Is Car Exhaust The Only Real Problem Here?

Any of us who have flown into Los Angeles, Phoenix, or any other large city with large numbers of vehicles on the road, we know what the dirty are looks like.  We also know that much of this is pollutants from cars on the road. 

Currently there's over 247 vehicles on the roads in the United States so it is no wonder that the smog continues to be an issue.  Of those, about 133,000 are electric capable.  That may sound like a good start, but do we take into consideration the pollutants produced in making the electric to run these cars? 

This is such a vicious circle.  One depressing thought to me was the lack of information on numbers
of vehicles that could run, even short distances, on solar panels.  I will continue to do research on this subject and share what I find, when I find some solid information.  After all, if you can run a boat on panels, so could you a small vehicle.  Right?


By now you probably think that what is bothering me is the pollution caused by vehicles or the lack of solar powered cars.  But that isn't what got me started.  Just some of what bothers me, often. What I am having an issue with is something I saw on the news last week.  The issue - underground fuel storage tanks.

  
I live in Arizona, a state with plenty of sunshine to support solar energy.  In a recent state audit it was revealed that more than half of the almost 4,000 tanks are reaching or have passed their 30 year life expectancy.  The audit, performed by the Arizona Auditor General's Office, reported that 901 underground fuel storage tanks are older than 30 years old and another 2,935 are between 20 and 30 years old.  All of these tanks are at risk of leaking gasoline, diesel fuel and other chemicals into the soil and ground water.  A spokes person from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality stated that they are aware of this situation and are taking it very seriously.   I do sort of wonder just what that means.  I would be willing to be that everyone in that department, and anyone who has access to this information, has checked to make sure that the possible leaking tanks are not effecting their personal water source. 

This isn't meant to be a bitch session towards any government agency but it is meant to bring to the attention of anyone who is interested the fact that this entire problem goes right back to the beginning of this post. 

Fact - as of July of 2013, the average age of the 247 vehicles on the road is 11.4 years old.  There has been a slow increase over the past several year.  Partially due to the economy but also because more houses are adding more vehicles to the family,  vehicles are lasting longer and many people are financing cars for as many as 72 months.  And let's not forget the collectors of the good old, sturdy and just plain neat cars.  More cars and older cars results in the pollution. 

Another fact - utilizing the sun, when and where it is possible, would greatly aid in the pollution issue and the need for rusting, leaking fuel storage tanks. 

Imagine for just a moment - how fun would it be to pull up to a gas station to find people washing their windows and wiping off their solar panels, instead of standing there pumping a dozen gallons of fuel into their car? 

Fun View of The End

I just found this article by Stuart Lovatt and wanted to share.  This guy has some amazing information. I think you will enjoy this fun little bit.

An alternative apocalyptic view to 2012

By: Stuart Lovatt on December 19, 2012

The countdown to apocalypse has begun and everyone is waiting in great anticipation for the ultimate end of humanity’s great evolutionary story. Not convinced? Well me neither.

If there are no asteroids on the horizon or biblical floods heading our way, the coast for humanity may not yet be clear as ‘the beginning of the end’ may have been misinterpreted as ‘the actual end’.

The whole 2012 apocalypse originates from the Mayan calendar which may or may not have been translated correctly, but when you look at the message with the perspective of hindsight, maybe the Mayan people predicted the beginning of the end?

A modern person can never see the world through Mayan eyes, but the Mayan civilization had the ability to predict population growth through experience and shared generational knowledge and thus see mankind's eventual effect on the world around.

Through coincidence or calculation, the Mayan calendar has exactly predicted the year with which humanities destructive effects on The Earth have reached a significant tipping point in its four and half billion year history.

Even in the times of the Mayan, Aztec, Inca, Moche, Tiwanaku, Chimu people of South America, the destructive force of humanity on the environment must have been obvious, with population growth probably as obvious to them as it is to us today.

For a few wiser elders or leaders of the Mayan people, who like us may have remembered times when the population was much lower and cliché coming up, “when times were better” the sight of the new populated cities continually expanding and growing and the devastating effects on the environment around them must have been clear to them too.

Imagination and scale is the key to unlocking the Mayan calendar puzzle.

In a much smaller scale where the size of your world stretches from the East Atlantic coast to the West Pacific coast it doesn’t take much stretching of the imagination to expand the environmental damage done by each expanding generation.

Watching the ants as they devour the carcasses of the Lama showed the calendar creators that the size of the consumer is irrelevant when in large enough numbers.

In a pre-Columbus South American world, with large civilizations interacting with each other, the curious minded of those times, would have pondered on how many generations it would take to influence their small world so it could no longer support them.

Little did they envisage the true size of the Earth and unfortunately for them, the arrival of ships from across the great Ocean.

A tale of two worlds, a story of one Earth

Every generation in the human story has watched its populations grow beyond what they remembered as children with the exceptions of war, famine and plagued times. Little did the Mayan people when carving their calendar know the true scale of the Earth and the true scale of human population to be, but the Mayans did recognize the impact of humans on the world around them.

With all our modern technologies and intellect, we are only now beginning to grasp the true nature of our unabated growth strategy and the ramifications of it. The apocalyptic vision of the ‘beginning of the end’ has come true as we now stand on the tipping point of environmental degradation.

2012 has been the year where even America and China have woken up to what’s in-store as the climate begins to change beyond all recognition, and our satellite technologies record in ‘High Definition’ the surface changes of the planet caused by our industrial-scaled activities.

As the gases steady build up in our wafer-thin atmosphere and the associated cause and effects, already apparent in our ability to sustain life on Earth, we will year on year see the degradation of our ability to feed ourselves, support wildlife and ultimately sustain the bio-sphere as a whole.

Already political talk has been hinting at replacing our diminishing oil reserves with much higher polluting coal, so our thirst for energy is very literally burning up the planet, as the levels of parts per million of Co2 already continue to climb above a record breaking 400ppm.
2012 may well prove to be the beginning of the end, as the environmental scales now tip against us, and as we continue to exploit any and every natural resource to keep our modern civilization alive, regardless, we may be witnessing not the end, but the beginning of an ending chapter!

Thanks Stuart Lovatt for your views. 

Never Too Young To Learn

     We start teaching our kids about recycling when they are very young.  Even a lot of parks and stores are on the ball when it comes to sorting out the cans and plastic from the other garbage.  That is the best start you can have for our kids.  So, why not do the same with alternative energy?

      Here's what Mark J. Montgomery has to say -

Kids Can Learn About Solar Power

      Kids today can learn about so many different things. We have a way to teach them about solar power. This resource will be their future and will depend on how we take care of it today. Solar power can be anywhere the sun shines and you can feel and see the warmth. Solar power can heat water, heat homes, schools, businesses, and it can produce energy. Teaching kids today how solar power works and how we can use it wisely will ensure that our future and theirs will be protected.

     First of all, learning about the harmful affects of our energy usage today is important for them to understand why there should be another way to produce energy. Because the electricity that we use today comes from non-renewable resources we are setting ourselves up for a big fall. When that resource runs out we will rely on an alternative to supply our power. Scientist are working today to ensure that when we do run out of that resource we will be able to switch over to another way without missing a beat.

    The problem with that is we shouldn't wait until that resource is gone to switch over. We should be able to switch in the near future and preserve what we have left. Another problem with our energy production today is that it is harmful to the environment. It pollutes the air and will eventually make it impossible for us to use the sun as a natural resource. We can't afford to lose that important alternative. In order to save our environment we need to teach the kids how we can all join together in order to save there solar power.

     Solar power can generate energy using natural resources and man made solar sources that will attract the solar power to the source. In order to make this affective we need to be able to find solar sources that are not expensive but can provide the solar power that we need. A standard home can benefit greatly to switching over to solar power. It is easy to do. Also when you build your home you can build it using solar power as a way to naturally generate electricity into your home, heat your water, and other functions that can be controlled by using solar power. In the long run, we benefit by not paying for a resource that is slowly taking away from a natural resource. Our kids will be rewarded for our careful planning.

     All ages can benefit from conserving solar power but it needs to start now in order to benefit the future. Teaching the kids the way to save the energy and how we need to come up with a way to save the solar power in the future in order to supply heating, water, and other necessities in large quantities rather than by individual houses, which is how we do it today. One day we may not need to run power lines through fields, streets and yards because we will all have solar power boxes in the back yard instead.

Build Your Own ?

     I have brain overload, just attempting to understand what I am reading.  In my head, the use of solar panels should be complex and complicated.  My head is wrong.  So I am attempting to reprogram myself to accept the truth.  The truth of the 21st Century.

     I have found a few sites (I should say a few hundred) that are simple enough for even me to understand.  I will combine a couple of them to show their concepts of how to build your own.
This from EHow -
     Solar panels can generate significant energy for your home if you are in an area that gets lots of sunlight. Many commercial solar panels are very expensive but you can build your own solar panels and save yourself a lot of money. Homemade solar panels are typically less efficient and produce less power than commercially available panels, but you can build them in an afternoon. 

Things You'll Need

Solar cells

 Flat-tabbed wire

 Insulated copper wire

 Lumber

 Plexiglas

 All-weather paint

 Silicone sealant

 Solder and soldering iron

 Drill

 Tools

        1.   Solder two lengths of flat-tabbed wire to the back of each solar cell. Each length of flat-tabbed wire should be twice as long as the solar cell is wide. Be careful when handling your solar cells because they are fragile.

        2.   Cut a sheet of plywood to the size you want your solar panel to be. Apply two coats of all-weather paint to the plywood. Draw a grid on your sheet of plywood to guide placement of your solar cells.

        3.   Lay your solar cells out on the plywood base in the position you want them. Solder the flat-tabbed wires from the back of one cell to the top of the adjacent cell. Repeat the process to string your solar cells together across the length of your plywood backing. Make as many strings of solar cells as you need to cover the face of your plywood backing. Ensure you leave a 3-inch border around the edge of your panel free for your border.

        4.    Carefully lift each solar cell and place a single drop of silicone sealant in the middle of the cell and then gently but firmly press the cell into place. Allow your sealant to dry. Wire each string of solar cells to the next by attaching the positive lead to the negative lead of the next string. You will be left with one positive lead and one negative lead for the entire panel. Solder these leads to lengths of insulated copper wire.

        5.   Cut one by 1-inch boards into lengths sufficient to form a border around the edges of the panel backing. Apply a strip of silicone sealant around the edge of the panel backing and press the border boards into place. Drill pilot holes through the backing into the boarder boards and drive screws through the backing and into the boarder boards to hold them in place.

        6.    Drill two holes through the border boards and run the wire leads through the holes. Apply silicone sealant to the holes to hold the wires in place and prevent water from entering your solar panel. Drill a drain hole in the bottom border board to allow condensation to drain out.

        7.   Apply a strip of silicone sealant to the top edge of the border and place a sheet of Plexiglas cut to size on top of the panel. Carefully drill pilot holes through the Plexiglas and into the panel border and then drive screws through to hold the Plexiglas in place. Allow your sealant to dry and place your panel in the sun. Run your leads to your home power system.

Even in this video, it all looks so simple.

So what do you think?  Ready to try your own?

     I think I will continue to shop for a reasonably priced unit that is ready to use.  Please let me know if any of you have built your own.  I would love to hear and share your story.

Now's The Time For Solar Power

     Solar energy became readily available in the 1980's.  We saw huge panels on roof tops and we were in aw.  I believe that most of us saw the use of solar energy being for the wealthy.  Granted - it was not an inexpensive venture.  And the stability was a bit questionable.  NOW - it's 2012.  Equipment is reasonably priced.  Panels are made for the do-it-yourself type person.  The variety of panels available range from large units for roof tops, smaller units for pool houses, yard lights and for that spoiled dog house, and even flexible units for easy mounting on recreational vehicles and boats.  If this isn't enough to spark your interest then think about this - local electric companies are buying back your extra power. 

I am as much to blame as the next.  I have yet to start my first solar energy project.  Now is the time for me and as I start my research and education, I will share what I find with all of you who may happen onto this site.  Wish me luck and follow me when you can.

     If you have any good ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share.  I am all ears.