Jay Gaulard Blog

The EPA, Gardening, Biodiesel, Renewables and Natural Gas

Monday, June 30th, 2008

Pentagon Fights EPA On Pollution Cleanup

The Defense Department, the nation’s biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose ‘imminent and substantial’ dangers to public health and the environment.

8 Ways to Green Your Garden

Summer is a great opportunity to spend time in the garden. Sunny days provide nice weather and extra daylight. School is out so you’ve got extra potential workers. The ground is fertile from springtime rain.

Biodiesel’s New Approval Rating Could Ease Warranty Concerns

Lack of warranty support for biodiesel has been a major stumbling block for new diesel owners who want to start using the fuel. But three long-awaited ASTM specifications could help change that.

Unprecedented bill could spark renewables in US

A new feed-in tarriff bill, mimicing many laws already in place in Europe, could pave the road for a renewable energy revolution in the United States.

Cost Benefits Could Bring Natural Gas Vehicles To Forefront

There is nothing really new about using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a vehicle. The new thing, the reason that talk about CNG is growing, is that natural gas now costs about half as much per unit energy as gasoline and has an even greater cost advantage over diesel fuel.

Oil Firms, Artificial Reefs, Global Warming, Oil Drilling and Germany

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

Top Scientist: Put Oil Firm Chiefs on Trial for High Crimes

James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.

Are Artificial Reefs Good for the Environment?

It sounds like a great idea. Sink an old fleet of subway cars in the ocean. Plants & invertebrates will colonize the hulking structure. Fish will migrate there & reproduce. And before long, the replenished ecosystem thats great for recreational fishing & diving. But some scientists aren’t so sure they replenish the ecosystem.

NASA Climatologist: “Almost Too Late to Stop Global Warming”

On Monday, NASA climatologist Dr.James Hansen will testify at a House committee hearing that it is almost, but not quite, too late to start defusing what he calls the “global warming time bomb.” He will offer a plan for cuts in emissions and also a warning about the risks of further inaction.

Is the ‘Oil Drilling Debate’ Masking the Real Issue?

Should we be focusing on making oil cheap or should we focus on making it obsolete? Of course in an ideal world, gas would be cheap and increasingly obsolete. We don’t live in an ideal world. By focusing on unrealistic “quick fix” solutions, are we just scraping ourselves up a little more time to keep avoiding the real issue?

Germany ‘is world’s greenest country’

Germany has been labelled the world’s greenest country after it cut its energy use by more than any other state in 2007.

Saving Water, Electricity, Honda Civic, Solar and the Prius

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Seven Ways to Save Energy by Saving Water

Though many states and localities are waking up to their water shortages and taking steps to plan for “peak water”, people generally continue to waste water and to ignore the energy-water link.

New Material Absorbs Light Completely And Generates Electric

A partnership between Duke University and Boston College turned out to be very beneficial for the science world, as they obtained a metamaterial that absorbs all the light it gets (yes, it becomes invisible) and that is supposed to generate energy more efficiently than the solar cells.

Civic Outsells F-150 for First Time Ever

Go little Civic, go!

How To Heat Up Solar

It seems incredible then that the U.S. Senate has again failed to pass a bill that would extend solar tax credits to build new power plants.

Prius is Now the Most Searched New Car on Cars.com

Cars.com has announced that for the first time ever, the Toyota Prius has become the most searched for new vehicle on the popular vehicle classifieds site — surpassing long time favorites such as the Accord and Camry. The Prius first appeared in the top 10 most searched vehicles list last summer.

Stonehenge, Solar Power, Global Warming, Energy and Noise

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

Secrets of Stonehenge unearthed

Now that’s a pretty impressive tombstone. New research suggests that Stonehenge was used as a cemetery for more than 500 years, much longer than previously thought. The new findings also show that people used the area as a burial site long before placement of its trademark stones (or sarsen stones) was complete.

How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space!

The satellites would electromagnetically beam gigawatts of solar energy back to ground-based receivers, where it would then be converted to electricity and transferred to power grids. The floating power plants could provide round-the-clock clean, renewable electricity.

Scientists Invent Machine to Suck CO2 & Fight Global Warming

Scientists say they have invented a machine that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air – potentially creating a vital weapon in the war against global warming. The blueprint for the CO2 ’scrubber’ raises the prospect of a generation of machines which would help reduce the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere.

The Coming Energy Wars - A Bargain at $200

Oil prices could hit $200 a barrel in the next few months. How the spike changes everything. This spring, America hit a historic point. With average gas prices per gallon edging toward $4, America’s notoriously profligate ways started to change fast. Americans are driving less, using mass transit more, buying fewer gas guzzlers.

How Man-Made Noise May Be Altering Earth’s Ecology

The contamination of biophony may soon become a serious environmental issue — Scientist Bernie Krause says that man-made sounds are already wreaking havoc with animal communication. We worry about the carbon emissions from SUVs and airplanes; maybe we should be equally concerned about the racket they cause.

New Washer and Dryer

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Yes, I know, this is probably one of my more boring posts. Actually, maybe not…I have a lot of boring posts.

Well, we had our new washer and dryer delivered today. We left our old ones back in NY. We were going to bring them, but I thought it would be a good selling point for the other house if we left them, especially since they are almost brand new. Also, I really wanted to get one of these new types of washers. They are Energy Star® and use much less water. Also, the spin cycle spins the drum at 1,100 RPM, so the clothes really get a lot of the water spun out of them before they hit the dryer. That equals less dryer time.

The washer is very quiet. I was sitting right next to it, while talking on the phone and could hardly hear it operating. I like the way I can watch the clothes flop around in there. We got the “LG Electronics 4.0 Cu. Ft. Energy Star® Front Load Washer in White” from Home Dept. I think the Energy Star®, along with the reduced usage of water was worth the few extra bucks.

The dryer is a regular old dryer. It is the “GE 7.0 Cu. Ft. Super Capacity Electric Dryer” also from Home Depot. When we went in to pick them out, I really wanted the stainless steel drum. The sales girl told us that she went to a class just the day before and was told that the stainless steel did virtually nothing for performance. I thought this was a little odd because the stainless costs more and she would probably want to make a bigger sale. Since we really don’t need any fancy features for a dryer, we got this one.

The first wash is going right now. I am going to get the dryer going and start finishing up the pile was already have down in the laundry room.

Peace out.

Blogging, Careers, Online Storage and Mobile

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

There’s No Money In The Long Tail of the Blogosphere

In a recent post here, we examined the reasons that people feel compelled to blog. From the post and the comments it received, it became clear that quite a few people are blogging to make money. The reality is that it is difficult to make money in the long tail. In this post we examine why that is and look at other aspects of long tail economics.

10 Hot Computer Driven Careers

While traditional IT careers will probably stay in-demand for the foreseeable future, don’t forget the alternatives. From climate modeling to revolutionizing the very fabric of life itself, there are plenty of enjoyable computer jobs to keep the computer professional creatively engaged.

Google preps online storage service

Offering would compete with recent products from rivals Microsoft, Amazon.com and Facebook.

The Mobile Web remains far off, and inevitable

“Within 10 years more people will be accessing the Internet from their mobile . . . than in the home from a PC,” said Geraldine Wilson, vice president of connected life at Yahoo! Europe. “In emerging markets most people’s first contact with the Internet will be with a mobile phone.”

Google hopes to undercut coal with cheap, renewable energy

Google’s latest plan to put all that money to good use is to announce an initiative that will develop renewable energy that’s cheaper than coal.

Wind Energy Information

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Laura and I were talking last night about wind energy, the government and how people do not want to solve the energy problem.

Paul and I had a little back-and-forth over the weekend about wind turbines in residential areas. I was against it and he was for it. The reason I was against it is because of the first photo he displayed in his post. I thought that something like this was inappropriate for a residential area. Then, I did a little research and noticed that certain companies are making residential wind turbines much sleeker in their look and use. I am now on board. Apparently, with the right height and wind speed, one of these turbines can supply a whole house with electricity.

Here is our (well, my) reason why anyone with any amount of power simply doesn’t want to really make any changes when it comes to energy…If the government wanted to solve the problem, they would have “gently forced” every property owner in the country to erect a small wind turbine on their property. I know, I know, that sounds strange, but think about it. The government can even pay for it. They got the taxpayers to pay billions and billions of dollars to go over to Iraq and…well, you know. Think about if the American government used that same money to purchase and have installed one wind turbine (or solar system) per property owner. Can you even imagine how much oil and coal that would save from being burned? We wouldn’t have to go over and…well, you know…the Middle East anymore.

Why is it that the only thing being offered right now are tax breaks that no one knows about? I hear more about “Barney” than I do about renewable energy incentives, and I don’t even like Barney.