November 11, 2015

60 Minutes on this bicycle can power your home for 24 hours

Would you exercise for an hour every day if the workout powered your home for twenty-four hours?

True Activist | Amanda Froelich | 11/10/2015

People often complain about the high costs of energy and the fact that they “never have time to workout.” This invention certainly solves both conundrums.

And, most importantly, this free power invention has the potential to lift the 1.3 billion people who presently live without electricity out of poverty.



As Manoj Bhargava, the founder of the Free Electric hybrid bike, shares in the video above, it is possible to generate electricity at home while simply doing a daily workout routine.

When an individual pedals the bike, the action drives a flywheel, which turns a generator and charges a battery. This means from just one hour of pedaling, a rural household can be supplied with energy for 24 hours.

The billionaire and his team developed the bicycle to take advantage of mechanical energy created by humans to solve one of the world’s most pervasive problems.

“Everything requires energy. Energy is the great equaliser,” says Bhargava, adding that over half of the world’s population have no access to electricity or access to electricity for two or three hours per day.

Having access to clean, free energy will enable poverty-stricken communities to not only light their homes but to connect to the internet and get educated. Bhargava says the reason the majority of those who are poor stay poor is because they have no power. He aims to fix this with the free energy bicycle.

One bicycle could potentially provide a small village with electricity if each household spends on hour per day pedaling the bike.

In developed nations, the bike could also be utilized to cut energy costs and remedy the obesity crisis.

The bicycle is also a clean way to generate power. As Bhargava says himself, if half of the world uses a Free Electric bike, half of the world would be using eco-friendly energy.

Manoj’s plan is to distribute 10,000 of the bicycles in India next year. In addition, he has pledged 90% of his wealth to charity and research.

What are your thoughts on this amazing invention? Comment below and share this good news!

This article (60 Minutes On This Bicycle Can Power Your Home For 24 Hours!) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com
http://www.trueactivist.com/60-minutes-on-this-bicycle-can-power-your-home-for-24-hours/

November 9, 2015

Researchers Cook Up Energy Storage Stew With Hydrogen And Graphene

Clean Technica November 9th, 2015 by Tina Casey

The mobile energy storage units — also known as electric vehicles — have been targeted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for a makeover, and those of you who are sceptical about the role that hydrogen will play in powering the car of the future may be in for a surprise. According to the research team, hydrogen could be used to improve lithium-ion batteries, the current gold standard for electric vehicle batteries.

Hydrogen In A Li-ion Battery, With Graphene

The new energy storage research from Livermore is focused on improving the electrodes of Li-ion batteries. For those of you new to the topic, the basic battery has two electrodes, one positive and one negative. Lithium ions that are hanging on the negative electrode scoot over to the positive electron when the battery is discharging, and then they reverse course when the battery is being charged.


Graphene is an atomic-scale honeycomb lattice made of carbon atoms.

That means the material of which the electrode is made has a lot of work to do. Think of a dog walker with too many leashes, not enough leashes, tangled leashes, or leashes that break at inopportune moments, and you get the picture. Here’s how the folks at Livermore describe the challenge:

Several key characteristics of lithium ion battery performance — capacity, voltage and energy density — are ultimately determined by the binding between lithium ions and the electrode material. Subtle changes in the structure, chemistry and shape of an electrode can significantly affect how strongly lithium ions bond to it.

This is where graphene, our favorite nanomaterial of the new millennium, comes in. Researchers (and this guy, of course) have been tinkering around with graphene as an electrode material for the next generation of high performance, long range EV batteries...snip
MORE: https://cleantechnica.com/2015/11/09/researchers-cook-energy-storage-stew-hydrogen-graphene/

November 8, 2015

Obama Admin Announces Actions to Ensure that Nuclear Remains a Vibrant Component of US Clean Energy

White House FACT SHEET: Obama Administration Announces Actions to Ensure that Nuclear Energy Remains a Vibrant Component of the United States’ Clean Energy Strategy

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 06, 2015

As detailed in the Climate Action Plan, President Obama is committed to using every appropriate tool to combat climate change. Nuclear power, which in 2014 generated about 60 percent of carbon-free electricity in the United States, continues to play a major role in efforts to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector. As America leads the global transition to a low-carbon economy, the continued development of new and advanced nuclear technologies along with support for currently operating nuclear power plants is an important component of our clean energy strategy. Investing in the safe and secure development of nuclear power also helps advance other vital policy objectives in the national interest, such as maintaining economic competitiveness and job creation, as well as enhancing nuclear nonproliferation efforts, nuclear safety and security, and energy security.


Edit: Replaced Misidentified Image -Image on 16 March 2011 of the four damaged Fukushima reactor buildings. From right to left: Unit 1, 2, 3 and 4. .

The President’s FY 2016 Budget includes more than $900 million for the Department of Energy (DOE) to support the U.S. civilian nuclear energy sector by leading federal research, development, and demonstration efforts in nuclear energy technologies, ranging from power generation, safety, hybrid energy systems, and security technologies, among other things. DOE also supports the deployment of these technologies with $12.5 billion in remaining loan guarantee authority for advanced nuclear projects through Title 17. DOE’s investments in nuclear energy help secure the three strategic objectives that are foundational to our nation’s energy system: energy security, economic competitiveness, and environmental responsibility.

Today, the White House is announcing and highlighting the following actions to sustain and advance nuclear energy, including:

Launching the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear: DOE is establishing the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) to provide the nuclear energy community with access to the technical, regulatory, and financial support necessary to move new or advanced nuclear reactor designs toward commercialization while ensuring the continued safe, reliable, and economic operation of the existing nuclear fleet. GAIN will provide the nuclear community with a single point of access to the broad range of capabilities – people, facilities, materials, and data – across the DOE complex and its National Lab capabilities. Focused research opportunities and dedicated industry engagement will also be important components of GAIN, ensuring that DOE-sponsored activities are impactful to companies working to realize the full potential of nuclear energy. GAIN will feature:

Access to Capabilities: Through the Clean Energy Investment Center in DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), GAIN will provide a single point of contact for users interested in a wide range of nuclear energy related capabilities and expertise. As an initiating step, Idaho National Lab will serve as the GAIN integrator for Office of Nuclear Energy capabilities.


Radioactive Seawater Impact Map (March 2012), US Dept of State Geographer Image

Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database: DOE is also publishing the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure database (NEID), which provides a catalogue of existing nuclear energy related infrastructure that will enhance transparency and support nuclear community engagement through GAIN. NEID currently includes information on 802 research and development instruments in 377 facilities at 84 institutions in the United States and abroad. Nuclear technology developers can access the database to identify resources available to support development and implementation of their technology, as well as contacts, availability, and the process for accessing the capability.

Small Business Vouchers: To support the strong interest in nuclear energy from a significant number of new companies working to develop advanced nuclear energy technologies, DOE plans to make $2 million available in the form of vouchers to provide assistance to small business applicants (including entrepreneur-led start-ups) seeking to access the knowledge and capabilities available across the DOE complex. This will enhance the ability of GAIN to serve a broader segment of the nuclear community. Information on available capabilities can be found HERE.


A clean-up crew working to remove radioactive contamination at Three Mile Island

Assisting Navigation of the Regulatory Process: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), consistent with its role as an independent safety and security regulator, will provide DOE with accurate, current information on the NRC’s regulations and licensing processes. DOE will work through GAIN with prospective applicants for advanced nuclear technology to understand and navigate the regulatory process for licensing new reactor technology.

Convening Second Workshop on Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors – The NRC and DOE will hold the Second Advanced Non-Light Water Reactors Workshops in spring 2016. The successful first workshop was held in September 2015. The purpose of the workshop is to explore options for increased efficiency, from both a technical and regulatory perspective, in the safe development and deployment of innovative reactor technologies. This would include examining both near-term and longer-term opportunities to test, demonstrate, and construct prototype advanced reactors, and evaluate the most appropriate licensing processes.

Supplementing Loan Guarantee Solicitation for Nuclear Energy: Today, DOE is supplementing its existing solicitation that makes up to $12.5 billion in loan guarantees available to support innovative nuclear energy projects. The solicitation states that eligible projects can include construction of advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, uprates and upgrades at existing facilities, and front-end nuclear facilities. In addition, the new supplement clarifies that project costs for an eligible project that are incurred as part of the NRC licensing process, such as design certification, construction permits, and combined construction and operating licenses (COL), could be eligible costs that may be financed with a loan guaranteed by DOE.

Establishing Light Water Reactor (LWR) Research, Development, and Deployment Working Group: DOE is formally announcing the establishment of the LWR Research, Development, and Deployment (RDD) Working Group to examine possible needs for future RDD to support the development of competitive advanced LWRs, as well as maintain the safe, efficient operations of currently operating nuclear power plants. The group will consist of federal, national laboratory, and industry participants. Recommendations are expected to DOE by February 2016.

Addressing Small Modular Reactor Needs through Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors: Today, DOE’s Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) is signing an agreement with NuScale to establish new cost-shared modeling and simulation tools under the CASL Energy Innovation Hub at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This agreement specifies the work that will be done by CASL to install and support the use of its virtual reactor tools on NuScale systems and by NuScale to simulate performance questions using CASL tools. Through this agreement, CASL tools will be expanded to better simulate SMR operation and inform design decisions. These efforts can lead to more efficient reactor designs that improve lifetime operation in a power plant.

Investing in SMR Licensing: DOE began investing up to $452 million dollars over six years starting in FY 2012 to support first-of-a-kind engineering costs associated with certification and licensing activities for SMRs through the NRC. By utilizing cost-share agreements with private industry through a licensing technical support program, DOE supports the domestic development of these innovative nuclear technologies, thereby strengthening American manufacturing capabilities and the associated nuclear supply chain, improving domestic employment opportunities, and creating important export opportunities for the United States. It is expected that the first SMR design application will be submitted to the NRC in late-2016.

Designing a Modernized LWR Control Room: DOE is partnering with Arizona Public Service’s Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to design a modernized control room for an operating commercial LWR. Working together through a cost-shared partnership, DOE’s LWR Sustainability Program and Palo Verde will consider the best way to replace traditional analog systems with digital systems that optimize control room operations. This work supports the long-term sustainability and efficiency of the currently operating nuclear power plants by assisting nuclear utilities to address reliability and obsolescence issues of legacy analog control rooms.



https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/06/fact-sheet-obama-administration-announces-actions-ensure-nuclear-energy



List of civilian nuclear accidents

This article lists notable civilian accidents involving fissile nuclear material or nuclear reactors. Civilian incidents not serious enough to be accidents are listed at List of civilian nuclear incidents. Military accidents are listed at List of military nuclear accidents. Civil radiation accidents not involving fissile material are listed at List of civilian radiation accidents. For a general discussion of both civilian and military accidents, see Nuclear and radiation accidents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civilian_nuclear_accidents

Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_nuclear_disasters_and_radioactive_incidents

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

Thee Mile Island Nuclear Accident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident

Nukes and Fracking- That's the Obama Administration's Energy "Policy". Using nuclear fission to boil water to spin turbines to power iPhones and toasters- and waste that MUST be babysat for thousands of years. Does that make sense?

But talk about clean green Hydrogen is discouraged-or ignored, to say the least. Have fun.

November 5, 2015

Jamaica: University of Tech hosts international hydrogen conference

Jamaica Observer.com November 04, 2015

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Jamaica has joined the international community in a clear thrust towards the advancement of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source for the future.

On Tuesday, the University of Technology (UTech), with the support of the European Union (EU) Caribbean and Pacific Research Programme for Sustainable Development, hosted day one of the first-ever conference in the Caribbean region on the use of hydrogen as a fuel.



The two-day International Hydrogen Conference, themed: ‘The Hydrogen Economy: A Sustainable Energy Diversification Option for the Caribbean’, culminated out of a three-year EU-funded research project by UTech’s Faculty of Engineering and Computing Energy Unit Research Team (CSEII), on the production of hydrogen as a fuel for domestic cooking.

The $59-million project, launched in 2012, also highlighted the varied use of hydrogen technologies and examined the applications which have relevance to the Caribbean...snip
MORE: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/UTech-hosts-international-hydrogen-conference

In Jamaica, H2 is #1

Wasserstoff ?????ό?? hidrógeno водород hidrojen idrogeno מימן hydrogène väte waterstof

November 2, 2015

Mercedes-Benz To Fuel Cell EV Doubters: Hahahahahahahaha

Clean Technica | Tina Casey | October 28th, 2015

Fuel cell electric vehicles have been the topic of several lively discussions over here at CleanTechnica, but while we’ve been busy talking, Mercedes-Benz has been walking the walk, or driving the drive as the case may be. Earlier this week the company pitched its forthcoming 2017 hydrogen fuel cell EVs with a splashy publicity tour in California, involving almost 1,000 miles split among five of the company’s B-Class F-CELL vehicles over a three-day period.

See: 1000 Mile Test Drive: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Mercedes-Benz

Enough About the Hydrogen Infrastructure

For those of you new to the topic, an FCEV is an all-electric vehicle but instead of getting its juice from electricity stored in a battery, it literally makes its own electricity on the fly, deploying the chemical reaction in a fuel cell...snip

...The real point was to highlight the growing hydrogen fuel station infrastructure in California. The five F-CELLs were tasked with refueling only at public stations over the three-day trip between Los Angeles to San Francisco along the state’s “Hydrogen Highway” with stops at Burbank, Coalinga, West Sacramento, and Emeryville.

Though only 10 public fuel stations are currently available in California, the state has plans to co-fund at least 100 in the near future. The most recent hydrogen fuel station analysis (see page 31) indicates that the state is on track to achieve the 100-station mark by 2023, with about 50 expected by the end of 2016...snip


pending hydrogen fuel stations in California

...Well, that was then; this is now, and the company appears to have thrown all caution to the wind. Check out the Mercedes-Benz blog for a sneak peek at the futuristically fueled and styled fuel cell minivan it envisions for the Japanese market:


The UFO has landed – Mercedes-Benz Vision Tokyo -That’s just the exterior. Do check out the blog for the crazy interior...



MORE: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/10/28/mercedes-benz-fuel-cell-ev-doubters-hahahahahahahaha/



Mercedes-Benz To Fuel Cell EV Doubters: Hahahahahahahaha!

Mercedes: H2 is #1!

Wasserstoff ?????ό?? hidrógeno водород hidrojen idrogeno מימן hydrogène väte waterstof

November 2, 2015

BMW announces new method to compress hydrogen that significantly increases fuel cell car range

BMW has announced a breakthrough in fuel cell car development as they have discovered a new method to compress hydrogen.

The new technique to compress hydrogen is still a work in progress and will need a few years to perfect, but BMW mentions that once the technology will be optimized it will enable a car to cover more than 435 miles (700 km) before the hydrogen tanks will need a refill. This new method will compress the hydrogen at extremely low temperatures in order to increase its storage volume and this will be possible by installing a Toyota-developed fuel cell stack as a base.



Speaking to Reuters at the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show, the company’s head of fuel cell development Merten Jung said the system will be launched “sometime after 2020” and he specified it will be incorporated in a “long distance car, a larger sedan” as the technology is tailored to bigger vehicles. This means BMW’s fuel cell model will be larger than the recently introduced Toyota Mirai and Honda Clarity Fuel Cell...snip
MORE: http://www.worldcarfans.com/1151029100549/bmw-announces-new-method-to-compress-hydrogen-that-significantly-increases-fuel-cell-car-r

October 31, 2015

Friday Night Music-80's Greatest Hits: Shannon- Let the Music Play

This earworm was playing in my head all day and when I got home and finally played it it was better than I remembered. 30 years and it has aged like fine wine.

Not for everyone. If you don't like 80's dance you won't like this.

Let the Music Play- Shannon Brenda Greene, one gorgeous woman

"Let The Music Play" was the first of Shannon's four #1s on the US Dance chart, reaching the top spot in November 1983. The song also became a huge crossover hit, peaking at #2 on the soul chart and #8 on the US Singles Chart in February 1984

Cover by Mary Kiani



Shannon - Let The Music Play (DJ Pantelis Remix)



One of the best of the best- like Ring My Bell by Anita Ward



Let the music play!

October 27, 2015

Inside The Most Dangerous Place On The Planet, Fukushima Exclusion Zone

Published on Oct 26, 2015

In this video Luke Rudkowski and Tim Pool give you a brief recap of their trip inside the Fukushima exclusion zone that is still closed down. We go over the dangers of the situation, what we saw and our breakdown of the entire situation. More detailed and exclusive content to come from both of us.

Radiation Levels Are Off The Charts In Fukushima



Published on Oct 25, 2015

In this video Luke Rudkowski takes you inside Fukushima, as he gives you a sneak peak at the upcoming content that he will be creating. As you can see in the video a safe level of radiation on a geiger counter is 0.23 but his geiger counter showed 39.3 inside the exclusion zone which we only gained access to through an evacuee who was picking up his belongings.


We Are Change on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/user/wearechange

Website
http://wearechange.org/

October 26, 2015

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Are Becoming Too Big to Ignore

Nasdaq.com Travis Hoium October 25, 2015

The boom in electric vehicles has brought a lot of attention to batteries for applications like energy storage and transportation. But it's not the only energy storage medium that's growing at a rapid rate.



According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the fuel cell industry nearly doubled in 2014 to $2.2 billion with more than 50,000 fuel cells shipped. Here's what you need to know about this important industry...snip

More advantages of hydrogen over batteries

For vehicles or materials handling, the shorter refill times are an advantage over batteries, but in energy storage, hydrogen holds a massive advantage. Batteries are great at storing a limited amount of energy for minutes or hours, but they aren't good for storage on a massive level.

With enough storage tanks, a hydrogen-producing station could produce clean hydrogen and store it for weeks or months at a time. This dynamic gives energy storage options to maximize value creation and potentially eliminate the intermittency challenge with renewable energy...snip

Hydrogen has a big upside

Electric vehicles have been all the rage for a couple of years now, but when we look out decades, I think there's far greater upside for fuel cells...snip

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/hydrogen-fuel-cells-are-becoming-too-big-to-ignore-cm534278


Apple’s fuel cell farm next to its data center in Maiden, North Carolina Credit: Gigaom/Katie Fehrenbacher

Related: Taking on climate change with technology
Climate change technology: Better fuel

The received wisdom is that the electric car is the future. But, while it's hard to resist the charms of Elon Musk and his Tesla Model S, you simply cannot beat the energy density of good old-fashioned petrol. Kilogram-for-kilogram you'll go further; and the problem becomes even more pronounced when you try to get a 40-tonne articulated lorry from Bristol to Brussels...
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/410998,taking-on-climate-change-with-technology.aspx

October 23, 2015

PBS: Why Kentucky farmers are quitting tobacco and turning to hemp

Published on Oct 17, 2015 by PBS.org

A Farm Bill passed by Congress last year included an amendment granting states and universities the right to research hemp. Several states have since started research projects, but Kentucky is at the forefront, experimenting with creating a new industry around this plant. NewsHour's Christopher Booker reports.

View the Full Story/Transcript http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/kentucky-farmers-quitting-tobacco-turning-unlikely-new-crop/

also from PBS: 8 things you didn’t know about hemp

Carey Reed October 17, 2015


Tim Gordon, left, and Hunter Konchan, both of CBDRx, harvest hemp from the companies farm in Longmont, October 08, 2015. CBDRx Natural Healing is an organic hemp farm. Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

2. Natives of a small island off the coast of China may have been the first to use hemp.

Archaeologists found pottery bearing impressions of cannabis cord, while unearthing a Stone Age Taiwanese village, according to the 1980 book, “Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years” by Ernest L. Abel.

On mainland China during Second Century B.C., people made clothes from hemp.

And hemp’s use as a cloth for swaddling infants and covering the bodies of the dead was mentioned in the sacred Confucian texts known as the “Book of Rites”.

3. Common household items can be made with hemp, from birdseed to ice cream...snip

4. In the 1600s, property owners in North America had to grow hemp.

By way of a royal decree, King James I required every property owner in Jamestown to grow 100 plants of hemp for export in 1619, according to “Hemp: American History Revisited: The Plant with a Divided History” by Robert Deitch...
Full Article: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/8-things-didnt-know-hemp/



The man that gave Hemp back to America and the World

Jack Herer, the Emperor of Hemp
June 18, 1939-April 15, 2010