This kid has a neat idea. Not world solving, but seems like a nifty way to recapture energy as it's being used.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Friday, November 16, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Why you should create your own backup
So, on this blog, I've plugged a bunch of different ideas for creating energy to help you figure out ways to become energy independent. Not as a country, but as an individual. But, I'm not sure if I've talked about WHY you should try to become energy independent.
There are many arguments out there for changing the way we live. Catch words and phrases like 'sustainability', 'energy independence', 'eco-sensibility'... but, what do those actually mean? When most people say them, they are thinking of changing the way the nation works instead of the way their own personal lives work. Like, sustainability. They will claim that oil isn't sustainable, talk about peak-oil, etc... Their solution is usually something like an electric car.
Ok, well, not to be a dick, but those aren't sustainable either. First, the electricity they are derived from comes from power plants that are either coal or nuclear. The same people that want the electric car want to limit coal and nuclear power and use sources like wind, wave and solar... systems that are ridiculously less efficient. Second, it creates a situation where we are still dependent on others for our power. All they are doing is replacing one addiction with another. Third, the lithium for the car batteries is largely mined in Afghanistan. Do I need to explain to the 'War for Oil' folks what that means in the long term to become dependent on a different resource?
The same can essentially be said of a 'smart-grid' in terms of dependency. They make good bumper stickers, but not good ideas. All I really hear when people suggest these things is, 'some one else should do this for us' instead of taking the responsibility on ourselves and saying, 'I'm going to do this.' Instead of complaining and trying to create regulations to force everyone to do what you think is best; you should build your own life in to the image of the world you want to see.
Look at Katrina and Sandy. No power and people waiting for help. Yet, had they taken some time become energy independent... not from foreign oil, but from the electric company that is raising the cost of energy. Energy independence from losing power with everyone else. Actual independence. If you want an electric vehicle and you produce your own power to move that vehicle, you have no one to answer to. You're not at the mercy of gas price gouging. You're not at the mercy of the electric company. It's all up to you.
The government is pushing for control on every level, even using Sandy as an excuse to take control of the internet, which is ridiculous. If you make your own house a power plant, you don't have to worry about Chinese hackers taking down an entire city. You don't have to pay ever increasing energy costs and taxes for protection from that sort of situation. Diversification is just as good for your energy situation as it is for your investment portfolio.
People often talk about how they don't want to be enslaved to the capitalist system, businesses or whatever, but then want the government to cover it all for them. Well, the government doesn't have any money of it's own, it has your money. Any argument someone uses about 'sustainability', 'eco-sensibility', 'energy independence' or 'smart-grid' could easily apply to the taxes it would take to build these constructs. How is enslaving yourself to the taxes it would take to support your 'perfect system' any different than enslaving yourself to some 'evil' oil or energy company? You're still gonna have to work the same job to pay one group as you would the other. So, why not cut out the middle man and work for yourself?
Build or buy your own power sources, cut the electric bill. The reason I'm doing this blog is for you, the individual, to find the way that works best for you to stay an individual and not some ambiguous member of a collective who's voice is subjected to the will of others speaking for that collective. It's about actual empowerment, not pseudo-empowerment built on a failed concept of command structures and debt slavery. It's about pulling yourself up to stand on your own two feet; not to cling to the back of others for your livelihood.
To learn more, check out my other blog, SARC Updates.
There are many arguments out there for changing the way we live. Catch words and phrases like 'sustainability', 'energy independence', 'eco-sensibility'... but, what do those actually mean? When most people say them, they are thinking of changing the way the nation works instead of the way their own personal lives work. Like, sustainability. They will claim that oil isn't sustainable, talk about peak-oil, etc... Their solution is usually something like an electric car.
Ok, well, not to be a dick, but those aren't sustainable either. First, the electricity they are derived from comes from power plants that are either coal or nuclear. The same people that want the electric car want to limit coal and nuclear power and use sources like wind, wave and solar... systems that are ridiculously less efficient. Second, it creates a situation where we are still dependent on others for our power. All they are doing is replacing one addiction with another. Third, the lithium for the car batteries is largely mined in Afghanistan. Do I need to explain to the 'War for Oil' folks what that means in the long term to become dependent on a different resource?
The same can essentially be said of a 'smart-grid' in terms of dependency. They make good bumper stickers, but not good ideas. All I really hear when people suggest these things is, 'some one else should do this for us' instead of taking the responsibility on ourselves and saying, 'I'm going to do this.' Instead of complaining and trying to create regulations to force everyone to do what you think is best; you should build your own life in to the image of the world you want to see.
Look at Katrina and Sandy. No power and people waiting for help. Yet, had they taken some time become energy independent... not from foreign oil, but from the electric company that is raising the cost of energy. Energy independence from losing power with everyone else. Actual independence. If you want an electric vehicle and you produce your own power to move that vehicle, you have no one to answer to. You're not at the mercy of gas price gouging. You're not at the mercy of the electric company. It's all up to you.
The government is pushing for control on every level, even using Sandy as an excuse to take control of the internet, which is ridiculous. If you make your own house a power plant, you don't have to worry about Chinese hackers taking down an entire city. You don't have to pay ever increasing energy costs and taxes for protection from that sort of situation. Diversification is just as good for your energy situation as it is for your investment portfolio.
People often talk about how they don't want to be enslaved to the capitalist system, businesses or whatever, but then want the government to cover it all for them. Well, the government doesn't have any money of it's own, it has your money. Any argument someone uses about 'sustainability', 'eco-sensibility', 'energy independence' or 'smart-grid' could easily apply to the taxes it would take to build these constructs. How is enslaving yourself to the taxes it would take to support your 'perfect system' any different than enslaving yourself to some 'evil' oil or energy company? You're still gonna have to work the same job to pay one group as you would the other. So, why not cut out the middle man and work for yourself?
Build or buy your own power sources, cut the electric bill. The reason I'm doing this blog is for you, the individual, to find the way that works best for you to stay an individual and not some ambiguous member of a collective who's voice is subjected to the will of others speaking for that collective. It's about actual empowerment, not pseudo-empowerment built on a failed concept of command structures and debt slavery. It's about pulling yourself up to stand on your own two feet; not to cling to the back of others for your livelihood.
To learn more, check out my other blog, SARC Updates.
Friday, November 18, 2011
PELTON WHEEL HYDRO-ELECTRIC GENERATOR
Came across this while looking at Juneau's energy production. Everyone has a hard-on for solar right now, or wind, or geothermal... but I was looking at the possiblity of moving to Juneau in a few years and saw this. I knew about Hydro-Electric, just never knew the name was Pelton Wheel. Pretty sweet.Tuesday, October 18, 2011
WIND-POWERED WASHING MACHINE
Pretty rad 1976 tech. It's a simple windmill agitator. Why hand scrub clothes clean when you can let nature do it for you? It would not be hard to rig this as a hydro powered unit or have it built off a bike either.Mother Earth News
Monday, January 10, 2011
SODA CAN SOLAR HEAT
http://www.wimp.com/interestingsolution/
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/06/soda_can_solar_heater.html
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2009/06/09/solar-space-heater-made-from-soda-cans-an-old-window/
Doesn't look too hard to build. Might be a great addition to a tiny house... or too hot. Not sure which.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/06/soda_can_solar_heater.html
http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2009/06/09/solar-space-heater-made-from-soda-cans-an-old-window/
Doesn't look too hard to build. Might be a great addition to a tiny house... or too hot. Not sure which.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
SOLAR AND WIND COST GENERATOR
This is a pretty sweet tool my buddy Sammy sent me. You put in your address and then you can choose wind or solar, draw the area of your yard or roof you'd like to use and it does cost and wattage estimates based on air currents, solar azimuths and what not. Pretty rad for those looking into adding solar or wind to their current home or building something new.
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