Wind Power - Is It Safe for Humans?

By Lance Winslow

image: depositphotos

Over the years, I've been completely amazed at the environmental crowd which is usually out in full force when it comes to any type of man-made energy generation which is killing wildlife, and yet, merely passes on the challenges with wind power generation. Today, we realize that wind turbines are killing birds, and bats, and creating ultrasound which is bad for biological health of living organisms, yes, that would include humans.

Still, somehow this is considered to be okay by the environmentalists, because wind power has been put on the pedestal of the eco-friendly energy schemes. The reality is it takes quite a bit of CO2 to make the concrete which is used for the base of these large wind turbines, and it takes over 15 years to offset that amount of CO2 which is created in discharged in the atmosphere for that amount of concrete.

Perhaps you are unaware of the tremendous problems which are caused by ultrasound and frequency pollution near these large wind farms. Living out in the Coachella Valley, not more than 20 miles from Palm Springs California where there are thousands of wind turbines, we can attest to the challenges to health from these wind turbines.

What Can We Do With All the Plastic Polluting Our Environment - Eat It?

By Lance Winslow

image: depositphotos

Although plastic water bottles are quite thin and decompose rapidly in the environment due to UV rays in sunlight, not all plastic de-materializes quickly. Worse, there are so many different types of plastic, and so many products made with plastic, that they have ended up all over our planet, including throughout our oceans. But what if we could collect all of this plastic, put it into one place, and either recycle it, or turn it into something else?

Well, I'd like to talk to you about this for a few moments if I might. You see, there was an interesting article recently in PhysOrg (dot) titled; " Amazon fungi found that eat polyurethane, even without oxygen," published on February 3, 2012 which stated; "Until now polyurethane has been considered non-biodegradable, but a group of students from Yale University in the US has found fungi that will not only eat and digest it, they will do so even in the absence of oxygen."

Why not let nature figure out a way to eat polyurethane plastic for us? In a way it would be a new symbiotic relationship, and one which brings us back full circle in the eco-recycling arena. The organism would be completely happy doing this work, and it is perfectly suited to do so, meanwhile humans win by eliminating these wasted plastics, and the environment wins also without the added pollution. It is interesting that we will be able to take a man-made product and polymeric chains, and let nature break it back down very quickly into usable molecules which are benign.

Why We Shouldn't Use Fossil Fuels

By Pete A Harris

image: depositphotos

Fossil Fuels

Consumers are familiar and comfortable with conventional power sources. Power generated by fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, or petroleum (oil) is widely used across the world and many countries rely on these finite resources as the primary source of power production. According to the latest report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (2011a), fossil fuels are expected to continue supplying much of the energy used worldwide, with petroleum based fuels remaining the largest source of energy.

However, there are significant problems with relying on this type of energy. Firstly, fossil fuels are not considered a renewable energy. The formation of coal, natural gas and oil takes millions to billions of years; consequently these resources will be consumed well before they are renewed. Experts have suggested that the world is currently at the peak of oil production, with only another forty years of oil reserves available and sixty five years of gas remaining. With population growth continuing to rise and the nature of economic growth and consumption, undoubtedly these fossil fuels will become very scarce and eventually unavailable.

It is reasonable to expect that as these resources become further reduced, the cost of power will increase and it will become less affordable for many people. This is a scary prospect, especially for future generations.

Whilst there are very legitimate concerns about the future availability of fossil fuels, another problem is the environment impacts of using fossil fuels for our principle energy source. Fossil fueled power stations are major emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas considered one of the major contributors to global warming within the last century. For example, the burning of brown coal emits three times as much CO2 as natural gas, and black coal emits twice as much CO2 per unit of electric energy generated. Unless new technology can be developed to make energy production 'greener', regulations to reduce CO2 emission will certainly impact the consumer, whether this is by higher prices due to carbon taxes or a limitation to the amount of energy available.

The impact of burning fossil fuels on human health is also a major concern. For example, exposure to particulates released from coal power plants has been proven to increase death through respiratory and cardiac problems (Grahame and Schlesinger, 2007). These particulates irritate small airways in the lungs, which can lead to increased problems with asthma, chronic bronchitis, airway obstruction, and gas exchange (Nel, 2005). Uranium, thorium and other naturally occurring radioactive isotopes are also found in low levels within coal. Whilst they are in low concentrations, there is enough coal being burnt that there is a significant amount of these substances being released, causing radioactive contamination of the environment. Other damaging side effects of burning coal are the contamination of waterways. Research has shown that the coal ash produced by coal-fired power plants dumped at sites across America has lead to the contamination of ground water with toxic element, including dangerous poisons such as arsenic and lead (Schoof, 2010).

Wave Energy Generation Finally Getting Some Much Needed Praise

By Lance Winslow

image: depositphotos

As the coordinator for a think tank, I've always fancied the idea of ocean wave energy, much more than wind and solar. Wind for instance is 750 times less dense than air, and solar is already 50% inefficient before you start your high-end MIT mathematics calculations to determine its capture - the Sun does not shine at night - that's 50% of the time remember.

There was an interesting announcement on the Department of Energy DOE website on January 28, 2012 titled; "DOE Reports Show Major Potential for Wave and Tidal Energy Production Near U.S. Coasts, and in the press release it stated:
"The DOE released 2 US resource assessments showing that waves and tidal currents off the nation's coasts could contribute significantly to the total annual electricity production, further diversify the nation's energy portfolio, and provide clean, renewable energy to coastal cities and communities. These new wave and tidal resource assessments, combined with ongoing analyses of the technologies and other resource assessments, show that water power, including conventional hydropower and wave, tidal, and other water power resources, can potentially provide 15% of our nation's electricity by 2030."

Okay so, if you are like me you are saying "no kidding" and wondering what on Earth took so long? Well, I'll tell you what;
Bureaucracy
Politics
Lobbyists
Slow Motion Archaic Thinking

Organic Cotton Bags: Eco Friendly and Person Friendly

By Saffron Adiana Luci

image: depositphotos

As you're busy running your daily errands you may not have thought much about organic cotton bags, but here are a few reasons why you may want too. Organic bags are eco friendly and practical and they really are better then plastic for both you and the environment.

If you visit five stores a week, four weeks a month and receive only an average of two bags per store, you will have received ten disposable bags a week or forty in a month. These bags are rarely recycled, in fact it has been estimated that out of 400 billion plastic bags used in the USA only 4 billion are recycled thats only 1%!

The bags are often just thrown out or used to hold trash. Once the bag is disposed of it can take 1000 years before it decomposes. Bags that don't end up in the landfill can find there way into the wild or into oceans where thousands of animals are killed by them every year(often due to thinking the bag is food). The use of organic cotton bags helps eliminate this waste. An organic cotton bag while last a very long time and can replace up to 1000 plastic bags. The organic bags often hold more and can be used many times over.

What's Your Excuse For Not Using a Portable Water Filter?

By Kristie Brown

image: depositphotos

You've undoubtedly heard people talking about the glut of plastic bottles that are cluttering our landfills and the fact neither municipal or bottled water meets the basic health demands that our bodies require. Why, then, are you still drinking from a disposable plastic water bottle? Don't you know that just the plastic itself can be dangerous to your well-being? When our parents were kids, no one ever thought of taking water with them wherever they went. With the advent of bottled water, however, people started forming the habit of carrying their water along everywhere they were going. Didn't you always know that there had to be a better way?

There are so many reusable filtered drink bottles available today that there's no reason for anyone to continue to buy pre-bottled water. These new devices actually make the water you put into them cleaner and safer to drink. They remove chlorine, bacteria, metals, chemicals, and other contaminants from whatever water you have available. They can convert your faulty tap water into clean, fresh-tasting H2O, and if you happen to like to hike or camp, you'll be able to use any water source available, because your bottle will filter out the impurities.

Exploring Water Ionizers and Their Benefits

By Kristie Brown

image: depositphotos

Water ionizers are devices which use a process called electrolysis to separate water into acids and alkalines. Three types of water ionizers are available on the market, and there are pros and cons about each type. They come in drop-ins, sticks, and pitchers. Many experts are convinced that there are no health benefits from drinking ionized water; however, there are still a lot of people who believe that ionization improves the water quality.

Drop-ins come in the form of drops, tablets, and powders which are added to the water. They are made up of minerals in liquids, powders, and compressed tablets. When dropped into water they raise the pH and create a mild negative charge. Many people like drop-ins because they are small and quite portable. There is, however, some debate about how much of these products a person should use each day. Plus, they only add to the water and don't work as filtration devices in any way. In order to use drop-ins, you must first start with water that has already been filtered. They make a good choice if you're only going on a short trip, but for long term use there are better alternatives.