Want to charge your cell phone with solar energy?

Popular Science had an article on building a solar bag charger for cell phones and iPods. We believe the basics of that article can be expanded into many other similar projects. Check it out in our knowledgebase and participate in developing new applications and improvements. Larger pv panel, in-bag battery storage, power source for lighting, pumping etc. Great hiking or camping tool. The possibilities are endless.

Preparing the "Barn" for the new animals

We just got word that we have piglets arriving in April/May, and baby turkeys as well, so it's time to get the "barn" ready. We will be using a section of our Geodesic Quonset, siding it with slabwood like we did our woodshed and generator shed, and configuring sections for the different animals. We may be adding two milking goats to our little farmstead as well.

Thoughts of Spring

Our thoughts and attention are directed towards spring, even though there is over a foot of snow on the ground, and temperatures near zero degrees Fahrenheit. It's time to pull out our old favorite, the Square Foot Gardening book, and make plans for feeding our family in the upcoming year. The compost has been cooking for over a year, and I have a couple of big bags of vermiculite to mix in.

E.U.’s EuP (energy using product) Initiative

The E.U., a bureaucracy that perhaps even overshadows our own, set a date of July 6, 2007, to put the directive in place. Its goal is “establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products [EuP].”

EuP will require manufacturers to calculate the energy used to produce, transport, sell, use, and dispose of almost every one of its products. It will require that the manufacturer go all the way back to the energy used when extracting the raw materials to make its product, including all subassemblies and components. And in time, it will set limits on a product-by-product basis of how much energy can be used in a product’s entire lifecycle.

http://www.infoworld.com/4671

Part 2


This will actually be a cool thing, if there is a rating on each item, so that you could compare two washing machines, and see the total lifecycle "cost" (an item with a 400 has more impact than a similar item with a 350?). The cost (manpower, etc.) of implementing such a process could be horrendous.