Solar Manufacturing Ramping Up in the US

German solar company Schott on Monday cut the ribbon on a $100 million factory in Albuquerque, N.M., that will produce solar panels as well as receivers for solar trough power plants.

Meanwhile, Chinese solar giant Suntech said Monday that it will build a solar cell manufacturing plant in the United States. Read Full Article

We are still burning crops to move vehicles

No surprise here, Electric vehicles are more efficient than burning fuel in a conventional engine. According to a California Professor we should be using the energy we get from crops and use it to generate electricity for electric vehicles.

Excerpt:

"Bioelectricity outperforms ethanol across a range of feedstocks, conversion technologies, and vehicle classes. Bioelectricity produces an average 81% more transportation kilometers and 108% more emissions offsets per unit area cropland than cellulosic ethanol. These results suggest that alternative bioenergy pathways have large differences in how efficiently they use the available land to achieve transportation and climate goals.

This is hardly a surprise, though it has seemed startling enough to the media that it's gone mainstream. After all, conventional car engines of the sort used to burn ethanol put out barely 20 per cent of their fuel's energy at the drive shaft. By contrast, an electric motor can beat 80 per cent without trouble."

But wait:

"Are you sure there's enough land, Professor?

Let's hope that Campbell never bumps into Dr Richard Pike, head of the Royal Society of Chemistry here in the UK. Pike is deeply scathing about the idea of using plants to power transportation by any means - electric or ethanol. He notes that you get 2,000 per cent more energy per acre by covering land with solar cells, making Campbell's measly 80 per cent improvement look pretty rubbish"

Read the full article here

Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith Hears a Voice

You know that voice you should have listened to? Well, Dr. Beckwith listened and sold all his stock 2 weeks before the Markets took a dive last fall.

Maybe we should all learn to pay attention to that inner voice and trust it a bit more...

What's all this swine flu hoopla?

Is this current grip of fear just an overblown media hype? Have we even reached "pandemic" proportions to make that claim or even elude to it?

Let's put this in perspective. The seasonal flu kills an average of 36,000 people every year!

Does this mean we should not be vigilant? Of course not. We should take precautions like washing our hands and covering our mouth when we cough and sneeze. We can only hope others will do the same.

If you are still worried and want a peace of mind at you home that does not need a prescription then you might want to check out MMS

I have been using it for a mouth wash and for brushing my teeth and it does all it says.

I have a friend who used it to eliminate some chronic health issues. I am not a doctor so you see I will name no diseases here. You can do your research like we did and decided if this cheap insurance is good to have around. It certainly can't hurt and it just might be the cats meow for what ales you.

There, I've said it. I feel good that the info is passed on. :)

Miracle Mineral Supplement

Lost Generation... NOT!

This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20 year old.

The contest was titled "U@50", by the AARP. This video won second place. When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke into spontaneous applause.

So simple and yet so brilliant. Take a minute and watch it.

Watch the full video for the choice. We all have one.

Unicorn Tears? Come on Microsoft...

From Dan Gurber over at Daring Fireball
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Unicorn Tears, Eh?

Newsweek’s Dan Lyons talks to David Webster, general manager for brand marketing at Microsoft, regarding Microsoft’s new ad campaign for Windows:

He says the idea was to turn Apple’s “I’m a Mac” campaign to Microsoft’s advantage. “We associate real people with being PCs, [but then Apple] ends up looking pretty mean-spirited, the way they go after customers,” he says. “It’s clear that’s who they are insulting.” At the same time he can’t resist taking a crack at the preciousness of some Mac users. “Not everyone wants a machine that’s been washed with unicorn tears,” he says.

It seems clear that Microsoft’s stance on the Mac’s sales growth is that there’s nothing wrong with Windows or right with the Mac, but rather that there’s something wrong with Mac users.

Reminds me of the attitude of U.S. carmakers in the ’70s and ’80s, as more Americans switched to Japanese imports.

★ Sunday, 5 April 2009
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Newsweek Article

Biochar - No April Fools Joke

Putting the Gene back in the bottle is always the trick. In the case of CO₂ it my be critical for mankind and the planet.

A group of researchers in Georgia are working on a new/old solution: Biochar

Not only does it help the soil, microbes and plants, it also holds the CO₂ in the soil. By taking organic waste and creating Biochar not only are we helping our Global Warming issue, we are are also helping feed people and possibly make more energy (fuel).



Also visit http://www.biochar.org/