A Disaster Within a Disaster -- The Japan Earthquake

As bad as the 9.0 Japanese earthquake is it harbors an even greater danger. One of the better ways to reduce greenhouse emissions is by using nuclear power. The problems Japan is having with the power plant near Sendai will definitely setback new nuclear power plants. The sad fact is that this plant was due to be shut-down in another 12 days before the quake hit.

Modern, 4th generation power plants are much safer (and smaller, less fuel), but it will be difficult to sell the public on that fact now.

Review of "$20 Gallon"

Just finished listening to the audio book version of $20 per Gallon. A good listen, with the theme of what life would be with gasoline prices at different amounts. The author starts at $4 per gallon and works his way up from that price. The book strikes a hopeful note that life will actually become better as the rising price of petroleum forces us to stop using fossil fuels.

The indexing of the lifestyle changes to the price of gasoline was a nice touch. It's something everyone can relate to. Here's a link to the book's site:
20$ per Gallon

Copenhagen Climate Change Conference -- it's time to act!

Climate change is real science. We've studied it to death under the Bush administration and it's time to act. Even Bush appointees on IPCC agreed that climate change poses a real threat to our world. Climate change will cause mass extinctions, famine, severe weather changes, and possibility even war. Want to see Indian and China duke it out over water rights? Not a pretty picture since both countries have nukes, but it could happen if the glaciers in the Himalayas melts.

A recent CNN article pointed out this very real possibility.

Put pressure on the politicians to craft a real, workable climate change agreement at the Copenhagen Conference. Go to Blog Action Day 2009 and add your voice!

More info:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
NASA Global Climate Change Site

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at Power Shift 2009 ...

This is cool! EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at Power Shift 2009 telling the kids to get involved and rock our government. Way to go Boss (I work for the US EPA)! It's about time we tell the kids to get involved.

No matter what happens now, they will be dealing with some degree of climate change in their future!

Here's Lisa's talk on You Tube.

Earth Hour 2009

Last year (2008) Earth Hour went global. This year Earth Hour 2009 is even larger, with more cities and more countries. The premise is simple -- turn out your lights, your TV, and any other appliances for 60 minutes as a symbol of your commitment to control climate change. Yes, it is a simple step of symbolism, but at least it is a step to control a problem that every nation on earth will soon face. On March 28th lets all turn out the lights!

[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="Logo for Earth Hour 2009"][/caption]

Have kids, want to save power? Try this ...

One annoying thing about kids is getting them to turn lights off. Sure with CFL or LED lighting it's not that bad, but every little bit helps. So why not have the lights turn themselves off? Try one of these timer switches from Intermatic:

Intermatic electronic wall timers

One thing about electronic timers -- make sure they work with CFLs, some don't.

Other "green projects" for the holidays ...

While waiting for the solar power install the Clugston's haven't been idle on greening our household. Sandy and I took advantage of the deep cuts in appliance prices to buy a new refrigerator. Of course it's Energy Star compliant. In fact any refrigerator over 10 years old is probably not using power efficiently! It's a shame I won't have the time to test the old refrigerator against the new one with a "Kill-a-Watt" watt meter. The comparison would be interesting :-)

The other green project was replacing high flow faucets and shower heads with low flow units. This is an easy and inexpensive project. And you save on both water heating and water usage costs. You also reduce your carbon footprint as well (less natural gas burned).

Solar Install Update -- The modules (panels) have arrived in Fife, WA ...

Good news on my solar install. Dave Cozine sent an email that the panels have arrived at the freight terminal. At least they made it through the snow! Now maybe next week the install will begin. It'll truly be a happy 2009!

The Home Owners Association approves the solar install!

The Lakeland Hills Architectural Review Committee approved the solar project! Maybe being "Green" is getting easier :-) Next I need to get some final quotes from the solar contractors. After that it's time to select the contractor, order the system, and have the contractor install it. Might be pumping power into the Grid before Christmas! The next post should have details on the system (it'll be 2kw).

Want to help stop Global Climate change?

Try this. Homebuilders will occasionally have meetings with local community about a new development. Go to the meeting and ask what "green" features are in their new homes! For example, a developer in the Redmond, WA area is now offering solar panels with their homes. If they think you're joking, keep asking until they don't!