Solar Water Distilation
Daniel has created this solar water distiller. There are so many wonderful uses for something like this and my head is already buzzing with ideas inspired by this design.
Using this design you can take filthy dirty salty water and end up with drinkable water. Amazing!
Make sure to check out the whole project here, and use this space to leave comments about the project.
New Member Daniel
I would like to welcome our newest member, Daniel. Welcome aboard!
Daily Show To Cover Cape Wind Debate
In what I hope will be a rousing lambasting of just how silly the anti-wind farm people have become over the years (and maybe even a couple of fun digs towards the supporters) the Daily Show With John Steward has sent there intrepid band of reporters to the Cape to cover the kerfuffle (its always fun when you get to use that word) over cape wind. I have been living on the front lines of this particular battle for the last three years, and know that there should be ample grist for that particular humor mill.
The show is scheduled to air this Thursday. They sent Jason Jones and yes that is Wendy Williams Co-Author of the recent Cape Wind book. Frankly this should be like shooting fish in a barrel. There is so much material here, from the crazy antics of the anti-wind people, to the shameful naivete of Cape Winds Jim Gordon, to the just plain strange way people act on Cape Cod.
The Hexayurt Project Has A New Home
Vinay Gupta and His Hexayurt Project have a new home on the net, and a new video.
You will recall that Mr Gupta has worked tirelessly to get his quick and easy to assemble shelters (they are also cheap) into the hands of the people that need them the most. He continues with this challenge, and we here at The Sietch wish him the best of luck.
Monday Confessional
Have you ever gone on a long journey with someone. You get to know things about them, get to know their little quirks. You stop being people in a car, and start being traveling companions. For the last 11 months I have been on a journey. I have ridden along with 13 other people. We have become more than people in a house, we have become companions. Our journey has now come to an end.
Over the last year, I have had the good fortune to live with some of the most amazing people. They came here from all over the country, gave up the chance to get jobs that would make them lots of money to work for almost nothing, and worked harder than anyone I have ever met. They were funny, smart, and interesting. They made me happy, sad, perplexed, angry, intrigued, and a million more emotions. They held me up when I needed it, and pushed me along when I was reluctant.
Now like an explosion we are once again scattering to the winds. We met as strangers, and are leaving as family. I will miss all thirteen of my house mates and wish them all well on their journeys. Remember you always have a place on my couch, as soon as I get one :)
I too am on a journey. For the last three years I have been living and working on Cape Cod. It is a strange and wonderful place full of old rich people, hard working poor people, college students during the summer, shellfish, coyotes, and a whole host of other interesting things. I still remember the first time I looked out at the ocean and realized just how far I was from the corn fields of my childhood.
I am leaving all that behind for Boston. The big city, or rather, a big city. This will not be the first time I have lived in a big city, it will however be the first time I have ever lived in such a dense and old city. I am used to the mid-western sprawl. I wonder how I will adjust to the maddening road layout, or the noise. I have missed the diversity, the culture, heck something to do after 9 pm during a weekday that a big city provides.
Besides losing all my house mates and moving to Boston, perhaps the most important fact is that Tess is coming back from China on Wednesday!!!!! Words can not describe how happy this makes me, I just hope she is not too jet lagged for a giant bear hug.
GreenSpree Has Started His New Straw Bale Home
It’s pretty exciting, GreenSpree one of our MySietch bloggers has started construction on his new Straw Bale home. He has the pad and the driveway done and will be moving on towards the construction soon.
Our straw bale home is moving forward! We ended up getting our mortgage approved through our broker without going through CMHC but had already started shopping elsewhere by then. We went to a bank and got a better deal and lower down payment requirement and are going in today to sign the paperwork. We knew we were approved last week so went ahead and started the construction process rolling.
Monday the driveway and more importantly house pad were place and compacted on our lot! This seems to be a good time to go over the foundation construction to be used on our home.
Read the rest here.
Europe Considers The Benefits Of Going To DC Power Grid
Every time you use electricity in your home, from your computer to your TV (if you live in the united states or Europe) you are using AC, or Alternating current. Things like solar panels, and wind turbines produce DC, or Direct Current (edit: wind turbines can also produce AC). (the difference being that DC goes in one direction around the circuit, where as AC wiggles back and forth) That means that if you want to use solar panels, or wind turbines to power your home you have to use a little device called an inverter. An inverter changes DC to AC so that it will work with your stuff. Why, you may ask do we have AC instead of DC? Well, a long time ago a big fight happened, Thomas Edison backed DC. George Westinghouse backed AC. Westinghouse won.
There are a lot of good reasons why AC won. At the time the grid was small, you had lots of tiny power plants all over the place. Over short distances AC lines lose less electricity (to things like heat) than DC does. However with today’s modern grid (big power plants far away from the places that use the electricity) DC lines make much more sense. Over long distances DC power lines lose far less than AC. So why am I going on and on about this stuff? And what does this have to do with Europe or Wind Power? So glad you asked.
Read the rest of Europe Considers The Benefits Of Going To DC Power Grid
Ask The Sietch - Where Can I Get Solar Cells For DIY Projects?
Do you have a question you would like to Ask The Sietch? Contact us or post your question in the Forums, and we will do our best to answer it. Got this one from the contact form the other day
I’d like to do the “Build your own solar battery charger” project, but I’m new to this. Can you suggest places to get the solar cells?
Thanks,
Jimi
I get this question a lot. Finding bulk or “raw” solar cells can be a bit tricky. With the very high cost of pure silicon, and the fact that even “bad” solar cells (ones with small defects, or small color issues) still work very well, most companies no longer will give away the “rejects.” However there are still ways to get cells to work with. Below are a couple of ways you can try to go about getting them.
Read the rest of Ask The Sietch - Where Can I Get Solar Cells For DIY Projects?
New England Moving Toward Energy Efficient Homes Still Has Some Catching Up To Do
A recent analysis shows that In 2006, the percentage of newly constructed single family homes earning the government’s Energy Star label for superior energy efficiency exceeded 12 percent in 15 states, with three New England states at the forefront of that list.
Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont are among the leaders which host the greatest percent of Energy Star certified homes, alongside Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
“New England is once again leading the nation on energy conservation and environmental issues,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Consumers don’t have to limit their smart energy choices to energy efficient cars and appliances, but more and more can choose high-efficiency, low-emission systems in their homes.”
Read the rest of New England Moving Toward Energy Efficient Homes Still Has Some Catching Up To Do
Feeding Yourself In Six Simple Steps
One of our star MySietch bloggers Red State Green has completed her 6 step “how to feed yourself” guide. After setting off a firestorm with her initial post on the plausibility of feeding yourself (see also GreenSpree’s interesting article on small footprint farming) she went on to explain in 6 easy steps ways you can feed yourself.
Here they are
- Learn to garden
- Stock up
- Find out who your neighbors are
- Find local food sources
- Learn to cook
- Think about your meat sources
I found each one interesting and full of useful advice. She really takes something we never think about (where our food comes from and what we would do if we had to get it all ourselves) and tackles the issue with good advice and clever tips. I highly recommend reading them all.
Do you want to start your own blog, check out MySietch and start blogging today! It’s free and fun.
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