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Hooked on electricity
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
I woke up at 5 a.m. on Sunday. I wasn’t sure why. The house was quiet and there was a soundless rain outside. I was planning on snuggling back into bed for at least two more hours after checking on the old dog — assuming it was she-who -needs-to-go-out-at-exceedingly-early-times who woke me.
I decided to check on the teenagers too. And there in the in the “playroom” or Texas basement or whatever you call that room over the garage, was a nightmare of electricity consumption. The room was ablaze in light. The TV was blaring. The DVR was glowing. The 14-year-old asleep on the couch as only someone his age could be. He was sent to his room — where a light also had been conveniently left on.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, conservation, consumption, Electricity, Fossil Fuels
The scoop on poop: Dairy operations power themselves
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
Okay, here’s the poop on cow power: Dairy farmers from Wisconsin to Vermont are learning that they – and their bovine partners – can produce more than milk and manure. By converting the methane from cow patties  into electricity, rural farms can provide their community with power – and in the process, eliminate the odors associated with dairy farming.
“The neighbors like it,” quips Steve Costello of the Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS)’s Cow Power program, which supplies 4,000 customers with the help of 6,000 cows. “You can have a barbecue on the Fourth of July without worrying the dairy farm next door is going spread some manure and wipe everyone out!”
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Tags: · biogas, biogas from manure, cow power, Cow Power program, Crave farms, Dairy, dairy farms, digester, Electricity, Farming, Farmstead Classics cheeses, livestock waste, manure, manure digesters, manure fertilizer, manure recapture, Recycle & Reuse, Vermont, Wisconsin
Beware the Snackwell Syndrome; it could sabotage your energy savings
April 21st, 2009 · 1 Comment
From Green Right Now reports:
Power bills got you down, and you can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong because you’re trying to do so much right?
The Alliance to Save Energy wants you to realize the most from your efforts to reduce electricity consumption, so they’ve released this checklist for you to consider as you try to trim those galloping electric bills:
1 – If the payoff from your home fleet of energy efficient products doesn’t seem to be reducing your electric bill, ask yourself is it the “dreaded  Snackwell effect”? Are you gulping energy in the belief that your more efficient computer, TVs and refrigerator will curb the bill so significantly you no longer have to worry? This phenomenon, akin to dieters indulging on low-calorie foods (like Snackwells) because they estimate that they’re consuming fewer calories overall, could be giving you a false perception of the energy-tightening you’ve done.
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Tags: · Alliance to Save Energy, conserve energy, Electricity, energy consumption, energy efficient appliances, Home Energy, power strips
25 percent renewables by 2025 would bring jobs, lower electric bills and rural benefits
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Shifting the U.S. toward more renewable wind and solar power would not only generate thousands of jobs and lower consumers’ electric bills, it would create new income for rural residents and vastly reduce carbon emissions, according to a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The UCS released a study today showing that if utilities were required to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025 it would:
- Create nearly 300,000 new domestic jobs
- Save consumers some $65 billion in lower gas and electricity bills through 2025; up to $95 billion through 2030.
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Tags: · clean energy, Congress, Electricity, Green jobs, power generation, renewable energy standard, RES, Solar Power, U.S. Department of Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Wind Power
ExxonMobil launches ‘cogeneration’ plant in Antwerp
From Green Right Now Reports
As long as the world is busy refining crude oil for gasoline and other petroleum products, it may as well try to maximize the benefits from the process.
That’s the aim of “cogeneration” plants, such as the newest one put into action by ExxonMobil in Antwerp, Belgium. The refinery there will capture heat from the refining process to generate electricity, “cogenerating” or making dual use of the refining process, according to a press release.
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Tags: · Add new tag, cogeneration, Electricity, ExxonMobil, Fossil Fuels, global warming emissions, heat, refineries, steam
Energy conference: no time to wait on smart grid
By John DeFore
Green Right Now
A high-powered conference on the future of energy in America was held Monday in Washington; while it produced some consensus about the foundation necessary to meet future needs, it suggested there might be conflicts ahead in getting there.
Attendees, who ranged from former president Bill Clinton to officials at state utilities, heard plenty about the necessity of a new “smart grid” capable of shuttling electricity cross-country from renewable sources like wind and solar farms to the high-density cities that need the juice.
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Tags: · Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Electricity, Harry Reid, National Clean Energy Project, smart grid, Steven Chu, T.Boone Pickens
Shade trees slash power bills
By John DeFore
Everyone knows that shade from the sun keeps you cooler, but a new study has quantified the benefit in a way homeowners might want to note. The right kind of shade, it turns out, can easily shave ten percent off your summertime electric bill.
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Tags: · Auburn University, Electricity, green building, Trees
New Mexico Electric Providers Collaborate On Solar Power
By Barbara Kessler
It’s not often you get a warm and fuzzy feeling about your utility provider – unless perhaps a brown out zaps your air conditioning and the summer sweat blurs your vision. But New Mexico residents can think happy thoughts about their power companies.
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Tags: · Electricity, New Mexico, Parabolic Trough, Solar Power
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