Because the world is trying to be more environmentally friendly and keep nonrenewable resources for a longer period of time, scientists have been trying to find new inventions for just about everything. One thing that they realized is that they can use wind power for various types of things.

Wind power is used to power homes and now they are using it for irrigation. Wind power is a renewable resource that can never run out. Not only that but it’s friendly to the environment because it comes from nature and it is also free. Scientists around the world have been proposing many different options for harnessing wind power for irrigation.

Two of the different options that they have come up with are to take advantage of mechanical energy that is extracted from the wind and input it into a mechanical pump. They would also use a flywheel so that it would serve the purpose of being a buffer and as storage unit for low wind periods. The second option that they have will utilize the mechanical output from the windmill so that it can generate electricity.

The next step is that this electricity is then fed into an electrolysis cell so that it can produce hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas that is produced is then burned in an internal combustion engine which drives the pump. Extra hydrogen is saved and put in depleted natural gas wells so that they can use it during low wind periods. They have a back up plan in both of the cases for if the wind is not blowing.

Using wind power for irrigation is a very good alternative to using diesel pumps and electricity pumps for irrigation. It can easily be adopted for rural areas in developing countries, just the initial start up costs maybe a little on the expensive side. However charitable donations from not for profit organizations can help with that.

About the Author

If you need more information on wind power for irrigation, please visit our website: http://windgeneratorstoday.com

What is I Ching Astrology?
This is an introduction to the most ancient astrological system in use today. I also compare it to the more commonly used 12 Animal Chinese System, and explain its advantages.

I Ching Astrology is the most ancient astrological system. Over 5,000 years old, it shares the same heritage and philosophy as the I Ching, the world’s oldest book.

As ancient as it is, it is simple to use. You can easily find out:

•About yourself and the others in your life
•How best to spend your time and direct your energy in any given month or year
•The most advantageous places to be in
Deeply rooted in nature, I Ching Astrology was once known as the farmers’ almanac.

Its signs are named after the elements, the seasons and other imagery from the natural world. Scientists are convinced the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching anticipated the genetic code.
It’s amazing influence further extends into the digital age, the father of computer code Gotfried Leibnitz developed the binary system from his study of the I Ching.

Without it, almost unbelievably, you would not be reading this on your computer screen today.

Now with I Ching Astrology, you can start to decode the significance of your Birth Star and your life as it unfolds. To discover what your Birth Star is and more about this amazing system, please visit the website below.

I Ching Astrology predates the more populist Chinese Astrology by some 1,000 years.

I Ching Astrology takes into account the 8 Trigrams of the I Ching and the central position around which they all rotate – known as the T’ai Chi.

This gives a total of 9 Stars.

These Trigrams relate to the compass directions of North, South, East, West, and of the intercardinal directions of North-East, South-East, South-West and North-West.

They also incorporate the symbolism from each of the Trigrams, for example, Mountain, or Wind, or Thunder.

They also include the archetypal family members for each Trigram which include the Father, the Mother, and the six children.

All of these Stars rotate in 9-year cycles, 9-month cycles, and also 9-day cycles.

I Ching Astrology is very good therefore for understanding where we are at any given time and vital for understanding timing. For me, it is very similar to traditional navigation.

I Ching Astrology uses the first day of spring as the beginning of the year, which in most cases is 4 February annually.

Chinese Astrology uses a very different system.

To begin with, the year begins on the new moon, after the winter solstice, and therefore the date is a somewhat moveable feast.

Instead of a cycle of 9, it uses a cycle of 12.

These 12 birth signs are associated with Animals or Branches, as they are known in Chinese Astrology. These include the Rat, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, etc.

On top of that, these 12 Animals can rule not only a year, but also a month, a day, and even an hour.

There are also five different versions of each of these Animals, drawn from the Five Elements. Therefore, there is an Earth Snake, a Metal Snake, a Water Snake, a Wood Snake and a Fire Snake. You then include all the other 11 animals as well.

Chinese Astrology, rather like I Ching Astrology, has potential for real depth.

In I Ching Astrology there are three Stars, which I call the Birth Star, the Inner Star and the Outer Star, all drawn from the year, month and day of birth.

In Chinese Astrology there are four stars, known as the Four Pillars. These are born out of the year, month, day and hour of birth.

Both systems look at timing.

It is best not to confuse the two systems or to try and use them together in the same calculations.

Both systems of astrology have their merit and indeed their uses.

My passion for I Ching Astrology is because it is much older, it’s simpler and it’s far easier to understand and use quickly.

For more information about “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times”, visit http://www.iching-astrology.com

About the Author

Published eight books on and around the subjects of Acupressure, Feng Shui Astrology, The 10 Day Re-Balance Programme, Piatkus Guide to Feng Shui, Feng Shui Journey, Macrobiotics for Beginners, Zen and the Art of Cooking, The Authentic I Ching and I Ching Astrology.

Jon Sandifer
Email: ichingastrology@gmail.com
Web Address: http://www.iching-astrology.com

Water conservation efforts are increasingly gaining popularity as we realize that fresh water is something not to be taken for granted. Concentrating on managing water can actually produce a double bonus: it plays a huge role in Going Green and can lower your water bill.

As a matter fact, there are several ways to actually save money in the not so long run that are fairly easy to implement. Three of the more common methods are:

• Collect and recycle rain water
• Stop wasting water with routine maintenance
• Use energy efficient appliances

Rain is the number one source of water, but do you think about recycling this resource when it is pouring down? A water harvesting system is often overlooked, but is an excellent way for collecting rain water. Don’t underestimate the amount of free water that can be collected in a rain barrel. A 55 gallon rain barrel can be filled with a ½ inch rain shower. Rain barrels serve as perfect reservoirs for capturing the eco friendly rain. Gardens, plants and flowers flourish with natural, organic rain water. It is estimated that 30% – 40% of water use in summer months is from outdoor activities. Keep in mind that water collected in rain barrels is not for drinking! A proper filtration system must be in place before the rain water can be considered safe for human consumption.

Check for leaky faucets, both indoors and outdoors. Whether it is in a kitchen or the water hose faucet, this preventive check will definitely cut back on usage. The U.S. Geological Survey has a formula that indicates one leaky faucet with one drip per minute will waste 34 gallons of water per year. Multiply that by the 131 million households the U.S. Census Bureau estimates are in the United States and an abundance of water can potentially be saved. Don’t forget that sprinkler leaks need to be looked at also.

Energy efficient appliances, such as clothes and dish washers, actually save on water consumption. I’m not suggesting to rush out and buy new appliances, but it is something to keep in mind when the time comes for a replacement. The National Resources Defense Council estimates a savings of up to 50% on energy and over 20 gallons of water per year. This may not seem to be a significant amount, but consider the quantities when applied across the nation. On products that meet certain requirements, rebates may be available from the government and local water municipalities. Your supplier should be able to assist you with that.

Last but not least, your checking account is going to love you when you utilize one or more of these suggestions. Remember that these methods are long term money saving techniques. Depending on the amount of rain in your area, you can use rain barrels to capture potentially thousands of gallons of free water. Periodically checking the water systems you have in place will prevent wasting water. Taking advantage of energy efficient appliances will certainly help your water bill.

Save Water AND Save Money!

About the Author

Gloria Schultz is dedicated to nature and the environment. Her passion for gardening and plant seamlessly complements her organic and Go Green mentality. This has led to research and real life applications. Gloria has taken this to the next level and is evident by her involvement in recycling rain water efforts. Visit http://www.rainbarrelhq.com to browse rain barrels used to capture the natural, eco friendly rain for numerous household uses.

I live in Clearwater, Florida, sometimes called Florida’s
Sunshine Capital because of our amazing 361 sunny days a
year. Yet, even with all this free, abundant, non-polluting
sunshine, virtually all homes and businesses are powered
with fossil fuels.

I’ve not seen a single solar panel in the five years I have
lived here. Why? I would venture to say it’s because most
homeowners can’t afford the $20,000 to $40,000 needed to
install the solar panels and all the accoutrements required
for a solar system. And even if money is not an issue, most
people are daunted by the process of choosing solar panels,
designing a system, finding an installer, and going through
all the permitting and inspection. And then, if something
goes wrong what do you do?

All these hindrances to solar power may be coming to an end
with an innovative solar power program from a new company
called Citizenre REnU. They plan to rent solar systems–all
you pay for is the power produced. Solar energy will be
accessible to everyone who lives in a state that offers net
metering (we have it here in Florida) for the mere
investment of what it costs for you to pay your local
utility company every month.

The company’s plan is to make their own solar panels, send
an engineer to your home to take all the measurements and
design a system for you that will meet 100% of your energy
needs, then install and even maintain the system for you.

The first step is to reserve your system online. Then you
sign and submit a Forward Rental Agreement (which you can
cancel at any time without penalty), and you will be
officially placed in line for installation.

You don’t pay a penny until a Citizenre engineer actually
has solar panels in the warehouse ready to install. Once you
agree to the AutoCAD design for your home, a $500
(refundable, interest-bearing) security deposit is due, and
the installation process begins, all handled by Citizenre.

In addition, they will lock in your electricity rate for up
to 25 years at the same rate you paid last year to your
utility. Just imagine saving more and more money on your
electric bill each year as rates go up.

Sound too good to be true? Of course, there are naysayers.
There are always some who are skeptical about anything new.
But my opinion is that this is a great idea. It opens the
door for solar power to really expand. If they can’t pull it
off, consumers haven’t lost any money. But if they can…

First installations won’t be until sometime in 2008.
Currently you can sign up to be put on a list for
installations, which can be cancelled at any time, with no
financial obligation until the plans are drawn up just
before installation. Sign up now and you will be first on
your block with affordable solar energy when installation
begins.

To get on the waiting list for installations, visit
www.debraslist.com/affordablesolar.

About the Author

Hailed as “The Queen of Green” by the New York Times, Debra
Lynn Dadd has been a leading consumer advocate for products
and lifestyle choices that are better for health and the
environment since 1982. Visit her website to learn more
about her book Home Safe Home, to sign up for her free email
newsletters, and to browse 100s of links to 1000s of
nontoxic, natural and earthwise products.
http://www.dld123.com

In these tough economic times, homeowners are looking to save as much money as possible on their utility bills. During most of the year, a home’s largest payment is the electricity bill. With so much of people’s lives these days revolving around electricity, from desktop computers and laptops to appliances and televisions, it’s no wonder that electricity bills are increasing. Luckily it is possible to cut back on electricity costs by identifying the top energy wasters in a home.

One of the top energy wasters is likely to be the home’s heating and air conditioning system. Statistics show that cooling and heating an average-sized home makes up close to 50 percent of the homeowner’s bill each month. What’s worse is that many people do not realise that their units are in need of service. Have the heating and air conditioning unit checked by a professional, who can inspect and fix leaking ducts that cut down on the machine’s efficiency. Check the unit’s filter and change it monthly to keep the unit from having to work too hard to heat and cool the home.

Another top energy eater is the hot water or immersion heater. In many homes, the hot water heater is located in a closet or area with little insulation. This allows heat generated by the unit to escape into the home through the walls and ceiling of the heater’s cabinet, rather than efficiently heating the water inside. Have safe insulation installed around the hot water heater, or have a high-efficiency unit installed. These units cost more money at the start, but save a homeowner plenty in the long run. Also, check the thermostat on the hot water heater. Many are set far higher than necessary, which causes more energy to be used in order for the water to stay at that temperature point. Make sure the thermostat is at 120 degrees or below.

One of the easiest energy wasters to fix is the simple light bulb. Most people are guilty of leaving the light on in a room that is not being used. This waste of electricity accounts for approximately 12 percent of a home’s electric bill each month. This is also possibly the easiest problem to fix. Make sure the lights are out in rooms that are not in use.

Large appliances, including the washer, dryer and refrigerator, also use a lot of electricity. The refrigerator, for health and safety concerns, cannot be turned off; however, it is possible to cut down on electricity used by making sure its filters are clear. Help cut back on the energy used to run a washing machine by using only cold water, which adequately cleans most clothing. If your major appliances are more than 10 years old, consider replacing them with more up-to-date and efficient models.

Finally, there are many things around the home that suck electricity in and cause electricity bills to rise. When nobody is watching TV, make sure it is turned off. Shut the computer down during the day if nobody is at home, or at night when it is not being used. Turn off the radio before you walk out the door, and make sure game consoles are powered down when not in use.

Taking the time to make sure all appliances and systems of the home are running efficiently, or are turned off, is the first step to reducing electric costs. It only takes a few minutes to conserve electricity, and your wallet will thank you!

About the Author

Graeme is writing on behalf of Haven Power Business Electric Supplier & Business Electricity

“One of the few methods to certain harm to, or to stop poaching entirely, is to allow equal assault on poachers to the actions they do. An estimate of millions of victimized animals currently indicates that poachers take as many or more fish and other living parts of various ecosystems as legitimate sportsmen do during the legal seasons of designated locations, possibly more. Poachers do not confine kills to legalized species. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife are also included. Poachers are criminals that should have the death penalty for the level of crimes they commit. Poachers take animals for a variety of reasons.

The hides, skins and other parts may be used for clothing, food, folk medicine, jewelry, and trophies. A number of animals are captured live and used in the pet, falconry, or live trophy animal trade. Some people poach because of deeply rooted beliefs that these activities are acceptable. Some poach just for the thrill of killing. They may also poach to market themselves as a great guide, or to promote a product.

They operate year round with any method that produces results. Many poachers are also involved in other illegal activities. A majority of the criminals are supplying unnecessary demands from people in the South East Asia, the Southern Pacific, Montana-USA, and a few in other places. Here in the early 21st century, within the open ocean, there are people that still operate as pirates. These criminals purposely kill dolphins, whales, and other innocent life in the seas, for profits. The demander’s, suppliers, and methods of transporting the innocent animals must be immediately destroyed, to prevent further damage to earth’s ecosystems. Self-Preservation of our own species is no longer, and has never been more important than the entirety of the systems of life. An individual can be reborn, but a species is more significant.”

An excerpt from my book “Knowledge For Tomorrow”

About the Author

Mr. Quinton Douglass Crawford
Contact via Skype- QDC707
Http://www.4peacebooks.com

Member of the Earth Charter; SGI-USA; Organizing for America; and a key member of the expanding African Heritage Association begun in Ghana. Currently an Educator, Author, and Activist.

This article came from an excerpt of the book “The Global Situation”.

Using solar power is the best way of saving natural resources. It helps in conserving energy by utilizing natural sun light for the production of power.

Solar panels capture sunlight and convert it into electricity by way of photoelectric effect. There are different types and sizes of systems for different needs. These systems are capable of producing enough power to cover all the electricity requirements of any home or business.

However, these systems need to be installed by professional installers.

Although solar energy is free of cost, there are expenses related to its installation. The installation process is a one-time expense and would depend on the brand of panels and inverters used by you.

In fact, another important factor affects the installation expense largely.

This factor may not be in your control and it depends on the location of your home or commercial premises. For instance, if the angle of your roof is tilted, the mounting of solar panels can be difficult and that may increase the cost of installation. However, solar power will definitely be affordable in the long term.

If you have been thinking of harvesting the benefits of renewable energy, the first thing to do is to hire the services of an installer. While there are many installers available in the market, it is essential to choose a company that qualifies the quality and service criteria. This website can be of some help in the selection process. You can get quotes from installation service companies of good repute. This portal is dedicated to provide you with quotes from registered installers. There is no need to research multiple companies or make multiple phone calls. Moreover, getting quotes for these solar power installers is free. You don’t have to pay any fee for getting quotes. The installers are registered with the portal and you can purchase leads from them.

The process of getting quotes is quite simple. You simply have to fill out a contact form and enter your details. The solar installations company will login to their account and select the leads and send you the quotes. You don’t have to chase a company for getting the solar panels installed. Let the installer do the chase and send you a quote. Moreover, you can be assured that the installation company is an accredited installer.

The past performance of this website can help you take a right decision.

This service provider has installed more than 125000 systems for solar power. They have more than 1900 solar panel installers. You can expect solar panel rebate. Apart from that, you can also get feed-in tariffs, which depends on where you live. There are solar community plans and solar credits too.

With this renewable energy, you may incur one time solar power cost of installation, but it can lead to huge savings for the rest of your life. Indeed, it is a cost effective and green way of meeting your electricity needs. If you have been thinking of taking a step towards environment conservation, get your quotes painlessly from this portal. You can be assured of the quality of service.

About the Author

Solar power and the Solar Panel Rebate is the best way of conserving natural resource. However, you may require a good installer to ensure a long-term solution for your energy needs. Get free quotes online from this portal. All the installers at this portal are accredited and qualify the quality and service criteria.

Remember last Winter? The United Kingdom suffered one of the worst winters it has had in 30 years, this caused thousands of school children to stay at home as more than 1,000 schools in Scotland, and the north of England had to close. It also caused many car accidents, airports to be shut down and many other travel inconveniences. These weather conditions greatly increased the demand for Rock Salt.

What makes Rock Salt so valuable, is the fact that’s it lowers the temperature at which water freezes. So ice melts when salt is added until the temperature drops to about -15C when it ceases to be useful. The lowest recorded temperature last Winter was approximately -14 C.

The United Kingdom’s Salt Mines can produce and deliver approximately 30 000 tonnes of rock salt each week, during last winter the motorways were requiring 25 000 tonnes of rock salt each day in order to keep the roads safe.

This year people are thinking ahead as Rock Salt is in high demand at the moment, people are stock piling it after the events of early this year. Suppliers are already predicting shortages. Councils and local governments have been told to hold greater stocks than previous years in order to prevent any chances of running out again. This will greatly increase the price of Rock Salt and could knock out regular customers who want to purchase rock salt for their homes or businesses.

System Hygiene is one supplier who are trying to push this with their customers and advising them to purchase their stocks now to prevent possible shortages.

System Hygiene is committed to being the optimum supplier of hygiene & safety products, and to growing the company whilst offering excellent value for money.

System Hygiiene are suppliers of cleaning products, janitorial products and other cleaning supplies

About the Author

System Hygiene is committed to being the optimum supplier of hygiene & safety products, and to growing the company whilst offering excellent value for money.

I’ve been meaning to do a piece on plastic e-waste for some time now. This is because I did a good amount of plastic e-waste trading last year. I purchase baled computer and television cases from the United States and import them into China for sales and distribution.

Plastic e-waste, sometimes called “e-plastic,” is composed of plastic stripped from electronic equipment such as computers, monitors, telephones, etc. Why not just grind and melt the e-plastic together and turn them back into electronic equipment?

Here lies the problem, before e-plastics can be melted and turned into recycled plastic resin, it must first be separated into its plastic type. Plastic e-waste is usually composed of the following types: ABS, ABS (flame-retardant), ABS-PC, PC, PS, HIPS, PVC, PP, PE, and more. Each type of plastic has it’s own melting point and properties and cannot be combined for product manufacturing.

So the question now is, how do we separate everything?

While things are done quite differently in the United States (probably more automated due to higher wages), I’ve been lucky enough to visit an e-plastic separation plant here in Shanghai, China where most things are done manually.

According to the owner of the facility, a majority of the e-plastics the plant processes are imported from European countries and the United States. The quality of plastic from these countries, as a whole, is better.

When I say manual, I really mean it! The first step in plastic e-waste separation is to sort the larger pieces by hand by experts that can differentiate between 7-10 plastic types just by looking, feeling, and burning it. At the same time, the workers must remove any metal (ie., screws), circuit boards, and wires found. The experts are extremely fast and can usually sort through 500KG or more a day.

I questioned the owner about accuracy of all this. He arrogantly replied, “the accuracy is up to 98%, if this was not the case, I would not have any customers buying my stuff…”

Once the larger pieces are separated, they are put through the shredding and rinsing apparatus. The resulting plastic flakes are sun dried and ready to be packaged.

For the smaller e-plastic pieces that cannot be hand separated, they are put through several tubs of chemical baths with varying salinity. From what I understand, one of the containers contains only water. Due to the densities, PP and PE plastics will naturally float to the top. These are scraped off and set aside.

The plastic at the bottom are then scooped and placed in another tub with varying amounts of salt, cleaning agents, and other chemicals. This process is repeated until the rest of the plastics are sorted.

About the Author

I have more than 5 years experience trading and processing e-plastic in China.

Recently, I started a new blog, Recycled Plastic dot Com, that covers my knowledge and experience in this field.

Recycledplastic.com covers the latest news, stories, trends, products and resources relating to plastic and plastic recycling. It brings awareness to how plastic waste is endangering and poisoning our environment and steps we can take to reduce, reuse, and recycle. It aims to provide readers with an open forum for discussing these issues.

I hope you will enjoy what I have to write!

There is a huge interest in learning more about solar energy facts these days because more and more people are interested in green energy.

Solar energy can be used for a wide range of things like heating our houses, heating water, and even running motors to cool and air-condition our houses.

To help you learn more about solar energy facts, here are 7 of them to help increase your green energy knowledge.

1. The earth receives and amazing 174 pentawatts of solar radiation every day. But a large portion, about 30%, is reflected back into space, and is unable to be used.

2 The total solar energy absorbed by the atmosphere, ocean, and land masses is about 3.9 exajoules per year.

3. The amount of solar energy reaching the earth in one hour is more then enough to power the world for one whole year!

4. The amount of solar energy that reaches the surface of the earth is so big in one year that is about twice as much then will ever be claimed from all of the Earth’s nonrenewable resources like coal, oil, uranium, and natural gas.

5. Sun light travels to our planet in approximately 8 minutes, travels 93,000,000 miles, and travels at 186,282 miles per second.

6. The great Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first people ever to predict solar industrialization way back in 1447. He was a famous philosopher and one of the greatest artists of all time.

7. The world record for a solar powered aircraft is for flying 4,060 km across the United States without refueling.

These are just a few of the many amazing solar energy facts are out there. If you are interested in creating more about free energy you should learn all you can about this valuable resource.

About the Author

Visit our website to learn more about solar energy facts, and to learn more about the revolutionary Magniwork Perpetual Generator.