Hippy Green

Today is a great day to rethink your carbon foot print. I have posted previously about your carbon foot print and gave ideas, but here is a way to take the Low Carbon Diet. Yes, you can work on your Body&Soul by lowering your footprint!

Now the article is from the UK, so if your in other parts of the world (USA?) you can buy fresh produce from farmer markets rather then shipping them abroad, or eat in season. Please comment on ways you are cutting down on your carbon footprint.

Spectrolab has developed a low costing solar cell. The average solar cell cost about $2.30 to generate one watt of electricity, where as these newly developed solar cells cost about 10 cents a watt! This is a BIG DEAL because the upfront cost of solar can be a hit to any persons bank account. By drastically cutting the cost to go alternative then we can look at getting every person in the world going solar!

One thing that I have to bring up because I am traveling out to Arizona soon is the LACK of solar in Arizona! Come on people, get with it! Scottsdale, AZ averages over 300 sunny days! I have recently been looking at buying a condo out there and have found it scary that HOA (Homeowners Associations), the “people” who tell you want you can and can not do to your condo, are stating you CAN NOT INSTALL SOLAR PANELS! I even discussed setting up two 230watt panels off the porch and was told that it would “ruin” the view, but was later told the 17 inch Satellite dish is fine! WTF PEOPLE!!!

I am about to just buy some land and put up energy efficient condos that run completely off solar panels! We could run net meter houses and/or use batteries and run off grid! This can cut electric costs as well as do thing GOOD for the ENVIRONMENT! With these new cheap solar cells it would make even MORE sense to install these and pass the savings on to the resident. Imagine putting your electric cost into a 1 time fee into the mortgage and NOT have an electric bill! Think its not possible, well if we build a mini solar power plant on the roof of condos, we could. Google has build a 1.6 MW solar power plant, why the $@&!# not?

Well, its been a while since last post, sorry about that, but hopefully with me doing this startup I can focus at least 1 hour a day and get some blogging done, rather then all this “traveling” I have been doing the past few months.

With all the Green Google is making, their putting it right back into the environment. Google is starting to reduce its CO2 emissions by cutting oil by using plug-in hybrids. Google has launched RechargeIT.org, a fleet of converted Prius to plug-in hybrids. Google is working with A123 Systems and Hymotor to convert a Toyota Prius into a plug-in hybrid which allows the car to run on electric power stored in batteries rather then a gasoline engine. This allows a Prius to be plugged into an outlet and use electric power and cut down on oil usage, this also allows for alternative energies to charge the Prius such as wind, solar, etc.

Each Prius is equipped with GPS for tracking and monitoring fuel consumption and is calculated and displayed on RechargeIT.org. By using a plug-in hybrid, the cost savings is pretty amazing, driving on electricity cost 2-4 cents/mile rather then 8-20 cents/mile for gasoline miles. I have already discuss other green projects Google is running, and this is just the icing on the cake. With the solar installation at Mountain View these cars can run completely on alternative energy and not only save money but save our planet! Google is going green and even rethinking its current power consumption.

The past friday Goveneror of New Jersey, Jon Corzine (D) signed a bill to bypass the Bush administration and passed the Global Warming Response Act, which requires teh cut of greenhouse gases in New Jersey by 16 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

Other states are joining in on hitting the goal of a 80 percent cut in greenhouse gases within each state, but these goals are targets that each state has set rather then a requirement. New Jersey is leading the charge followed by California who has similar target goals, but is not a hard mandate.

This Act tries to cut emissions mainly in cars by enhancing public transportation, car-pooling, and using rail roads instead of trucks.

Jon Corzine is hoping this bill is a WAKE UP message to Washington telling them, DO SOMETHING NOW about greenhouse gases, and yet all I can think about is HOW FAR WE ARE FROM MISSING THE BOAT!

So we are exicted because we are CUTTING emissions, okay thats great, but Toyota is going completely hybrid by 2020. Lets set the bar HIGH and do the same. Lets tell GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler that you have to be completely hybrid by 2015! This can be as simple as putting some battires and a regenerative braking system in place! We already have a car company who is rasing the bar but will only have an outreach to the upper class and not middle America.

Jon, I am with you on sticking it to Washington and trying to go green, but we need the technology behind it to invest and fund these projects that will give a larger piece of the pie. If you really want to see some changes taking place, contact Google! Google has enough cash to buy GM! Think about that as a possibility…

Yes you read that right, walmart is going green! Its interesting how walmart is going green and trying to bring all 180 million customers on board. Walmart even created a 10 things you can do to SAVE MONEY and make a DIFFERENCE? The first one on the list concerns me a bit, it’s to use Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) light bulbs. CFL light bulbs may be efficient, but LED light bulbs also cut down on power consumption. We need to think about the big pictures rather then what Walmart is selling.

Walmart is trying to “create value for our customers while minimizing our footprint on the environment” a bold statement coming from a company that is committing to low prices while paying their CEOs top dollar!

The idea of power in numbers is great and I hope walmart understands that offering more environmentally products will force millions (about 180) people to buy green. It seems most large companies are going green? Is green the new money maker or are these suits really putting the environment first then the dollar? Investing in green can now also be financially beneficial due to the large tax breaks as well as free press (like this blog post?).

The other day I posted about how you should recycle your used ink cartridges. Today, I want to help you find a recycling plant near you so you can get rid of that junk that is piling up. I know spring has gone and its officially summer, but you may want to throw out some stuff that have been pilling over in your closets. I know if you have a computer you can recycle your computer, that was easy!, but what about that used dishwasher in the basement, or maybe a refrigerator from college? Have no fear, the recycling center is here!

Yes you can now find a recycling center in or around your neighborhood, its quick, easy, and faster then using Google. Please feel free to commit stuff that you need to get recycled and if you have had any luck lowing your ewaste

In case you missed the green news of google, Google is going solar and will continue with this path towards green by going carbon neutral by the end of 2007! In order to do this Google is committed to invest in a new green ideas (listen up BUSH!).

Google will be creating an additional 50 MW of renewable energy by 2012 as well as investing in technology that encourages cleaner energy rather then just buying carbon offset. Google understands that carbon offset is not a complete solution, but can still help the environment and invest in reducing the global carbon emissions.

Google will also be investing in plug-in hybrid cards as well as the co-founder of Climate Savers Computing, a industry plant o increase computer efficiencies can cut carbon emissions by 54 million tons a year by 2010.

With such big plans I am glad Google is behind going green and will no “do evil” (even though they may in other areas, adsense anyone?). Google has posted more details about going green.

Amanda over at PetSmart Charities recently emailed Hippy Green and wanted to spread the word on how readers can help animals by donating ink cartridges.

Most of us use printer cartridges pretty frequently. Well those cartridges cannot only help the environment but animals as well. PetSmart Charities is trying to help save the lives of homeless pet one pet at a time. In the process they are also recycling which is great for the environment. PetSmart Charities program is called Recycle for Life. By donating your used ink cartridges you are donating between $2-15 to save homeless pets. PetSmart carries pre-paid mailer bags for you to grab at your inconvience and send in your ink cartridges as well as used cell phones. This is a great program and the more we get people to donate their ink cartridges the better the environment will be and the better off the animals will be!! So help—Go to your local PetSmart store and pick up some mailer bags! For more information visit www.petsmartcharities.org or email awerber [at symbol] petsmartcharities [period] org

If you are working for an organization or company that is benefiting the environment and want to be featured on Hippy Green, please contact us and we will be happy to get the word out.

If you are planning on camping this summer and will need to “juice up” your ipod, you may want to think solar. Brando’s Solar Charger features various output voltages such as 4.5v, 5v, 6.3v, and 9v, great for all your gadgets. For only $69 USD you too can be going solar and charing all your gadgets.

While I was in europe, I picked up a nice usb wind up charger, but found it to be a pain to crank, so a solar version would be more idea to just layout and let it charge. You may even want to over night one of these fur the couple hours (days?) you wait on line for your iPhone.

Well that didn’t take long. It looks like Google is not only going solar, but they are showing it off. I posted a blurb about Google and their soon to install 1.6 megawatts of solar power.

At time of writing this (June 19,2007) Google Solar Panel Project has produced 9,810 kilowatt-hours of electricity. This project has added a total of 16,593 killowatt hours since yesterday (June 18,2007). Google explain their project as well as provide some nice pictures and dumb equivalent values like they have produced enough energy to power 3,567 loads of laundry.

What do you think about Google building this solar panel project? Should we take action to require large business to go green?