India have accelerated their level of consumption of this energy source. Prices continue to rise as supplies decrease and the tensions in the mid-east add to the problems where we get much of our fossil fuels.

By tapping into the energy of the sun however, you now have an infinite amount of energy that can be converted into electricity. The sun is the most powerful entity in our universe and each and every day it radiates its energy to our planet. We now have the technology to harness that energy and convert it into electricity so why in the world wouldn’t we take advantage of that?

A commercially manufactured and installed solar power system for an average sized home can cost tens of thousands of dollars. By contrast, a DIY solar power system can be built for less than $200. It is a project that you can do yourself as it requires no special skills and all the parts and materials required can be purchased at your neighborhood hardware store.

You can buy the plans online, complete with step-by-step video instructions, for about $50. The plans will spell out everything you need to do to build your own photovoltaic solar panel. It is actually a very rewarding experience to construct your own solar cells and install them on your home and it’s a great project to share with your family and friends if you are so inclined.

Even one panel will begin to make a dent in your utility bills.  Add one, two or three more and the savings will be even more significant. Your home solar energy system can be constructed to create enough electricity to power your entire home and you will no longer even have to think about paying the power company every month.

Building solar panels have grown into a business for some people. Once they have learned to make them easily and efficiently, they can build a panel in less than two hours time and sell them for a profit at $500. The demand for solar energy is only rising and everyone is jumping on the band wagon. The savings are a great enticement as well as the good they do for the environment.

In addition to saving money on your utility bills, DIY solar panels have other advantages as well. The government is now allowing a tax deduction for any source of renewable energy used in your home. DIY solar panels are certainly eligible. They also will increase the value of your home. You can’t lose investing in alternative energy sources and adding solar panels to your home is so easy to do!

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