Green-Trust.Org » environment

75 (soon to be 100?) MPG on Biodiesel, in a Roadster

Steve Spence — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:24:45 +0000

From Kinetic’s web site:

This is MAX, which stands for Mother’s Automotive eXperiment. No, we’re not done with it. It needs a streamlined body, for one thing, since we’re shooting for 100 miles per gallon. The engine is a turbocharged 1100cc Kubota diesel, and and even sans streamlining MAX is surprisingly peppy. Peppy enough to win the inaugural Escape from Berkeley race in October ‘08 (Berkeley to Las Vegas without petroleum fuel) thanks to good performance, great mileage, and the ability to run on cooking oil straight out of the bottle. We intend to run the same team this year, when Escape from Berkeley takes us from Berkeley to Mexico; Yours Truly behind the wheel and Sharon Wescott behind the map…unless by some fluke we get a diesel motorcycle whipped together for Sharon, in which case we’ll be calling for volunteers in the right seat.

http://kineticvehicles.com/

More references:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/100-MPG-Car.aspx
http://www.locostusa.com/
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Locost_North_America/

Shell, and others, sponsoring Fuel Efficiency Technology

Steve Spence — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:25:35 +0000

Shell is investing heavily into fuel efficiency and alternative energy solutions. Please comment on how you perceive the traditional oil companies are moving towards efficiency and environmentally friendly solutions. Read more about Shell’s Alternative Energy Projects.

Recycled Glassware, made in the USA, at Walmart?

Steve Spence — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:22:18 +0000

We recently picked up two sets of drinking glasses at Walmart. Called the ECOGLASS, it’s made by Anchor Hocking, in Ohio. Made of 35% recycled materials, it’s 100% recyclable, and comes in 100% recyclable packaging made from 25% post consumer waste, and sustainable ink. It’s a good solid drinking glass, not easily broken. Qty 6 glasses for under $8. Did I mention it’s lead free?

Installing the “Nature’s Head” Composting Toilet

Steve Spence — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:40:15 +0000

We took some pictures, some video, and are working on a multimedia presentation on the installation and use of the Nature’s Head Composting Toilet. This toilet is ideal for campers, boats and off grid homes where producing septic waste is not the goal, but producing compost is. You can see the pictures at http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/123670. The toilet is available on our products page at http://www.green-trust.org/products.

Making Steam from Solar Energy – redux

Steve Spence — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:41:46 +0000

A while back, Robert Saunders sent us an article on a steam turbine he was working on. Then he sent another on solar energy steam electric. Well, here is his third chapter in this continuing quest. Hope you enjoy:

http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2008/12/07/solar-powered-steam-generators/

Our vegetable oil burner has arrived

Steve Spence — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:56:40 +0000

We drove to Massachusetts yesterday to visit Tom Leue from http://yellowbiodiesel.com/, and brought back one of his Recycled Vegetable Oil (RVO) burners. This is designed to replace a standard 4″ Beckett burner in a boiler or furnace, can be installed in a drum for a shop heater, used to heat water, or even create steam for a steam engine powered heat and electric application (Combined heat and power, or CHP). We talked a bit a few days ago about this burner in a previous blog article, which gives more info on the burner itself. This design is based on a Babington burner that injects air through a tiny jet in a ball, and pumps oil over the ball, forming a ignitable vapor when the oil covers the jet of air, similar to a whale’s blowhole. Discussions of the Babington principle are commonly held at http://group.wastewatts.org.

Windy Days at Green Trust

Steve Spence — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:10:28 +0000

We finally got the AIR-X (400 watt) wind turbine raised today, just in time for a windy mini blizzard. It sits on 30′ of 3″ galvanised pipe, bolted to the side of the house. We used a backhoe to pull a rope, connected to the tower at the 20′ mark, over the top of the house, as we didn’t have the manpower to pull it ourselves. We put two other ropes on either side of the turbine to keep it from sliding perpendicular to the direction we wanted to to go.

I don’t have my anemometer up to check wind speeds, but the turbine is peaking at 300 watts and singing like a stool pigeon. I have the output of the turbine (the negative) running through a shunt connected to my FLEXnetDC battery monitor, so my Outback Mate tracks the power the turbine collects. My solar panels connect to another shunt, and my inverter to the third shunt. This gives me detailed information on my production and usage.

I have some of pictures of the process posted at http://sspence65.jalbum.net/AIR%20X%20Install/ and more coming shortly.

The Whisper (500 watt) is the next unit to go up, followed by the rebuilt 24 volt (was 12v) 1000 watt Axial Flux Turbine.

Brainstorming battery technology and human power

Steve Spence — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:27:37 +0000

Melvin Martin was over last night. He’s greatly recovered from his accident, but still has a ways to go. We were discussing home built NiFe (Edison) batteries and how to make your own. These batteries have the ability to last 50+ years, and we have a bunch of info on them in the files section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12VDC_Power/files/. We were also discussing human powered devices, specifically pedal powered water pumps, grain mills, and electrical generators. I have had a very good resource for this for 20 years called “Pedal Power: In Work, Leisure, and Transportation”, and just picked up a wonderful companion to it produced in 2008 called “The Human Powered Home”. Detailed drawings and parts lists for mixers, pumps, grinders, and many other projects where fuel or electricity may be in short supply, or you just need to lose 50 lbs. These books and more can be found it the Human Power section at http://www.green-trust.org/bookshop/.

Solar PV Upgrade

Steve Spence — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:47:40 +0000

Our new Photo Voltaic Solar Panels arrived this week while we were in Ft. Benning, Georgia. We were there attending our Son’s graduation from Infantry Training.

The six Panels are 195 watt Sanyo Hybrid panels. These panels have a amorphous layer over top the mono crystalline layer, and work well in cloudy and overcast weather as well as bright sunny weather. It was in the high 20’s last night, and the sun is low on the horizon, so a 1200 watt boost to our existing 550 watts will be appreciated. This will greatly reduce our propane usage and generator run times, and keep our house batteries fully charged for longer periods of time. I’ll be posting pictures and desciptions as we install them, and will be updating our DIY Solar Power Installation ebook at http://www.green-trust.org/ebooks/.

Having an Environmentally and Resource Friendly Yard

Steve Spence — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:38:26 +0000

So many Americans dump thousands of gallons of water on their yards every years, and many pounds of chemical fertilizers, trying to keep the “green”. These yards are not green, they are chemical facsimiles of nature.

The Texas Commission On Environmental Quality offers the following points (and associated solutions) in their “Green Guide to Yard Care“:

Every year more than 5 million tons of yard trimmings and other organic materials end up in Texas landfills instead of building up the soil.

Millions of gallons of city treated water are used to irrigate landscapes where native vegetation once grew in naturally mulched soil, sustained by rainfall.

Much of that water runs off the land, eroding depleted and unprotected soils that are unable to absorb it. The excess sediment from your lawn and many other yards can smother aquatic life in the receiving bodies of water. Excess sediment can also increase the cost of operating water supply reservoirs.

Costly synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are applied to compensate for the loss of nutrients and protection once provided by organic debris and rich soil life. Surprising as it may seem, residential users apply more pounds per acre of these chemicals than farmers do—often to the point of disrupting beneficial soil life.

As your soil loses its organic matter, it allows more of these chemicals to run off and wash through it—contributing to the pollution of lakes, streams, and underground water. In excess, these pollutants can harm aquatic life or contaminate the food chain.