As you probably know by now, heat is often produced by electrical devices. Easy Bake Oven's, computers, stereos, TV's, etc...

What you may not know already is that heat can be converted to electricity and thereby get some of that energy back. Due to losses in the process, this is not magic or run forever technology. What might come from this newest research is a much longer run time on devices we use and for those that plug in, a much higher efficiency.

From the article:

"Hagelstein, an associate professor of electrical engineering at MIT, says existing solid-state devices to convert heat into electricity are not very efficient. The new research, carried out with graduate student Dennis Wu as part of his doctoral thesis, aimed to find how close realistic technology could come to achieving the theoretical limits for the efficiency of such conversion."

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Enjoy time with your family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

- Brad

Well, the season is here. From the commercials to the retail decorations, there is no denying we will all be spending money. Keep in mind you can reduce stress and lessen your environmental impact by ordering items on-line and having them delivered. The more items from a single vendor the better.

Routing delivery trucks is a science and the single truck on a route is a lot more efficient than 100 cars taking us store to store to get the same items to our homes. I also recommend that you enjoy what the season offers and get out to see friends and family instead of retail clerks.

In disaster aftermath, a lot of things are suddenly a problem. Dysentery, shelter and food are primary concerns for those people who are displaced. This means a safe shelter with waste management and proper climate controls and a process to clean water are all critical for healthy survival.

HOMErgent has addressed these problems as a group. For a similar cost to a canvas tent, the design is similar to a yurt and is a solid wall semi insulated structure. The system is designed to be modular, allowing you to connect several units creating rooms. Beyond the modular factor is the sustainability. In situations where the time the unit will be used is known to be significant, solar panels, wind turbines, lighting and other necessities are easily added and available.

By addressing these needs right away, a great deal of environmental impact is reduced. Primarily because wood becomes a staple for survival when shelter does not provide enough protection from the elements. When trees are cut down for heat, the tree is gone in a matter of days and takes years to grow back, as well as the huge amounts of CO2 released into the atmosphere.

Follow the related link for a lot more information.

Although students are quick to say negative things about anything they are not accustomed too, there is a very real and positive message here at Northgate High School. As you can see in the high schools newspaper clip above, the students are happy with the change.

The article goes as far as saying they are happy to know that the school district cares enough about the future to implement systems like the blue cube.

To see an enlargement of the image, just click it.

Our savings of water at Northgate is 2.7 million gallons a year and has shown approximately $400 a month in overall cost savings! So we save money and water.

Check out EcoBlue for more information.