Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Real Estates' newest pitch: Easy Commute POST A COMMENT With real estate slumping away, the newest buzz word here in N.J. (and nearby cities) is easy commute, with programs offering -- 'people who work in a particular town to also live there. 'Geared mostly towards single people and young families looking to plant roots in a place as workers and residents -- (the city programs offers kick-backs if you work & live in the same city). I'm not big on live, play and work smash ups. I do understand that need to get up in the mornings and "go to work." And some distance plays a role here. I myself, live in N.J. and take the train into New York for work. I think living so near work I'd might feel too available. 'I do love the the idea of creating a sense of community (some place you can call your own); but, I don't want to mix work and play. All for giving back to my community and building it up by supporting local businesses. But, I want a clear seperation from work place and my home. While there's that perk of a smaller carbon footprint of not having to drive a long way back and forth. Isn't that what trains and buses are for? I'm curious to know what ya'll think about that (so, leave me a comment on your own commutes)... Source: NJ.com Labels: environment, fuel economy, green living, New Jersey, News Trends, Oil Prices, Real Estate, Well-Balanced Life posted by Henry Cruz at 9:06 PM Monday, August 25, 2008 Soaring Gas prices bring us long-term cures! POST A COMMENT Look around, notice anything different? -- I sure do. 'People are changing how they go about their daily lives; the Highway Administration says: Americans drove 12 billion less miles in June '08 than last June -- the biggest monthly drop in eight months. An even bigger decline than what we saw in the oil-shock of the 1970s. 'Bus and train usage is up. More people are looking for ways to conserve energy. 'News today shows gas prices have temporally dropped 15 cents a gallon in the past two weeks; but, isn't the better news, at least from where I sit, that sense-of-crisis has forced people to change their behavior. 'Back in the 70's the country made promises to increase gas efficiency, reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and find alternative forms of energy...'sound familiar? 'None of that happened. Today, we get-a-do-over: 'There's every reason to continue to chase alternatives. 'Right now, our oil-dependent economy is shaped by oil's arbitrarily determined price. It's become like a fake-currency. And we're slaves to that black gold standard -- (with most of those profits shipping off to foreign soil). Obviously, we can't over simplify all the issues. "The soaring cost of energy is causing plenty of pain for Americans, especially at a time when they're being hammered by declining house values and rising food prices. The pain isn't about to ease, either - 'We haven't yet seen the cost of heating,' warns Business Week. 'Expensive energy is a powerful medicine. It may hurt when taken, but it brings long-term cures for a host of ills. Focus on what High energy prices is bringing us: (1) Military-funded researchers have made jet fuel from plants. (2) Toyota and General Motors are testing plug-in hybrid cars that can run 40 miles on electricity alone. (3) Companies are building vast expanses of mirrors in the desert to make steam, and thus electricity, from the sun. (4) There are new systems to control power consumption by homes and businesses from afar and programs to insulate inner-city houses, providing energy savings—and jobs. (5) All this cuts pollution and slash carbon dioxide emissions, which cause global warming. They reduce the need for a military presence to ensure global commerce in oil. (6) And they slow the flood of dollars to the Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela, keeping more wealth in the U.S. instead of handing it over to often unfriendly suppliers. Source: Business Week Labels: Business-101, capitalism, cars, economy, Elections, emissions, Energy-101, environment, fuel economy, Go-green, green living, mudprint.com, Oil Prices, smaller carbon footprint, Solar Power, Tech posted by Henry Cruz at 3:17 AM Friday, August 22, 2008 The world keeps getting...Greener POST A COMMENT Some trends are just good all around. Like if everybody decided to end extreme poverty, what would be the down side? So, because I'm starting to tip-toe towards a lighter carbon footprint, I've decided to pass along a few tips that came accross my desk. Here are a few 411-links to get ya thumbs-greener: - Want to Be a Green Mommy? - There's Oil in that cartridge! - Jay Leno's smart car advice - Millions of Gallons of Bio Diesel from Algae? - Big Apple gets a windfarm? - Eco-Swapping: hand-me-down Parties? - Hydrogen Power...from Water? - Eco-Clubs powered by Sweat equity ** (Note, these are from my sister eco site, Muprint.com, but ya'll can add your own Green friendly links by leaving me a comment - no spam, just helpful info please). Labels: Business-101, Energy-101, fuel economy, green living, Media Trends, mudprint.com, Well-Balanced Life posted by Henry Cruz at 11:12 AM Sunday, August 03, 2008 Energy-101: Here Comes the Sun! POST A COMMENT Storing solar-energy inside batteries right now is way too costly to be used in everyday usage. But, a new breakthrough is about to change all that... Basically, scientists have now figured out a Cheaper way of storing electricity from the sun-rays...'and as one expert offered, this means "you've answered everything." "The breakthrough uses a relatively simple way to use electricity to produce oxygen and hydrogen from water...When the two gases later are recombined in a fuel cell they cause a chemical reaction that spins off electrons that are forced through a circuit, reproducing the electricity." "The discovery shatters the biggest barrier to widespread use of solar power, namely that it's unavailable after dark, said Daniel Nocera, an MIT energy professor. Similar to the way plants store energy from the sun -- "The process uses nontoxic natural materials to convert sunlight into gases..." Researchers also say this could make solar power "in homes a mainstream energy option and might even make power companies obsolete, at least for residential needs." "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," Nocera told the MIT News Service. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon." "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future," offered another MIT expert. ''It opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production." Ultimately, this breakthrough would aid us in getting off of our dependence of Foreign Oil. So...I'm sure we'll all be watching this story carefully. Here's a great primer video --(with MIT's Nocera) -- offering a break down of how this actually works: Source: ABC News Labels: Business-101, economy, Education, emissions, Energy-101, environment, fuel economy, hybrid, ideas, MIT Research, News Trends, Oil Prices, science 101, smaller carbon footprint, Solar Power, Trends posted by Henry Cruz at 4:30 PM Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Oil Dependent: Blows in the Wind? POST A COMMENT 'Might take an 80-year-old to show this old hungry dog some new tricks -- 'solving our countries $700 billion-a-year dependency on foreign oil. T. Boone Pickens' plan suggests replacing gasoline use with natural gas...and eventually with wind... "Things were fine until the price went vertical on us," said Mr. Pickens. He calculates that, spending $140 a barrel for crude, adds up to $700 billion a year...all going into foreign pockets. The "hurdles to the Pickens plan...include building the infrastructure to dispense natural gas as a vehicle fuel, building new power plants to replace natural gas-fired plants, overcoming possible opposition from oil companies and politicians..." Funny, that Pickens himself has been investing in vehicular natural gas for years and now has plans to build a massive wind farm in the Panhandle. But he offers "that's not the reason for his campaign." "I'm 80 years old. I'm worth $4 billion. I don't need to make any more money," he said. Instead, he said, this is about patriotism and his reputation as a man who "sure puts his money where his mouth is." - and maybe a little bit to-do with money...but, at least it's one option on the table to a problem that wont be going away anytime soon. Source: Hispanic Business Labels: Business-101, capitalism, Culture, economy, emissions, environment, fuel economy posted by Henry Cruz at 1:30 PM Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Toyota wants to F*ck us from both ends... POST A COMMENT I get smart business, it's how Toyota "overtook G.M. as the world’s biggest automaker" -- by looking ahead and bringing us the "50-miles-per-gallon Prius hybrid" (a half-step in the right direction toward fuel economy)! - Great. However, I read today's NY TIMES article (Et Tu, Toyota) which explains how Toyota is playing dirty politics to ensure they stay number one...by "lobbying against the tougher mileage standards in the Senate version of the draft energy bill" -- so, naturally one would ask -- why would a car company that built it's sudo green friendly empire with the popular Prius....then stop improving standards or innovation??! -- (Good question) -- it's all about greed -- or getting more of the other green-friendly thang: "Toyota wants to slow down innovation in Detroit on more energy efficient vehicles, which Toyota already dominates, while also keeping mileage room to build giant pickup trucks, like the Toyota Tundra..." “Toyota wants to keep its green halo and beat G.M. in the big trucks, too,” said one expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council...in my house, they call that world domination. --------- (Source NY TIMES) --------- Labels: cars, emissions, fuel economy, hybrid posted by Henry Cruz at 5:44 PM     ARCHIVES October 2005 . 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