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The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released their 20% Wind Report Card on July 8, following up on a study in which the Department of Energy proposed a goal where 20 percent of U.S. electricity comes from wind energy by 2030. The AWEA gave the overall U.S. push for wind power a “solid B”—high marks from an advocacy group that grades U.S. infrastructure. The highest letter in the report was an A- awarded for “Technology Development.” This is no big surprise—for years now, the government, alternative-energy researchers and entrepreneurs have been putting time and money into making better tech for cleaner, more efficient energy production. Here are 10 wind turbine designs that push the limits of the current design and may help the U.S. get back to being an A student by 2030.

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Although it may come as a surprise, research shows a larger carbon footprint doesn't lead to happiness. While the United States ranks near the top of both per capita and aggregate carbon emissions, it's not in the top 10 when it comes to happiness. In fact, many nations ranked happier than the U.S. also tread much more lightly on the planet. Read on to find out where the U.S.'s carbon emissions come from and which countries are doing it right.

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A team at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, has created tiny microbial fuel cells by encapsulating yeast cells in a flexible capsule. They went on to show the fuel cells can generate power from a drop of human blood plasma.

Such fuel cells would be especially useful for devices, such as intraspinal microelectrodes for treating paralysis, which need to be implanted in places where replacing a battery is tricky

www.newscientist.com/...cell-feeds-on-human-blood.html - Preview

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A couple years ago TreeHugger highlighted the efforts of the island of El Hierro (one of the smaller of the Canary Islands, with a population of about 10,000) to make the switch over to generating all of its power from renewable energy sources. For an update on this interesting project, the BBC is running a short video clip which is worth checking out.

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All the current interest in hybrids and other vehicles with some sort of alternative powertrain is kind of amusing to me. Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm all for pursuing other ways to power cars. (Click here to visit Jay's Green Garage!) But I smile because I've owned three alternative energy cars for years. The newest was built in 1925; the oldest, 1909. Each one is a rolling manifestation of a brilliant idea. Sadly, they were all way ahead of their time and all three makes failed.

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Akeena Solar, maker of photovoltaic panels and racking systems, and Enphase Energy, maker of microinverters, have joined up to make integrated systems even more integrated. Taking out steps in the installation process, taking out steps in the troubleshooting process and giving you AC power faster - all in the hopes of making solar upwards of 25% cheaper.

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Blight offers a brilliant twist on staid venetian blinds. Rather than serving simply to block the sun’s rays, the design re-envisions blinds as sun-soaking solar panels that store energy during the day and illuminate your interiors at night.

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But how does it work? Connect the main components (e.g. a DVD recorder) to the 'master' socket and all other components to the 'peripheral' sockets. When finished with the equipment just press the off button on the main component (or remote control) and the Earth Smart board will cut off the power to all of the other components completely. The master component will turn onto standby and stay powered thus ensuring that time is kept for all program recordings (applicable for a DVD recorder application).

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Vela Creations is a documentation of our experiences and projects living off the grid. We are a young couple striving to fulfill our lifestyles through sustainable means. Our hope is that our experiences will serve as guidence to those interested in the technologies and methods illustrated on this site.

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Welcome to offgrid.ca, promoting green, energy efficient home designs & building and complete renewable energy system, from simple backup power systems to full off-grid energy packages.

Solar, wind, earth and micro-power, all our renewable energy systems are designed and engineered to fit your lifestyle & budget.

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as long as you don't often run your dishwasher when it's only half full of dirty dishes, or unless you are very miserly with your water use (or have an old, inefficient dishwasher), the automatic dishwasher is likely to be more efficient. That is to say, it's possible to use less water and energy by hand washing your dishes, but it's not easy.

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Jay Leno likes getting green energy at his garage. Check out this great video in which he and Ken Johnson from Enviro Energies talk about a magnetic wind turbine called the MagWind.

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With energy prices going through the roof, an alternative lifestyle powered by solar panels and wind turbines has suddenly become more appealing to some. For architect Todd Bogatay, it has been reality for years.

When he bought this breezy patch of scrub-covered mountaintop with views to Mexico more than two decades ago, he was one of only a few Americans with an interest in wind- and solar-powered homes.

Now, Bogatay is surrounded by 15 neighbors who, like him, live off the electricity grid, with power from solar panels and wind turbines that he either built or helped to install.

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Hugh Piggott is a pioneering creator of recycled wind turbines. He has managed to power and maintain an entire community on Scotland's north-west coast where he runs courses teaching wind turbine construction to students from all over the world

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The economy is hovering somewhere between catatonic and hebephrenic, and funding for the big plans that green tech companies laid in 2008 might be a lot harder to come by in 2009. Recessions haven't always been the best times for environmentally friendly technologies as consumers and corporations cut discretionary spending on ethical premiums.

Still, green technology and its attendant infrastructure are probably the best bet to drag the American economy out of the doldrums. So, with the optimism endemic to the Silicon Valley region, we present you with the Top 10 Green Tech Breakthroughs of 2008, alternatively titled, The Great Green Hope.

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You know the cool feeling on your feet every time you open the refridgerator door? If you didn’t know, that’s the feeling of all your cold air falling out on the ground. Cold air is heavy and naturally sinks down, which makes the design of most refridgerators suboptimal for conserving that cold air when opened. Though convenient, this means that your refridgerator will be using a lot more energy than is necessary.

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Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants’ bodies.

And in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional houses.

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Hank Green from EcoGeek has put together a very entertaining video taking a quick look at the latest in light bulb technologies.

Read on for more about awesome new lighting tech.

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The talk you are about to hear is the result of a lengthy process on my part. My specialty is in thinking about and, unfortunately, predicting collapse. My method is based on comparison: I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and, since I am also familiar with the details of the situation in the United States, I can make comparisons between these two failed superpowers.

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While most tidal power uses a underwater mounted turbine of some sort the Power Buoy relies instead on the rising and falling of the waves to generate power.

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