Alternatives to Heating Your Home with Oil or Natural Gas

The recent spikes in oil and natural gas prices have put the topic of alternative fuels for home heating at the forefront of discussions around the country. Alternative fuels that in the past were seen as marginal, odd, or strictly for rural use are getting a second look.

Wood heat has been used for generations in the rural U.S., but has been replaced in the past fifty years or so by central heating provided by oil- or gas-fired furnaces. However, in recent years, wood stoves have been making a comeback. Attractive stoves by Jotul and other manufacturers have taken their place in communal living areas like kitchens and living rooms to supplement heating while providing a cozy ambiance to the rooms. Wood furnaces, both internal and external and in many new designs based on the latest technology, provide the ability to load the furnace so as to provide hours of central heating before needing re-stoking. An advantage of burning wood, at least in rural areas, is that it can be locally obtained; people with a wood lot can get it with "sweat equity", and can supplement their income by supplying their neighbors as well.

New plant-based fuels like wood pellets and corn pellets can also provide heat when used in specially designed, clean-burning furnaces and stoves. In addition, more and more people are taking a new look at biodiesel, a fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, primarily soybean oil. Most furnaces can use B20, a fuel made of 80 percent traditional heating oil and 20 percent biodiesel, without any adjustments; some people are getting their furnaces adapted to be able to burn B100, a fuel made entirely of vegetable oils. The biodiesel burns much cleaner than traditional heating oil, but has its own problems (for one thing, biodiesel tends to cause rubber gaskets to erode), so be sure to check with your furnace servicer or manufacturer before you opt for B100.

If you choose to use B100, and your furnace will handle it, you have a couple of options. B100 is becoming more available around the country; check on the Internet to find a supplier near you. Also, waste oil - that is, used vegetable oil discarded by restaurants - can be filtered and used in some furnaces. Several furnaces on the market are designed to burn waste oil. Commercially manufactured B100 has an additive that keeps it liquid at low temperatures, which recycled vegetable doesn't contain, so do your research - and check again with your furnace servicer - before you attempt burning used vegetable oil.

We're facing a new world with lots of challenges in terms of how to heat our homes, especially in colder winter climates. Luckily there are technologies like wood gasification and biodeisel, available today which can help us move away from our decades-old dependence on fossil fuels.

Water ionizers counters the effects of Urbanization

This article is designed to show why the water we're drinking is bad for us, since it is highly unlikely that the urban water filters that are in place can filter out all of the little contaminants that are present in the water. Those contaminants are listed as part of the effects of urbanization on our water.

These contaminants will acidify the water once they begin to decompose and therefore you will end up drinking acidic water which pushes your already high level of acidity even higher. All of these industrial pollutants, caused by the industrial traffic can be filtered out by water ionizers and leave you with pure water to cleanse your body with.

Waterborne pathogens

Waterborne pathogens can be disease-inducing protozoans, viruses or bacteria that are absorbed by a person when they drink unprocessed or insufficiently treated water. There are two main protozoans which are receiving media coverage lately and they are Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Consumption of those can result in grievous problems within the digestive system, which could possibly be life-threatening for those people who are either very young or very old or those with impaired immune systems.

A large number of cities regularly examine urban streams to determine the level of certain bacteria within them, which have similar origins to the waterborne pathogens, although they are not detrimental. The sources are waste from humans or animals. The nontoxic bacteria therefore perform the role of indicators to alert the monitors of the likely occurrence of other bacteria that are unsafe. The water coming out of wastewater treatment plants which has been treated is also screened for these bacteria. Additionally, in some larger cities additional testing of drinking water has started.

Heavy Metals

The deposits of various toxic metals have a tendency to accrue within the food chain and they can damage living organisms. Previously, the majority of toxic metal pollution originated from mining activities and individual sources, for instance wastewater-treatment plants and smoke-stack emissions. However, Federal and State regulations have resulted in the lowering of the level of toxic metal issuing from these sources. However metals have a predisposition to affix themselves to sediment and dirt, and therefore they are still ever-present within the banks and of beds many urban streams.

Pesticides

Pesticides are substances, either chemical or biological in nature, projected to manage pests, such as algae, insects, bacteria and weeds. Pesticides are used a great deal on arable land, but inside urban areas, it is mainly used on residential and commercial properties. However when storms hit, the rains runoff from both yards and roadsides and carry dangerous pesticides into local streams, where they may injure aquatic life and enter drinking-water supply intakes.

The results show that pesticides are prevalent within streams and ground water sampled within agricultural and urban areas of the Nation. As anticipated, the substances that have been heavily utilized are the substances that are discovered most often. They occur in geographic and regular patterns that mostly match the allocation of land use and the associated use of pesticide. The rate of recurrence of pesticide contamination, however, is far greater than predicted. At the very least one pesticide was found in almost every sample of water and fish composed from streams and in about one-half of all wells sampled. In addition the individual substances were rarely found alone, the majority of the fish samples from streams and about half of all samples from wells with a measurable pesticide contained two and sometimes more pesticides.

If you use water ionizers you will receive the pure alkaline water that your body really needs. The ionizer will counteract all the impurities that have been put in the water during the course of urbanization. The ionizer as a tool to counteract the affect of urbanization on our water has become more and more essential as time has passed and the condition of our water has decreased.

Water ionizers help us to counteract the effects of urbanization on us and especially on our water. These appliances will help us to cleanse and purify the bodies that have been badly affected by the process of urbanization, mostly due to the deterioration in the state of our water. The switch to ionized water from plain tap water is becoming increasingly necessary if we are to live healthy lives in this urban age.

All water ionizer information has been researched and written by Juliette Pickup.
Quality Water Ionizers

10 Tips for a Greener Christmas

Don’t give gifts or cards, that’ll help the environment, but it could also make you unpopular, so perhaps not. Instead there are a whole load of things that can be done in the name of reducing waste, resource and electricity use, that don’t make you look like Ebenezer Scrooge.

Here’s our top ten favourites:

1. Cut up old Christmas cards to create gift tags, or recycle them after Christmas

2. Decorate your house using ethical or fair-traded decorations and raid the garden or those of friends for fresh plants or flowers to create a Christmas bouquet.

3. Get a Wollemi Pine for your Christmas tree and plant outside or look after it in its pot to use again next year.

4. Select cards made from 100% recycled paper or even better send e-cards, or create your own greeting and email it out.

5. Buy presents made from recycled, renewable or ethically produced materials and with minimal packaging.

6. Use newspapers or reuse wrapping paper to wrap gifts and reduce waste, or go for wrapping paper which made of recycled paper and which has a low impact on the environment.

7. Remember less is more, if buying for kids, buy fewer better quality presents that will last, rather than lots of cheap disposable presents.

8. Purchase services rather than products. How about a massage gift voucher, tickets to an event or alike instead of another Christmas jumper?

9. If you have bought or received a gift that requires batteries invest in some rechargeable ones, they will save money in the long run and the environment.

10. When picking up the food for your Christmas BBQ or turkey roast, select produce which grown locally to reduce food miles, and go for organic and fair-trade if possible. Don’t forget to take the reusable shopping bags. Most importantly of all make sure you relax and enjoy the Christmas break! Discover more great tips about sustainable living, renewable energy and ways to reduce your carbon footprint .

A Simple Alternative to Make Your Home Energy Efficient

"Going green" is a phrase that is becoming more prevalent everyday. The push to save the environment keeps getting stronger, and yet our efforts do not reflect the urgency.

The high up-front costs of eco-friendly products or converting an old home to a green home have slowed the progress toward a more energy-efficient environment. But what few people fail to realize is the monetary savings over an extended period.

There are many ways to look at reducing your energy consumption. These can range from replacing your windows or heating system with the latest in high- efficiency designed systems or to building up the insulation in your home. However, all of these ideas are expensive, and the payback could take a long time.

Even though many of these eco-friendly innovations may seem costly and cumbersome, it can also be as simple as changing your shades.

An inexpensive alternative, energy-efficient EcoSmart insulating shades can literally pay for themselves in as few as five years, depending on where you live. These shades are compact, attractive and available in a range of colors and light filtering (for most applications) or room darkening (for bedrooms or home theaters). They also stay clean and are easy to maintain while blocking out virtually all damaging and harmful ultra-violet rays.

However, the best news is that according to data from a model developed by Berkeley Labs, in as few as five years the shades can pay for themselves in energy savings and can start putting money back in your pocket while making your home much more comfortable.

The study covers a large number of cities in the U.S. An example of the study's results indicate that in Portland, Maine, a 54- inch-by-66-inch EcoSmart light- filtering shade would save approximately $412 over 10 years. That shade costs the homeowner less than $200, so in about five years the shade will have paid for itself and started putting money back in the homeowner's pocket.

To get more information on this study, or to find out what the savings are in your market, go to www.EcoSmartInsulatingShades.com and request a copy of the study.

(NewsUSA)

Climate Care

For many years, we have been taking our environment for granted. We have been letting nature itself fix what we have been altering. But several things have shown us how wrong we are, and the climate changes are one of them. It is quite clear that scientists from all over the world disagree on the levels of such alterations and the risks it offers, but what we know for sure is that, no matter how much it affects our planet, it is definitely happening. Therefore, we must start caring about our environment, and this means caring about the climate.

Global warming is affecting the entire world as we know it. Snow and ice are melting in a faster pace causing the sea levels to rise and consequently threatening several species, such as the polar bear which is being left without no natural habitat. The polar bear needs the ice to survive, and even in Alaska, there are moving up north in search of better grounds. Moreover, we have been witnessing many floods, devastating storms, droughts, which mean damages to ecosystems and their species. What happens is that people are taking too long to realise is that even a small change in the average temperature has huge effects on our planet. But, the signs are everywhere. Even the USA, which refused to cooperate with the world's struggle to reduce CO2 emissions, is now experiencing its consequences. There have been more catastrophic hurricanes assaulting the country than ever seen before. Even the USA national parks are under threat, affecting several animals, including their wildlife symbol, the grizzly bear. As we can see, climate care is vital at this point.

We all know what is causing so many events: the greenhouse effect phenomenon. But what cause such phenomenon? Mainly, it is caused by methane, nitrous oxide, and especially CO2 emissions. Furthermore, most of these emissions are due to the use of fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal burning), to chopping down forests, and farming, which alone is responsible for half of all emissions. Next on the list is energy consumption. Simply, the cost for the environment is too high. We must help protect the Earth; we must care about the climate if we want things to have a different ending. It is past the time to start doing something about it.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential. All our day-to-day activities have an impact: flying, driving, heating our home, using electric devices, etc. So, we should start at reducing fossil fuel consumption by having well insulated houses, by switching off whatever is not being use, by driving less and taking public transportation more, exchanging old devices by energy efficient ones, avoiding plastic product, recycling, controlling our waste, among others. In addition, there is a new trend which involves calculating the amount of CO2 one produces and offsetting it. Offsetting here means compensating our CO2 emissions by funding projects on renewable energy, forest restoration, energy saving, etc. There are several websites that provide such calculation, for example www.climatecare.com. Many companies and a great deal of people are adopting this trend. It is easy to become environmentally friendly. Because if you care about what our future generations are going to inherit, you must care about the climate and the alterations it provokes on our planet.

Lucien Oliveira is a freelance writer with strong interest nature and wildlife. You can find more about earth, global dangers and climate care. Read more about nature.

Cedar Offers 'Green' Benefits

Protecting the environment in our daily lives -; also known as "going green" -; has become something that's on everybody's radar these days, even when it comes to constructing a house. If you're considering building a log home, two of the major factors to consider are the effects your home will have on your wallet and the environment.

When researching the types of wood available for building, people don't always realize the many "green" advantages that cedar has to offer. Cedar is grown and harvested in a naturally sustainable manner -; unlike plantation-harvested pine, which requires large expenditures of fuel, fertilizers and insecticides to produce timber ready for harvest. With cedar, the wood's natural resistance to rot and insects eliminates the need to treat saplings in the forest, which drastically cuts down on harmful environmental toxins that are used to produce many other kinds of wood.

Cedar also requires less fuel when being milled. Maine-based Katahdin Cedar Log Homes harvests its logs from nearby forests, then air-dries them to a desirable low-moisture content of 12 to 14 percent. Katahdin has also discovered other "green" practices to reduce fuel consumption in its milling process, such as a biomass boiler, which uses waste sawdust to heat the mills and reduce fuel consumption by almost 90 percent.

You'll also save fuel when building with cedar. The thermal mass and insulating R-factors are much higher for cedar than for common pine because cedar has more tiny, insulating air pockets and a drier composition. Katahdin offers an optional insulation package for no extra charge that maintains the look of cedar log walls inside and allows for more efficient interior wiring than a traditional solid log wall.

Saving on construction labor and time when building your log home will not only make the environment a better place -; it will also help put a little green back into your wallet. For more information, call toll-free (800) 845-4533 or visit www.KatahdinCedarLogHomes.com/green.

(NewsUSA)

Why Recycle Plastic Companies Prefer Working With Hdpe

Companies that recycle plastic recover the material and reprocess it in any other useful form, transforming plastic drink bottles, for instance, into toys or some other useful item. Before being recycled, plastic must be sorted according to a resin identification code, thus, drink pets have code 1, for instance. However, one of the the biggest recycling problems is that melted plastic doesn't mix easily, it must be the same kind of plastic for the blending process to be a real success.

Different types of plastic tend to dissolve separately like oil and water, and they won't simply mix. The recent appearance of biodegradable materials changed the recycle plastic equation by the impact brought on the re-processing costs. When some of this new type of plastic gets mixed with the classical one, it will decrease the price significantly.

In an effort to implement recycle plastic principles a technological process has been developed to use plastic as a source of carbon in the process of recovering steel scraps. Another idea that has gained popularity in Australia, Japan and the USA is called heat compression.

All unsorted plastic is put in some large rotating drums, the precess generates heat friction from the plastic parts rubbing against each other, and thus all the plastic items get mixed together no matter their nature. Criticism to this procedure appeared soon afterwards, and voices claim that the amount of energy used to rotate the drums is too high.

Recycle plastic companies prefer working with HDPE (High-density polyethylene), a more expensive plastic that takes 1.75 kg of petroleum per kilo in the manufacturing process. This is used for creating durable plastics and enjoys popularity and high demands on the market; moreover, the environmental advantage here is that this form of recycling means less waste, less carbon and sulfur dioxide.

When you recycle plastic more technological difficulties are likely to appear as compared to the re-processing of paper or metallic materials because of those code numbers associated with the type of plastic. People usually neither know the difference between these codes nor which of the items can actually be recycled.


Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Recycling for Years. For More Information on Recycle Plastic, Visit His Site at RECYCLE PLASTIC

Water Filter Provides Safe Water Free From Arsenic

If you utilize water from a well that gathers its sources from ground water you should be concerned with arsenic.

Arsenic is a poison and can be lethal if consumed in large enough amounts. It is more poisonous than mercury.

The health concerns over ingesting arsenic range from cancer of the skin, bladder, lungs and kidneys. Skin problems have also been reported as well as problems with circulation in the extremities. The very young and older are affected the most, but any age should be concerned with drinking healthy water.

The effects of this type of poisoning can take as long as 5 to 15 years to show up. This all depends on the amount consumed and the length of time it was taken.

In some areas outside of the United States arsenic has been detected in ground water. No cases have been listed in the United States but it does not mean you should not be concerned if you consume ground water from a well.

Arsenic can occur naturally in ground water in trace amounts. Some areas can have larger percentages of concentration than others. Arsenic can cause serious health problems to people ingesting the chemical over an extended period of time.

There are water filters now on the market that can and do remove arsenic from drinking water. This is especially helpful to folks who use wells as their primary means for water.

Safe drinking water is important to the health of everyone. Families who use a well as their source of drinking water should definitely consider using a water filter to avoid all possible chemical contaminants.

Get more information on drinking water filters at http://waterfilters.learn-about-it.com

A Commitment To Fight Climate Change

Climate change continues to be one of the biggest, most challenging problems the planet faces, and a few forward-thinking companies are making the commitment to reduce their impact.

These companies are making changes in several ways, including adopting aggressive plans to reduce their carbon emissions by reducing the energy they use to manufacture their products, and offering carbon-negative products.

For example, Fiji Water has entered into a partnership with Conservation International, a leading conservation organization. The premium bottled water company wanted to know how it could reduce its CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming.

Company leaders were also interested in protecting and preserving the Sovi Basin, the largest remaining area of pristine rain forest in Fiji.

Over the next three years, the company will implement an environmental program that seeks to "green" every step in the life cycle of its products, from packaging and shipping to the use of renewable energies and land-preservation efforts. By 2010, this plan is expected to result in a 25 percent reduction in actual CO2 emissions. In addition, the company will work to develop forest carbon and renewable energy projects that are expected to add up to at least 120 percent of their remaining product life-cycle emissions.

ICF International, a global leader in analyzing emissions inventories and providing advice on climate strategy, will independently review and verify the company's carbon footprint.

Protecting rain forests like the Sovi Basin in Fiji from logging can have a positive benefit to the environment. Each year, tropical forests covering an area at least equal to the size of New York state are destroyed; the carbon dioxide that those trees would have absorbed amounts to 20 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Protecting the Sovi Basin from logging will prevent 10 million tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking nearly 2 million cars off the road.

"We're excited to expand our environmental leadership so that our consumers can continue to enjoy our great-tasting, mineral-rich, natural artesian water, knowing that it comes with a commitment and promise to do something positive for the climate and our environment," said Thomas Mooney, senior vice president of Fiji Water.

The Sovi Basin contains the largest remaining area of pristine rain forest in Fiji and one company is working to protect it.

(NAPSI)

Navigate the Waters of Seafood Consumption

Whether it's salmon, shrimp or another delectable ocean dweller, Americans are hooked on seafood -; and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Seafood is a high-protein, low-fat food that provides a wealth of health benefits, and some fish contain substantial quantities of Omega-3s -; the "good" fats in the human diet that boost heart health.

But despite the many benefits that fish offer, they can also pose a considerable health risk when contaminated with harmful substances found in their living environments, such as mercury, PCBs and pesticides. Additionally, some of the most frequently eaten fish in the United States suffer from overfishing, which leaves fewer fish in the water than is necessary to keep stock levels consistent. While fish farms have been established to provide more seafood to consumers, these farms often pollute surrounding waters, negatively impact the health of wild fish and result in overuse of pesticides and antibiotics.

While the news is enough to leave seafood lovers wondering if their favorite foods may be hurting their health or the environment, knowing which kinds of fish are healthy to eat can give you confidence that your seafood is safe. The following tips, provided by Environmental Defense, will help you choose healthy seafood that not only benefits your health and tastes great, but also helps the planet:

* Be aware of risky seafood. Some of the worst offenders when it comes to unhealthy seafood are also the most frequently sold in grocery stores -; including farmed Atlantic salmon, imported shrimp and grouper.

* Look for "green" fish. For healthy, sustainable seafood options, try wild Alaskan salmon, blue mussels and U.S.-farmed catfish. By visiting www.environmentaldefense.org/seafood, you can view and download a pocket-sized version of the seafood selector -; a comprehensive chart that details what kinds of fish to avoid and what is safe for regular consumption.

* Read the label. After arming yourself with the knowledge of what kinds of fish to avoid, read the label. Labels on all fresh and frozen seafood in supermarkets are required to include whether it is wild or farmed and the country of origin. If you are confused or unsure, ask a store associate to help you find the information.

(NewsUSA)

How To Go About Biodiesel Production

Muna wa Wanjiru

Biodiesel production is a process of synthesizing biodiesel, it is a liquid fuel source highly compatible with petroleum based diesel fuel. Synthesis is method which is used by manufacturer, in which reaction of a glyceride containing plant with short chain alcohol like methanol or ethanol in a step called as transesterification.

The reaction which occur during this process is below,

Animal and plant fats and oil are made up of triglycerides. There are esters of free fatty acids with tryholic alcohol, glycerol. Here the alcohol is deprotonated with a base to make it stronger nucleophile. Generally in esterfication ethanol or methanol is used. From reaction one can easily find out there us no other input than the triglyceride and alcohol.

This reaction occurs very slowly or may not occur. Acid or base are used to make the reaction more quickly, also can used heat. It is very much important to not that acid or base should not be consumed by esterification reaction. Base catalyzed technique is used for most economical process which requires low temperatures and pressures. It produces more than 98% conversions yield.

Processing Steps

Purification:

If you are using waste vegetable oil, it should be filtered and remove dirt, charred food and other non oil material often food.

Water used to be removed from process because its presence causes the triglycerides to hydorlyze which gives to salts of the fatty acids. It is accomplished by heating the filtered oil approximately 120C. At this temperature any suspended water get boil off. When water gets boils, it used to spitters, so to prevent injury to container, there should be sufficiently large container, they should be closed but not sealed. In laboratory to remove water, they used drying agent like magnesium sulfate.

Neutralization of Fatty acids:

Titration of cleaned oil with standard solution of base which used to make for determines the concentration of free fatty acids (RCOOH) which is present in waste vegetable oil. Base quantity is measure which is required to neutralize the acid.

Transesterfication:

The measured quantity of base used to added slowly to the alcohol. It is then stirred until till it get dissolves. Three full equal size triglyceride are made by adding sufficient alcohol. Excess alcohol is added to complete the reaction.

The solution of sodium hydroxide is being added to a warm solution of waste oil, then the mixture is heated to process transesterification.

Workup:

After completion of reaction glycerol get sink. Emulsion used to occur when ethanol being used. It is being broken by standing, centrifugation, also by addition of low boiling, decanting, distilling. Then the top layer mixture of biodiesel and alcohol is decanted, where the excess of alcohol is distilled off or it is used to extracted through water. Biodiesel should be dried by distillation. It can also be done with the help of drying agent.

Benefits of Process

It is continuous process

It's FAME=98.59 before washing process

It's FAME=99.85 after washing process

It reduces space requirement

It is very low in process inventory

It require minimum manpower

Oils and fats can be produced

Reactors from 1GPM up to 500GPM are available

This process is successful for even poor quality of crude oil.



Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Biodiesel for Years. For More Information on Biodiesel Production, Visit His Site at BIODIESEL PRODUCTION