Environmental SurvivalGuide

Joseph Gallo Dairy & Cheese Plant’s methane capture provides 80% of the electricity for the plant from 5,000 cows. The farm uses waste water from the cheese plant to flush the manure from the cattle stalls. The solid manure is removed and the remaining liquid containing bacteria from the cow manure is pumped into a covered digester (pond). This bacteria releases methane that is then used as fuel for electric generators.

A similar anaerobic digester is being used by the UC Davis Biogas Energy Project to divert food waste and yard clippings from landfills. Instead the organic biomass is being used to create alternative renewable energy. View the fullsize video.

Nanosolar, a small company in Palo Alto changes the solar cell game by passing on Crystalline Silicon. Instead they plan to print thin film materials and follow the high speed fabrication processes used in some of the larger scale electronics manufacturing.  This episode of Quest previews how this process might work.  They plan to bring these flexible photovoltaics to market next year.  Their hopes are that you’ll never notice this product because it would seamlessly integrate with the world around us.  View the fullsize video.

If your living in New Mexico you can sign-up with PNM Sky Blue, a voluntary program that allows you to get up to 90% of your electricity from renewable wind power. We signed up about a year ago and have felt relief ever since.

The way it works, is they charge you a small amount extra for the electricity you want to receive from renewable energy. We pay between $10 (winter) and $20 (summer) extra per month for our home (1,500sq. ft. / family of four) in order to get 90% of our electricity from renewable sources. It costs more because wind fluctuates and at times they are required to purchase renewable energy from elsewhere. This is a small price to pay for the piece of mind it provides.

The reason it is important to sign-up for this program is that global warming (and other forms of pollution) cannot be stopped while 49.7% of US electricity is being generated from coal-fired power plants. Currently, in the US there are 151 new coal-fired plants in various stages of development. Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions is being negated by these plants. It is the reason why more people need to get on board with renewable electricity and support programs like Sky Blue.

If your not in New Mexico but would like to look into similar programs in your area, visit the Department of Energy’s Green Power Markets Program By State.