energy alternatives llc

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energy alternatives llc
Green is the new red, white and blue Thomas
Friedman
Read on to see what we mean
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Dr M. King Hubbert
Way back in 1956, Dr M King Hubbert predicted
that US domestic oil production would peak in
1970 and would decline thereafter. Needless to
say, this was not something anyone wanted to
believe and the concept was much derided. Was he
right? He was so right its spooky. US domestic
oil production peaked in 1969 and has declined
ever since. So, the US has passed its Hubbert
Peak for oil production. What about the rest of
the world? Read on to find out more.
A very smart man, though by all accounts, not
very funny
There is a Hubbert Peak for every oil field, for
every region, and of course for the world. This
is the best guess of many very smart geologists
of the Hubbert peak for the world. Note the peak
point and the correlating year below
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A well known Princeton geologist recently
calculated when the Hubbert Peak for the world
would occur. His estimate? December 2005.
Oops! Were on the downside. Based on painful
experiences at the gas station, most of us are
not shocked to hear this. What does this mean?
It means our lives are going to change. The good
news is, we have many options. Read on for more.
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This innocuous looking chart holds important
clues to our future lives. What this shows is
oil field finds or discoveries vs the amount of
oil taken out of all fields. Look at the 60s!
Times were good, and it probably seemed like they
would never end. Huge new oil fields were being
discovered one after the other. Since then, in
spite of the best efforts of many very smart
people, the trend for new finds has been down.
The reason for this is simple. Oil is a finite
resource. If you look at this chart, you can see
that we currently do not find enough oil to
replace that which we use
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To put it plainly, this is the situation in which
we now find ourselves. The world uses 26 billion
barrels of oil per year. But we find less than 6
billion. Clearly, this is not a sustainable
situation
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The world is volatile place these days. And we
get our oil from some of the more unstable areas
of the globe. So, what would happen if there was
a small blip in the supply of oil? This is what
would happen. And its not just oil. It is all
fossil fuels. It is oil, and natural gas, and
coal. The point is, each of us would be well
served by taking some smart action. What to do?
Read on!
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This brings us to the Swenson Curve. The top
three choices are various forms of conservation.
Conservation as in turn off the light bulbs when
not in use. Lifestyle change could mean
telecommuting to work now and then. Substitution
could mean using some solar based technology
instead of relying completely on the power
company. All these things can be done with
little pain, and some would even save money. It
is that bottom item Deprivation can mean not
being able to fly across the country to see
family. But it can also mean so much more and so
much worse. Think famine and war Wed rather
not to go there. Read on.
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Big Ideas
Things seem rather dire, but there are ideas
coming down the pike. These are a few of the big
ideas in the works Big ideas which are good, but
still under construction. Read on for details
currently
Under Construction
CSP
Biodiesel
Ethanol
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CSP
Biodiesel
Ethanol
Concentrating Solar Power

• Rudolph Diesel originally designed his engines
  to run on peanut oil.
• Biodiesel can be vegetable oil mixed with
  regular diesel fuel.
• Vegetable oil can be new or used oil.
• Which means all that cooking oil can be recycled
  into a highly desirable commodity.
• Willie Nelson is on the job! Much biodiesel in
  the midwest. Moving its way slowly east.
• Many large scale efforts underway to facilitate
  large scale manufacture of biodiesel based on
  recycling.

• Can be made from any kind of starchy material
  corn, sugar cane, grass.
• Brazil pulled if off. Using sugar cane, they
  have gone a long way towards replacing all their
  foreign oil with ethanol.
• Unmodified cars can handle about 15 ethanol.
  Flex vehicles can handle 85 ethanol.
• Much controversy about how much petrol is
  required to produce ethanol.
• Sugar cane is better than corn, but the corn
  farmers are a powerful lobby.
• Many car manufacturers coming up with flex
  vehicles.

• - Powerplant based on concentrating heat of the
  sun and applying it to steam generator. Heat of
  the sun replaces combustion power of fossil
  fuels.
• Ideal for use in desert areas of the US.
• One CSP plant operating in California since 1980
• No Photo Voltaics involved. Materials involved
  are glass, steel, engines.
• Other plants currently under construction in CA
  and NV.

energy alternatives llc
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Which brings us to ideas for what any of us can
do NOW! Photo Voltaics or PV is one great idea.
Making electricity directly from the sun. How
cool is that? Continue on for a very simple
explanation of how PV works.
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There are many different versions of a PV system.
This is an example of a small grid-tied system
showing how the numbers can work. The 5.2 hours
is based on the insolation (or how much sun
hits an area) level for central Florida. Grid
tied means no battery back-up. During night
time, the house pulls all its power from the
grid. There are also grid tied with battery
back-up and stand-alone systems available.
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PV is a great idea, and some states offer
excellent incentives to make these systems
affordable. But there is something to be said
for going with the easiest thing first. There is
such a thing, down in a little noticed corner of
the Alternative Energy World
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Which is Solar Thermal. Or, making hot water
with the sun. In the glamour department, think
snow tires. In the efficiency department? A
solar water heater is the most efficient home
appliance you can buy. It provides by far the
biggest bang for the buck, lopping up to 30 off
your power bill. This is truly an amazing
device. Read on for more
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So, how does this work? The concept behind a
solar water heater is simplicity itself. The
collector on the roof is a completely different
concept from the photo voltaic panels and is
specially designed to capture every bit of
sunlight and extract heat from it.
The collector is mounted on the roof. Preferably
on that faces S or SW.
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This illustration is simple, but accurately shows
the basic concept of solar thermal. This system
extracts heat directly from sunlight and is the
most simple and straight forward use of solar
power available.
Water flows from the tank to the collector on the
roof where it is heated by the sun.
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Solar water heaters can be used in any climate.
There are different models appropriate for each
climate (see link in different systems for a more
in depth explanation), but the basic concept
remains the same. A direct gathering of the
suns light and heat for the greatest efficiency.
The heated water flows from the collector back
down to the tank and from there to uses in the
house.
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The operation of the open loop solar water heater
is elegant in its simplicity. This is not a
matter of making electricity with the sun and
using that for heat. This is the most
straightforward use of solar power there is. For
more information on systems and their operation,
go to the different systems link.
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But enough about how it works. How about energy
savings? We had trouble getting our minds
around this one. A car releases a pound of
carbon dioxide for every mile driven? Its
true. On top of saving you lots of money,
switching from an electric to a solar water
heater saves massive amounts of carbon dioxide
from reaching the atmosphere.
Switching from an electric to a solar water
heater Is equivalent to taking a car off the road.
Which means not putting 12,000lbs Or 6 TONS of
CO2 into the air per year.
this is true Im not making it up.
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Remember back when? Let the good times roll!
Conservation was just for tree hugging
weirdoes. Now, as Thomas Friedman so eloquently
puts it, Green is the new Red, White and Blue.
Doing our part for conservation is the smartest
geo strategic move we can make. It is good for
America, and conveniently, really good for the
bottom line of any family budget.
Green is the new Red, White and Blue
Thomas Friedman
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• Lets think about this one for a moment. Why
  would this statement ring so true?
• In a nutshell, here goes
• We are funding both sides of the war on terror.
  Our tax dollars pay for our armed forces.
  Meanwhile much of the financial support for
  terrorism comes from Saudi Arabia. Where does
  that country get all that money? In large part
  from energy purchases made by us!
• Next, you know those three billion Chinese you
  used to see riding bikes? They dont want to
  ride bikes anymore. They want TVs, cars,
  microwaves. They want their share of the fossil
  fuel grid. UH OH!!!
• And how about those scary

Petro authoritarian regimes? Think about the
source of our fossil fuel supplies. From some of
the less stable, less friendly regimes on the
planet. Like
Nigeria, Iran, Venezuela. Folks wed rather not
be dependent on. Green truly is the new red
white and blue. The patriotic American will be
going green ASAP.
energy alternatives llc
Green is the new red, white and blue Thomas
Friedman
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Here weve saved the best for last. These next
few slides show how a solar water heater is good
for your bottom line. Solar thermal will save
you money. Lots of money. Take a look at these
numbers. These are actual numbers from a 3000 sq
ft house which was totally electric before the
installation of a solar water heater. Since
rates vary between power companies, numbers are
given in killowatt hours (kWh) for easy
comparison. Check out the numbers for 05 vs 06.
Notes Temperatures between 05 06 were
similar within a few degrees. Drop from Feb
05 to Feb 06 44 Drop from Mar 05 to Mar 06
27 Drop from Apr 05 to Apr 06 65 These
numbers are not considered typical, but seem to
be typical for this house! (30 is considered
typical)
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Things just get better. That thing about green
being the new red white and blue? Uncle Sam
agrees wholeheartedly and would like to encourage
you to take part. To that end, a generous 30
tax credit is being offered for any solar based
system installed on your house or business (pool
solar does not qualify.) That is a credit, not a
deduction, worth up to 2000 for a home with no
limit for a business. Save money every month,
and have a moment of pure joy at tax time next
year.
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If you happen to live in Florida, youre in luck!
A recently passed bill offers juicy rebates for
Photo Voltaic systems and Solar thermal systems.
Specifically, a 4 per watt rebate for PV, and a
500 rebate for a solar water heater. Even pool
solar gets a little something, with a 100 rebate.
Florida Goes Green!
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energy alternatives llc
Green is the new red, white and blue Thomas
Friedman
Go to the assessment form link at the top of the
home page and do your part