FreeRice.com

The website http://www.freerice.com/ is helping combat world hunger. The website asks you questions and for every answer you get correct you donate 10 grains to world hunger. It may seem like a weird way to give rice, and doesn't seem like you would actually give away rice, but the website donates on your behalf.

flubber update!

This green pond scum is made with water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide. As it feeds on carbon dioxide it produces ethanol as waste. While other fuels take lots of time and money to make ProfessorFu can effortlessly make this in a few hours!











By: Lanae

Solar Panels Follow Up

by Jethary

Follow Up to "Reducing Bills and helping the Enviornment, at the same time."

According to the Grand Junction's daily sentinel on 1/10/10, the new Fruita Recreaction Center is going to by run by solar panels. It has enough room and satisfies lots of people here in the Mesa County and it's playing a role in the world to help reduce global warming at least a bit. Although it is going to cost nearly 11 million dollar to just install the solar panels on the roofs, it will come in handy in the future. It is estimmated to generate 100 Kiliwates of energy to save about 30% of the electricity. That sustem is suppose to be finished installing by Febuary. In time the solar panels will help pay off the 11 million it cost to install them in the first place. We are trying to do our best to help the world go green.

Once again, help our polluted earth and save some dollars in your pocket, one solar panel at a time.

bendable nano-batteries!

by Dagwood Perry



At Stanford University, scientists have created bendable capacitor batteries. They are composed of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires that are painted onto sheets of paper. These super batteries hold high charges and are also very flexible. These batteries could possibly be made available to the public market.

courtesy of www.alternative-energy-news.info

Tesla Roadster

by Tito the Flying Asian

Tesla motors, known for its revolutionary electric cars, just released the Tesla Roadster 2010. The roadster uses the AC induction motor which was invented by Tesla. It is among the most efficient all-electroc cars with a battery to wheel efficiency of 92%. It uses a lithium-ion batteries which givs it a 244 mile range on one charge. In addition to being efficient, the roadster also has great acceleration with 0-60 m.p.h. in 3.7 seconds. The base price of one of these is $109,000.

Endangered Polar Bears

By Grace





Due to the rapid melting of sea-ice, polar bears are becoming endangered. They are losing the habitat that they hunt, breed and den on. The melt off of the arctic last summer was equal to the size of Alaska, Texas and Washington state combined. This melting was not predicted to happen for another 30 years. This melting results in a shorter hunting season for polar bears and less polar bears. The best-studied population, Western Hudson Bay, has decreased by 22% since 1987.

This is all evidence that global warming is happening. Arctic ice is rapidly melting, temperatures are warming, and polar bear populations are decreasing.

Oil Reserves Found

By Deputy Johnson

A debate about when the "peak oil"

supply will be reached has been

reopened by the company BP, British Petroleum (Beyond Petroleum)

The biggest oil field ever found in the North Sea is the main reason for the reopening of this debate. BP is the largest producer of hydrocarbons in the US. This new oil discovery was called the Tiber discovery. The Tiber discovery was found 4,100 feet under water. This promising discovery has opened up a whole new area for drilling and oil refineries. This find confirms their position in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Tiber is believed to contain four billion barrels of oil. This is the biggest find since the fourties. The Tiber find proves the fact that oil companies are still capable of finding oil.
In the world marketplace this oil is worth is Billions of dollars.

Oil Spills

by Greg Ortiz

Oil spills are not accidents. They happen because of carelessness. Oil leaks not only effect oil buisnessess but they effect all types of animals. Many animals die because of their feathers are covered in oil. The animals also get poisened because these birds try to clean themselves but end up eating the oil which causes the oil to enter their lungs and liver.

Energy and Hurricanes by Hezikia

Hurricanes are a hot bed for energy in many ways. They can give us good sources of both heat and wind energy. The heat comes from the tropical water that the hurricane goes over to give it energy. This heat condensates out in water vapor.The rain storms that hurricanes start out are a good example of the hot air rising and turning into thunder storms. Another way that hurricanes can produce energy is the wind

The 10 Most Energy Efficient Countries in the World

Would anyone like to guess the world's most energy efficient country? It definitely isn't one that I would think of, but it's at the very tippity-top of the pile: Japan.

Japan uses 4,519 BTUs per U.S. GDP. What this means is that Japan has a very high GDP, and this makes it very likely to be energy efficient. Here's how it was put in an article on Forbes.com, written by Josh Zumbrun:

"A country with a very high GDP and relatively little energy consumed is likely to be a very energy-efficient economy. Conversely a country with huge energy consumption and relatively little GDP is unlikely to be efficient. A BTU, or British thermal unit, is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit."

Also stated in the article is the fact that, just like any other experimental measurement, the results of the study aren't perfect, but it makes more sense than the other candidate for the spot, the country of Chad. Although Chad does use a much smaller amount of energy, it's economy is mostly sustained by farming, and the technology they use to maintain their farms is quite low-tech. With these points made, it wouldn't make much sense to compare a country like Chad to a much larger, more modern country like the U.S.

Following Japan are these countries, in order:

• 2. Denmark with an energy consumption of 4,845 BTUs



• 3. Switzerland, 4,901 BTUs



• 4. Hong Kong, 4,911 BTUs (Not exactly a country, but it somehow ended up on the list.)



• 5. Ireland, 5,315 BTUs



• 6. United Kingdom, 6,145 BTUs



• 7. Israel, 6,719 BTUs



• 8. Italy, 7,118 BTUs



• 9. Germany, 7,396 BTUs



• 10. Austria, 7,430 BTUs

And there it is, the complete list of the 10 most energy efficient countries in the world. Somehow, it isn't much of a surprise that the U.S. isn't on that list, but we sincerely hope that we someday will be able to say that we are at the top, and that we can lead the "green" revolution that so desperately needs to take place.

By Shaneekwa and Ninja

For more information on this topic, check out this website: http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/o3/energy-efficiency-japan-biz-energy_cz_jz_0707efficiency_countries.html

the green steam engine

by: Bag

The green steam engine was invented by Robert Green. This contraption is a small, lightwieght, engine that could be used to power many of your household appliances. It is cheap lightweight and requires little lubrication to power the device. It uses steam to power the pistons that creates energy. This could be used to power your fridge or A.C.

The World's Most Energy Efficient Countries

The world's most energy efficient country is Japan. It's total energy consumption is equal to 22.6 quadrillion BTUs. The main idea behind BTUs is that if a country has a high GDP and uses a relatively small amount of energy, it is most likely a very energy efficient country. Also, if it was just the opposite with a low GDP and a very high energy usage, it is very likely to be inefficient.

Electroysis: Another Way to Remove Rust Using Electricity

By Philip


You use elecricity every day for the normal things like lights and powertools, but do you ever think about the things you can do that quietly use electricity that no one ever hears about? Electrolysis is a process involving transferring a current through an electrolyte. This is usuallly used for removing rust by the homeowners, although there are many other uses for it too, such as making hydrogen. It is a very useful process that is also uses very easily procured parts. The idea is that you put the negative charge of a 12 volt car battery on the part you're restoring, suspended in a solution of Sodium Carbonate(Arm and Hammer Washing Soda is the norm). Put the posotive charge of the battery on the anode and hook up. When the electricity goes through the cathode the negative charged ion carries ruat particles with it, depositing the rust on the anode. Although electrolysis sounds complicated, it's really not. With a little bit more research, it can be extremely useful.

Water Electricity

By Marengo

A great way to create energy is with water. Fresh water is a limited supply resource like fossil fuels but there is great amounts of salt water. Electricity could still be produced with salt water. The way the energy is created is when a liquid, like water, comes in contact with a solid. That solid surface becomes charged with a thin layer of energy, and when the water is forced through a channel, ions with an opposite charge pass and the other ions stay behind. So the result of the channel are opposite at one end and positive at the other, like a battery. If the channel is connected by a wire, then the current flows. An individual channel current is very small but with parallel channels more energy can be created.

Water electricity is generated by hydropower. Most hydroelectric power is obtained from damned water while using a water turbine and a generator. Water electricity powers 20% of all the world's energy. Norway produces virtually all its energy from hydroelectricity,while Iceland has 83% produced by water, Australia has 67%. Canada, the world's largest water electricity producer, generates 70% of its power from water.



Water electricity is also very easy to manage. If no one is working with the water plant, the electricity can still be produced with nobody there.



Water electriciy is a great way to get energy because it's easily renewable and powerful.

CFL Bulbs by Troy

By Troy







Nowadays making their homes more energy efficient is very important to famlies. One way to do that is to install Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs(CFLs). These bulbs use a little more energy when they are first used, but once the electricity starts moving they use 75% less energy than normal bulbs. On average you will save $30.00 per bulb, and it will pay for itself in six months. If every household replaced 3 regular bulbs with CFls the pollution savings would be the equivalent of taking 3.5 million cars off the road! The one downside to these efficient bulbs is the trace amounts of mercury. When they burn out you need to reycycle them at the closest reycycling location.

Projector Phones

By Chaaya

This year many new gadgets and technologies are being introduced. You might have heard of the new 3D televisions and projector phones. The LG Expo is the first cell phone with a projector system. Initial cost of one of these new phones is 300 dollars. Now it may have a projector and camera but how much energy does it use compared to the regular cell phone. Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is the projector that is used in the LG phone. It only runs at 1 GHz (giga-hertz) which is one billion cycles a second. Though this is a pretty cool cell phone, a rep from the company found out that the processor is "leaky," confirming that it is not energy efficient. It would literally need to be plugged in almost all of the time for using the projector.

According to the TerraPass website, which provides many ways to "go green", says that only 5 percent of the power drawn from the charger actually used to charge the phone. The 95 percent is just excess energy, but when the phone isn't being charged it is just wasting energy. Energy that your paying for! So when you have a projector phone that has to be plugged in almost all of the time, your money is just pouring out of your wallet. Next time your in verizon wireless or your local phone store. Think about the money you'll be spending for charging it than actually using it!

Mount Kilimanjaro's glaciers melting

I believe that climate change is an enormous issue facing the world today and for the next generation. An example of this climate change is Mount Kilimanjaro. Its glaciers are decreasing at a drastic rate. In the last 12 years it has decreased by one third. Also, it has decreased 82 percent since it was first mapped in 1912. The images to the left show a sky image of Mount Kilimanjaro on February 17, 1993 and then again in February 21, 2000. As you can see it almost gone.

Reducing bills and helping the world at the same time

Jethary

Solar Panels are a form of renewable energy to help make the earth go green. You all know that solar panels can help your home and help save you such high electricity bills and even help the environment all at the same time? But here is a big question. How long does it take exactly for your solar panel to reduce your electrical bill, and by how much does your bill get reduced? It is an interesting question that lots of people ask themselves today, especially if they have a solar panel. But is it really beneficial to have one?

According to "Calfinders' Home Solar Payback, how long does it take?" 10 to 20 years for an average sized system to pay for itself in energy savings. Depending on where you live, it could also take different lengths of time. For example if you live in a really sunny place like Miami, Florida, then your solar panel would receive more light and solar radiations to absorb. But if you live in a colder, generally cloudier place like Alaska or even Seattle Washington, then your solar panel would not get much solar radiation or light to absorb, therefore, it would take probably much longer to have effects on your electricity bill. It could also depend on how many solar panels you have. If you have more of them, then of course, the solar panels would absorb more solar radiations. Overall, it's really unclear on how long it takes to reduce your electrical bill and how much gets reduced from it.


But how long does it take to help the earth? Solar Panels were designed to power stuff without any type of gas or fossil fuels. Unlike the regular power plant, solar panels run on solar radiations which come from the sun. Power plants use gas and oil and other stuff that polutes the air. It probably helps the earth right when you start using it.

You can help our polluted earth and save a few dollars in your pocket one solar panel at a time.

inventers of the solar panel

by Ryan Somerville

The main inventor of the solar panel was Alexandre-Edmund Becquerel. He noticed the photovoltaic effect in 1839. The photovoltaic effect is the change of light energy from the sun into electrical energy. 44 years later the first solar cell was built by Charles Fritts. He covered the semiconductor selenium with a thin layer of gold. Doing this did work but had an efficiency rate of 1%. Since it was so costly to make and inefficient, it was never adopted.

Russel Ohl was a researcher in the field of semiconductors. Using this knowledge he determined that super-purifying geranium was needed to create a reusable semiconductor material for diodes. It was this information that led to create the silicon solar cell in 1946. By mixing silicon with certain impurities, the silicon becomes sensitive to light. These cells had a conversion rate of approximately 6%.

Solar panels are said to be the most promising area of alternative energy.