OMG! Leonardo dicaprio buys a $100,000 Super "Green" Car

Superstar and environmentalist, Leonardo Dicaprio, took delivery of his $100,000 luxury plug in hybrid 2012 Fisker Karma ride and became the first celebrity to nab one. He bought the eco-friendly spectacle about 2 weeks ago but the gist is still gracing news pages worldwide. I just thought I should share so you don't miss out on this.

Solar Panels to Power Juno Spacecraft to Jupiter

By Lanre Okanlawon

History was made last Friday as the first solar-powered spacecraft was launched into space  to Jupiter using solar panels instead of radioisotope generators. NASA’s Juno is presently on its way to Jupiter where there is an ongoing quest to unlock the largest known planet’s mysteries. The $1.1 billion voyager was launched from an Air Force Station in Florida, USA . The entirely “green” spacecraft will carry the 1.5-inch figurines of the Roman god Jupiter Galileo and his wife, Juno. These were designed and constructed by LEGO to inspire and encourage young kids to explore science and technology. Juno will be making a 5-year cruise and is expected to land on Jupiter in July, 2016.

Its name, Juno, is derived from the Greek-Roman myth where god Jupiter covered himself with a large amount of clouds to conceal himself in order to hide his mischief. It was his wife, Juno, who found a way into the clouds to see his true nature. Interesting, right??? J

Another Bright Way to Save Money ...and Energy!

By `Lanre Okanlawon
The last few years has witnessed a gradual phasing out of inefficient light bulbs and the emergence of new and improved energy efficient light bulbs. This has been a worldwide trend and proven to be very worthwhile and practical as its positive impacts have been recorded globally. The gesture has been highly appreciated due to its tremendous impacts on numerous pockets, energy consumption and the environment. In other words, they can help you save money, energy and the environment..

Governments all over the world have realized the extent to which these new products of technological evolution can benefit their economy and the environment. In fact, many have taken practical steps to phase out traditional bulbs for general lighting purposes. Brazil and Venezuela initiated this in 2005. Australia, Switzerland and the European Union started the phase-out in 2009. Similarly, other countries already have future phase-out plans; Argentina, Canada and Russia in 2012 and Malaysia in 2014.  

Along the way, several myths have been shattered establishing the fact that energy saving light bulbs actually do us and the environment a lot of good. These new breeds of bulbs, by contrast, use the same efficient technology as fluorescent lights but are more compact and use far more less energy to light up an area. Voluntary initiatives have been on course in different parts of the world to phase out traditional light bulbs where there is a suitable low energy replacement. Advantages such as better quality of light, longer durability (they last 12 times longer than traditional light bulbs), more energy savings, cost effectiveness, recyclability and their brilliant aesthetic designs justify the switch.

In terms of quantifiable attributes these new class of light bulbs use up to 70% less electricity than traditional light bulbs but emit the same amount of energy. This means that you get to pay 70% less than you are currently paying for your light bulbs electricity bills if you use them. Good news, isn’t it?

But the news gets even better! Over the years, there have been tremendous improvements since energy saving light bulbs were commercially introduced, so has the way they look. As a matter of fact, there are varieties of stylish designs available to suit your aesthetic demands.

Energy saving light bulbs- these cleverly modified light sources may be rather modest, everyday objects, but there’s certainly more to them that meet the eye!

What a bright idea!!! J

The Making of the New Energy World Order

By `Lanre Okanlawon

At the fore front of the renewable energy technology development are committed men and women who are relentlessly seeking for the possibility of a world with an infinite, sustainable and ultimate energy solution to the pertinent energy crisis faced by mankind. In this clearly emerging new world order, the outcomes of several researches and technological developments all point to one obvious fact- that renewable energy is here to stay because it is safe, environmental friendly, feasible and worth investing in.

After spending over £1 billion in financing clean and sustainable energy technologies in the past 3 years, the UK government still sees the need to inject another £100 billion described as a “surge of investment in new energy sources” in the final version of the UK government’s Energy National Policy Statement published yesterday ahead of the much anticipated energy debate at the parliament. This is not because the governments of the 8 major economies of the world are pro-renewable energy. It is simply because the whole world has realized that we cannot continue to generate energy in the conventional manner (the business as usual approach) if we intend to tackle the present issues associated with energy supply, demand, pricing and, most importantly, energy security. The need for secure, low carbon and cost effective energy sources cannot be over emphasized at the moment.

Since the early 90s when the energy revolution actively “re-started”, the cost of renewable energy systems have been reducing as extensive research and development have contributed to increasing the efficiency and performances of different green energy technologies particularly solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal and wave energy systems. The gospel of this new energy order has also been spreading like wild fire to the corners of the earth. All of this has been made very possible by scientists, engineers, investors, politicians, environmental activists and energy enthusiasts like you and I who understand the key role energy security and sustainability will play in the rest of the 21st century.

I really can’t describe the progress being made so far better than the International Energy Outlook 2010 which stated that renewable energy has the highest development indices in terms of electricity generation. It also states that the global energy generation from all sources will increase by 2.3% per year from 2007 to 2035 (the highest rate ever). These statistics indicate that renewable energy is significantly contributing to meeting the ever increasing global demand for energy. It is a common knowledge that the demand for oil will be surpassing the capacity for oil producing countries to supply oil resources on a long term basis. This simply means that the world is consuming oil quicker than it is producing. Since 1970, every global recession recorded has been characterized by dramatic increases in the prices of oil. This is should be a source of concern.

At present, it is quite hard to overstate the need for more hands on deck to spur the realization of a global sustainable and affordable energy system. As the story of the making of a new energy world unfolds, we can be sure that the solution to the world’s pertinent energy crisis rests our ability to emerge with efficient, secure and affordable energy resources to compete with oil.

Let’s bring it on!

Energy... Be the Difference!!!

By `Lanre Okanlawon


Loyal readers, it has been a full month since any update on this blog. My overloaded schedule is to blame and the fact that I have been spending a large amount of my time off the internet.

Last weekend, I thought to myself, “There’s so much fuss about the need for people to use energy considerably and “wisely”. But the truth is that most people are not bothered especially because they don’t realize the consequences of their actions when they use energy irrationally.

Our everyday activities often consist of the use of every appliance around us without considering the possibilities of any adverse effects on the national energy supply and demand system. Right from the minute you wake up in the morning, a lot of energy is used. Your typical morning routine is probably similar to this; wake up with the air conditioner (or heater) on, turn on the TV to listen to some morning news or cool music, do some laundry, grab some breakfast from the refrigerator, heat some water for tea, make sure your mobile phones are fully charged and check your email before heading off to start your day.

Have you ever wondered about the impact of your appliances on the country’s energy needs? For example, the number of refrigerators in America is estimated at 152 million units. An average refrigerator consumes 0.14kWh per hour. Following this, the total power consumption of American refrigerators is about 21,280,000kWh. Interestingly, the amount of energy these refrigerators consume is more than the same amount that could power more than 22,000 households in one month.

A universally established unexploited solution to the current issues of energy security, fossil fuel diminution, climate change and environmental pollution is making residential homes, offices, factories and our different means of transportation more energy efficient. Recent energy-efficient appliances such as refrigerators, laundry machines, fridges, ovens, kitchen cookers and dishwashers utilize notably less energy than older electronic appliances. Modern energy efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent less power than conventional models did in 2001. As a result of this, if all households in Europe changed their more than ten year old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing CO₂ emissions by almost 18 billion kg. The impact of energy efficiency on peak demand depends on when the appliance is used. For example, an air conditioner uses more energy during the afternoon when it is hot. Therefore, an energy efficient air conditioner will have a larger impact on peak demand than off-peak demand. An energy efficient dishwasher, on the other hand, uses more energy during the late evening when people do their dishes. This appliance may have little to no impact on peak demand.

The gospel of energy efficiency goes beyond creating a justification for people to reduce the burden on existing power generation facilities and energy sources at any given time. It is actually more of a campaign for a responsible cultural paradigm shift towards reducing the amount of energy needed to meet our everyday power needs. Efficient (consequently cheaper) and responsible daily energy use invariably translates to more rapid economic growth and development. We all want to see positive changes and experience better living conditions. This is not impossible, let the positive change start with you and spread this gospel. I’m doing exactly the same thing! 

Towards a 'Green Grid' for Delivering Solar and Wind-Based Electricity

After years of neglect, scientists and policy makers are focusing more attention on developing technologies needed to make the so-called "green grid" possible, according to an article in ACS' Chemical Reviews. That's the much-needed future electrical grid, an interconnected network for delivering solar and wind-based electricity from suppliers to consumers.

Electricity Network Grid

Zhenguo (Gary) Yang and colleagues point out that concerns over the use of coal, oil, and other fuels that contribute to global warming and are in limited supply, have spurred interest in generating electrical energy from clean, renewable resources such as solar and wind power. But solar and wind are not constant and reliable sources of 
power, since wind power fluctuates from moment to moment and solar power is generated only in the daytime.
This situation poses a significant challenge for electrical grid operators because other power plants need to compensate for this variability and the U.S. power grid currently has little energy storage capability. To enable a significant level of penetration and effective use of renewable energy sources amid growing energy demands, electrical grids of the future will need a low-cost, efficient way to integrate and store this electrical energy, the scientists note.

The scientists analysed the conclusions of more than 300 scientific studies and identified several technologies that can be used for energy storage for the green grid. These include high-tech batteries now in development that can efficiently store electricity in the form of chemicals and reversible release it on demand. Among the promising technologies are so-called redox flow and sodium-ion batteries, which could provide a low cost, high efficiency way to store energy. In addition to the United States, several other countries such as China and countries in Europe are planning to increase research activities related to energy storage and development.

"The growing interests as well as worldwide research and development activities suggest a bright outlook for developing stationary energy storage technologies for the future electric grid," the article concludes.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com