Alternative Energy? It’s not always rocket science.

Alternative sources of energy: is it too complex, too ‘out there’ to even contemplate? Worse, is pursuit of glamour and glitz getting the go-ahead while the practical gets pushed aside?

Sure, wind farms look good, so long as the wind blows steadily. Solar has promise, too. But. There could well be more practical alternatives right under our very feet. Two examples- one to do with life down on the farm, and then, let’s head up to the big city.

If you have ever had the pleasure of staying over in a bed and breakfast; next to a feedlot (or even driven by a feed lot at 80 miles an hour on the interstate), you know that the stench of manure is nothing to sniff at. Yet, this vapor, rich in methane gas, can, with the help of an anaerobic manure digester, be transformed into energy.

In addition to producing energy, an anaerobic manure digester improves hygiene of the farm, reducing odor, fly problems and the like. It provides animal bedding, and creates a fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Incidentally, if you scoff at the existence of ‘odor free methane gas,’ methane is key ingredient in natural gas.  Thank you, Sierra Club for this tip. See: Sierra Club Magazine/March-April 2012.

Oh and hey kids, build your ‘AMD’ right here: USDA guidance Perhaps some kind of loan funding could help the farming community in this transition.

Now on to the city. Performance Contracting is where energy costs can be markedly reduced. We are all becoming familiar with this process. As old furnaces die, more efficient furnaces are going on line. Better insulation, lower-cost-to-operate lights, and more fuel efficient cars with a longer service life are also examples of this trend.

A little more complex, but with the implementation of smart electrical grids, rates for energy usage can be demand based. Power plants are currently being built to meet peak demand times- i.e. extreme weather, hot or cold. But if some activities can be time-shifted to lower demand times, it may become cost-effective for rate payers to shift their demand and the electric utility to offer a reduced rate to encourage users to do so, thus changing consumption patterns and leveling demand throughout the day.

On a larger scale, here are other examples of more energy-efficient practices: An office building in Okinawa freezes a water reservoir at night, to provide cool air-conditioning by day.  In Zimbabwe, the Eastgate Centre uses a design inspired by African termites to markedly reduce AC and heating costs.

We are definitely in for a very interesting next 10-20 years. Will algal oil ever become practical? Why pump primordial ooze out of the ground that began fermenting way back in the Paleozoic Era and it often only accessible in dangerous, difficult and inconvenient places. Instead, we we can brew our own…

What’s next, brave new worlders? Solar panels in space, with power microwaved to earth stations?  Gigawatt megapolis sized batteries…The only limit is in the imaginative genius of our scientists and engineers and the support of our citizenry.

Move over teabaggers. Make room for the Espresso Patriots.

TR gave us the Square Deal, FDR the New Deal; OBAMA, give us the Real Deal!
It’s about time our country reinvigorates, revitalizes, revamps Education, Infrastructure,
and the Industrial Government Complex. As Thomas Friedman has titled his new book
“That Used to Be Us.” If you haven’t read this book, please do so.
It can be us again, back in the saddle again, off to reinvent America, and by proxy, the world.
China is sick, Russia is aging, while Muslim reactionaries are getting pinged by Predators, and ST6.
There’s a leadership vacum out there craving to be filled by stalwart sensible Espresso Patriots, teabaggers!
Let me hear an Amen!

I hate health clubs- It’s all in what we bring to the game.

One of the things I hate about going to health clubs is these guys that put a towel on one bench, a water bottle on another and then maybe place their keys someplace else marking their territory so no one else can use the stuff. After they so lay claim to all this equipment, what do they do? They stand someplace else complaining to another athlete about how they strained their shoulders from pressing too much weight the day before. Then, while rubbing their elbows and scratching their bellies, they compare notes on what electrolyte they drink what muscle groups they plan to work on that day. Is that the reason why America is obese–Athletes unwilling to share the equipment?
So anyway, there I am at the health club. I wear my Oregon State t-shirt, got my OSU Beaver team mascot water bottle, and my OSU towel. I’m searching for a therapy ball that doesn’t have a towel on it, or a water bottle leaning against it or is otherwise marked or in use. Believe me, I’m about ready to buy one of those home gym specials for only three payments of $29.99 plus S&H.
Fortunately for my three year membership contract, I find a semi-deflated therapy ball. I do my 15 reps or repetitions. But at rep 5 who should show up but Leroy. A big man with hairy biceps, dragging his knuckles on the ground, Leroy looks down at me, taps my ball with his foot. He says “Dat’s my ball.”
What do you think, fellow athletes? Is it his ball? Is Leroy going to share? Is he running into the equipment shortage too?
No way was it his ball.  “Look,” I tell Leroy, continuing my reps. “It’s gym property. Get your own ball. I got six more reps with this one.”
You won’t believe this, but Leroy grabbed the ball out from under me on rep 13 of 15.

“Hey,” I said. “Watch it, big man. Where do you think you are? Can’t you see we’re all in this together, for the sake of health and longevity?”
“Huh?” Leroy says.
I take this to mean he didn’t hear me. So I tell him loud and clear. “I said you’re a big man with a big mouth. I got two more reps coming to me. Give me back my ball.”
He frowned at me and walked away with the ball. Believe you and me, I decided right then and there, I would not give him the time of day! Which was all very well and fine, except on my way back to the locker room, who should be blocking my way, but Leroy.

When I attempt to step around him, he pushes me against the wall. He says, “Hey, about what happened over there, I’m sorry for my behavior.”
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.
He points at my t-shirt. He says “You see I’m University of Oregon and when we Ducks see beaver tack we get swamp fever.” <<Editors note: Oregon and Oregon State share an intense local rivalry>>.
We shake hands. We’re reconciled. It’s no longer a confrontation; it’s a college prank.

The next time I go to the gym, I don’t wear my OSU tee shirt, I don’t bring my OSU water bottle. Lo and behold, the equipment is much more open! Guess my clothes colored the way the gym looked to me!

My Review of NUUN Active Hydration Tablets – 4-Flavor Variety Box

Originally submitted at REI

NUUN Active hydration tablets contain electrolytes, vitamins and minerals to help you stay properly hydrated throughout the day!

NUUN Active Hydration Tablets – 4-Flavor Variety Box

Does the job without the aftertaste

By tedmag from Oregon, USA on 3/11/2011

4out of 5

Pros: Provides A Boost, Good Taste

Cons: No break on volume purchs

Best Uses: Electrolyte replacement

Describe Yourself: Cycling Enthusiast

Nuun tablets are clean and easy to use. They give a nice boost without the ‘buzz’ I, at least, get from some of the other electrolyte replenishers out there. Plus Nuun is more convenient to store, to dispense and to use. I used them on my recent cycling trip in the tropics–and on other forays into the wilds. I do have one suggestion; Nuun is not a ‘quick fix.’ So: don’t wait until you are bonking to drink your Nuun. Be proactive.

(legalese)

What about the North Korean Escapees? How do they cope with the changes in South Korea?

Trouble keeping up with the changes in the modern world?

Take a walk in the shoes of North Koreans who travel south

until they are breathing free.  In the Christian Science Monitor, August 9, 2010

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0805/North-Korean-refugees-adapt-to-life-school-and-prejudice-in-South-Korea

The Congressional Investigations: Will honor, integrity and value be consigned to the dustbin of history?

The congressman may grill, embarass and browbeat the CEO’s of Toyota and BP. Will they likewise extract an “I’m sorry it happened” from Goldman Sachs? Hello. What’s the point? Does making the powerful appear powerless appeal to a certain block of voters? While this may be great STYLE; where’s the SUBSTANCE? What about fixing what ails society? What about holding people accountable? Will the $20 Billion in restitution ever be spent? Can the Gulf of Mexico be restored to pre-spill condition (or better)? How long will we live in this netherworld?

While cycnicism (and apathy?) towards these things may be the ‘generally accepted reality measuring principle’ of such things, one can only look back in awe at other times in history when the top 1% of society took too many liberties with the remaining 99%. At such times, when ‘enough was enough,’ true change took place. The signing of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address come to mind. When will we see their ilk again? For those desiring to revisit those acheivements, I’ve compiled ‘Those Self Evident Truths;’ 72 minutes of audio inspiration for your edification. Available through itunes. follow the link above.  Thank you for your support.   

I

How America Can Rise Again – The Atlantic (January/February 2010)

James Fallows points out a few glitches in our present system-such as how 41 rural states with 12% of the US population can tie up the Senate. Would that American can muddle through. Read more at:

 How America Can Rise Again – The Atlantic (January/February 2010).

Some say we’ve outgrown God, Others say We’ve outgrown Technology. What’s up with That?

A quick read of any newspaper makes it clear, we are in a brave new world, a world which, judging from the works of Christopher Hitchens, has ‘outgrown’ God. God is not ‘sophisticated enough nor perhaps even intelligent enough to deal with the fast pace, the amoral code of conduct, ad nauseam, etc. Therfore it becomes the duty of believers everywhere to set teh record straight, while there still is some memory of such a record. Humanity has not outgrown God. Now admittedly, the ice gets thin here (climate change)? For while there are those who say we’ve outgrown God, there are some righteous godfaring types who are as quick to say ’we’ ve outgrown technology.
For instance, if you are following genetic engineering at all, you’ve heard the genes that produce spider’s silk can be grown in a goat teat. The results are a very strong and lightweight  material. A question arise; What would God do? Well, the answer is he’s made man a little lower than the angels and given him a brain in the bargain. Hopefully junior’s brain with the spider silk in the goat’s milk is a brighter idea that Dad’s vision of yanking petrochemicals out of the ground and polluting the earth, air and sea all over the place.  

This strong material is being used for bulletproof vests for the military.  It is also used to make surgical patches and for other uses as well.
While ther are those who see a conflict between technology and God, my only response can be be “If God did not want people to think, God could have saved everyone a whole world of trouble by giving the dominon-over-the-world thing to the ants.
Those kind gentle hearted souls who look askance at technology have my sympathy. I too am often amazed how in the 20oo’s, CEOs made almost 300 times what the average Joe/Joane did. In the 1960′s, the ratio was 10% of that. Be that as it may, technology and the benefits of smarts arent going away anytime soon. Now is no time for the kind-hearted touchy-feely types to turn off on technology. The dynamic between government, industry and the people is a never ending battle- even food, a basic element of life gets caught up in the fray.

Speaking of replacing petrochemicals with organics, the gas and auto industy offers a classic case study in how industry and government have pulled one over on the people . Thanks to consumer activists, we now have (more expensive)safer cars with cleaner emissions. But even now, fuel efficient lags far behind.

Read EcoBarons–most urban areas would have been far better off with mass transit instead of such reliance on the automobile.

What the world needs now more than ever is for industry, government and the people to all meet at the same table and act in the best interests of everyone.

During the American Revolution, the church played a vital role in such a societal transformation…would that it could again.

Christmas at the White House

God is not dead

While it may delight scholars like Christopher Hitchens to throw brickbats at Christmas, some of his information is more a reflection of his agenda then a reflection of mainstream (common) Christian practice.
1) Christmas does not celebrate the birth of a ‘Miraculous Baby.’ It is a celebration of ‘the Godhead appearing in human form.’
2) As a nation founded in large part as a refuge for persecuted Christians, Americans need not look to the Quoran for proof ‘Mary mothered a prophet.’

We read in Luke 1:46-55 where Mary herself says:
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.’ RSV

Note also Mary’s commonness. She refers to herself as a ‘lowly handmaiden,’ much as Michelle Obama refers to the White House as ‘the People’s House.’ By all means, the midwinter celebration of common people should be celebrated in the ‘the People’s House.’ It is not an accommodation to the President. Indeed, has there ever been a President of the United States who said ‘God is dead?

Christianity is a religion of the people. It makes no claim to exclusivity. Over the years, as new adherents were welcomed to the faith various trappings have been added to the celebration of Christmas. There were no carols or Christmas trees in Bethlehem in the year ‘0.’ Indeed, there was no year zero. But more on that later. Christmas trees were added by the tribes of Europe as Christianity spread there. Evergreen Trees…Evergreens/Eternal Life/Get it? It is a bit of a reach, I know, but go for it. There is a metaphor in there somewhere that makes a kind of statement on how life goes on, despite famines, wars, crime, the storms of winters and…ad infinitum.
To confront the disasters of life, some people may rely on ego defense mechanisms; others practice faith, such as Christianity preaches.
So; who says when it is Christmas? –I agree completely with Mr. Hitchens and his adherents. No one knows the exact date The Christ was born. According to the Gospel accounts of ‘shepherds in the fields,’ theologian William Barclay speculates it was likely spring–when the shepherds stood guard over the baby lambs. Attacks from predators necessitated the additional protection. This again demonstrates the flexibility of Christianity meeting the needs of common people. The Christmas celebration was established in mid winter as this is a time when people are more often in a more reflective frame of mind, as they tightened their belts, planned their futures and engaged in other such chores as are appropriate to Christmas. In the old days, in the spring, folks were too busy planting crops (and guarding lambs).

We really should explore the question of ‘When is it Christmas’ much deeper? There actually is no year ‘zero. There is only a year 1 BC and a year 1 AD. But no year zero. The Julian Calendar was not even established until 525 AD, about 100 years after the fall of Rome. The concept was simple. Basing our calendar on the birth of Jesus, the eternal king, allowed everyone to use common series of years.

Prior to this uniformity, people might say ‘in the 23rd year of the reign of King John,’ or ‘in the year King Uzziah died.’
I am however, not so rigid a Christian thinker as to NOT believe that at some future time (whether it be 500 or 5,000 years from now) some other Great Event may occur that utterly changes how we common people synchronize our calendars. I will only say this. Whatever that future event might be, it will have to be really BIG to beat Christmas.

The Real Cap and Trade—Seven Billion Affected!!!

With the Copenhagen Climate Summit happening soon, there has been much skepticism raised on the value of cap and trade. Questions abound. “Is Carbon Dioxide really that bad? Will cap and trade really motivate the use of alternative fuels?
For anyone who doubts the human footprint has changed the environment, consider this. In 1960, there were only three billion people living on the earth. Soon, in the next two years, the population of the world will hit SEVEN Billion. Unless something drastically compassionate and widely supported happens soon, what will life on earth be like by the year 2050? Can the earth support TWENTY billion people? Yes, many of these people will be living in poverty, but even so, the demand on resources will continue to rise. Somehow means will have to be devised to reduce birthrates, and to more efficiently produce energy as well as process the waste stream. What do the nattering nabobs of Denial have to say about that?