I, like millions of others, saw the 60 Minutes piece on the Bloom Box. Wow. A small box less than one square foot can power a home continuous for years with little energy input, which would replace the big power plants and transmission line grids. Did I mention that it is wireless? Fed Ex, Google, eBay and Wal-Mart are already testing the Bloom Box with success. Hmmmm … could this really be what every energy consumer in the world has been waiting for, well, forever?
This is the claim anyway of K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, who came up with the Bloom Box after developing a similar device for NASA. The Bloom Box is made up of ceramic squares which are made from baked sand. The ceramic squares are coated with green and black “inks.” Bloom makes the ceramic discs which it stacks together with metal plates of “a cheap metal alloy.” The more power the Bloom Box makes, the bigger the stack. Bloom Energy is making their official big announcement this Wednesday, February 24.
We shall see if the Bloom Box will deliver as advertised. Only time will tell if we will have Bloom Boxes in our yards in ten years or sooner with no major glitches. Honestly, it all seems pretty much ‘too good to be true’ for millions of consumers, but I am open to be greatly surprised.
So how did Bloom Energy get its name?
So, what do you think of the Bloom Box?
We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with SEES (Solar Energy & Efficiency Solutions, Inc.). One of their many services is a Free Online Energy Audit delivered to your email. You will also receive a Free Energy Guide and Free Green Energy Talk Magazine, all designed to help homeowners lower their energy bills and help the planet go green.
Simply click on the image below or here to signup for your Free Online Energy Audit. You will be presented with a 10-20 page detailed analysis of ways you can make your home more energy efficient. You will also receive a list of all of the incentives, rebates and grants available for your ZIP Code.
There is no cost or obligation and you can opt out of future emailings at any time. Your own Free online energy audit and comprehensive report will show you FACTS for simple improvements to your home or business — save money, save energy, and improve the environment. We hope you take advantage of this service from SEES. Have a great green day.
Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E) in their never-ending attempt to educate and help customers to be more eco-friendly and save money has added a CFL Program to their arsenal. Under their CFL Program customers receive a mailer identical to the image above. The customer just needs to mail in the little reply card attached and they will be sent four CFL bulbs. Just like that. I just received my mailer and you know I will be taking advantage of this opportunity.
So if you are not a customer of LG&E are you jealous? Well, contact your electric company and let them know that these programs exist and they too can do more for their customers by providing green programs.
I look forward to receiving my free CFL bulbs. I have many CFL bulbs in my home, but I do believe I have 4 bulbs left which are not. They are the lights in my garage door opener. Wow, my garage is about to get more eco-friendly.
Do other electric companies have similar programs? I would like to hear about them.
This past weekend I hiked in Jefferson Memorial Forest, which is located in southern Jefferson County in Louisville, Kentucky. I had never been there before, much less hiked there so I took the opportunity on a decent day in November for a hike. I ended up hiking the Purple Heart Trail, which is a 2 mile loop trail which is of moderate difficulty. There are definitely some literal ups and downs to this trail, but it isn’t too strenuous.
This past week the fall colors were mostly gone and understandably parts of the trails were overcome with leaves, but the trails and the grounds were otherwise clean and a great place to getaway.
Above is the Tom Wallace Lake. I would like to go back next year and explore more of the many trails at Jefferson Memorial Forest. Kentucky is a beautiful state and you can see some of its beauty at Jefferson Memorial Forest.
Do you like hiking or have you ever been to Jefferson Memorial Forest?
Let me know.
Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints
Blackle.com is a website created by Heap Media and it looks like Google and is powered by the Google Custom Search, but it has one large difference. Blackle.com (clever name) has a black background instead of the white background of Google.com. Some studies claim that darker images on monitors consume less energy, so this is Heap Media’s way to “remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy”.
Try it for yourself, maybe you’ll like it. You can follow Blackle.com on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/Blackle and/or go to their energy saving tips. Maybe I should change this blog to a black background. Hmm, something to think about.
I’ve watched a couple of episodes of a new show on the Sundance Channel called ‘The Lazy Environmentalist’. It looks at being Green through the eyes of the average person. A lazy and impatient person, that is. A vast majority of people fit in that category.
The show, which is hosted by Josh Dorfman, contains very helpful eco suggestions which are trying to save you time and money. On the show I’ve seen eco sky-lights, smart power strips and even organic cocktails. I find the show to be very helpful, but it makes me jealous. If I had a show, it would be this show just like this. I recommend that everyone watch this show. You’ll learn something about helping the environment without feeling overwhelmed over what he suggests.
‘The Lazy Environmentalist’ hosted by Josh Dorfman airs on the Sundance Channel on Tuesdays at 9PM EST.
Josh Dorfman talks about his show "The Lazy Environmentalist" on the Sundance Channel
I just recently saw the eco-mentary IMAX Coral Reef Adventure. I found it a very memorable look at coral reefs and the danger the coral around the world is facing. The film is narrated by Liam Neeson and contains music from Crosby, Stills and Nash. How cool is that? I recommend it for everyone. Below is the link to the trailer for Coral Reef Adventure:
From the coralfilm.com website:
"Coral Reef Adventure follows the real-life expedition of ocean explorers and underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall. Using large-format cameras, the Halls guide us to the islands and sun-drenched waters of the South Pacific to document - in the health and beauty of coral reefs. In IMAX® and other giant screen theatres, you'll feel like you're diving and exploring right alongside them."
"Coral Reef Adventure contains the most beautiful underwater footage ever to hit the giant screen. Shot in the South Pacific, it captures the breathtaking color, texture and movement of living coral reefs in stunning detail."
-- Cincinnati Enquirer
"Created by the same team that produced Everest, this new IMAX offering may do the best of any in merging education with entertainment. . . The beauty of the marine life, flashing turquoise, orange and iridescent blue, will send winter-weary Wisconsinites into tropical transports. The eye candy may be fishy, but it still mesmerizes. Coral Reef Adventure also boasts the best soundtrack of any IMAX film that's not "Rolling Stones at the Max."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Coral Reef Adventure trailer
