Four Elements House » Environment http://www.fourelementshouse.com a Journey from Living On the Grid to Living Off the Grid in Chenogne Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:32:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Jane Poynter: Life in Biosphere 2 http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/07/jane-poynter-life-in-biosphere-2/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/07/jane-poynter-life-in-biosphere-2/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:35:25 +0000 Rogier http://www.fourelementshouse.com/?p=622

Jane Poynter tells her story of living two years and 20 minutes in Biosphere 2 — an experience that provoked her to explore how we might sustain life in the harshest of environments.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/07/jane-poynter-life-in-biosphere-2/feed/ 0 Sylvia Earle: Here’s how to protect the blue heart of the planet http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/03/sylvia-earle-heres-how-to-protect-the-blue-heart-of-the-planet/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/03/sylvia-earle-heres-how-to-protect-the-blue-heart-of-the-planet/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:51:42 +0000 lagor http://www.fourelementshouse.com/?p=437 As we educate ourselves more and more, our awareness grows more and more. Sometimes I think that it would be nice to not now, to be ignorant. It is bliss, but you can’t have it both ways. Once the genie is out of the bottle, there’s no turning back.

About this talk (from TED.com): “Legendary ocean researcher Sylvia Earle shares astonishing images of the ocean — and shocking stats about its rapid decline — as she makes her TED Prize wish: that we will join her in protecting the vital blue heart of the planet.”
More about Sylvia Earle.
More about TED.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2009/03/sylvia-earle-heres-how-to-protect-the-blue-heart-of-the-planet/feed/ 0 A Real Tree http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/12/a-real-tree/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/12/a-real-tree/#comments Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:55:37 +0000 Rogier http://ourearthship.com/?p=333 I just added the ”A Real Tree” app to my iPhone. So what.., I hear you say. Well, for every app that gets bought a real tree is planted. So far, 94 trees have been planted, and one of them is mine… it’s only $0,99 or €0,79. No reason not to get it.., well, you do need an iPhone.. :) .

Get the full read at the Apple Blog and get A Real Tree at the app store.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/12/a-real-tree/feed/ 0 Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/11/wake-up-freak-out-then-get-a-grip/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/11/wake-up-freak-out-then-get-a-grip/#comments Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:32:05 +0000 Rogier http://ourearthship.com/?p=329
Wake Up, Freak Out – then Get a Grip

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/11/wake-up-freak-out-then-get-a-grip/feed/ 0 50 Ways to Help the Planet http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/04/50-ways-to-help-the-planet/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/04/50-ways-to-help-the-planet/#comments Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:27:23 +0000 Rogier http://ourearthship.com/2008/04/23/50-ways-to-help-the-planet/ I just couldn’t resist posting this. 50 ways to help the planet, man, there has to be something there that you can do. I myself came up to 20 (nice round number).

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/04/50-ways-to-help-the-planet/feed/ 0 Groundbreaking Material: OLED illuminated surfaces http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/groundbreaking-material-oled-illuminated-surfaces/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/groundbreaking-material-oled-illuminated-surfaces/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:34:57 +0000 Rogier http://ourearthship.com/2008/01/23/groundbreaking-material-oled-illuminated-surfaces/
Imagine a house without a single light fixture – but instead walls, ceilings, furnishings, and accessories all sources of light. Thanks to research at Princeton University and the University of Southern California (USC), almost any surface in a building can become a light source with OLEDs.

Researchers have made a critical advancement from what was once single-color displays to highly efficient and long-lasting natural light source called OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes). The invention was the brain child of 13-years of research in the OLED program headed up by Mark Thompson at USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Stephan Forrest, vice president for research at the University of Michigan (formerly at Princeton).

Thompson states that the OLED process �enables us to get 100 percent efficiency out of single, broad spectrum light source.� Completely transparent when not in use, the devices can be used in windows and a skylight, mimicking the feel of natural light once the sun goes down. Imagine the energy saving possibilities! Or, for gadget geeks, OLEDs could make for the flattest flat-panel TV imaginable. Watch out when OLEDs hit the mass market, it could transform lighting as we know it.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/groundbreaking-material-oled-illuminated-surfaces/feed/ 0 Biofuels under (belated) scrutiny http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/biofuels-under-belated-scrutiny/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/biofuels-under-belated-scrutiny/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:54:39 +0000 Laila http://ourearthship.com/2008/01/16/biofuels-under-belated-scrutiny/ I was visiting the greenpeace website and came across this article. I would like to know what you think about this!

palm oil

They seem like a perfect solution, making fuels from plants to help cut carbon emissions. The simple promise of so-called biofuels has led to many companies and politicians being swept up in the hype. However more and more research is revealing many current biofuels are a false solution.

Over the last few years biofuels seem to have enchanted governments, car manufacturers and many others who must cut emissions to prevent dangerous climate change. US President Bush, hardly a fan of climate solutions, suddenly started promoting biofuels to make it appear he was taking action to cut emissions. Car manufactures have seized on biofuels as the perfect get-out-of-jail free card. Under pressure, especially in Europe, to meet efficiency targets they have consistently missed for the last 8 years, the manufacturers lobby convinced EU politicians that biofuels were the answer.

Many biofuels targets have been hastily proposed in the last two years for political expediency or to deflect attention from the efficiency targets car manufacturers fight tooth and nail against. But behind the hype, evidence has been mounting that many biofuels might even be worse than fossil fuels.

Put very simply biofuel problems fall in to 3 areas:

  • Biofuels made from industrial food crops can produce more emissions due to large fossil fuel use in their production.
  • Biofuels from other crops such as palm oil are often grown on land which has been cleared of tropical rainforest, generating huge amounts of carbon emissions.
  • Increasing demand for biofuels means land used for food production is taken over driving up the price of basic foods.

Seriously suspect

We have been arguing for years that the environmental credentials of biofuels are seriously suspect. As we pointed out in our ‘Cooking the Climate‘ report into palm oil, a growing source of biofuels, this is anything but a clean energy. We uncovered how the production of palm oil is driving the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforest and as a result, C02 emissions are spiralling.

Despite these big issues biofuels seemed to be on a roll. The Philippine government passed a new law forcing car owners to use a certain amount of biofuel when they fill up their cars, whilst the EU pledged that biofuels should make up 10 percent of transport fuel by 2020. And other countries, like the UK, have fallen for biofuels. The UK government are pushing through a law that will demand all transport fuels contain 5 percent biofuel by 2010.

However recently there have been signs that the politicians who first fell for biofuels might be belatedly realising they have made a big mistake.

The EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, has thrown the EU’s biofuel target into disarray when he stated that it would be better to miss the EU target on biofuels than to trash the environment and push more people into poverty. Speaking to the BBC, Dimas admitted that – “we have seen that the environmental problems caused by biofuels and also the social problems are bigger than we thought they were. So we have to move very carefully”. He went onto claim that the problem would be solved when he unveils tougher environmental and social standards next week. But the fact is without really strong criteria the EU target is effectively redundant.

To top it all, the UK’s leading scientific body, the Royal Society, has released a report warning that biofuels risk failing to deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from transport, and could even be environmentally damaging.

Is the tide turning?

These events signal that the tide is possibly turning against biofuels and that politicians are just beginning to wake up to the dangers of mass biofuel production.

If we are going to use biofuels, we need to make sure that they are part of the solution, not contributing to the problem. That means not tearing up the rainforests to make way for biofuel crops just so that the car industry can continue to drag their feet on the issue of improved fuel efficiency.

Real energy solution are clearly outlined in our Energy [R]evolution report. Truly sustainable energy technologies such as wind, solar and geothermal energy coupled with massive energy efficiency increases can deliver climate friendly, clean and secure energy. For transport there are significant efficiency gains to be made before biofuels should be considered.

Governments would do better ensure cars are far more fuel efficient than wasting time and resources on promoting false solutions.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2008/01/biofuels-under-belated-scrutiny/feed/ 0 Solar Panels at Lower-Than-Usual Cost http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/solar-panels-at-lower-than-usual-cost/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/solar-panels-at-lower-than-usual-cost/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:27:30 +0000 Laila http://ourearthship.com/2007/12/26/solar-panels-at-lower-than-usual-cost/ This article was posted in the New York Times on December the 18th 2007.

If you want to know more about Nanosolar check out their website.

Nanosolar, a heavily financed Silicon Valley start-up whose backers include Google’s co-founders, plans to announce Tuesday that it has begun selling its innovative solar panels, which are made using a technique that is being held out as the future of solar power manufacturing.

The company, which has raised $150 million and built a 200,000-square-foot factory here, is developing a new manufacturing process that “prints” photovoltaic material on aluminum backing, a process the company says will reduce the manufacturing cost of the basic photovoltaic module by more than 80 percent.

Nanosolar, which recently hired a top manufacturing executive from I.B.M., said that it had orders for its first 18 months of manufacturing capacity. The photovoltaic panels will be made in Silicon Valley and in a second plant in Germany.

While many photovoltaic start-up companies are concentrating on increasing the efficiency with which their systems convert sunlight, Nanosolar has focused on lowering the manufacturing cost. Its process is akin to a large printing press, rather than the usual semiconductor manufacturing techniques that deposit thin films on silicon wafers.

Nanosolar’s founder and chief executive, Martin Roscheisen, claims to be the first solar panel manufacturer to be able to profitably sell solar panels for less than $1 a watt. That is the price at which solar energy becomes less expensive than coal.

“With a $1-per-watt panel,” he said, “it is possible to build $2-per-watt systems.”

According to the Energy Department, building a new coal plant costs about $2.1 a watt, plus the cost of fuel and emissions, he said.

The first Nanosolar panels are destined for a one-megawatt solar plant to be installed in Germany on a former landfill owned by a waste management company. The plant, being developed by Beck Energy, is expected to initially supply electrical power for about 400 homes.

The company chose to build its plant in southern San Jose, news that was cheered by local development officials. Much of the microelectronics industry created here has moved to Asia and new factories are a rare commodity in Silicon Valley.


]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/solar-panels-at-lower-than-usual-cost/feed/ 0 Compost maker http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/compost-maker/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/compost-maker/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:12:45 +0000 Laila http://ourearthship.com/2007/12/26/compost-maker/ Since it is Christmas I have some free time to stumble the internet and I have found some interesting websites like NatureMill.

The NatureMill is an automatic kitchen compost maker. This is how it works:

Deposit food waste items at any time, on any day. Add up to 120 lbs (55kg) per month. For best results, cut items into small pieces. Items remain in the upper chamber, with “hot composting” conditions: mixing, air flow, heat, and moisture (see diagram). The energy released destroys odors, pathogens, and seed germination. The compost is later transferred through a trap door to the lower cure tray chamber, where it continues to compost while you add fresh waste items to the upper chamber.

At first I wasn’t over enthusiastic about it because I thought ” Sure another appliance which uses electricity” but according to the NatureMill website it only uses 5 kwh / month of energy – or about $0.50/month – less than a garbage truck would burn in diesel fuel to haul the same waste. And it is made from recycled and recyclable materials.

So it isn’t real cheap, they start at $299 dollars but i think it is a very efficient way of making compost.

]]> http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/compost-maker/feed/ 0 A Mighty Wind http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/a-mighty-wind/ http://www.fourelementshouse.com/2007/12/a-mighty-wind/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:37:10 +0000 Laila http://ourearthship.com/2007/12/26/a-mighty-wind/ While stumbling on the net I found a website from plenty magazine. They posted an article on a new kind of rooftop wind turbine which I think is worth taking a look at.

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