Natural Environment Blog

Oil companies have been getting a bad rap for quite some time. Some people feel that they are doing whatever they can to make as much money as possible, and others feel that just by existing they are slowing killing the environment.

The cost, the mess, and the tragedies that occur at the hands of the oil companies do not make an easy job for their PR person.

Amidst all of the negativity that surrounds the oil companies here is a list of positives. Below are 10 major changes that all of the oil companies are making in order to help their companies become greener.

1. Financial Backing for Renewable Energy

The oil companies have the availability of funds that few companies have this day in age. They have invested a great deal of money in the research and development of renewable energy.

2. Promote Alternative Energy

Many companies understand that there are a lot of alternatives that are on the cusp of coming to light for alternatives to energy. Oil companies are often promoting these options to help educate the public.

3. Education about Usage

Oil companies are well aware of the wasteful ways that people expel their energy. The oil companies have provided a great deal of literature in order to help educate the average person on how to conserve energy.

4. Agreement with Alternative Energy

Oil companies understand that there is no alternative source that is ready to completely replace oil especially when it comes to the average person. That is why the oil companies have made agreements that should an individual invest in an alternative energy system that the additional energy that is created will be credited to them through the company.

5. Investing in Oil Clean-up

There has been a lot of bad PR that has surrounded the oil spills that have occurred in the recent years. It has also led people to look more critically at older oil spills. This has led many major oil companies to invest a great deal of time and money on the clean-up of some of the devastation that their oil has caused.

6. Greening their Office Buildings

Oil companies have decided to lead by example by investing the time and the money that it takes in order to make their office buildings more green friendly. This means that their offices have be revamped to use less energy in order to operate them.

7. Grow Green Algae

This green algae will work as an alternate source to fuel cars. It will take some time to develop, but the oil companies have announced that they will be investing the time and money to see this project through.

8. Supplying Alternate Energy Sources

Oil companies have not only stated that they would be using alternate sources of energy where possible, but they have actually installed the uses of solar panels and wind technology to decrease consumption wherever possible.

9. Falling in-line with the Obama Plan

The companies could have really fought the Obama plan to help force them to be more responsible for their messes, and while there was some whining at first many of the companies realized that it was in their best interest to fall in-line.

10. Actually Believing in Alternative Sources of Energy

It used to be that oil companies fought the development of alternate energy for they saw it as something that would take money out of their pockets. Now oil companies have seen a way for them to invest in these alternate forms of energy, and many of them have climbed on board so they can replace the money they earn with oil to cleaner energy money.

Author Bio: Jason Phillips wrote this article. He is a guest blogger and working with an organization which is working for fl keys bp spill claims. They say you can get payment if your business were harmed by oil spill.

We are facing an energy crisis. Our supplies of oil, coal and natural gas are rapidly diminishing and the reality is that they will eventually run out altogether. Combine this with risk to the environment by increasing levels of carbon pollution and we have a very real need to take action and start placing more importance on renewable forms of energy. Wind, hydro and solar energy are clean, renewable, free and abundant and represent the future of energy.

Over the past 200 years, the world, its economy and its population has grown and developed exponentially. This has bettered the lives of millions of people but has also brought about the side effect of a huge rise in energy consumption, largely from fossil fuels. If we do not reduce our consumption of energy from oil, gas and coal the world is at risk from serious and irreversible damage and we will inevitably run out of energy. Both these scenarios would be disastrous for the future of our planet and should therefore be avoided at all cost.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable - they take millions of years to form and therefore once we’ve used them, they’re gone for good. This is a problem given our current dependence on them. The average three bedroom household consumes 5,500 kWh per year, and produces a whopping 14 tonnes of greenhouse gas per year (it is perhaps not surprising that household energy consumption amounts to close to 10% of total energy use). That is because only 7% of electricity is currently generated from renewable energies, whilst 93% of all electricity produced is derived from the burning of fossil fuels. Heater, coolers and water heaters account for the greatest energy consumption in homes, and therefore are the biggest environmental concern if powered by fossil fuel-generated electricity. Clearly, a move to renewable makes sense.

Countries such as Australia are incredibly lucky in that they have access to abundant renewable energy sources, including plenty of sunshine and high winds. Over the past few years the renewable energy sources that saw the biggest leap in uptake were wind energy, solar energy, and solar hot water. More and more people are turning to renewable energy as the way forward for a greener, more sustainable future for our children and our children’s children. Whole town and cities are even getting involved, for example Adelaide is one of seven Australian cities currently trialling renewable energy sources. Until 2013 the city’s local governments, businesses and residential properties are supporting the introduction of 1700 solar panels for homes and businesses. The trial is projected to cut energy consumption by 28GWh, amounting to an annual saving of $5 million in electricity costs and at least 30,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Australia-wide, over 300,000 solar panels and 600,000 solar water heaters and heat pumps have been installed since 2001.

The move towards renewable energy as a viable and widespread source has begun - only time will tell if enough of us join the green revolution to make a difference to future generations.

We hear all the time that going green is a good choice, but have you ever asked yourself why? Have you ever asked yourself why you should even bother to be eco-friendly?

“Why should I go green?” is actually a good question to ask yourself as it gives you the opportunity to seek and find answers. Today, there are a lot of people who just go with the flow and decide to go green without even bothering to ask whether it makes sense at all or not. Don’t get me wrong. Going green does make sense. However, wouldn’t it make more sense if you know the reason behind the very thing you are doing?

Going Green Is the Better Option

Now, if there is one good reason why you should choose to go green, it’s that it is the better option. It is the better choice because it has a positive impact not just to the environment, but to your health as well. And you also probably realize that it has a positive impact to your finances. Take switching energy providers, for example. Choosing to switch power suppliers can actually help you save 10%, or even more, on your electric bill.

The Impact of Going Green to Your Health

When it comes to health, going green is also an excellent choice. Today, more and more people are suffering from respiratory diseases, allergies, and even cancer. And if you come to think of it, it has something to do with the presence of toxic elements that come from the everyday products that people use at home.

Now, both the consumers and the companies that manufacture these products have a role to play on this one. It’s not that manufacturers deliberately want to make people sick by making toxic products, but it’s just that consumers are after cheap products. And in order to make cheap products, companies make use of cheap materials and resources that are often the ones that contain health hazards.

You Can Always Make a Better Choice

Fortunately, you can always make better choices by being more responsible when deciding what type of products to buy and what kind of services to avail yourself of. This doesn’t mean you have to transform your home into a greenhouse overnight, though. You have to understand that even the small, simple choices you make can have a positive impact to the environment and to your health. Investing in eco-friendly products, for instance, may not produce instant results, but it absolutely has a huge impact in the long run. The same is true with choosing to switch power suppliers, investing in energy-saving appliances, and observing other eco-friendly practices.

About the Author: Gene Armstrong is an energy expert based in Australia. He specializes in subjects about switching, energy efficiency, and green energy.

Sun Power is the leader in solar power all around the world. Most people fall into the dilemma of whether to buy or not buy a solar system since it is really very costly and pinches one’s pocket. The system requires timely maintenance and the understanding of the system is quite complex. This tedious task is reduced by the introduction of Solar Discovery Game.

It is basically a way to help homeowners to comprehend the benefits of installing a solar system at home as well as to intimate them about the history of the solar power.

It is an interesting initiative taken by Sun Power to improve one’s knowledge regarding solar energy and convince maximum people to get a solar power system installed in their homes regardless of the high cost of its installation and management.

Steps to Follow While Playing the Solar Discovery Game:

Facebook has it all. It offers people to participate in “the reduce use of exhaustible energy” and make use of renewable and inexhaustible ones. One just needs to visit the web page of the Solar Discovery Game from the search engine provided in Facebook.

One needs to accept the promotion application present in the page and fill up the on screen registration form. This makes one eligible for an entry in a single sweepstake.

Next, one needs to answer a list of questions to accumulate points to be eligible for the mega prize.

Players can unlock achievements at each successive stage and hence receive “badges” as reward which can be posted to one’s Facebook wall.

Sun Power will add a list of new questions each week along with new prizes to be fetched. Contestants may be lucky enough to grab the grand prize which is a complete solar energy system manufactured by Sun Power. The total value of the system is around twenty five thousand dollars. Regular players can also be eligible to win more featured prizes such as video cameras, event tickets, gift cards, plane tickets and many more such attractive surprises.

The winner has the option of getting the system installed in his or her home or can choose to gift it to a relative or friend instead. Another great and charitable option is to donate the system to a local community building or a recreation center.

The eligibility criteria to be a part of this solar game competition is restricted to only U.S and D.C permanent residents. They can participate if they belong to the legal age of the particular state. People who have any sort of link with the Sun Power Corporation are not eligible to participate in this solar discovery game. One does not need to purchase participation and a purchase does not make someone have greater chances of winning.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of cell phones, fancy accessories and watches. She recently added two Gold Bracelets to her collection. These days she is busy in writing articles on world’s most expensive cars and on 3d racing games.

Despite the legal fracas you might have seen on the news, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are of immense benefit to those householders able to take advantage of them.

If you live in the UK, and have a south or south-east facing roof, that is not shaded by trees or nearby buildings, you can, for a modest investment, install PV panels on your roof in order to generate electricity for domestic appliances, thereby saving you money on your energy bills and helping to reduce your household carbon footprint by cutting down on carbon emissions.

The government’s Feed-in Tariff (FiTS) scheme also enables you to earn money by exporting excess electricity to the national grid.

Solar panels might seem to be an expensive investment, but considering the various advantages it is definitely worthwhile. If you have any doubts about Feed-in Tariffs, it might be worthwhile visiting a website that has a built-in solar calculator so that you can calculate the return on your investment before you actually buy. One such website is Solar Guide. The calculator on this site is very easy to use, all you do is input some basic information and it will then calculate the amount that a Feed-in Tariff will generate over 25 years, based on numerous different types of solar PV system.

If you can’t afford to buy solar PV another option is to take advantage of a ‘rent-a-roof’ scheme in which an installation company fits the solar PV equipment for free but claims the Feed-in Tariff as payment. You might not get the tariff, but you will still make considerable savings on your energy bills, and that is something which will become increasingly important as the cost of conventional sources of energy continues to rise. You could potentially cut your bills by a third if you are a medium energy consumer with the installation of a 2.5 kWp system.

Another thing to bear in mind is that materials costs for solar PV are falling dramatically. You used to have to spend at least £16,000 to £18,000 for a good PV system but in recent years those costs have fallen to around £10,000 to £11,000, although this of course all depends on the system you buy. A good solar comparison website should be able to help you with this.

A solar PV system will also make your home more attractive to potential buyers in the future by increasing its value. A survey carried out in 2009 by the Energy Saving Trust found that at least 35 percent of respondents would be willing to pay more for a home already fitted with solar panels. Almost half of respondents said that they would be interested in buying a house that was suitable for solar PV installation.

This article was contributed by Richard Finch on behalf of SolarPages.co.uk.

With so much focus on a green environment and with the escalating prices in fuel consumption, solar power has come in a big way to help conserve energy with many due advantages.

Among the renewable energy sources, solar power has proved to be the most sustainable energy source, as the best alternative to gaseous fossil fuels. Solar panels for harnessing solar power, are clean and do not pollute the air, nor is its use limited to one particular aspect only. It is a free source of energy as it collects the sunlight to generate heat, electricity and light.

Of course, the initial investment may sound astronomical but this is covered up in the long with its saving ability. Solar panels are certainly a better option if we want to reduce energy consumption, pollutants and protection of our natural resources.

Versatility in the use of solar panels

Solar panel energy being a free source of energy from the sun, it can be used in remote places which does not have proper electricity facilities. Its use is unlimited and versatile as it can be utilized for large power purpose or smaller ones. It does not leave behind any greenhouse gas and harmful wastage, nor does it emit any noise as from generators.

The added advantage is that, solar panel lasts for a lifetime with little maintenance requirement.

Heating purposes and electricity

The installation of home solar panels can be a beneficial way of harnessing power for far flung mountainous areas, where it becomes difficult to construct power lines. Both in residential and commercial buildings, solar panel can heat water for utility purposes.

With the help of the various types of collectors, solar panels can gather and store energy which is then used for heating water. During the day, especially in hot day temperature areas, the thermal mass material keeps the building cool. The stored energy during the daytime can then be utilized for heating rooms in cool temperature areas.

Solar panel definitely works

By reducing fossil fuels which are harmful for the environment, solar panels can become an added feature in any home that can bear the initial cost of installation. It has made things much cheaper and easier for home use as it depends solely on the solar energy, which is definitely a cheaper natural source. The only time when any pollution is caused indirectly by solar panel occurs during the production and transportation of the cells to your home.

It may also cause slight pollution when electric tools are being used while installing. Other than that, there is really no other pollution emitted by solar panels.

It is also very convenient since solar energy can be directly converted to electricity through the photovoltaic cells without the use of power grids.

Taking into account all these benefits of solar power, there is absolutely no doubt why it cannot be the best alternative for electricity. It can minimize home electricity bill since the excess power is directly fed back into your home meter unit. The use of solar power is truly environment friendly and can only get better if full advantage of its sources is utilized.

About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of cell phones and watches. She recently added two Citizen Watches to her collection. These days she is busy in writing an article on dyson air multiplier.

The time has arrived for the world to wake up to the alarming scenario of energy crisis. This is no more a situation of single dimension; the other dimensions of it being depletion of the conventional energy sources, global warming, severity in climatic changes and their effects being manifold.

Check out some of the methods of harnessing the tremendous solar energy which is mostly wasted and which has the potential of solving a majority of the above stated global problems.

• Solar water heating equipment is one of the most common and predominant usage of solar power for domestic purposes. Water can be heated normally up to 60 degrees Celsius and can hugely cut down on the electricity bills.
• Solar powered heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems commonly called HVAC systems can be deployed at residential places. Homes with modern architecture can accommodate construction with specific materials which can act as heat store. This acts as a heater when surroundings is cold and acts as a cooler when it is hot.
• Cooking using solar power is possible by solar cookers. The incident solar light energy using concentrated solar power systems is used to boil the water and thus cook the food. This is can also be used as an oven, milk heater and so on.
• Solar powered vehicles are off the beat cutting edge technology automobiles which use solar panels for trapping more and more solar energy and convert it into useful mechanical energy. There are cars, bicycles, boats and even aircrafts which are solar driven.
• Photovoltaic cells which are commonly called solar cells are devices which convert incident solar radiation into electrical energy. These cells can be instrumental in lighting and other electrical needs of residential units.
• By switching over to solar power for simple equipments which we use in our daily lives, we can not only save a great deal of money but can be a significant shift towards utilizing renewable energy sources. Solar powered calculators, emergency lamps, decorative lightings, watches and other electronic gadgets can eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels and chemical sources of energy.
• There are these and many more ways of utilizing solar energy; but all it requires is a one time investment and then reap the benefits on a long run. Another advantage of using solar powered equipment is the relative low maintenance factor. The governments of most of the countries which are signatories of the UNFCCC are unconditionally giving investment and tax benefits for installations to shift over to solar energy for power requirements.
• What more? There are facilities for your house hold equipments to generate solar power and sell the excess to the power grids of the native country at the same price which is collected from you for using it!

As individuals, if we think there is nothing much that we can do about the global problems like climate change, global warming and energy crisis; then we can’t be more wrong. To save a better and healthier tomorrow for your kids and for all the coming generations, ACT NOW – ACT FAST!

This article was contributed by Catherine Annie on behalf of http://www.environmentbasics.com.

A new agency will be formed in early 2009 to act as a driver for renewable energy on an international level.

Although there are other international energy agencies, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which was initially driven by Germany, Spain and Denmark, will be the first worldwide agency dedicated to renewable energy.

IRENA says,

There is an urgent need for renewable energy to play a stronger part in international political processes – whether they deal with trade, investment, environment, energy or other issues. Its aim will be to generate momentum for renewable energy on an international level.

Large-Scale Adoption of Renewable Energy

IRENA’s objective is to foster and promote the large-scale adoption of renewable energy worldwide. 

The agency plans to break the objective down into the following tangable targets:

• Improved regulatory frameworks for renewable energy through enhanced policy advice 
• Improvements in the transfer of renewable energy technology 
• Progress and improvements on renewable energy skills and know-how; a scientifically sound information basis through applied policy research 
• Better financing of renewable energy