From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

It’s Wednesday, and we all know that means that the weekend is officially in sight.  Personally, I can hardly wait.  The weeks seem to go slower during the Winter, and to be truthful, one of the only things that makes it bearable with all the freezing weather, is that the TV shows seem to get a little bit better.  I found an article today that made me realize each and every one of us TV Lovers probably should take a second look at how eco-friendly our habits are.

The great thing is, we can keep our TV loving habit, and be eco-friendly at the same time if we follow these 5 helpful tips I just stumbled across.  As always, head over and check out the full article for more in-depth anaylsis, but for now, here in abbreviated form for your viewing pleasure, are 5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Watch The Tube!

1. “Never Sleep With The TV On” - Seems like a no-brianer, at the very least, use the Sleep Timer.
2. “Turn The TV Off” - Don’t leave the room, house, building with the TV still on.  Who’s watching?  No one, that’s who.
3. “Unplug the TV When Not in Use” - It’s called Vampire Energy, or Phantom Energy, even when turned off, your appliances are sucking energy, unplug them, save some.
4. “Turn Down The Brightness” - The brighter the TV, the more energy you’re using.  Suck it up, dim it down.
5. “Use Power Saver Mode” - Some TV’s are equipped with a Power Saver mode that auto-adjust to use the smallest amount of energy possible.  Use yours.

There you have it!  See, you don’t have to miss your favorite episodes of “The Office,” “Lost” or “Little People Big World.”  Thank goodness right, after all, who can handle this much cold and darkness without at least a LITTLE help!

Image by William Hook via Flickr

Each and every day, wireless carriers are expanding further and further into the world.  Whereas 10 years ago, cellular phone service and towers were few and far between and only major cities had major service, now, almost anywhere you go on this planet you can fire up your cell phone and get service.  The question remains…at what cost?

That answer might be too scary to answer, but the good thing is, wireless carriers the world around are now looking to harness the power of something readily available to us all, the sun, to help expand even deeper into the known world.  Base stations for cell phone service requires a lot of energy.  That energy can help drive costs up for service in developing areas; by using solar power to power the base stations, costs could go down and the number of people who could afford the service will go up.  Win win, right?

According to the article I read, “Solar power, of course, is not the only renewable energy source being looked at by carriers. Wind power may also have potential in areas that receive less solar energy, but it tends to be less predictable.” I just love seeing alternative energy being used as a viable means to power something that we all rely on.  Keep tuned to this one, I’m loving the idea!

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The countdown has officially begun.  December 3rd is just a few weeks away and on that day, history will be made.  The world’s first commercial flight powered by bio-fuel will fly, and it is Air New Zealand that is behind the wheel, er, stick.

Personally, this is probably the coolest news I could have possibly woken up to on a Monday morning.  It is no secret that for a long, long time, air travel has been one of the largest and most horrendous offenders on the list of global warming contributors.  This, if successful, could be one large step towards a future where that reality is much, much different.  According to reports, everything should go off without any issues at all, as the fuel has been specially tested to work.  The article mentioned,

“Laboratory testing showed the final blend has excellent properties meeting, and in many cases exceeding, the stringent technical requirements for fuels used in civil and defence aircraft. The blended fuel therefore meets the essential requirement of being a ‘drop-in’ fuel, meaning its properties will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional Jet A1 fuel, which is used in commercial aviation today.”

My fingers are crossed, the countdown has begun and I can’t wait to see how things turn out.  Check out Air New Zealand’s official press release, they have plenty to say, and plenty to be proud of.

Image via Wikipedia

Man, how cool is Northern Tool?!  Sorry, I don’t mean to toot our own horns here, but seriously, when news like this flutters into my inbox, it makes me like a proud papa to be writing about such a rad company.  So what is the news that makes me so excited, you might be asking?  Simple, the fact that some absolute giants in the technology world are rushing right to the adoption and wide-spread implementation of solar power.

The “tech giants” I am referring to might surprise you.  How about computer technology powerhouses IBM and National Semiconductor?  Believe it.  Seems to be that semiconductor and computer chip companies are all weighing their solar options and heading as fast as they can towards the implementation and use of the earth-friendly technology.  Thank goodness.  The good news, there is more.

Here is a brief rundown of some solar plays being made by the biggest players of them all:

“IBM. The computer giant in May unveiled a breakthrough concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system that magnifies sunlight to 10 times the energy from today’s CPV units, cutting the number of solar panels needed. A liquid metal absorbs heat so the semiconductor doesn’t melt, technology IBM developed to cool high-power computer chips. IBM last month announced a new technique for thin-film solar — which uses 1% of the semiconductor in standard panels — to cut costs and boost efficiency. IBM says it will license both technologies.

Intel. The No. 1 chipmaker this month said it’s investing $38 million in German solar panel maker Sulfurcell. That followed the June spinoff of its own fledgling solar unit.

National Semiconductor. The chip giant last month said its new technology can boost energy output in solar panels by minimizing losses from shade. It drew from its expertise in power management in cellphones. Executive Ralph Muenster wants to make passive solar systems “smarter.”

Read up on this, then head back and check out all the Solar Power products that we carry at Northern Tool.  The time is now to get fully invested.