electricity

An Idea to Green Your Grave

jplatt — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Looking for an idea that can help the people you leave behind? The Spanish town of Santa Coloma de Gramenet has turned its cemetery into something better than a memorial. By installing solar panels on top of mausoleums, they have turned the cemetery into a green-power-generating lifeline for the town.

According to an AP report, the cemetery boasts 462 solar panels, which produce enough energy to power 60 homes.

Cemeteries take up a great deal of land that could be better put to use as untouched wilderness, but it's good to see someone producing green change out of death.

An Oyster's Bed of Dreams

scleaver — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Once, oysters covered the banks of the great island of Manhattan and were so plentiful, and so good at filtering water that the now murky waters around New York were probably clear.

But, oyster beds in New York and all along the East Coast have long been decimated from overharvesting, disease, and pollution. Around New York, oysters were all but extinct by the mid-20th Century. The water is cleaner now, thanks to the Clean Water Act, but scientists are still working on a way to bring the oysters back. The latest attempt: electric oyster beds.

The Christian Science Monitor recently described a new project by James Cervino, professor of marine biology at Pace University in New York City who wants to use electricity to reharvest oyster beds. Cervino has installed the Electric Oyster Reef Project, spiral shaped bands that maintain a low voltage of electricity thanks to solar panels, along College Point, Queens. The electricity reacts with the water and creates limestone build ups on the metal that helps oysters grow. Recreating the reefs could help clean the water, the way nature intended, or it could upset the new balance of the bay. Some are concerned that trying to bring the oyster back is a lost cause—once an organism is out of the food chain it’s hard to bring back.

In the meantime, learn more about coral restoration around the world (oyster beds are considered the coral reefs of the East Coast) at the Global Coral Reef Alliance. Or, if all you want to do is eat oysters, get your Oyster guide at Chow.

Image from Chow.

On the Go? Charge Your Devices with a Solar-Powered Briefcase

jplatt — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Road warriors, are you always looking for a wall outlet to charge your cell phone, GPS, MP3 player or PDA? Well seek no further, my friends, because the outlet you need could soon be hanging from your shoulder.

The new Juice Bag ProFolio from Reware is the latest in a growing line of solar-powered bags that you can use to charge your portable devices. The ProFolio is about the same size as the briefcase you've got now, but it comes with a nice one-foot-square array of solar panels that add just half a pound of weight to what you're already carrying.

That extra weight can take some pressure off of you and make it easier to charge your devices on the go. Just plug your devices into the bag when you're in the car, on the plane, or in a meeting, and they'll be fully charged in 2-4 hours.

Sadly, the ProFolio doesn't pack enough juice (pun intended) to charge a laptop, although it is big enough to carry one. Maybe the next generation of bags will do better.

But until then, the ProFolio could be a flexible and affordable alternative for charging your devices. It's just $299 right now, although that introductory price will soon jump to $399.99.

Oh, BTW, the ProFolio is made out of recycled materials. Just in case that little bit of green information helps you make your buying decision.

New Gadget Can Save You Money on Electricity

jplatt — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Whether you're at home or in the office, your electric bills these days probably hurt. Not only are they higher than ever, but the impact of all of that electricity generation is spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every day.

What can you do to help cut your electric usage? A good first step is to monitor how much energy you are actually using.

One way to do that is with a Watts Up? meter from Electronic Educational Devices. Plug any device into one of these meters and it will tell you energy it is using. The higher-end Watts Up? meters come with USB connections and software so you can upload the data into your computer and keep track of usage over time.

EED says their monitors are particularly effective in identifying the "vampires" in your home or office -- the devices that continue to suck in electricity even when they are "off." According to the company, "A typical system consisting of a set top box, VCR, TV, stereo, and ampliier can consume 50-75 watts or more, even when not in use. This can add up to $25-50 years per year."

The basic Watts Up? monitor costs less than $100 -- a pretty low-cost nvestment for helping to lower your total electric bill.