April 2011

Vodafone African off-grid tests

Vodafone is set to announce it will build one of Africa’s greenest commercial buildings as a base for testing new ways of using renewable energy across its global network.

Based in Midrand, South Africa, the innovation centre will examine how the company can reduce carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy, as well as batteries. The centre will also look at how to reduce the running and deployment cost of base station sites. Findings will be shared across the Vodafone group.

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Community

The new Gypsies

Book review of photo collection of intimate portraits of the horsedrawn people of the UK

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Energy

Alberta power cos in “death spiral”

A vast bill for new electricity infrastructure will be paid for by Alberta consumers because industry will simply generate its own electricity rather than have its profits gouged by the power companies.

Two associations that represent big industrial power users are warning that escalating transmission costs will push pulp mills and petrochemical refineries off the electrical grid, and leave residential and commercial consumers stuck with a larger portion of the bill.
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Community

DIY rocket stove

kent-ivey-diy-rocket-stove

I like rocket stoves, these are usually small, usually portable, mini-cooking-heating devices that are very efficient. You can use twigs instead of larger pieces of wood, these tend to be safer since you aren’t using a lot of fuel (twigs) and it goes out if you aren’t there to feed the wood into the stove. I have seen a lot of different methods of building a rocket stove, from simple bricks without mortar to very elaborate and expensive rigs.

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Energy

The carbon footprint of cannabis

Scare story about energy used to grow pot fails to take into account the use of solar panels and wind turbines by illegal growers

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Co-generation in small-town America

Ah, the irony. In San Andreas, CA, atop a possible earthquake of cataclysmic proportions, the town is adopting the latest distributed power generation technologies.

Someday soon, fuels from forests in this area south-east of Sacramento may power water plants, schools and even private businesses.

Bob Dean, a member of the board of directors of the Calaveras County Water District,has proposed portable cogeneration plants to both generate electricity and allow for more efficient use of wood-chip waste generated as local forests are thinned.

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Community

Dirt-cheap survival retreat-book review

There are people who have seemingly unlimited funds to purchase whatever goodies they want. This book is not written for them, though they could glean some great ideas. It’s really written for the rest of us, those who have limited incomes but still want to go off-grid and live comfortably.

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