Thursday, June 19, 2008

My New song - saxophone - Pacha Mama Prayer


It's kind of New Age Blues with a Native American beat, I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. (Of course, there's no way it could be performed live - it's all recorded in three separate tracks on the computer)

I play a 1966 Selmer Bundy. The below song was recorded using the sax and my laptop. Percussion is my hands on the table, and I'm doing vocals. The software used is Audacity & LAME MP3 encoder, both of which are free. I recorded this in three separate parts, first the saxophone, then the vocals, then the percussion. Time from melody concept to full recording was one hour. (Pacha Mama = South American equivalent to Gaia, the Earth Mother Goddess.)




I call my sax "Bello".


Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Live Tonight

In "Live", The Sundance Channel's "Big Ideas For a Small Planet" series tackles one of the largest segment of materials and energy use in the global economy - housing and building.

Beginning with the "E-House," an experimental laboratory that a family actually lives in, new ideas for efficiency are continually explored. There may be a new super-clean, super-efficient fireplace design one month, or home cooling that uses ground water and a fan, and anything else that could be dreamed up.

Following with Michael Gainer's deconstruction vs. demolition wonder business, we see how old housing currently fill landfills at the end of its useful life, and how it can be disassembled and re-used in home improvement projects, sustainable furniture, and myriad other ways. A shining jewel of this method is that the character, charm, and intricate design of many earlier architectural features is preserved and even showcased. Additionally, new jobs are added to the local economy through this effort.

Finally, we wrap up with with modular recycling; housing built from used steel cargo containers. Add a room? No Problem! Lift off the roof and set a couple down next to your existing home, add in some wiring, plumbing, glass and other odds and ends, you just doubled your living space. Stack them on top of your existing house to build up. Start off with a multi-family dwelling such as a two-or three flat. Love wide-open views and a super-strong structure? Love leaving our forests standing and breathing in CO2? Here you go - check out the cool finishes and "skins" you can put on the exterior.

Living large definitely gets a smaller footprint in this uplifting, hopeful documentary entitled simply "Live." Runtime is 30 minutes, airs Tuesday, June 3rd at 9pm Eastern & Pacific on the Sundance Channel.

--------------------------------------------

Regards,

Dan Stafford
Publisher,
The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Monday, June 02, 2008

05/11/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Oil powered Norway gradually turns into the wind
AFP -
... which are less than half the size of the largest models, are also part of the world's first full-scale system for converting wind power into hydrogen. ...
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Turning on the light
Southtown Star - Chicago,IL,USA
"I've learned that there's a lot more to think of (in terms of wind power)," said Ray Davis, a Bloom junior who was showing off the wind exhibit.
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President Bush - new national goal to stop the growth of ...
Right Side News - Kennesaw,GA,USA
Today, we have a different incentive for different technologies – from nuclear power, to clean coal, to wind, and solar energy. ...
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05/12/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


The [Annotated] McCain Climate Speech
New York Times - United States
Wind power is one of many alternative energy sources that are changing our economy for the better. And one day they will change our economy forever. ...
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Energy guru to discuss oil alternatives
Helena Independent Record - Helena,MT,USA
Eventually, he wants to see technology developed to use hydrogen as a backup to solar and wind power. He also wants Detroit to start turning out plug-in ...
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A Photovoltaic Battery - Charge Controller
Mother Earth News - Topeka,KS,USA
Fortunately, though, it's much more predictable than wind! Seasonal changes and weather notwithstanding, we receive about six hours of productive sunlight ...
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05/14/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Norway island stores wind power for still days
AFP -
Surplus wind-generated energy is passed through water and, using electrolysis, the hydrogen atoms are separated from the oxygen atoms that make up water ...
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Exploring renewable energy
Manchester Evening News - Manchester,England,UK
The basis for this technology could not be simpler - the wind rotates causing the turbine blades to generate power. The generators require an inverter to ...
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Q&A: 'We're becoming active choreographers of nature'
Times of India - India
(When I say solar hydrogen power, I include everything from solar cell to geothermal energy to wind to hydrogen, etc.) Beyond 30 years, the goal of the ITER ...
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Hydrogen Engine Center Hosts Governor Culver of Iowa for Signing ...
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
Iowa has been a leader in utilizing wind power and ethanol production, positioning the state as the “Renewable Energy Capital of the US” The state has set a ...
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Alternative energy key to powering America’s future
University of Delaware - Newark,DE,USA
Willett Kempton, associate professor of marine policy at UD, discussed the potential of offshore wind power. The largest offshore wind farm in the world has ...
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05/16/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Wind power report is sample of energy diversification
Moultrie Observer - Moultrie,GA,USA
Wind power is not a savior It might very well be a viable component, however, of a multi-faceted energy initiative. Solar power, bio fuels, hydrogen power ...
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The Biggest Economic Opportunity of This Century
Motley Fool - USA
Second, Doerr called for the adoption of renewable sources such as solar, wind power, and fuel cell technology. The first two are hardly bold calls, ...
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Thirst for energy
Nature.com (subscription) - London,England,UK
Current technologies for power generation, with some exceptions such as wind turbines and photovoltaic solar cells, rely heavily on the availability of ...
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05/16/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Norwegian island runs on wind power, even when all is still
Petroleumworld.com - Caracas,Venezuela
The facility currently supplies 10 local households with electricity produced with wind power and hydrogen. When the wind blows strongly, the windmills ...
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Fuel cell is 169 years old
The Gazette (Montreal) - Quebec,Canada
Factor in the ability to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, water and biomass, and its use as a source of energy is very ...
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Students find nuclear energy is a safe option for Alberta
Gauntlet - Calgary,AB,Canada
"Four thousand megawatts of wind power are waiting to come online. I know you can't just have wind power, but there's a huge potential for wind power in ...
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05/17/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Nuclear power is the logical choice
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
This can be compared to onshore wind power, the next nearest low-carbon electricity generation technology, which has an estimated abatement cost equivalent ...
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05/18/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Report of the Renewable Energy Committee
RedOrbit - Dallas,TX,USA
Sources of energy that count toward the standard include solar, wind, small-scale hydroelectric, hydrogen (from renewable resources), and certain biomass.16 ...
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Graham pitches NB opportunities in Big Apple
Daily Gleaner - Fredericton,New Brunswick,Canada
Graham said public support for wind power has been overwhelmingly positive. He said polls show that public support for the second reactor at Lepreau is more ...
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05/19/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Suzuki slams NDP, Tories, backs Dion's carbon tax
CTV.ca - Canada
If we develop a marketable hydrogen car, the third world would jump at the chance. Time for everyone to stop whining about what China or India is doing and ...
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05/20/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Agreement set to accelerate the arrival of hydrogen vehicles
Materials Handling World Magazine - Leeds,England,UK
It can produce hydrogen from water and either off-peak or 'renewable' energy – electricity generated by wind, wave or solar power. Unlike petrol or diesel, ...
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TOWN OF LOCKPORT: Student project prompts town plasma research
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal - Lockport,NY,USA
Lieber said the Belknap team picked plasma conversion as most efficient/least disruptive after ruling out better-known alternatives including wind power ...
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How to solve oil crisis? Elect more 'green' legislators
USA Today - USA
... a greater use of wind and solar power, and experimenting with more controversial alternative energy sources — such as hydrogen or nuclear power. ...
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05/21/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Shell 'selling suicide' by preferring tar sands to wind
guardian.co.uk - UK
Van der Veer pointed out that "we are not just active in wind, but also in hydrogen, thin-film solar and, of course, biofuels". He did not convince everyone ...
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Elemental as Anything
Sail World - Mandalong,NSW,Australia
But one day batteries will be replaced by fuel cells so energy will be stored as a proton in Hydrogen as opposed to an electron in a battery. ...
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Read all 'Fuel Cells and Hydrogen' posts in Green Tech
CNET Blogs - Cupertino,CA,USA
A British wind mogul wants to build a "wind-powered sports car." Two top requirements are that it's not "crap" like today's electric cars, has a range of ...
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Congressional candidates discuss oil, energy
Dothan Eagle - Dothan,AL,USA
We should also look at new technologies in wind and solar power and new coal-burning technology. We should also explore new sources of fuel like switch ...
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Robot to Dig Martian Arctic
Space.com - USA
The most common form of hydrogen has no neutrons, but one of its isotopes, deuterium, has one neutron. Oxygen commonly has eight neutrons (this is called ...
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05/24/2008 Wind, Energy, & Hydrogen News


Farmers' green harvest
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
And sales doubled last year for Third Sun Solar and Wind Power, also based in Athens, which sells and installs wind generators and solar equipment for ...
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CNN Student News Transcript: May 22, 2008
CNN - USA
Shell is boosting investment in wind-energy in Texas, though it recently announced plans to pull out of a major wind power plant off the British coast. ...
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Democrats and Oil
PoliGazette - Netherlands
The latter is particularly important because of nuclear energy’s potential use as a driving force behind a hydrogen-based energy system. ...
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Macomb, IL - Ideal Sustainable City Model?

Worth a look, in my opinion.

Dan

Daniel Miller wrote:
Dear Mr. Stafford,
 
I would like to share my "Model Sustaianble Cities" website with The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal.  I believe that Macomb, IL would be a great place to develop a model sustainable and/or hydrogen or ammonia city.  Please see my website at www.modelsustainablecities.weebly.com for my initial thoughts on this topic.  Please feel free to contact me.
 
Sincerely,
Daniel Miller
Colchester, IL

UW-Madison News Release--Annual Ride to Farm fundraiser

UW-Madison news wrote:
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 5/23/08
>
> CONTACT: Dick Cates, (608) 588-2836, rlcates@mhtc.net
>
> BICYCLISTS PEDAL FOR PLEDGES TO SUPPORT BEGINNING DAIRY AND LIVESTOCK FARMERS
>
> MADISON - Friends of the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers (WSBDF) will be pedaling for pledges when they roll out Friday, June 13, in the Fifth Annual Ride to Farm.
>
> A group of determined cyclists will make a three-day trip from a farm near Nichols in Outagamie County to a farm at Elkhorn in Walworth County. Their goal is to raise endowment funds and visibility for the school and its mission of supporting the next generation of Wisconsin farmers.
>
> The riders are collecting pledges and making a series of stops along the route to highlight the achievements of the school's graduates.
>
> WSBDF is a University of Wisconsin-Madison program that offers classroom instruction, on-farm internships, business planning and lifetime mentoring. More than 270 students have attended the program and more than 80 percent of graduates are farming.
>
> The school is led by Dick Cates and Jennifer Taylor of the UW-Madison's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. The curriculum is offered as part of the university's Farm and Industry Short Course. Teachers include UW-Madison faculty, graduates of the program and other farmers, farm lenders and other agribusiness professionals.
>
> "Our graduates are successful business people and productive, contributing members of their communities. The Ride to Farm is an opportunity to communicate how necessary and important it is to support a next generation of bright, innovative farmers on our working lands," says Cates, organizer of the event.
>
> The public is encouraged to meet the riders at any of the stops in the three-day itinerary:
>
> - Friday, June 13: The ride begins at 8 a.m. on the farm of Aaron Barclay (WSBDF '04), N8849 Grandy Road, Nichols. From there, the ride heads to Culvers of Appleton for lunch with Rollie and Sue Stephenson of Town & Country Electric, and ends with a picnic supper at the Saxon Homestead Farm, 15621 S. Union Rd, Cleveland, home of WSBDF graduates Joe Heimerl ('01) and Rambr Emrich ('00).
>
> - Saturday, June 14: Riders will pedal west and south to join the Kewaskum FFA for lunch and tour an organic dairy farm, continue southwest to Hartford, and end the day with Ike and Shelly Mayer, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), hosting a picnic supper with local agricultural youth at their farm near Slinger.
>
> - Sunday, June 15: Riders will journey southwest, stop for an early lunch at Culvers of Oconomowoc, and continue south toward Elkhorn for a BBQ at the farm of Altfrid and Sue Krusenbaum, W3194 County Road D, with WSBDF graduates, local graziers and agricultural youth.
>
> Ride to Farm sponsors include American Transmission Company, Culvers Restaurants, Farm Credit-Wisconsin, FCS-Financial Services, Organic Valley Family of Farms, Town & Country Electric, We Energies, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, and UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
>
> For more information about collecting and submitting pledges, contact Jodi Wickham at (608) 263-2027, jodi.wickham@uwfoundation.wisc.edu; or Carol Chapa at (608) 265-4049, carol.chapa@uwfoundation.wisc.edu; or visit the UW Foundation Web site at www.uwfoundation.wisc.edu; or the WSBDF website at www.cias.wisc.edu/dairysch.html
> ###
> - Sevie Kenyon, (608) 262-3172, news@cals.wisc.edu
>
>
>
> ****************************************************
> For questions or comments about UW-Madison's email
> news release system, please send an email to:
> releases@news.wisc.edu
>
> For more UW-Madison news, please visit:
> http://www.news.wisc.edu/
>
> University Communications
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 27 Bascom Hall
> 500 Lincoln Drive
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> Phone: (608) 262-3571
> Fax: (608) 262-2331
>