EcoMuseum

How To Construct A Passive Solar Water Heater

admin — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

A solar water heater can save you hundreds of dollars each year. Nowadays, people hook their water heaters up to their electric, gas or propane. Because of this, it can be difficult to save money when it all seems to be going towards your gas bill at the end of the month. Water heaters do use up a lot of energy when they are in constant use. Because of this, it is so important for you to understand just what is involved when you are trying to convert to one that is powered by the sun.

Solar-powered water heaters are a wonderful way to save money. The heater itself will work because an outside panel is going to be catching the sun’s rays and can convert this to usable energy that will heat up all of the water in the home. In fact, many people have noticed that these types of water heaters actually work better than some of the other and more expensive ones on the market. You will want to have the heater professionally installed so that you can be sure it is going to function well each time you go to turn on the water in your bathroom.

Your Family’s Guide To Household Recycling

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

When you recycle your household trash, you are positively contributing to environmental conservation efforts. Teach everyone in the family the importance of recycling. You should have a trash container that is labeled as the recycling bin. When you start your recycling program, start with simple items such as milk cartons and soda cans.

Show your children how to rinse these items out before placing them in the recycling bin. Paper products are also a good starting point for your family’s recycling program. You should save all of your paper products and shred any papers that contain personal information. The rest of the paper can simply be added to the recycle bin.Didnâ€™t catch that? This explains it. Most urban cities now offer recycling bins to their residents.

They usually pick up the recycled items at least once a week. Call your city and ask about their recycling program. Make sure you know which items the city considers recyclable. Some city municipalities will not take large, heavy items. Once you know the rules of your city’s recycling criteria, you can start your recycling program. Make sure everyone in the family knows which items to place in the recycling bin. Recycling takes some time to get used to, but it is worth the effort.

Building Green So You Can Live Green

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Lots of people are looking into green reliant energy these days and many homes even come built for the potential of green energy applications. Even today, you can find houses built specifically for the purposes of utilizing both passive and active solar energy. You might be wondering how this works, which is why I have written an article detailing how these green homes are helping homeowners save a lot more green, every day.

Most of these green homes that utilize solar energy have their specialized equipment and material built into the south side of the home since that is often the side that gets the most sun. Passive solar energy is capture through specially constructed windows (like greenhouse glass) and material in the walls that help trap the heat and ventilate it throughout the home. Active solar energy is captured solar radiation obtained through solar panels and cells. This harnessed energy can be re-purposed and used directly to heat water and air, and even cook.

And while solar energy may not be the most reliable standard on the market when it comes to renewable energy, homeowners who implement these measures have saved thousands of dollars and, more importantly, helped save the environment.

Tropical storm Alex creates obstacles in oil spill recovery

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:46:52 +0000

The weather phenomenon which began as a tropical storm is now slated to become Hurricane Alex. This news comes at a crucial time in the oil recovery process, as BP wants to step up the siphoning capacity. With some companies pulling workers from the site, it will be difficult to increase or even maintain the current level of recovery. Those companies include Shell Oil, Exxon Mobil, and Anadarko Petroleum.Alex’s path will take it away from the Yucatan Peninsula and move it south, out over the Gulf. It is then expected to move northwest, away from the extraction sites, and make landfall in the north of Mexico around the middle of the week. While the storm should not damage current recovery systems, the presence of 12-foot waves would force a halt in the construction of a third oil-capture system later this week. BP insists, however, that they are still on schedule in their plans for two wells which it hopes will stop the leak by August.Tuesday morning, Alex’s wind speed was clocked at 70 mph, with a north-northwest speed of 8 mph. The storm has already led to 10 confirmed casualties from flooding and landslides in Central America, and is the first storm of the hurricane season. However, scientists predict it will not be the last in the period, which covers June 1 to November 30. Higher surface temperatures in the Atlantic this year will provide ample energy for the formation of new storms.As a result of the storm, oil barrel prices have fallen to 78. Some ports in the Gulf, including Dos Bocas, Cayo Arcas, and Isla del Carmen, have been closed since Sunday night in anticipation of the storm.

New developments in eating green

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:28:26 +0000

Now, more than ever, people want to know about the foods going into their bodies. It’s also easier than ever to “eat green”, thanks to plenty of resources online to help guide you to a healthier you. But when the holidays arrive, you have no choice but to make exceptions, right? Not with a little bit of digging.”Planet Green” offers access to many guides for cutting out excess at holidays and get-togethers. If you’re a vegan, “Vegetarian Kitchen” offers many delicious Thanksgiving recipes like Jerusalem Artichoke Salad, Pueblo Corn Pie, and Old-Fashioned Potato-Bread Stuffing. This offers an interesting alternative to the traditional holiday meal.Of course, you can still enjoy a turkey, so long as you purchase an organic one from retailers like Shelton’s. Shelton’s believes in keeping their poultry in a traditional barnyard setting, giving the animals freedom to move and grow at their own rate. It may take longer than in smaller, cost-efficient cages, but it’s worth the wait for both the birds and for your dinner plate. Shelton’s also avoids growth hormones in the feeding of their birds.Eating green isn’t just about where you shop, though. It’s also important to prepare. Get to know your guests, so you can work around their individual preferences and allergies. Even cleaning and decorating can be an important step. Avoid using toxic cleaners, and use household products like baking soda and vinegar to clean your windows and sinks. Also, don’t buy wasteful decorations, but use left-over wrapping paper and organic flowers (or ones from your own backyard) to give your house a festive touch.When it comes down to actually doing the cooking, there are many step-by-step instructions online to save you hassle and heartache. Make sure to check them out before your next big event hits, and impress your family and friends.

Is bird flu still a threat?

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:23:45 +0000

Scientists have discovered a new way in which avian influenza viruses, or AIVs, are transferred. The oil glands which waterfowl use to stay waterproof naturally attract AIVs from the water. The birds then spread the viruses over their own or others’ bodies by preening. But just what else do we know about this virus?Transmission of the particular AIV, H5N1 influenza, is highest in Asian countries, with the first outbreaks occurring in Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, and Cambodia. In 2009 there were at least five deaths from the virus in Vietnam, while three more cases were confirmed in Egypt. However, in that case, all three infected patients recovered.As recently as 2006, transmission between humans was thought to be very rare, with estimates at between two and six. However, isolated cases have been found in different locations. Other cases have been found in house cats and pigs in various Asian countries. While the virus can be hard to catch initially, it quickly spreads by cell-to-cell contact. With a fatality rate of over 60, it is important to know the virus’s weaknesses and how scientists are working to stop its spread.The virus is highly vulnerable to heat, which is why it almost always exists in northern areas. The virus is also vulnerable to low levels of chlorine, disinfectants, and acids. To prevent the spread between birds, farmers have had to change several traditional practices. The contact between livestock and wild birds has been diminished, as has the purchase of live fowl and wet markets.As for the recent research, it could be used to develop new sampling methods and to determine the component which allows the transmission across all waterfowl species.

Competition present even in stressed ecosystems

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:21:33 +0000

It was previously thought that during times of intense ecological stress, such as hurricanes and pollution, organisms engage in less competition in order to survive. However, scientists now believe that the level of competition, as gauged by observed microscopic organisms, remains relatively level. The researchers introduced disturbance with sound energy and then separated the organisms into different levels of competition, based on how many different species were in each system. The results of the study showed that species continued to compete even as disturbance levels were increased, when such competition often led to extinction.Scientists have been studying competition in other ways as well. Some have observed how systems of three species interact. In each case, one species is stronger than another, but is always eliminated by the third species. This suggests that the two stronger species will die out while the weakest competitor survives, and these results have been borne out in bacteria studies at LMU.Studying competition can help scientists understand extinction in ways that have eluded them for years. Understanding this could help humans in their own interactions with the world around them, especially as we see the ways in which we affect the environment through our waste processes and industries.Competition also has ties to evolution, as scientists have found that the rate at which new species appears goes down as the amount of competition goes up. Rather than bacteria, experiments in this area have studied related bird species and the ways in which they have changed (or remained the same). As scientists discover more about how we are affected by the species around us, we will be able to look forward to a fuller relationship with our environment.

Canada takes steps to reduce their footprint by phasing out coal

ecomuseum.org — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:01:19 +0000

Canada has traditionally been known for not focusing enough on the environment. Tellingly, their greenhouse gas emissions have risen constantly for the last twenty years. But that could change thanks to a new plan to eliminate coal-based power plants and replace them with natural-gas sites.Environmental Minister Jim Prentice made the declaration on Wednesday, and the plan is expected to be finalized by early 2011. While older coal-fired plants would be eliminated, newer ones could be allowed to remain so long as their greenhouse-gas emissions were lowered to the same levels as natural-gas plants. Emissions not only keep heat in the atmosphere, but certain ones, like fluorinated gases, can also contribute to ozone depletion.The new standards would not mean the end for most plants until 2025, when their economic lives run down. However, Prentice insisted that no trades or offsets would be accepted if the facility did not meet the new requirements. The only analogous program in the United States is in the northeast, as part of the Regional Greenhouse gas initiative. This covers ten states and intends to lower power-plant emissions by 10 percent before 2018. Canada’s actions were thus somewhat of a surprise, since the government usually coordinated its environmental actions with the U.S.The heads of coal-fired plants in Canada have offered their support, but some, like Steve Snyder of TransAlta, say there are still issues that need to be worked out to keep the energy efficient. The world will get a closer look at Canada’s environmental issues during the G8 and G20 meetings later in the week. The G8 is a meeting of six governments of the world, and the G20 brings together economic leaders from twenty different economies, including the European single currency.