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We are off to SC, and going aqua

Steve Spence — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:07:30 +0000

Tomorrow at 9am we hit the road in our solar electric camper and veggie fueled suburban to South Carolina, to work with Travis Hughey and his aquaponics systems. You can read more about his combined hydroponics and fish farming system using barrels, which he calls barrel-ponics, at http://www.fastonline.org/. We will be documenting our work there with aquaponics, methane digestion, solar-hydrogen, and much more. Stay tuned.

Living a Mobile Lifestyle

Steve Spence — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:09:33 +0000

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

Do these words stir a fire deep within you, awakening a spirit of wanderlust and travel? Maybe you were a gypsy, vagabond or hobo in a past life, but you think you could never afford to live the life of freedom you long for? Maybe you are a survivalist, or just want to drop out of society but don’t know how. Perhaps you are just sick of the rat race and want to simplify your life. We have good news for you, you can, and we are here to show you how! The key is eliminating the single highest expense most of us have, our housing. We will do that by moving into our vehicle (see the page How to Make A Camper Van) and “boondocking.” By that I mean living in your vehicle without paying for a camp site. Go to the boondocking page for a full explanation.

http://cheaprvliving.com/

Hydrogen – Oxygen Generator (HHO, Hydroxy Gas, Brown’s Gas)

Steve Spence — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:36:05 +0000

Producing hydrogen / oxygen mixed gas for the purposes of heating, cooking, and absorption refrigeration.

There’s a lot of pseudoscience surrounding the production of a hydrogen oxygen gas mix. Sometimes called Brown’s gas, HHO, and other terms, it’s been assigned mythical properties by many.

Joe Cell – http://peswiki.com/energy/Directory:Joe_Cell
Stanley Meyer – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Meyer%27s_water_fuel_cell

Some actually believed, or attempted to get others to believe, that a car could run on water, using an on-board electrolyzer powered by the engines own alternator.

Others believe that drastic emissions reduction and mileage gains can be had by make a hydroxy gas booster for a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle.

We will attempt to carve off the pseudoscience, and document the actual processes involved, including the power consumed in the the process, and the amount of gas produced, for the purpose of eliminating our propane consumption and replacing it with a gas we can produce ourselves from non-fossil fuel sources.

Our source of power, by necessity, is 1200 watts of solar panels, with a set of two 420ah 6v batteries for storage. This will allow us to continue to produce gas even when the sun is not shining.

My initial design will be 2-3v per cell, using stainless electrodes. Not necessarily the most efficient, but good enough for initial testing. This will be a poor man’s DIY project, as cost is an issue.

Stay tuned.

http://www.panacea-bocaf.org/hydroxygas.htm
http://www.brownsgas.com/hho_gas.html
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Home_Generation:Hydrogen/oxyhydrogen_generator
http://autofuelsaving.com/info/11/building-oxy-hydrogen-generators-using-fruit-canning-jars/

USPS Going Electric

Steve Spence — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:14:35 +0000

This isn’t the first time the USPS has played with electric vehicles, but never before has there been this size of a commitment:

With consumers largely avoiding electric cars due to their shortcomings (range, charging infrastructure) the United States Postal Service is already undertaking the electrification of their current Long Life Vehicle (LLV) model to contribute to the green movement. AM General and Smith Electric Vehicles (SEV) will be teaming up to complete this project in converting all 178,000 LLVs currently in use.

http://www.gsjournal.com/2009/11/green-news-electric-vehicles-gone-postal/

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/11/01/smith-electric-vehicles-to-partner-with-am-general-on-usps-ev/

http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/fl/fl_2008_1025.htm

http://www.ecoworld.com/transportation/ford-delivers-electric-vehicles-to-post-office.html

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/04/chrysler-uspsevs-20090422.html

The World According to Monsanto

Steve Spence — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:21 +0000

The World According to Monsanto is an in-depth Documentary that looks at the domination of the agricultural industry from one of the world’s most insidious and powerful companies.We are pleased to bring you the full documentary in 10 parts.

This is one of the most powerful, must see films for anyone interested in the behind the scenes world of the food industry, and how just one world dominating corporation holds the keys and patents to much of the worlds food supply.

Monsanto, which started out as one of the planets largest chemical companies is also responsible for such chemical compounds as Agent Orange, Bovine Growth Hormone, PCBs and genetically-engineered crops.

http://www.twilightearth.com/environment-archive-2/the-world-according-to-monsanto-full-documentary/

Also see:

The Future of Food (watch the video)
King Corn (watch the video)

New Rocket Mass Heater Plans

Steve Spence — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:26:02 +0000

Hermon Heater Plans
All-Brick Rocket Mass Heater. Walls are 4.5″ thick. Wood box / air intake opens @ 4.5″ by 9″, same for burn tube, heat riser & initial exhaust. 10 Bricks per layer in the heater, 16 layers high. Around 180 brick in this heater. One bag of masonry heater mortar. Absorbs lots of heat and gives it out for hours after heater shut down. Cad drawings done with Google Sketchup. Electronic delivery $40.

http://www.green-trust.org/products/

Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rocketmass for discussion of Rocket Mass Heaters and Rocket Stoves.

Food, Inc.

Steve Spence — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:26:27 +0000

The Food, Inc. movie is now online, and is a recommended watch. Commercial farming, full of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones and who knows what all causes a lot of health defects in humans, and consumes a tremendous amount of fossil fuels and water. If you ever needed a reason to grow some veggies, chickens and rabbits in your back yard, here is a good one.

Watch the whole movie
Learn more about the movie
Learn more about local organic food
Learn more about local organic food

Trailer:

Solar Tutorials and Interactive Simulator

Steve Spence — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:58:21 +0000

We ran across a site that has a good set of tutorials explaining off grid and grid tie solar power systems. The interactive simulator is educational as well. Check it out at http://www.freesunpower.com/basic_advanced.php.

Other good tutorials:
http://www.backwoodssolar.com/reference/solar_power.htm
http://hacknmod.com/topics/diy-free-energy/
http://www.green-trust.org/freebooks/

Let us know if you find more that should be listed. sspence@green-trust.org

Improving soil a necessity if we are to sustain ourselves

Steve Spence — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:26:36 +0000

Ingham believes that traditional soil additives such as chemical and salt-based fertilizers, ammonia and lime are damaging our soils and diminishing our ability to produce abundant crops. “Stop killing your soils with your chemical addiction,” she adamantly stated and added that “what we need to do is add large amounts of well-made compost to our soils to reintroduce beneficial organisms. If you are trying to grow a certain crop and your soil needs more fungi the compost or tea can be made to support that need. If your crop needs more beneficial organisms a batch is made to meet that need. If you want to improve a home garden or flower beds, emerging orchards or young forests the same holds true.” Dr. Charles Cubbage, semi-retired environmental consultant and retired toxics expert for the State of Michigan, was an attendee and not shy to say “Michigan has a great opportunity to benefit from recognizing the importance of soil ecology and the benefits we can reap from improving our soils because of our niche farms.”

http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/Improving-soil-necessity-to-sustain-ourselves.html

My New Granddaughter

Steve Spence — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:31:17 +0000

I held my new granddaughter (our first) today. 5 lbs. 14.6 oz. of adorableness. Jaymi was born at 8:08 this am. It brought back memories of when my children were born so many years ago. Mallory is doing well, and may be home by Friday. Linda and I are so proud, My son Steven even had tears in his eyes, which I did not expect. Great grandma was there, and great great grandma will get to see her soon. Pictures to be posted soon.