Solargon: conservation of energy through intelligent design and utilization of super efficient building components to create very green cabins and homes.

Friday, April 24, 2009

The Future of Clean Energy is Now

Commentary by Steve Clark

It is time to leave behind the polluting ways of the past and embrace the clean energy future. There is a revolution happening in the way in which we make and use energy. We each mustbecome active participants in this revolution.
In the past our energy masters have dug up black rocks from the ground, hauled them to power plants and burned them, fouling the air and water with pollution in the process and sold us the electricity. This primitive, inefficient, dirty method of making electricity is no longer either necessary or cost effective.
Today we have the technology to make the energy that we need from the sunshine that falls on our roofs. The implications of these changes are truly revolutionary and the benefits we will reap are tremendous.
First and most important we must realize that this revolution is within our grasp and stop accepting the advice of “energy experts” who tell us to proceed with caution and not abandon the old dirty methods of making energy. We no longer need new central power plants (neither coal nor nuclear) and the investment in such projects is money wasted. They are neither clean nor safe and the efforts to make them so are misguided. In reference to new developments in solar energy technology David Freeman says, “the prospect of this technology creates a conundrum for the electric utility industry and Wall Street.
Can — or should — any utility, or investor, count on the long-term viability of a coal, nuclear or gas investment? The answer is no.” http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinio /280625_solarcell10.html Mr. Freeman is referring to one of the disruptive technologicaldevelopments in solar, the reduction of the cost of solar electricity by 80% from $5 to $1 dollar per Watt. NanoSolar.com
We also need to wake up from the nightmare of oil addiction. Personal mobility is being provided by our rich drug er I mean oil dealers at an unnecessarily high cost to society and the planet. 40 countries now spend more to import oil than the total amount of theirGDP. Why not drive around on sunshine?
The life cycle cost of electric vehicles is now less than gas vehicles. When Shai Agassi realized this he started Project Better Place. He plans to build the renewable powered infrastructure for charging EVs in Israel first, then Denmark and other places are signing up daily. Nissan will build the electric cars. He will then sell miles of mobility and the cars will be practically free (like your cell phone)
Here is the math on electric mobility vs the old ICE gasoline powered vehicle you drive today. First off nobody wants gasoline except maybe arsonists. Gas is a dirty, toxic, smelly and dangerously volatile, flammable substance. What you want is mobility so stop thinking in miles per gallon and start thinking in Miles Per Dollar (MPD). If your car gets 30 mpg and gas is $3 per gallon you get 10MPD. The new Tesla Motors electric car not only goes fast and will travel 250 mile on a charge it gives you 100MPD.
We presently export $1 billion dollars a day for oil. If we stopped doing that we would keep that money in our local economies and the Federal Reserve banksters could quit printing so much money that it loses value.
Once PBP is working we don’t need foreign oil. Now our economy is stable because we stopped printing a billion dollars a day and exporting it for oil. We stopped wasting time and money looking for impractical ways to get liquid fuels for our inefficient internal combustion engines by growing them or making liquid fuel from coal. Now we can concentrate on feeding people instead of our cars.
But we really must stop the other global climate crisis producing industry - coal power - as well as eliminating the need for oil. Yes the coal industry also makes electricity and we are much more addicted to that energy than oil. We must be careful Mr Peabody doesn’t decideto blackmail us like OPEC does.
Several thin film photovoltaics companies are producing solar panels at less than $1 per watt. One company NanoSolar has built a factory at a cost of $100 million. It has the capacity to produce almost 500 megawatt each year. At that rate it will be over 1,000 years before we replace existing coal generating capacity. Climate change will prevent us from moving that slowly to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy (RE).
But if we have free electric vehicles (EVs) from PBP powered by wind energy and cheap NanoSolar photovoltaics to recharge them we are saving all that money we used to export for oil. We have an extra billion dollars a day to spend. The first day we build 10 NanoSolar plants. We now have full employment installing solar panels. Now it is only 100 years to eliminate coal — still too slow. The next day we build ten more — now it’s ten years to eliminate coal. The third day we build ten more and by the end of that year we are totally powered by RE and our EVs are connected to the grid and we are getting a check from the utility for our solar power and a check for our grid tied EV. Now instead of working to support our cars and houses they are supporting us.
Now we can go to the air force and point out that chicken dinners are cheaper than bombs. They can start dropping chicken dinners on people rather than bombs and other nations will stop hating us. Imagine… And it is only day three of the new economy. What will wedo with our extra billion tomorrow?
But for now lets just say that our communities will be cleaner, quieter, healthier and more prosperous with solar energy and electric mobility… and we stopped the climate crisis and ended oil wars and jump started the economy and… Solar Energy - Free Deliveries Daily!
Special thanks to Steve Clark and Sunsationalgreen.com

Tuesday, April 21, 2009


April 22, 1970, Earth Day marks the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated, with a goal of a healthy, sustainable environment.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Diamond 20 New Solargon Model

The latest Solargon model called the Diamond 20 with it's distinctive roof, has 400 sq. ft. with a spiral staircase to the loft bedroom plus half bath. (100 sq. ft.) Great solar gain with SIPs R42 wall and roof panels.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Earth Hour Boulder, Colorado




Even though Boulder is a the cradle of so-called green business and attitude, my camera didn't record any lights going off for Earth Hour 2009. Scott Kirk and Sheri Mattei attended the gathering at Resource 2000 in Boulder.