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65 Million Square Feet Of Solar Panels

editor — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:35:41 +0000

The Edison rooftop project will place photovoltaic cells on 65 million square feet of commercial building roofs in Southern California. The cells will generate as much as 250 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 162,500 average homes, based on the utility’s estimate that one megawatt would serve about 650 average homes.Solar energy is getting a big boost in Southern California with the unveiling of two projects that will be capable of generating a total of 500 megawatts of electricity, enough to serve more than 300,000 homes.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Southern California Edison plan to announce today the country’s largest rooftop solar installation project ever proposed by a utility company. And on Wednesday, FPL Energy, the largest operator of solar power in the U.S., said it planned to build and operate a 250-megawatt solar plant in the Mojave Desert.The projects would help California meet its goal of obtaining 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. In 2006, about 13% of the retail electricity delivered by Edison and the state’s other two big investor-owned utilities came from renewable sources such as sun and wind, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.Energy experts were struck by the size of the two projects, which would bolster the state’s current total of about 965 megawatts of solar power flowing to the electricity grid.”Five hundred megawatts — that’s substantial,” said spokesman George Douglas of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “Projects of that size begin to show that solar energy can produce electricity on a utility scale, on the kind of scale that we’re going to need.”read more | digg story

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60 things to do during Earth Hour

editor — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:32:03 +0000

You’re not alone, in the dark.

Start early. Switch off before the sun sets and soak up the twilight.
Go for a walk and see what the neighbours have switched off.
Or turn on all the lights in every room and see how long it takes before someone knocks on your door.
At which point, you can host an Earth Hour Party: BYO (beeswax!) candle and no plastic cups.
One word: Fondue! You get a great meal, no electricity required.
Chill your wine outside.
Hand-wash your delicates.
Harness the combined romance of candlelight and eco-chivalry to pop the question.
Dig out your clarinet, ocarina or guitar for an acoustic music night. Practise without looking at your hands.
Debate whether one hour can trigger social change.

These suggestions were created by the Globe and Mail. You can read the other suggestions on their website…

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An alternative to Ebay?

editor — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:27:58 +0000

I’ve just heard about a new website that has just been launched that is 100% free and everybody will find it really useful.

www.bigwardrobe.com aims to become the world’s largest online wardrobe where you can swap the things you don’t wear for things you will OR turn your unwanted clothes back into cash.

It’s the free, ethical, stylish way to recycle and spring clean your wardrobe!

It looks really easy to use too:

Simply join for free,
Add some clothes you don’t wear anymore to www.bigwardrobe.com
You will start receiving offers (swaps, cash or a combination of both) from other members

I’ll certainly be giving bigwardrobe a try when I finish sorting though all of those clothes that I have not worn for years. It seems more fun to get an entire new outfit than to make a few quid.

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