Fshhead's WunderBlog

Snowfire THANX for the link. Article pretty much sums it up. I told Snowboy before that he should buy land up there in Canada cause if it hits the fan here in the States, you know where we all are going to be headed lol!!!!

K, so here is I guess an objective view of the Tesla car. Found "kinda" a downfall that is pointed out. They used leather for the seats & pointed out that if the car was supposed to be "green" they did not take in the livestock factor. Well I guess nobody is perfect lol Man I can hear the comments already lol
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Now here is real interesting story on Nikola Tesla's electric car in 1930!!!
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This is news to me. Saying that he could run car from tower that provided the electricity. I had heard of the tower. I just recently posted a story saying that we just started doing wireless electricity. This guy was already doing it in the 30's lol Man was a true genius.

Posted By: crucilandia at 1:26 PM GMT on June 18, 2007.

I appreciate your support folks. Support has been notified about this. Thank you for letting me know.

Guys your making to much of a big deal about this rating system lol. All that happened is Cruc's comments were hidden cause they had a negative rating thats all. He was not reported or anything. Besides like I said it looks like someone went & positively rated them so now they show.
For future use.... If a comment is hidden all you have to do is click show comment & it's right there. Thats what I have always done.
Once again Cruc, it was not me that did it. We may TOTALLY disagree on most things BUT, that is part of a debate(or so I thought!!!) Besides I personally think it's better to see what comments are being made from the other "side".

Posted By: MisterPerfect at 1:50 PM GMT on June 18, 2007
I would compare the ever-ending Global Warming debate about as neccesary and important as a fantasy football arguement

Perfect example right there of what I am talking about(no offense Mr. Perfect lol)

Tropics, YES WIRELESS ELECTRICITY!!!!!
If this is new news to you, just check a few of the links on Nikola Tesla. He proposed this in the 30's then was crushed by his competition, Con-Edison & Westinghouse to keep his ideas from coming to light. We WOULD be living in a different world right now if this had not happened & Tesla would have been able to make his ideas mainstream!!

Cruc, YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!!Although like I said I think we disagree on just about everything lol, you are still welcome to post here. Like I always say keep it civil, post away lol

LMAO!!!! Speak of the devil!!!!

Yea, STL, I posted similar article like I said.Ahhhh, they need to do their homework here cause I do not think Tesla had acheived the potential he had touted BUT, where he was is certainly alot farther along than this MIT "breakthrough"(what a joke)

Article saying Google is pledging $10 million to help speed the production of plug-in hybrids. This is good news for sure, the more money, the bigger the payoff!!

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Big Solar's day in the sun
This is not the same old pipe dream. The economics -- and the technology -- of turning light into electricity have changed. Business 2.0 has the inside look at the industrial-strength power plants coming soon to a grid near you.
By Todd Woody, Business 2.0 Magazine assistant managing editor
June 5 2007: 8:50 AM EDT


(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- Clouds hang low over the New Mexico desert, deep inside a military reservation a dozen miles south of Albuquerque. A breeze stirs the air; tumbleweeds roll by. Then the sun shines through and a low whirring sound breaks the silence.

Six mirrored solar dishes that look like giant flowers with 15-foot stamens come to life. They pivot in unison, slowly tilting to face the sun rising over the jagged peaks of the Manzano ranges. A total of 468 mirrors -- 78 on each flower --capture the sun's rays and concentrate them into beams of light intense enough to melt lead.
At each flower's focal point, suspended on metal struts, is a Stirling engine -- a heavy, piston-driven heat engine whose design dates from the Steam Age but is now coming into its own, thanks to the grim calculus of rising oil prices, global warming, and the threat of government-imposed carbon taxes. As the tips of the engines glow white-hot, 150 kilowatts of greenhouse gas-free electricity flows into a power grid.

Welcome to the proving grounds of Sandia National Laboratories, a nine-acre field of dreams for solar entrepreneurs and a launching pad for the next era in energy technology: the age of Big Solar.
This is not Jimmy Carter's energy crisis, when government subsidies ran ahead of market realities and launched a thousand solar projects that never saw the light of day. Their rusting hulks can still be seen scattered around the test fields: 1970s-vintage solar dishes, a 200-foot solar tower, parabolic mirrors surrounded by the detritus of bygone experiments.

This is the real deal. This is industrial-strength solar energy, sold to public utilities in 20-year contracts measured in gigawatts. Stirling Energy Systems of Phoenix, whose giant flowers are gleaming in the New Mexico sun, has signed agreements to provide up to 900 megawatts of solar energy to San Diego Gas & Electric (Charts, Fortune 500) and another 850 megawatts to Southern California Edison (Charts, Fortune 500).

That's nearly six times the utility-scale solar power being produced in the United States today.
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I keep saying it over & over, solar is the one that needs the biggest push cause the rewards are the greatest. I know many here have thought I was nuts about the solar & the electric cars being powered by it. Well it sure looks like the trend is indeed going in that direction! LMAO!! Maybe they all started reading my blog! (just kiddin')

Well here is very bad news to say the least. Report came out saying that China already is beating the U.S. in Co2 emmissions. This was not supposed to happen for several years. BAD,BAD, news!!!!!
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Check this out, Google really getting into this. You saw a few posts ago where Google is pledging $10 million to further hybrid car technology. They are ALSO getting into the solar aspect too. This website shows the panel setup, how much electricity it produces on a graph scale & info showing how many appliances & such can be run off them. This installation is projected to produce enough electricity for approximately 1,000 California homes or 30% of Google's peak electricity demand in our solar powered buildings at our Mountain View, CA headquarters.

Check it out, pretty interesting.
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Why Plug-in Hybrids?

Transportation related greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for roughly one third of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and at least 20% globally. In the US, over 60% of the transportation emissions result from gasoline consumption for personal vehicle use. We believe that plug-in hybrids capable of running on biofuels are the best near term option for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles can achieve 70 -100 miles per gallon, quadrupling the fuel economy of the average car on the road today (~20 mpg), and doubling the fuel economy of a regular hybrid car such as a Prius (~45 MPG). A plug-in hybrid is different from today's hybrid because it has a higher capacity battery and the car can be plugged into a regular 120-volt outlet for charging. Because it is operating primarily on electricity for the first 20-40 miles, the car operates much more efficiently and uses dramatically less gasoline. Manufacturers are now designing plug-in hybrids that may not use any gasoline at all for those first 20-40 miles, and since more than 70% of Americans drive less than 33 miles per day, many will not use any gasoline in their daily commutes -- but they retain the flexibility of using the hybrid gas engine for longer trips. In addition, plug-in hybrids will often recharge at night using excess power from base-load power plants that are already running, so they won't generally add to peak electricity demand. During daytime peak power usage, plug-in hybrids may be able to sell power back to electric utilities, potentially earning drivers as much as $2,000-$3,000 per year (see http://www.udel.edu/V2G/).

People often ask whether this won’t just shift pollution from cars to power plants, but even without adding any new power plants, the existing U.S. electrical grid has sufficient capacity to fully fuel three quarters of the nation’s 217 million passenger vehicles, assuming the average car drives 33 miles per day. This integration of hybrid cars with the electric power grid could reduce gasoline consumption by 85 billion gallons per year. That’s equal to a 27% reduction in total U.S. greenhouse gases, 52% displacement potential of U.S. oil imports, and $270 billion avoided in gasoline expenses (see http://www.pnl.gov/energy/eed/etd/pdfs/phev_feasibility_analysis_combined.pdf).

Broader Energy Management - Vehicle-to-Grid Transmission
Increasingly, there are ways for each of us and for corporations to generate electricity through renewable resources and store electricity that can be sold to a power company. There is significant potential for plug-in hybrids to also become power suppliers. This vehicle-to-grid ("V2G") approach may be particularly attractive when there are peaks in power consumption that a utility may not be able to handle through normal power generation. When utility demand exceeds normal generation capacity, the utilities resort to stand-by power generating sources (which often cause higher levels of emissions) and in extreme cases instituting rolling brownouts. At significant scale, plug-in hybrid batteries could help deliver power during peak times when it is often the most expensive. This could generate revenue for the car owner and help the utilities deal with peak demand.
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Personally I feel at the very least right now we should be using the plug in hybrid using ethanol as the liquid fuel source. LOL, that would put a dent into our "addiction". I think it would be a good mix have pure electrics & hybrids using ethanol being charged by solar powerHmmmmm nice!!!!

BTW... my brother being the big Gore fan that he is pointed out that Gore does have big ties into Google. If it is him driving Google in this direction then he finally got smart, do it behind the scenes & keep your mouth shut. I think we all know by now the consequences of when he makes that mistake of speaking. YIKES!!!!!!

The World's First Solar Cell Phone
By Hank Green

Tue, 19 Jun 2007, 11:56AM

We've seen the prototypes and heard the speculation for years now, but here we have it, the world's first solar cell phone, and you can buy one right now...if you happen to live in China.

HiTech Wealth telecommunications has just begun selling the S116 and the specs are pretty impressive. However, the $510 pricetag will have you wondering why you don't just get an iPhone. A 1.3 mpx camera, and an MP3 player are fairly standard additions to cell phones these days, but the solar panels do make this guy stand out.

The panels trickle-charge the battery in any amount of light, including indoors (or even by candlelight), and the battery life is 2.5 times longer than it would be without the panels. An hour of direct sunlight will give users 40 extra minutes of talk time. While this first model is pretty exciting, HiTech Wealth will be releasing six more solar phones within the year and has promised 30 solar models before 2009.
Via Inhabitat and Xinhua News
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Ahhh a good night, found ALOT of good stuff for you guys through my travels on the great wide web. lol

LOL & I thought the comment about Gore being connected to Google would generate some comments Hmmmmmm

Tropics, as ALWAYS, THANX & a good day to you also!!

Hmmm interesting BUT,confusing!!!!! I keep hearing & reading that we are in a heightened solar period with the near future at a peak. kinda makes sense. Well one thing for sure if GW is not occuring or if the solar scenario unfolds, we sure know how to get all the Co2 back into the atmosphere. Help, your article was duely noted.

Yes Perfect, those 1st models of the solar phone may just be inadequate but, they are saying another 30 models will be released by 2009!!!! I think by then they will have figured it out. Tell you what they need..
Solar film that is coming into production in South Africa!!!!!! This is one aspect of that film that I thought of right away,cellphones & laptops. The film would be perfect for this!!!

Not sure if you all saw the 18 seconds banner up in the top of the entry??
The site will give you a banner that tells you how many bulbs that have been purchased & how much savings it produced. Also tells how much Co2 is prevented & the equivalency of it taking cars off the road & coal not being burned.

Good news here. Article saying that Solar is getting close to conventional U.S. power sources in cost. Says in a few years that the costs should be equaled.
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Senate passes pro-renewables energy bill
By H. JOSEF HEBERT and KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON - The Senate passed an energy bill late Thursday that includes an increase in automobile fuel economy, new laws against energy price-gouging and a requirement for huge increases in the production of ethanol
In an eleventh-hour compromise fashioned after two days of closed-door meetings, an agreement was reached to increase average fuel economy by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon for cars, SUVs and pickup trucks by 2020.

But the fuel economy issue threatened to topple the legislation up to the last minute. Majority Leader Harry Reid held off the vote until late into the evening so several senators could be called back to Capitol Hill to provide the 60-vote margin needed to overcome a threatened filibuster from pro-auto industry senators.

Shortly before midnight, senators voted 62-32 to cut off debate, and followed by passing the bill 65-27. The measure now awaits action by the House, which is expected to take it up next week. But attempts to combine the two bills and send legislation to President Bush probably won't be possible until later this year.

Bush, who was in Alabama visiting a nuclear power plant, said Congress must "be realistic" about the energy legislation and acknowledged that while he supports the increase in ethanol use, he also opposes much of the legislation.

The White House said the president would be urged to veto an energy bill that includes the price-gouging measure, arguing it amounts of price controls. The president also repeatedly has said he opposes Congress mandating a specific mileage number for auto fuel economy. Bush believes the Transportation Department should be given increased flexibility to set a standard.

While Democrats proclaimed a victory, they failed to achieve several of their top energy priorities.

Republicans blocked a $32 billion tax package to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, refusing to go along with $29 billion in taxes on the oil industry to pay for it. Republicans also refused to allow a vote on a measure that would have required electric utilities to produce at least 15 percent of their power from wind, biomass or other renewable energy sources.Reid called the setbacks unfortunate but said in a statement that the bill "starts America on a path toward reducing our reliance on oil by increasing our use of renewables and for the first time in decades significantly improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks."

It would be the first increase in vehicle fuel efficiency since the current 22.7 mpg for cars was put in place in 1989 and the first time Congress has imposed a new auto efficiency mandate in 32 years.

Supporters said the new requirement would save 2.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2025, when large numbers of the more fuel-stingy cars will be on the road.

Republicans complained that the energy bill is tilted too much toward renewables and fuel efficiency and does nothing to boost domestic oil or natural gas production.

But its supporters said it reflects a shift to a new energy priorities, away from promoting fossil fuels to supporting other energy sources such wind and biomass to make electricity and ethanol to power cars and trucks.

The legislation provides a bonanza to farmers and the ethanol industry. It requires ethanol production to grow to at least 36 billion gallon a year by 2022, a sevenfold increase of the amount of ethanol processed last year.

The legislation also calls for:

_Price gouging provisions that make it unlawful to charge an "unconscionably excessive" price for oil products including gasoline and give the federal government new authority to investigate oil industry market manipulation.

_New appliance and lighting efficiency standards and a requirement that the federal government accelerate use of more efficient lighting in public buildings.

_Grants, loan guarantees and other assistance to promote research into fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrids, advanced diesel and battery technologies. percent ethanol or biodiesel fuels.

The legislation for the first time would establish a single fuel economy standard applicable not only to cars, but also SUVs and pickups, which currently have to meet less stringent requirement.

The minimum fuel efficiency would vary for different classes of vehicles based on weight and size, but all vehicles would be expected to increase their fuel economy by 10 mpg over today's levels by 2020. Manufacturers would be required to meet an overall fleet-wide average of 35 mpg.

"It closes the SUV loophole," declared Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., referring to current requirements that allow much less stringent fuel efficiency standards for SUVs and pickup trucks than for cars. "This is a victory for the American public."

Automobiles currently must meet a fleet average of 27.5 mpg. But SUVs, vans and pickups — which account more than half of the passenger vehicles on the road, have to meet a lesser 22.2 mpg fleet average.

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A good bill BUT, 2 things they blocked were the most important issues. I really wish they would have got some money back from big oil. These companies have been raping us while making RECORD profits!!!!!!!!

Man, really peeved here about them not going after the oil companies to recoup some of those RECORD profits they "earned". This is the best way in my opinion to get the push that alternatives need. The way I look at it, they helped cause it, they knew about it & chose to continue even though the consequences were known!!!

BTW....Hu WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

LightningDude, the solar cycle issue HAS been covered here already. Hate to tell you but, the I.P.C.C. report states that the solar activity accounts for about 10% of the warming at best!!!!!