Rooftop Wind Turbines

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Oh, boy, advances in rooftop wind turbines. I just had a steel roof installed with a vented ridge. This should be very easy to retro-fit when it becomes financially reasonable.

I wrote about using something like this back in February 2009. I can't tell you how encouraged I am to see that advances are continuing to be made!

>Posted at Inhabitat by Ariel Schwartz, 10/26/09

Rooftop solar panels are unlikely to elicit complaints from neighbors–they’re silent and relatively unobtrusive. But loud rooftop wind turbines? That’s where the virtually NIMBY-proof Ridgeblade turbine comes in. The turbine, designed by a former Rolls Royce turbine engineer at UK-based The Power Collective, boasts a sleek profile that is both powerful and visually pleasing.

Instead of creating a free-standing turbine that sticks out for all the neighbors to see, The Power Collective designed its long-bladed turbine to fit in along the ridge of a roof, where wind currents are strongest. The Ridgeblade packs a powerful punch, too — it has the wind-capturing potential of a medium sized turbine.

The turbine isn’t yet on the market. . . No word on how much the turbine will cost when it is finally released, but your neighbors’ peace of mind might just be worth the extra cost!

Via Cleantechnica

Hang in there, my gentle snowflakes, it will all yet come together.

A Man of the People. Really?

Source: Houston Chronicle, October 17, 2009

Dick Armey, who was the Republican Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives between 1995 to 2002, has been doing well for himself as the Chairman of FreedomWorks, a conservative lobby group. Meredith Simons reports that, according to the group's tax filings for 2008, Armey was paid $550,000. “I don't apologize for my paycheck. I'd like to think I'm worth it," he said. FreedomWorks has been one of the leading groups opposing proposals for healthcare reform. Up until August, Armey had also been a consultant for the Washington D.C. lobbying firm, DLA Piper. He resigned following controversy over his role with Freedomworks as well as with a lobbying firm which represented, among other clients, drug companies supporting health care reform and companies opposing tough action on global warming. Armey told Simons that resigning from the lobbying firm "cost me $750,000 a year for the next 10 years. That's not an easy thing to walk away from.”

Rethinking Solar Power

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I have been wanting to get rid of the vertical blinds. But maybe they can be retro-fitted?

This is pretty neat.

Illuminating Solar Blinds Turn the Lights On

by Haily Zaki, 11/20/08

What do you get when you take an average vertical blind (the kind found in practically any rental apartment across the United States), outfit it with special mini photovoltaics and LED pixels, then add a healthy dose of creative inspiration? The surprisingly chic and witty Solar Vertical Lamp designed by Yoon-Hui Kim and Eun-Kyung Kim. By creatively applying existing technology, Kim and Kim transform the lowly blind into a sustainable, sexy, and dramatic lighting system. Finally, a blind that has truly seen the light.

The two-dimensional lamps are brilliant in their simplicity. During the day, miniature solar pads soak up the sun’s energy. At night, artfully placed lighting pixels (similar to those used on billboards) illuminate. Simply close the blinds to ‘turn on’ your lights. These smart lights come in table lamp, floor lamp, and chandelier forms that add dramatic ambiance to any room in the house. Besides being completely energy-efficient and saving you tons of money on your monthly bill, you never have to dust them!

Via Yanko Design

I particularly like the "no dusting" feature. Maybe the whole panel could be made to "glow"--kind of like a fantastic night light.
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medicare for all

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I promise, even I am getting tired of this subject. So, just once more, with feeling.

We really need HEALTH CARE for everyone in this country. And we need it now.

We need it because this is a fight against death. Not the death that comes for the old and hurting, as a welcome friend. But the death that lurches in and plucks the 11 year old boy suffering with nothing more than an abscessed tooth that will not be treated because the dentist does not "take" medicaid patients; the death that snatches the 17 year old girl who needs a kidney transplant that has been denied by some nameless, faceless insurance clerk. We need it because HEALTH CARE fights for life: the life of each and every citizen that wants it and can hold it.

This is how it should work:

Build a national care system by expanding on the existing Medicare program... This restructuring would involve gradual changes in the age of eligibility for the Medicare system...

(1) Enroll children under 5 years of age, pregnant women and those with lifelong illnesses by the end of 2010.

(2)In 2011, those between 55 and 65 would be enrolled...

(3)In 2012 those from 5 to 15 and those from 45 to 55 would be included.

(4)Those between 15 and 25 as well as those from 40 to 45 would be added in 2013.

(5)Finally, by the end of 2014, by adding the remaining population between 25 and 40 the entire U.S. population would be covered...

There would be Medicare for all in a single-payer system. There would be no limitations based on pre-existing conditions... The changes proposed under the Medicare Expansion program would be relatively easy to make from an administrative standpoint since age is easily verified and the basic system is in place and functioning... [from "Health Care Reform by Medicare Expansion" by Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D., and Michael D. Intriligator, Ph.D.]

The medicare rate (of withholding and self-employment tax) could be increased--and adjusted for dependents--to help cover the costs. Any subsidies for low wage earners could be given back through expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit--which can, even now, be received as an advance against withholding for wage earners.

And we have to get a handle on the cost of Medicare fee-for-service, as it is now practiced, in which doctors and hospitals are paid for each suture, fancy diagnostic test and pat on the arm.

We need salaried doctors, too. I know, catch your breath, breathe. Yes, this is socialized medicine. But there ain't no such thing as a "free market" in medical care. There is a free market in food. You can eat beans instead of dining at Emeril's. But you can't tell the surgeon, "No thanks, I can't afford a triple by-pass today. I'll just have this wart removed."

So, we change the way we train doctors. We--the government (that's you and me, my gentle snowflakes) pay for the full cost of the medical education of the young doctors-to-be. And then we treat them as humans during internship. (Not, as in the current system, where interns are virtual medi-slaves.) And then, in return for the public paying for their medical education, each young doctor pledges a ten-year commitment to work for the new Medicare For All system at a reasonable salary. (Sure wish I could take credit for this idea, but I stole it whole-hog from Ted Kennedy! ) Similar arrangements should be made for all other health professionals.

Now, what about the cost of medications? Medicare Part D must be changed to allow for negotiations between Medicare (that's the Government--remember, you and me, my gentle snowflakes) and big Pharma over the price paid for drugs.

After all this, if for no other reason than the utter terror that the Government--you and me--will nationalize them, the hospitals will get in line and support Medicare for All.

Costs will be controlled, contained, made manageable.

There it is: Let the CBO score that!

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Clean Air For My Children

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Today is Blog Action Day. "Climate Change" is the topic.

See my blog from Monday.

Once more, I am ahead of my time! ;-D
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Oh, WOW!

LG Unveils Solar Powered E-Book Reader

by Mike Chino, 10/11/09

If we were stuck on a desert island with only one book, this recently unveiled solar e-book would be at the top of our list! Designed by LG Display, the sleek reader features a wafer-fin photovoltaic cell that provides it with a steady stream of solar energy. Whereas most e-books run the risk of losing juice mid-sentence through your next novel, this solar reader’s omnipresent energy source makes it a winning design in our book.

At first glance e-readers offer a great set of benefits over paper-bound books – they’re light, versatile, and a great alternative to lugging around a tote full of dead tree tomes on your next trip. The rise of e-readers also stands to stem the environmental repercussions of the publishing industry, as books can be released online rather than incurring the energy, materials, and cost that it takes to manufacture, print, and ship them across great distances. However these new reading mediums have one glaring fault – can you imaging the frustration of running out of juice mid-sentence and halfway through Infinite Jest?

LG’s new solar e-book aims to address this issue by harnessing the sun’s rays to power its display. The device features a 10 centimeter wide thin-film panel that is .7mm thin – the width of a credit card. Energy efficiency is a strong concern with portable readers, and it looks like LG may have hit on a winning feature set with their e-book – 4-5 hours spent sitting in the sun will provide a full day’s worth of reading time.

Mr. Ki Yong Kim, head of the Solar Cell Office at LG Display has stated that “eBbooks are attracting a lot of attention because they offer the advantage of storing thousands of books’ worth of contents in an easy-to-carry device. The idea of e-book combined with solar cell will offer users the added benefit of longer usage. We will continue to provide users with enhanced convenience and value to solidify our lead in next-generation, environmentally friendly products.”

Everyone knows that trying to read a computer screen outdoors can be a total pain, so we hope that LG has included a passively-lit e-paper display option in the device. A working prototype of the solar e-book will be on display at the International Meeting on Information Display (IMID) this week in Seoul.

Now I really want an e-book!

I always liked the idea of LOTS of books in one small, handy place. When I travel, I take many books. The e-book seemed to offer the answer to the weight and the space taken up by the books--even paperbacks. But when I saw the first generation, I knew my aging eyes could never use this device without grinding headaches. (What fun is that?)

Then we had the 2d generation--i.e., the Kindle. Not much better and the reviews were awful.

Now I may get excited again.

Isn't technology wonderful?

We Are in Trouble Now

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I had to go change my pants.

The insurance industry LIKES the Senate's latest "reform" bill.

WASHINGTON BUREAU -- The Senate Finance Committee has rejected amendments that could have created a government-run health insurance system, and it has accepted an amendment that could let agents participate in a proposed health “exchange” system. [Cowards! Exchanges don't work.]

“We are pleased by the rejection of both the Rockefeller and the Schumer amendments containing public plan options,” says Tom Currey, president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Falls Church, Va. “But, we will continue our educational efforts. There are currently three other reform proposals with government-run options, and lawmakers need to understand the negative consequences. A strong private health insurance system is best equipped to provide options for families and businesses.” [Yeah, they have done such a sterling job of it so far.]

The government-run plan is a roadblock to reform,” AHIP [America’s Health Insurance Plans] spokesman Robert Zirkelbach says. “A new government-run plan would dismantle employer coverage, bankrupt hospitals, and add to the federal deficit. The same goals can be accomplished by enacting an overhaul of the market rules and new consumer protections so that nobody falls through the cracks of our health care system.” [Sure, just change the rules & the industry will find ways to go around, over, under & through those rules.]
(National Underwriter, the industry journal)

And that, my gentle snowflakes, is exactly why this offering from the delicious Max Baucus should be thrown onto the compost pile. At least there, it could eventually do some good. Remember, if the insurance companies win, we lose.

Medicare for All