Like other Qwik-Solar models it's rugged and easy to use. But the QS Power Station leads the rest of the pack by providing an unprecedented level of convenience. Stay tuned. Coming in August 2011 (in just a few weeks!)
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| Qwik-Solar 45 |
7/22/11
New Qwik-Solar Power Station
The Qwik-Solar Power Station is going to redefine the standard for portable solar power.
Like other Qwik-Solar models it's rugged and easy to use. But the QS Power Station leads the rest of the pack by providing an unprecedented level of convenience. Stay tuned. Coming in August 2011 (in just a few weeks!)
Like other Qwik-Solar models it's rugged and easy to use. But the QS Power Station leads the rest of the pack by providing an unprecedented level of convenience. Stay tuned. Coming in August 2011 (in just a few weeks!)
5/30/11
Honoring Those Who Have Fallen for Freedom
It’s Memorial Day in the United States. It’s a day to remember those that gave all in our military to defend our nation - and it’s very heart - our Constitution.
But it’s a bittersweet day for others...
Many of our citizens dimly set to memory the fallen - as the holiday is filled with travel, or having cookouts with friends and family. This day I reflect on why so many have fallen - and how we can truly honor their sacrifice.
A Brief History
It started long before 9/11 - in the 1980s. The Soviets where ripping apart Afghanistan. The US saw this as a forward moving line to gain control of the flow of oil in the region. What to do?
Under the vise president at that time, the CIA was set to task to build a cell network in the local population - with recruitment and training - to hold that line against the Soviets. In other words, we created Al Queda.
Can you begin to understand my bittersweet feelings on this day of memory?
Let me be very frank. Without the CIA, there would have been no Al Queda, no Taliban, and no Osama Bin Laden. Some would argue it’s a case of unintended consequences. As the fallen have been forever silenced, I will reply: We were thoughtless in our actions.
Over the years, the far right fringe in our nation spread misinformation that we are at war with Islam (and just about anyone else that isn't a Wall Street Banker or Corporate Communist). When the federal building in Oklahoma was blown to bits in the early 90s, the far right social engineers immediately began screaming it was done by ‘Islamo-fascists’...
The truth is our NeoCon (also known as Corporate Communists - 'Conservative in Name Only' or CiNO's) minority is the mirror image of the Al Queda minority - both are far right fringe elitists promoting a ‘new’ Holy War...
And we have paid a heavy price for listening to the sound and fury of their falsehoods. For there is nothing ‘holy’ about war...
Amazingly, there was a voice in Pakistan that stood fast for democracy and freedom. The far right fringe in the region killed Bhutto, but they will never silence her spirit for freedom...
And while it may seem odd I mention Bhutto - any that have fallen for freedom and democracy should be remembered, and honored.
So - how do we honor the memory of our fallen? How do we make it so their sacrifices were not in vain?
1. Stop listening to the far right fringe of NeoCon elitists and their TP Colllaborators.
2. Get the hell off our Oil Addiction. Our Oil Addiction enables 'social engineering' to maintain the far right elites addiction to power ('Hell No You Cant' or 'My Way! My Way!' syndrome - typically exhibited by three year olds that don't know any better).
3. Make a pledge - Not one more drop of blood for a barrel of oil. Let’s really put an end to this.
This is how we should honor them. This is how we ensure they did not die in vain.
Of course, there will be some poor souls brainwashed into the false faith of the far right elites that will scream at me for speaking this simple truth. Some of them will even tell me ‘Hell No You Can’t!”
Oh- but I can. Not because I have the right of free speech - but because I’ve earned the privilege to speak bluntly. You see...
I am a veteran.
But it’s a bittersweet day for others...
Many of our citizens dimly set to memory the fallen - as the holiday is filled with travel, or having cookouts with friends and family. This day I reflect on why so many have fallen - and how we can truly honor their sacrifice.
A Brief History
It started long before 9/11 - in the 1980s. The Soviets where ripping apart Afghanistan. The US saw this as a forward moving line to gain control of the flow of oil in the region. What to do?
Under the vise president at that time, the CIA was set to task to build a cell network in the local population - with recruitment and training - to hold that line against the Soviets. In other words, we created Al Queda.
Can you begin to understand my bittersweet feelings on this day of memory?
Let me be very frank. Without the CIA, there would have been no Al Queda, no Taliban, and no Osama Bin Laden. Some would argue it’s a case of unintended consequences. As the fallen have been forever silenced, I will reply: We were thoughtless in our actions.
Over the years, the far right fringe in our nation spread misinformation that we are at war with Islam (and just about anyone else that isn't a Wall Street Banker or Corporate Communist). When the federal building in Oklahoma was blown to bits in the early 90s, the far right social engineers immediately began screaming it was done by ‘Islamo-fascists’...
The truth is our NeoCon (also known as Corporate Communists - 'Conservative in Name Only' or CiNO's) minority is the mirror image of the Al Queda minority - both are far right fringe elitists promoting a ‘new’ Holy War...
And we have paid a heavy price for listening to the sound and fury of their falsehoods. For there is nothing ‘holy’ about war...
Amazingly, there was a voice in Pakistan that stood fast for democracy and freedom. The far right fringe in the region killed Bhutto, but they will never silence her spirit for freedom...
And while it may seem odd I mention Bhutto - any that have fallen for freedom and democracy should be remembered, and honored.
So - how do we honor the memory of our fallen? How do we make it so their sacrifices were not in vain?
1. Stop listening to the far right fringe of NeoCon elitists and their TP Colllaborators.
2. Get the hell off our Oil Addiction. Our Oil Addiction enables 'social engineering' to maintain the far right elites addiction to power ('Hell No You Cant' or 'My Way! My Way!' syndrome - typically exhibited by three year olds that don't know any better).
3. Make a pledge - Not one more drop of blood for a barrel of oil. Let’s really put an end to this.
This is how we should honor them. This is how we ensure they did not die in vain.
Of course, there will be some poor souls brainwashed into the false faith of the far right elites that will scream at me for speaking this simple truth. Some of them will even tell me ‘Hell No You Can’t!”
Oh- but I can. Not because I have the right of free speech - but because I’ve earned the privilege to speak bluntly. You see...
I am a veteran.
5/27/11
100 Years of Solar Energy
Few realize that practical solar energy is over 100 years old. Frank Shuman wrote of his 'Direct Acting Solar Engine' and the many benefits it had over coal.
His insight is even more relevant today when comparing the decreasing supply of non-renewable sources to unlimited supplies from renewables. Here is a photo of one of his solar thermal power plants from 1907....
And a solar power plant from today...
Overall, they're almost identical designs for concentrating solar energy to produce power.
Frank Shuman has earned his place in history, but it shouldn't be limited for his contribution to the solar arts alone. He should also be recognized as one of the first green entreprenuers. More than this - he was also the first modern Conserver Designer.
In today's world the triple bottom line for Green Economics is recognized as People, Planet, and Profit. Frank also had a triple bottom line, which many Industrial Ecology Engineers can appreciate. From his book:
" A triple effect from liquefied air can always be put into boilers furnished with a column-still attachment. The first run of this boiler would be nitrogen. This is diverted into gasometers after it has passed through the engine and given off its mechanical power, and after it has passed through brine tanks and given off its great cold to the artificial ice, and from this nitrogen Calcium Cyanamide, an excellent artificial fertilizer, can be made.
This liquefied air, when used for mechanical power, can be made to give a true triple effect; the full amount of mechanical power, the full amount of refrigeration, and the full amount of nitrogen can be obtained, each without detracting from the other."
We're having to relearn lessons that were understood long ago. Hopefully, this time around, we won't be so quick to forget them.
Go to our library to download "The Direct Acting Solar Engine".
The Great Re-Skilling
Over the last 25 plus years we have been ripping apart the core of our economy - manufacturing. And as it has eroded, we've also lost many of the small and medium enterprisers which were the backbone of the local economy.
From the New Economic Institute:
"The men and women of the United States were once builders of boats, weavers of fabric, turners of pots, crafters of furniture, keepers of bees, operators of mills, welders of steel, creators of new technologies, and in general makers of the goods used in America. Entranced by the doctrine of efficiency of scale, bulging corporations merged, closed plants, moved production outside the U.S., and effected a loss of regional manufacturing skills.
We have skipped a generation in the continuity of these skills, but they are still in our cultural memory. Our grandfathers and grandmothers even now relate stories of the local seamstress, butcher, mechanic, mason, distiller, logger, and how together they shaped the complexity of the community. The processes of production were more visible, and young people aspired to fill those positions.
To build stable regional economies in the U.S. and create an example for sustainable development in other countries will require regaining dying skills, especially in production of the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and energy. It will mean rebuilding a manufacturing infrastructure, re-establishing technical schools, and recommitting to the purchase of locally made goods. Jane Jacobs used the phrase "import replacement" when describing this strategy—smaller batches, more jobs, less transportation, greater complexity...A sound goal for a new economy."
It's a sound and timeless formula for real economic success - promoting the well-being and security of the whole.
And with re-skilling comes rebuilding...
From the New Economic Institute:
"The men and women of the United States were once builders of boats, weavers of fabric, turners of pots, crafters of furniture, keepers of bees, operators of mills, welders of steel, creators of new technologies, and in general makers of the goods used in America. Entranced by the doctrine of efficiency of scale, bulging corporations merged, closed plants, moved production outside the U.S., and effected a loss of regional manufacturing skills.
We have skipped a generation in the continuity of these skills, but they are still in our cultural memory. Our grandfathers and grandmothers even now relate stories of the local seamstress, butcher, mechanic, mason, distiller, logger, and how together they shaped the complexity of the community. The processes of production were more visible, and young people aspired to fill those positions.
To build stable regional economies in the U.S. and create an example for sustainable development in other countries will require regaining dying skills, especially in production of the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, and energy. It will mean rebuilding a manufacturing infrastructure, re-establishing technical schools, and recommitting to the purchase of locally made goods. Jane Jacobs used the phrase "import replacement" when describing this strategy—smaller batches, more jobs, less transportation, greater complexity...A sound goal for a new economy."
It's a sound and timeless formula for real economic success - promoting the well-being and security of the whole.
And with re-skilling comes rebuilding...
Failing to Deliver Ohio’s Energy Future
First Energy continues to ask for exemptions while making excuses. The exemption is for a 2008 law requiring some energy produced in Ohio come from renewable sources. Utilities can buy S-RECS (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) from third party producers. It’s a free market means to meet what the law has required.
Ellen Raines, a spokeswoman for First Energy states, “We worked hard to purchase every credit that was offered to us, but there were simply not enough available for us to meet our goal - We really don’t have expertise as an operator of renewable resources.”
Really?
First Energy is supposed to have the expertise to produce and deliver electricity - as they have done with coal and nuclear reactors. And yet - they don’t have the expertise to produce solar electricity.
American Electric Power, another Ohio utility, contracted its solar requirement from a developer who built Ohio’s largest solar array in Wyandot County. But apparently, First Energy does not have ‘the expertise’ to contract it’s solar requirement.
Really!
Al Campoon, of Toledo, drives the point home:
“The FE (First Energy) response is nonsensical...
Toledo Museum of Art has a 100 kW system, and First Solar has a 2.4 MW system. In FE's appeal to PUCO they claim to have purchased only 112 SRECs. My home and Sylvania UCC church sold 31 SRECs to FE, more than a quarter of their total. The big systems I listed should have produced almost all FE needed....”
First Energy has recently posted a Request for Proposal to meet last years SREC requirement. First Energy is doing a fine job of breaking the law to kill off a decentralized solar power market in Ohio.
It’s this kind of nonsense which lead us to develop SolerPlex. It can produce from 1 to 3 Kilowatts of electricity per day and receives a 30% federal tax credit for a homeowner.
Don’t worry, First Energy - we'll meet Ohio's energy future. Most likely without you. Really.
Ellen Raines, a spokeswoman for First Energy states, “We worked hard to purchase every credit that was offered to us, but there were simply not enough available for us to meet our goal - We really don’t have expertise as an operator of renewable resources.”
Really?
First Energy is supposed to have the expertise to produce and deliver electricity - as they have done with coal and nuclear reactors. And yet - they don’t have the expertise to produce solar electricity.
American Electric Power, another Ohio utility, contracted its solar requirement from a developer who built Ohio’s largest solar array in Wyandot County. But apparently, First Energy does not have ‘the expertise’ to contract it’s solar requirement.
Really!
Al Campoon, of Toledo, drives the point home:
“The FE (First Energy) response is nonsensical...
Toledo Museum of Art has a 100 kW system, and First Solar has a 2.4 MW system. In FE's appeal to PUCO they claim to have purchased only 112 SRECs. My home and Sylvania UCC church sold 31 SRECs to FE, more than a quarter of their total. The big systems I listed should have produced almost all FE needed....”
First Energy has recently posted a Request for Proposal to meet last years SREC requirement. First Energy is doing a fine job of breaking the law to kill off a decentralized solar power market in Ohio.
It’s this kind of nonsense which lead us to develop SolerPlex. It can produce from 1 to 3 Kilowatts of electricity per day and receives a 30% federal tax credit for a homeowner.
Don’t worry, First Energy - we'll meet Ohio's energy future. Most likely without you. Really.
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