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Bioethanol the Green Fuel that Powers Green Cars from Saab and Koenigsegg
With fossil fuel stocks in rapid decline and scientist around the world arguing the case for global warming, caused by increased CO2 emissions, the race is on to find both a greener and cheaper alternative to petrol. Bioethanol fuel may be one such possible contender, which is why both the mainstream car manufacturer Saab and the super car producer Koenigsegg now offer vehicles that can run on bioethanol. Normal ethanol can be easily derived from petrol, however because bioethanol fuel is derived from plants it is viewed as a green fuel. The energy from the sun is used by the plants to make sugar, which in turn is converted into bioethanol. In addition during the growing process the plant is also absorbing high levels of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making the whole process greener than the refinement of conventional fossil fuels. The bioethanol is produced firstly by the action of enzymes and microorganisms on the crops to release the starch and sugars, and then by a process of distilling and dehydration to produce a product that can be used as fuel in the internal combustion car engine. The added benefit of bioethanol is that it has a higher octane rating than standard fuel, 104 as against 97, and so using bioethanol will offer increased performance. Sadly you cannot put bioethanol into a standard petrol combustion engine without first making some modifications. The engine management system needs to be upgraded, so that the engine can determine which fuel it is running on, and secondly the engine internal components need to be toughened up, because ethanol can react with certain materials to form corrosive acids. Despite the changes required Saab now offers one of its most popular turbo charged models with a duel fuel option. It can run on either petrol or bioethanol and costs only a fraction more than the standard model, and from its car headlight bulbs through to its alloy wheels you would be hard pressed to spot the difference. Meanwhile Koenigsegg offer their CCX super car with a bioethanol option that can produce over 100bhp more than the petrol version. Bioethanol does have its detractors, with environmentalists worried that as the demand for bioethanol grows, more land normally used for growing food stocks will be converted over to fuel production. One study has argued that to convert the whole of the US to bioethanol would take up three quarters of all of the world’s arable land. Whilst Bioethanol certainly has green credentials it is not viable as a fuel for the masses in its current state, due to the huge land resources required. However there are now second generation biofuels derived from waste stocks and third generation biofuels derived from algae. Algae biofuels produce 30 times more energy per acre than biofuel crops, and so could ultimately be part of the future of green energy production. Jo Alexander is an online, freelance journalist and keen windsurfer. Jo lives by the sea in Essex.
Where Does Green Mountain’s Energy Come From?
Here the resources of Green Mountain’s Energy come from : Landfill gas contaminated with dozens of toxic chemicalsGreen Mountain claims to be using landfill gas as its primary source of new renewables. In early 1999, Green Mountain claimed to be using 4 specific landfill gas burners in New Jersey and Michigan. It turns out that they lied about all of these. Green Mountain has not disclosed the true locations of the landfill gas burners in their mix. To learn more about landfill gas burning and why is isn’t “green,” please read the Primer on Landfill Gas as “Green” Energy. Waste Wood Incinerators Green Mountain has claimed to be using energy in its California products that comes from lumber industry wood waste incinerators in Oregon and Washington. However, when the two facilities in Oregon were contacted in preparation for a report by Public Citizen called Green Buyers Beware, it turned out that the facilities were not aware that their energy was being marketed by Green Mountain and apparently the money charged to customers was not passed along to them. In the Pennsylvania and New Jersey markets (Green Mountain only has markets in CA, PA & NJ so far), there are several wood waste incinerators whose energy could be sold as “green.” Proposed new construction/demolition wood waste incinerators have been kicked out of several communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware in the past few years. On April 24th, 2000, a law was passed in Delaware state banning the “green energy” wood waste incinerators that have been threatening Delaware communities.* Before being banned by Delaware’s new law, Philpower Corporation’s proposed wood waste incinerator has been kicked out of 5-6 Delaware communities, most of them targeted for poor, minority neighborhoods. Currently, there are still “green energy” marketers proposing to build new construction/demolition wood waste incinerators in New Jersey. If any of these wood waste incinerators are constructed, their power may be sold by Green Mountain as “new renewable” power. Green Mountain has indicated a willingness to market this sort of polluting energy. Information on the hazards of wood waste incineration can be found in the article titled, “The Burning Issues with Biomass.” * Delaware’s new law also bans the “green energy” chicken shit incinerators proposed by Fibrowatt and Allen’s Family Foods. These companies are now looking to eastern Maryland to build their waste burners. Hydroelectric Dams Hydroelectric dams currently qualify as “renewable” under the Green-e certification program if they are under 30 megawatts in capacity. In early 1999, Green Mountain claimed to be selling energy from a small hydro dam in New Jersey in their Pennsylvania energy products. It turned out that they were lying. At the same time, they claimed to be selling energy from a large (non-renewable) dam in West Virginia. From what we can tell, this is true. However, the money from the sale of this power would go to a company that is 99% coal-powered (Allegheny Power) and would do nothing to increase renewable energy or benefit the environment in any way. Natural Gas Green Mountain claims to have natural gas – a non-renewable fossil fuel – in their products. If they were telling the truth in early 1999 (when they lied about most of their other energy sources), they are buying some natural gas power from Conectiv Energy’s Hay Road natural gas plant in Delaware. While natural gas is cleaner than coal and nuclear power, it still releases global warming gases, acid rain precursors, and hazardous air pollutants, including lead, mercury, benzene and formaldehyde. For info on natural gas health hazards, visit www.green-energy.org/naturalgas/. Wind In California, Green Mountain is selling power from new wind turbines that they were billing customers for before they were even built. These wind turbines may not have been built if it weren’t for the California state ratepayers helping fund it through the state’s system benefits charge and through other state subsidies that provides money for such things. Green Mountain has been deceiving customers into thinking that they alone (through the “free market”) accomplished the building of these wind turbines. That’s simply not true. Regardless, it’s a wonderful thing that these wind turbines exist and Green Mountain should be encouraged to spend their own money to build lots more instead of providing so much of their power from air-polluting energy sources like biomass incineration and landfill gas. In Pennsylvania, Green Mountain has been advertising since January, 1999 as if they have wind turbines in their mix. For at least several months, Green Mountain wouldn’t even claim that they had wind power in their mix (they likely had none). At some point in 1999, they claimed to be reselling wind power from Searsburg, Vermont (a 6 megawatt wind farm that was built in part with federal tax dollars) to Pennsylvania customers. To the extend that this was true, they were simply taking wind power out of the mix that Vermont customers used to get to sell it to Pennsylvania customers. In other words, they were only moving existing supplies around (on paper) and were doing nothing to improve the environment. Not until recently, has Green Mountain had NEW wind power in their mix. A 10 megawatt wind farm in Somerset County in southwest Pennsylvania was built to supply Green Mountain’s mix and should be doing so starting around May 2000. This is very commendable that they have this new wind capacity being built. Green Mountain should build more wind power and should commit to not using polluting sources of power. Tiny amounts of solar Building solar power costs about 10 times more than building wind power. Although the solar project that Green Mountain installed near Philadelphia in 1999 was the largest solar project in the state, it’s still extremely tiny by electricity standards. It sits on the roof of a BJ’s warehouse and generates a mere 43 kilowatts – not even enough to power the building it sits on.Until solar prices come down a lot, don’t expect to see any significant amounts of solar power built for the green energy market. Marketers like Green Mountain are likely to continue to build only as much as they need for a good Earth Day press release. No one knows for sure because they don’t have to tell anyone No state or federal laws require that energy marketers tell you exactly what plants make your electricity. Some require mild disclosure that will give you a very vague idea (ex: 25% hydro, 25% biomass, 50% natural gas). However, you have no right to know what specific facilities provide your power. You also don’t get to know which corporations end up with the extra amount that you might pay for a green energy product. Even with the Green-e certification program for “green” electricity, you don’t get to know anything more than vague percentages ot types of power. If you’re concerned that energy from a specific incinerator or other power station in your community is being sold as green power, you’re out of luck. You have to rely on the good graces of companies and certifiers who lie to people if you want to find out the truth. welly http://www.solarpanelgreenenergy.com
Green Snow Holidays – From Bbc Green
Here?s our essential guide to skiing and snowboarding the green way Skiing and snowboarding are not the obvious choice for an eco-friendly traveller. After all, air flights, luxury spas and hacking your way through the pristine snow are a far cry from a tree-planting camp in Devon. But it doesn?t have to be like that – winter sport is about enjoying the great outdoors, so we?ve looked at some of the best ways to respect it too. Here?s our advice on how to get there, where to stay and what kit you should bring with you.
Would You Eat Fish From China? Given All The Recent Bans On All Other Types Of Products From China?
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/fish… Check your freezer people…think about that fried shrimp or that Nummy fish sandwhich at the cafe’ you ate…Hmmm, high quality huh? “Solient Green” Anyone?
Are Croc Type Shoes Available Fro Any Company Made From Recycled Materials?
My kids love these shoes, but I have started to buy as many “green” products as I can (when practicle). These shoes seem like they could easily be made from a high % of post consumer materials.
Where Does Solar Energy Come From?
Solar energy is making a big impact today. In the world we live, we have put major strain on natural resources. But, there is a renewable energy source, which is becoming a viable source to meet the needs of humanity, it is called solar energy. But, where does solar energy come from? Imagine a home that is powered by a residential solar energy system. This home has electric 24 hours a day. You could watch TV all day, keep all the lights on, and not have to worry about an electric bill! So, how does this work? Where does solar energy come from? In discovering where does solar energy come from, let us consider that we are in that solar powered home. Imagine for a moment that you want to watch TV. You press the televisions power button. Instantly like magic the TV comes to life. It comes on exactly as it would in a home powered by conventionally produced energy. This energy is in the form of electric. It doesn’t matter whether it is from solar power, fossil fuels or even nuclear power. It is all the same – electric. The electric in residential solar energy systems doesn’t come from an external power station situated on Earth though. It gets more interesting! The electric had to come from somewhere, and as we trace back, we find that the electric in the TV came from batteries. These are loads of batteries that hold onto this solar power, which we will come to in a moment. A battery is like a cupboard. It holds things; most importantly it holds energy in the form of electric. This is important as we will see in a moment, as this source is not a 24 hour power, so we need a way to store it. Batteries make this possible, but where did this solar energy come from? As we travel further, perhaps to the roof of the residential solar energy powered home or even somewhere else on the property, we will find solar panels. Solar panels are amazing gadgets, as they do something amazing. Solar panels have a big area. They convert something into electric. But, how did they do this? Light is needed. And solar panels ingeniously convert light into electric. This light comes from a very big power station. In the case of Earth, this power is from our very own Sun. The Sun is like a humongous power station that constantly does a reaction that lets out light. This light beams to Earth, and a solar powered home can make use of this to create electric around the home. It is truly marvelous, and is going to the basics that most of life on Earth uses – that is to utilize the power of the Sun. As plants do. One day all homes will utilize alternative energy such as solar power in one form or another. Take a sneak peak, and see how residential solar energy systems can even make you money by visiting.
How Do I Create Renewable Energy From Our Personal Waste In Food Garbage And Septic?
I want to take my septic gasses and compost gasses and turn them into renewable energy on my property to power up my home. How do I do that? Are there residential systems designed to do this?
How To Prevent Solar Power Lights From Getting Stolen?
Although they haven’t been stolen YET, I expect my solar power lights to get stolen sooner or later. I was wondering if you know a good way to prevent them from getting stolen (other than moving them somewhere else or not putting them out at all)?. Oh, and i would not like to make a cement foundation for them or buy different ones -lol. Any help will be greatly appreciated
How To Calculate How Much Energy Converted From Solar Energy To Electricity?
Dear All, How can I calculate how much energy converted from Solar Energy to Electricity? Does it based on the how strong of the sunlight? Does it based on how many solar cell? Any detail equations for this purpose? Thanks a lot.
Top 5 Green Energy Companies From 2008
Thousands of organizations and businesses are going the extra mile and spending the extra dollar to buy utility-scale energy from renewable resources. So much so that the United States E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) compiles a quarterly list of the top green power companies from their Green Power Partnership program which came out in July 2008. Some businesses take diminutive steps towards a green campaign, but these companies are proving their allegiance to a greener environment by voluntarily spending millions of dollars on clean energy. Intel purchased 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in January 2008. This compensates for 47 percent of the companies overall energy use.PepsiCo purchased 1.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2007, the equivalent of powering 90,000 homes for an entire year. This accounts for 100 percent of their annual energy use. PepsiCo was named Green Power Partner of the Year in 2007 by the E.P.A.U.S. Air Force has already purchasd 9 million kilowatt hours of electricity this year as of July 2008. They have invested in a number of biogas, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind energy providers.Wells Fargo has purchased 5.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity from wind energy providers thus far in 2008. They are also a Green Power Partner of the Year in 2007. More than green energy, Wells Fargo has made a number of other commitments to their green campaign including LEED certifying their buildings and offering online account statements.Whole Foods Market, the past two years has purchased enough green energy to compensate for 100 percent of their energy use, totalling to over 5 million kilowatt hours annually. The company is also investing in multiple other efforts to reduce their carbon footprint on the environment. Other organizations ranking high on the E.P.A.’s list are Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson and the University of Pennsylvania. Nick Tart is the editor of four main sites for Worldwide Marketing Solutions. One of which is Great Earth News. GreatEarthNews.com is ‘The Good News Site’ that provides information and tips to help you better the world. If you enjoyed reading this article, please check out The Good News Site!.