Green Energy...apparently for losers

Never trust anyone who claims "green energy" is the losing side of this battle...if it were Mitt's decision all these wind turbines in Iowa would be taken down...or put out of business because green energy is apparently for losers. 

In 2011 about 18.8% of the states energy came from wind turbines. With about 4400 megawatt capacity only the largest state in the country has a larger wind energy output. This green energy movement has lead to about 5 billion dollars worth of investments in wind farms.

Thank you wiki for the quick reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Iowa

(CNN) -- Republican nominee Mitt Romney has frequently railed against efforts championed by President Barack Obama steering money to promote "green energy."

He continued that line of attack Wednesday night, decrying what he described as "$90 billion in breaks to the green energy world."

"These businesses, many of them have gone out of business -- I think about half of them -- of the ones that have been invested in have gone out of business," the former Massachusetts governor said.

So are Romney's assertions correct, both about the size of the "green energy" program and what happened to those companies that got money from it?

The Department of Energy proudly touts that the 2009 stimulus authorized $90 billion "in government investments and tax incentives to lay the foundation for the clean energy economy of our future."

Fact Check: Is Donald Trump a small business?

But not all that money has been spent, and not all of it -- in fact, not even half of it -- is being directed to upstart green businesses.

Part of 2009's much larger $787 billion stimulus package,this money went toward things like the weatherization of more than 770,000 homes and cleaning 688 square miles of land formerly used for Cold War-era nuclear testing.

Many individual companies did benefit directly. The government website that tracks stimulus spending lists 27,226 individual awards under the "Energy/Environment" section, totaling just shy of $34 billion.

The Department of Energy this June specified "33 clean energy projects" of a larger scale as part of its "loans program." Of those, financing had been "closed" on 20 of them. The intent was to promote new technologies and approaches, not necessarily old ones.

There are also other things such as high speed rail and smart meters -- which are listed elsewhere, under "Infrastructure," as part of the same overarching stimulus legislation. Accounting for things like that, a report from the Brookings Institution non-partisan think tank this April tabbed the total green stimulus spending at $51 billion.

Then, there's the matter of whether half of those companies that have gotten money "have gone out of business."

A few recipients of the government funds have hit hard times. The most well-known of them is solar panel maker Solyndra, which received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. Two years later, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Fact Check: Oil and natural gas production under Obama

Still, it is unclear where Romney got his figure that "half" those businesses are no longer operating.

The Energy Department cites several success stories like one of the world's largest wind farms in eastern Oregon, massive solar power plants in Arizona and grants to Ford to produce fuel-efficient cars.

In fact, of the 28 funded projects -- involving 23 companies -- listed in a 2012 congressional report, only four involve businesses that were either sold or are not in operation.

So In conclusion:

It is fair to say that the 2009 stimulus authorized $90 billion for green energy, as Romney asserted. Whether or not one terms these as "breaks" is subjective, and one shouldn't assume that all the funds went to specific businesses like Solyndra.

Most of the large projects that benefited from the Department of Energy loan program remain in operation -- contrary to Romney's assertion that "almost half" of them had closed.

Thank you Fact Check from CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/04/politics/fact-check-green-energy/index.html

CNN's Julie In and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.

Apparently some of our potential world leaders struggle with arithmetic....

Precycling - Like recycling only one step further

Reducing waste by reusing products or by buying a product based on its potential to be recycled.

Recycling a single aluminum can saves the amount of energy needed to power a television for 4 hours

What it is all about:

Precycling is a broad term that means anything from buying items in bulk in order to cut down on packing material to brining reusable grocery bags with you to the store. How many plastic bags get filled everyday later to be thrown away in the garbage?

The difference between "precycling" and recycling is the idea that precycling takes the initiative even further. It makes the consumer think more about what they are buying and how it will effect the world. Not just reducing waste but also reduce the potential for waste.

How to implement:

Precycling is just as much about doing something positive as not doing something negative. It is easy to precycle and the more effort you put in the bigger the pay off. Find the companies that use only organic ingredients and recycled paper to package the food item. Try to avoid single serving items or items that have a lot of packing. Use the fabric bags at the store...save the plastic bags and recycle them (most grocery stores have a place to recycle plastic bags).

 

Does it work:

There is no question here...we all share the same planet so why poison the drinking water and foul up the land will landfills?

In 2009 the average American generates 4.3 pounds of trash per day...or 1,569lb a year in Maine (about 40% recycled)

 or 1,980lb a year in Wisconsin (34% recycled)

If you buy stuff with a lot of extra packing the manufactures will KEEP MAKING ITEMS WITH WAY TOO MUCH MATERIAL
Think before you buy!

Check Out Natures Web Store for the best prices on LED lights

Get the best in low cost, high efficiency, next generation LED lighting at www.natureswebstore.com. LED lights are very eco friendly, they also save you money on your energy bills!

You can get wind and solar heating parts for the DIY'rs and professional with 2nd day free delivery using your Amazon Prime. 

They all make wonderful and enchanting gifts too!

Solar Energy....why bother?

Why should any of us bother to use solar panels?

Solar Panels on a House

• Solar energy is just about as natural as it can get....besides the small cost to put the panels together and ship them around the world.
• The sun is the engine for the generation of energy. The very same engine that has fed the entire planted. The same source that had made that fossil fuel millions of years ago. 
• We must utilize the power of the sun for use now...not in millions of years.

Okay fine...so what can you do with solar panels?

• Yes you can charge just about anything given enough solar panels. It takes about 36 cells if you buy them in a 3X6 grid...each one of them will produce approximately 1/2 volts so if you can get 36 in series you will be able to produce 18volts. In our case 18 volts would be enough to charge some 12volt batteries. 

Great but that seems expensive....I mean brand new solar cells are quite costly...

• That is true however if you are willing to invest in some new panels you can also purchase some cheap damaged panels from ebay or even from the warehouse. All you would need to do is discard a few of the damaged cells and replace them with new cells you will be able to make more panels for a lower cost.

The investment is just too big for me right now...I won't be able to afford anything if I spend all my money in panels...

• We all know that feeling...however there is another perk to using a renewable energy source. Two terms are used to describe the fact that the city you live in will have to buy your excess energy produced by solar panels. 
• A Feed-In Tariff is a term used when a utility company sets a set rate for small energy producers. These prices are usually higher because the utility company can just as easily pass that price on to their consumers. This pricing practice generally removes the volatile nature of the wholesale market.
• Net Metering would be something quite different. This makes better sense for those small energy producers that will generally always use more energy then produced. The idea is when energy is generated using a green method the utility meter on the house will roll in the different direction. This means the consumer can ultimately get paid if the household produces more than it uses.

Hmm...well that sounds a little better.

APG to Present at Green Transportation Conference

American Power Group today announced that Lyle Jensen, President and Chief Executive Officer, will be one of the featured lunchtime presenters at the Green Transportation Conference, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 24 at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Jensen will provide an overview of APG's operations, dual fuel technology, EPA approvals of engine families, and other industry achievements. In addition, a customer vehicle which has been up-fitted with APG's dual fuel solution will be on display at the conference.
The Green Transportation Conference is an alternative fuels and fleet modernization event and organizers anticipate that more than 450 fleet owners and managers will be in attendance.
About American Power Group Corporation American Power Group's alternative energy subsidiary, American Power Group, Inc., provides a cost-effective patented Turbocharged Natural Gas(TM) conversion technology for aftermarket vehicular, stationary and off road mobile diesel engines. American Power Group's dual fuel technology is a unique non-invasive energy enhancement system that converts existing diesel engines into more efficient and environmentally friendly engines that have the flexibility to run on: (1) diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas; (2) diesel fuel and compressed natural gas; (3) diesel fuel and pipeline or well-head gas; and (4) diesel fuel and bio-methane, with the flexibility to return to 100% diesel fuel operation at any time. The proprietary technology seamlessly displaces up to 80% of the normal diesel fuel consumption with the average displacement ranging from 40% to 65%. The energized fuel balance is maintained with a proprietary read-only electronic controller system ensuring the engines operate at original equipment manufacturers' specified temperatures and pressures. Installation on a wide variety of engine models and end-market applications require no engine modifications unlike the more expensive invasive fuel-injected systems in the market. See additional information at: www.americanpowergroupinc.com 

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Other things I find useful to recycle.

Currently there are a few other things I try to grab before they get hauled off into the garbage, I enjoy saving bottle caps, corks and crown royal bags. All of these things continuously get thrown into the trash and accumulate volume in our dumpsters.
There is a high goal in saving these random items however. That larger goal is to see these items that should be thrown away and watch them transform into a beautiful work of art. Possibly an installment of one sort or another. It is currently winter in my neck of the woods so there is no current project besides to stockpile as many bottle caps as possible. The crown bags are used for storage of all sorts and soon possibly a nice blanket made from the soft lush fabric...or maybe some slippers...
The wine corks are used pretty much just for filler or vases and things like that....basically just to look pretty. It is a little silly to buy a bunch of beans or rocks to fill a glass just to look pretty so when I found someone using wine corks instead I began to gobble them up too.

I love to recycle and you should too!

I truly love to recycle everything I possibly can. I think we all should join together in the movement to lower our collective carbon footprint.
This blog will be a small initiative to help spread the word of all things Green. Wind, Water and Solar to start with and then later we will search deeper and find new and interesting ways to implement different projects.
First project will be mostly about gaining enough resources to afford a few solar panels and hopefully we will get the ball rolling from there...

Please follow in the footsteps of removing our carbon footprint and replacing coal with cleaner fuels.
If you are any sort of Earth Scientist then you know we have massive natural gas resources. A new company has come out of the woodwork and they are in the business of removing our foreign dependence of oil...Even though we get most of our oil from Canada and Mexico however that is bad enough.
If you are into trading stocks and want to diversify your portfolio I would recommend checking out the company...American Power Group or APGI on the stock exchange
Duel fuel is the next step towards the future