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       #Post#: 4218--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: December 23, 2015, 6:41 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Vp0DJrBm8&feature=player_embedded[/center]
       [center]World’s First Off-Grid EcoCapsule Runs Entirely on
       Renewable Energy
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
       />
       [/center]
       Cole Mellino | December 22, 2015 10:03 am
       After much anticipation, the egg-shaped EcoCapsule is finally
       available for pre-order earlier this month. The oblong home,
       which costs €79,000 (about $85,688) per unit, runs entirely on
       renewables.
       The 88-square feet of interior space may seem pretty small, but
       it packs in all the necessities—plenty of storage, a shower,
       composting toilet, stove, sink, table and couch that converts
       into a double bed.
       The home comes with a 600-watt rooftop solar system and a
       low-noise wind turbine that can deliver up to 750 watts. It’s
       10-kilowatt-hour battery capacity is expected to last at least
       four days.
       With four wheels and hooks on top for ease of transport, the
       EcoCapsule can be taken almost anywhere. Its curved roof
       maximizes energy efficiency and rainwater capture, which can be
       filtered for human consumption.
       home is designed by Slovakian group Nice Architects. The group,
       which unveiled a prototype in May, told CNN they were blown away
       by the demand for their product. By July, they already had
       thousands of pre-orders.
       Currently, it’s available for sale in the European Union, U.S.,
       Canada, Australia and New Zealand. And it meets all of the
       safety regulations for each of those countries. The estimated
       delivery date for the first generation of EcoCapsules is late
       2016 to early 2017. For those with sticker shock, the designers
       say the price will drop in the coming years as production is
       scaled and costs decrease.
       Check out these fascinating visuals from the company:
       [i]
       Eighty-eight square feet of interior space may sound small, but
       the inside looks much more spacious than you might think.  ;D
       Photo credit (at link): Martin Barabas/EcoCapsule[/I]
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/22/off-grid-ecocapsule/
       #Post#: 4220--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: December 26, 2015, 9:54 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfsfFtdgGJI&feature=player_embedded[/center]
       [center]
       World’s First Solar-Hydrogen Residential Development Is 100%
       Self-Sustaining
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/za4.gif<br
       />
  HTML http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/yayayoy/yayayoy1106/yayayoy110600019/9735563-smiling-sun-showing-thumb-up.jpg<br
       />[/center]
       Lorraine Chow | December 23, 2015 10:53 am
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/23/solar-hydrogen-homes/
       #Post#: 4463--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: February 7, 2016, 12:32 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/BNmjwBPLB2c[/center]
       [center]Off the grid without leaving the neighborhood Heat, hot
       water, AC and car fuel - from the sun
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191456.bmp[/center]
  HTML http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/low-tech---high-impact/off-the-grid-without-leaving-the-neighborhood.html#sthash.ileXaJ23.dpuf
       #Post#: 4584--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: February 25, 2016, 5:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]"Earth Turns to Gold in the Hands of the Wise"
  HTML http://cliparts.co/cliparts/Big/Egq/BigEgqBMT.png[/center]
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/WMNzoWkXTtc[/center]
  HTML http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/shelter/eco-dome.html
       #Post#: 4974--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: April 26, 2016, 6:15 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]
  HTML https://media.licdn.com/media/p/6/005/088/13b/37cffed.png[/center]
       [center]
       Alaska SeaLife Center replaces fossil fuels with sea water power
       
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
       />[/center]
       April 25, 2016
       Megan Treacy (@mtreacy) Technology / Clean Technology
       Located in Seward, Alaska about 125 miles south of Anchorage,
       the Alaska SeaLife Center does important work researching and
       promoting awareness of the wildlife that resides along the coast
       of Alaska. The center serves as an aquarium, but also operates
       as a marine research center and wildlife rescue and
       rehabilitation center.
       The size of the center and its location so far north meant that
       it has required several electric and oil-fired boilers to heat
       the buildings. Back in 2011, the center decided to take
       advantage of a resource right outside its doors and try to cut
       down on its reliance on fossil fuels and save some money in the
       process. The center began building a heat pump system that uses
       energy from the sea water in Resurrection Bay.
       The heat pump system was initially effective enough to cover hot
       water heating and radiant floor heating, but they were still
       relying on the boilers for baseboard heating. In December, they
       added a new, much more effective system and the center now meets
       98 percent of the its heating needs through renewable energy and
       has eliminated the use of most of the boilers.
       Resurrection Bay is more than 900 feet deep. Through the summer,
       the water in the bay absorbs solar heat that warms the water
       through October. The water below the surface remains warmer than
       the air temperature through winter, which means the bay acts as
       a sort of heat storage.
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gif
       sealife center heat pump tech (graphic at link)
       © Alaska SeaLife Center
       In the new system, seawater is pumped through a heat exchanger,
       which warms a water and glycol mix. (Seawater is corrosive, and
       it would freeze, so the glycol antifreeze is needed.) When
       liquid refrigerant (in this case CO2) comes in contact with the
       warmish water, it evaporates, which pulls heat out of the water
       the way melting ice pulls heat out of your drink – changing from
       a liquid to a gas absorbs energy.
       The CO2 then is compressed to 2000 PSI, which raises its
       temperature to 194°. The hot compressed gas then goes to a
       condenser, where it turns into a liquid, releasing all the heat
       that it had stored when it was turned into a vapor.
       The old system used a synthetic refrigerant that was not only
       less effective, but also posed a greenhouse gas risk if they
       were to leak from the system. The carbon dioxide refrigerant
       also poses a risk, but to a much lesser degree and the amount of
       fossil fuel use it's offsetting is significant  ;D. The center
       estimates that with the new system they are avoiding 1.24
       million pounds of carbon emissions.
       The SeaLife Center is saving $15,000 a month in heating costs, a
       savings that can be redirected to its conservation and research
       programs.
       --- Quote ---
       > The system will have a complete return on investment in only
       13 years.
  HTML http://elqahera-trading.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dollar-sign-thumbnail1.jpg<br
       />
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       --- End Quote ---
       The center hopes this shows the potential for this type of
       heating system throughout the state of Alaska, which has more
       coastline than the rest of the country put together.
  HTML http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/alaska-sealife-center-replaces-fossil-fuels-sea-water-power.html
       #Post#: 5068--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: May 9, 2016, 6:44 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]The Phononic solid state heating and cooling revolution
       is almost here  ;D [/center]
       Lloyd Alter (@lloydalter)
       Design / Green Architecture
       May 9, 2016
       SNIPPET:
       Solid state cooling devices have been around for centuries,
       since the Peltier effect was discovered. They are often used in
       CPU coolers and even tiny iceboxes, but are not very efficient.
       Phononic has significantly improved on them; as can be seen in
       the video of their little fridge below, they have integrated the
       basic chip with heat transfer systems that appear to make it
       work better.
       It is a road map familiar to those who watched the development
       of LEDs, which were first rolled out as replacements for things
       we already knew and understood, like light bulbs and fluorescent
       tubes in computer monitors and TVs. Now LEDs are everywhere and
       in everything.
       Similarly, Phononic is now working with the world’s largest
       appliance maker
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp,<br
       />Haier,  starting with high performance wine chillers,
       delivering
       smaller units with more accurate temperature control and lower
       power consumption. They are now branching into residential
       refrigerators in Europe and Asia, (where we have noted that
       small fridges make good cities). With Haier’s acquisition of
       GE’s appliance division, no doubt totally silent fridges without
       compressors will be arriving here soon too.
       Solid state fridges have a lot more room inside because the
       compressor is gone; solid state heat pumps could heat and cool
       while taking up almost no space.
       However the revolution this will cause in multifamily housing is
       going to be even more significant. Currently most apartments are
       heated and cooled by a vertical fan coil or heat pump units in
       the corner of a room, with ductwork running under the ceiling to
       the other rooms. Or they have noisy, inefficient through wall
       heat pump units that are very high maintenance. Imagine
       replacing all of that with a solid state heat pump with no
       moving parts, a heating and cooling panel on the wall in each
       room delivering what is needed when it is needed. They might
       well be built into the floors for radiant heating and cooling.
       This could make the design, operation and maintenance of
       multifamily buildings so much easier.
       And of course, getting rid of compressors also means getting rid
       of refrigerants, which leak and which have serious global
       warming potential. Another problem gone with solid state heating
       and cooling.
       I do not think I am overstating the case when I suggest that
       just as the transistor revolutionized electronics, and the LED
       is in the process of transforming lighting, Solid state
       thermoelectrics are going to revolutionize heating and cooling.
       Since the form of our homes and buildings has always been a
       function of how they are heated and cooled, it might we change
       that as well.
       in 2014 I thought we were on the verge of a cooling revolution;
       now I think it is even bigger than that. It is a cooling,
       heating and design revolution.
       [center]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-280416145345.jpeg[/center]
  HTML http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/year-could-see-real-revolution-they-way-we-do-heating-and-cooling.html
  HTML http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/year-could-see-real-revolution-they-way-we-do-heating-and-cooling.html
       Agelbert NOTE: For those that live in the reality based
       community (fossil fuel industry defending wishful thinkers
       wouldn't know reality if it bit them in the ass), the solid
       state heat pump technology will knock out fully 75%, on the
       average, of energy DEMAND from an average home. That MEANS that
       the solar panel input can then be used to power a HIGHER
       PERCENTAGE of the home AND ALSO make MORE RENEWABLE ENERGY JUICE
       available to charge EVs and supplement grid power.
       For those who are not following where this inevitably leads,
       just look at Energy use stats for ALL the homes in the USA now
       in BPD (barrels per day). THEN subtract 75% of that...
       [center]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-090516210717.png[/center]
       --- Quote ---
       > "Hitting peak oil will come faster than any of us think. But
       don't blame dwindling supply — it's all about disappearing
       demand" Amory Lovins
       --- End Quote ---
       #Post#: 5174--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: May 27, 2016, 8:00 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]
  HTML https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/527210744178167809/z6CbCdS5.jpeg[/center]
       May 18, 2016
       Authors Mark Dyson
       ManagerEdison Almeida
       [center]
       The Business Value of Demand Flexibility[/center]
       In this digital age, electricity is the lifeblood of our
       society. After any major disruptive event, the top priority is
       to restore electric power service. Without power we lack heat,
       air conditioning, communications, financial services, and access
       to the Internet, pretty much sending us back to the Stone Age.
       But who can afford building more electric power capacity? There
       are over one billion kilowatts of installed power capacity in
       the U.S. At such a large scale, increasing capacity even by a
       few percentage points is very expensive. Experts have forecast
       the need for $1.4 trillion of investment through 2030 to meet
       growing demand and replace aging infrastructure in the U.S.
       alone.
       Fortunately, in today’s Internet-connected world, we can take a
       lower-cost approach, similar to the method that telecom, cable,
       and Internet companies have been using for decades to manage
       peak demand on their networks. Instead of building redundant
       capacity for each user, these networks intelligently manage both
       demand and supply.
       Now, it’s possible to apply the same logic to energy demands:
       software can help lower coincidental demand peaks for a business
       using the same proven “queuing” approach as other networked
       industries. And at scale across thousands of buildings, this
       building-level demand flexibility can help lower peak demand for
       the grid, saving all customers the cost of building new power
       plants.
       [center]Peak demand drives high costs for the grid and
       businesses[/center]
       Although the grid rarely uses 100 percent of electric power
       capacity, power plants to provide that capacity must be in place
       when needed. Currently, the average capacity utilization of the
       American electric grid is only about 55 percent, and it’s
       getting worse as peak demand rises while total sales fall. This
       means that about half the time, on average, power plants are
       sitting idle.
       What causes this? Many homes and businesses don’t use much
       energy all the time, but when a thermostat’s mercury spikes,
       demand soars. Analysis of the electricity bill data of several
       major retailers and telecom companies reveals a pervasive trait:
       just four percent of their total energy use drives about 40
       percent of their total peak demand. In other words, a tiny
       amount of energy use, occurring at the peak hours and largely
       driven by air conditioning, requires a lot of capacity that
       isn’t needed during the other hours of the year.
       Why does this happen? Many common loads, including typical air
       conditioners, motors, pumps, charging stations, heaters, and
       others, often happen to turn on at the same time, creating
       coincidental energy peaks. This increases costs for the utility,
       which must have available capacity to meet these peaks.
       In order to address this phenomenon, utilities typically impose
       “demand charges” on commercial and industrial customers, meaning
       that the customer pays each month for the maximum power demand
       at their meter during any given interval. These charges,
       combined with the “peakiness” of typical commercial loads, mean
       that only four percent of a business’s energy use drives 40
       percent of the monthly demand charges a business must pay. With
       typical demand charges of $5–15 per peak kW per month, this peak
       energy can drive additional costs on the order of thousands of
       dollars per building per year.
       [center]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-270516205023.png[/center]
       For business customers, demand charges can comprise up to 40
       percent of their utility bills, and these costs are on the rise.
       For example, there have been dramatic demand-rate increases of
       over 50 percent in the past five years in the PG&E service area
       in California. As utilities around the country grapple with new
       rate designs to better reflect system costs, it is likely that
       managing demand charges will become even more important.
       [center]
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-270516205313.png[/center]
       Source: The Brattle Group
       [center]New opportunities to manage demand charges[/center]
       Traditionally, limiting demand charges has not been an easy
       problem to solve, and most executives have treated electricity
       costs as a “must-pay” expense.
       Fortunately, in today’s IT-driven world, it is increasingly easy
       for businesses to effectively manage growing peak energy demand
       costs. By unlocking the potential of demand flexibility,
       businesses can use software services to manage peak demand and
       achieve significant savings on their monthly bills at scale.
       One approach to unlocking the value of demand flexibility is by
       queuing connected loads using low-cost computer systems. In
       other words, it’s possible to keep these loads from all turning
       on at the same time and creating very expensive and unnecessary
       coincidental energy peaks by simply using a software upgrade.
       Consider how network companies (phone, internet, and cable)
       manage peak demand on their networks. Whenever you place a call
       on your cell phone, click the button to watch a digital video,
       or push the send button of your email, you do not connect
       immediately; rather, your request is placed into a queue, and
       the system defines the optimum time for connection while still
       meeting your needs for timely service.
       The same logic works for electricity loads: software can help
       manage demand variations with small adjustments that can add up
       to shrink the peak. With these methods, energy delivery is
       usually delayed for only a matter of seconds. For loads like air
       conditioners, this is practically imperceptible; temperatures
       don’t rise appreciably in the time it takes for energy to be
       queued, but peak demand can be lowered dramatically.
       [center][b]Benefits for businesses and the grid[/b][/center]
       With falling computer costs and rising demand charges, lowering
       peak demand can pay off very quickly for a business—sometimes in
       less than a year. Lowering peak demand also creates value for
       the grid; RMI’s recent analysis found a potential for $13
       billion per year in savings for the grid, from just a few smart
       appliances in each household in the country. The savings
       potential for commercial and industrial buildings is likely just
       as large.
       Today’s $300 billion per year electricity industry leaves about
       half of its available capacity idle, increasing costs for all
       customers.
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714183312.bmp
       Business-led demand flexibility approaches can save companies
       money while dramatically improving the utilization of our
       trillion-dollar grid, leading to savings for all of us.
  HTML http://us.cdn2.123rf.com/168nwm/lenm/lenm1201/lenm120100200/12107060-illustration-of-a-smiley-giving-a-thumbs-up.jpg
       Edison Almeida (@almeidaed) is the founder and CEO of eCurv,
       Inc.
  HTML http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_05_18_the_business_value_of_demand_flexibility
       #Post#: 5265--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: June 11, 2016, 4:54 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]Apple Is Generating So Much Renewable Energy It Plans to
       Start Selling It
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-200714191258.bmp<br
       />[/center]
       Lorraine Chow | June 11, 2016 10:52 am
       Apple is seeking to sell a whole different product. No, not
       cars—yet. Try renewable energy. The iPhone maker has created an
       energy subsidiary in Delaware called Apple Energy LLC to sell
       surplus electricity generated by its various renewable energy
       projects.
       Documents seen by PV Tech show that Apple has applied to the
       U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to sell excess
       power from solar panels on top of its Cupertino, California
       headquarters as well as energy generated by its solar farms,
       hydroelectric plants and biogas facilities across the country.
       This is big news. Most corporations usually sell surplus energy
       to power companies, but the tech titan is basically creating a
       green energy pipeline to consumers.
       “If Apple’s application is approved, it will be able to sell
       electricity directly to its customers—eliminating the need for
       utility power,” PV Tech observed.
       In the FERC filing, Apple has requested to sell energy at market
       rates rather than wholesale since it’s not an major energy
       company and cannot influence electricity prices, PV Tech noted.
       “Applicant seeks the same blanket authorization and waivers of
       the commission’s rules and filing requirements previously
       granted to other entities authorized to transact at market-based
       rates,” Apple’s tariff states.
       The Apple blog 9to5Mac suspects that Apple’s FERC filing is
       following in the footsteps of Green Mountain Power, which also
       sells renewable energy to homeowners. Another guess is that
       Apple’s potential new energy company could help fuel Apple’s
       long-rumored electric car project.
       Apple has requested the tariff be granted within 60 days of its
       June 6 filing, so we’ll have to wait until then to see if it
       takes off.
       In recent years, Apple has worked hard to shrink its global
       carbon footprint, and CEO Tim Cook is known for being a green
       leader.
       “Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and
       the time for action is now,” Cook said. “The transition to a new
       green economy requires innovation, ambition and purpose.”
       The company boasts that all its data centers and most of its
       stores and corporate offices are now powered by green, renewable
       energy. Apple has plans for 521 megawatts of solar projects
       globally, as well as other investments in hydroelectric, biogas
       and geothermal power, which generates enough power to cover 93
       percent of its worldwide energy usage. The company wants to
       eventually operate with 100 percent renewable energy.
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/11/apple-sell-renewable-energy/
       Agelbert NOTE: This should be interesting. FERC has always
       defended the fossil fuel industry and utility energy slanted
       (i.e. monopolistic) playing field.
       But FERC has always been for sale to the highest bidder. Apple
       has a lot of money = influence.
       Apple, seeing a very profitable opportunity to outcompete some
       ossified business models among the utilities, is going to get in
       on the utility energy market share with Renewable Energy, after
       they "convince" the appropriate officials at FERC to drop the
       fossil fuel friendly road blocks, of course.
       Any port in the global warming storm, I always say.  ;)
       #Post#: 5268--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: June 11, 2016, 6:58 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]World’s First Large-Scale Carbon-Neutral Brewery Now in
       Operation
  HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/2.gif[/center]
       Lorraine Chow | June 10, 2016 11:57 am
       [center]
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/heineken_brew_750_2.jpg[/center]
       [center]Heineken's brewery in Austria has achieved its goal of
       becoming the first CO2 neutral brewery of its scale in the
       world. Photo credit: Heineken[/center]
       The facility, which kicked off its green upgrades back in 2003,
       has now met 100 percent of its energy needs via clean power
       sources including hydropower, solar thermal energy from a
       1,500-square-meter photovoltaic array and biomass district
       heating, in which 40 percent of the brewery’s heat requirements
       comes from surplus heat discharged from a neighboring sawmill.
       The site is also incredibly savvy with waste. It hosts its own
       grain fermentation plant that converts production waste into
       biogas—the first plant of its kind a major brewery. The grain
       fermentation plant converts 18,000 tons of the brewer’s grains,
       filter residues and other byproducts from beer-making process
       into biogas annually. Residues from the fermentation plant are
       used as fertilizer.
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/bWmd1psRNm4
  HTML https://youtu.be/bWmd1psRNm4[/center]
       [
       Here are some other eco-friendly strides the brewery—a finalist
       for the 2016 European Union Sustainable Energy Award—has
       achieved:
       •Ninety percent of the waste heat generated in the brewing
       process is used to heat water
       •A new type of boiling system is used during the brewing
       process, which helps to save electricity and water
       •Energy generated from brewery residues will be used to generate
       steam and any excess volumes will be converted into electric
       current
       •100 percent of raw materials used at the Göss Brewery come from
       Austria
       As Inhabitat reported, the brewery’s operations will cut carbon
       emissions from approximately 3,000 tonnes a year to zero.
       “Through a combination of innovative technology, creative
       thinking and partnerships with our local community, we have
       turned a heritage brewery into the world’s first major zero
       carbon brewery,” Göss brew master Andreas Werner told the
       publication.
       “Our Göss brewery may be in a small town but our goal was to
       make a big impact. I am proud of what we have achieved for the
       Heineken Company and want to help our other breweries, and the
       wider brewing industry, make renewable energy part of their
       energy mix, just as we have done.”
       [center]62747_Goss_Brewery_Infographic_02_271015 (graphic at
       article link)
       [/center]The Göss Brewery’s zero carbon status is only one
       example of Heineken’s overall environmental goals. According to
       a blog post from Michael Dickstein, Heineken’s global director
       of sustainable development, the beer-maker is now the world’s
       largest user of solar energy in beer production.
       The company’s Brewed by the Sun campaign boasts a number of
       solar achievements including:
       •100,000 glasses of Wieckse beer brewed through solar energy at
       the Den Bosch brewery in the south of the Netherlands
       •Birra Morretti Baffo d’Oro is brewed with 100 percent Italian
       malted barley and 100 percent Italian sun
       •The company’s rooftop solar installation in Singapore, which
       brews the local Tiger beer, is the size of three football
       pitches
       Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer, is aiming to slash
       40 percent of carbon emissions from global productions by 2020
       through its Brewing a Better Future strategy.
       The beer brewing industry is not immune to the effects of
       climate change. In the U.S., the ever-changing environment is a
       threat to the domestic beer market, as Ceres wrote:
       Warmer temperatures and extreme weather events are harming the
       production of hops, a critical ingredient of beer that grows
       primarily in the Pacific Northwest. Rising demand and lower
       yields have driven the price of hops up by more than 250 percent
       over the past decade. Clean water resources, another key
       ingredient, are also becoming scarcer in the West as a result of
       climate-related droughts and reduced snow pack.
       Several U.S. breweries have integrated sustainability into their
       business practices such as investing in renewable energy, energy
       efficiency, water efficiency, waste recapture and sustainable
       sourcing in order to reduce their environmental footprint.
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/10/heineken-carbon-neutral-brewery/
  HTML http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/10/heineken-carbon-neutral-brewery/
       Agelbert NOTE: Expect some fossil fuel loving hairsplitter to
       show up to yammer about fossil fuel powered tractors and other
       farm equipment used to grow the beer ingredients giving the
       alleged "lie" to this story.
       The fact is that ALL farm machinery can be run on ethanol
       Renewable Energy biofuels, never mind the fact that EV farm
       machinery is perfectly feasible due to the ease of harvesting
       solar and wind energy on the farm to charge farm machinery
       (which does not have to move very far at all) batteries in a
       sustainable and renewable fashion.
       But those "details" are somehow always "forgotten" by the fossil
       fuelers...  ::)
       #Post#: 5272--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Carbon Neutral Buildings 
   DIR By: AGelbert
       Date: June 12, 2016, 12:01 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Palloy link ---
       >
       > [quote]But those "details" are somehow always "forgotten" by
       the fossil fuelers...
       --- End Quote ---
       Some details are also forgotten by those besotted by Renewables
       - like the infrastructure's embedded energy.
  HTML http://www.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-010215143525.png<br
       /> The factory, the solar panels, the tractors (which are
       basically a diesel engine with wheels bolted on and CAN'T be
       electrified), the transport infrastructure (trucks and roads),
       the retail shops, the vehicles to get to the shops and back.
       For some of those items, you would only count a proportion of
       the energy towards the energy budget of beer, obviously.
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       [/center][/quote]
       [center]
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       Palloy, the hairsplitting, snark infested, sarcastic mocker of
       anything that smacks of a solution to our planetary crisis
       ARRIVES.  ::) Your, "all Renewable Energy has a large fossil
       fuel energy component", therefore Renewable Energy is not a
       solution" purist bullshit is BORING, unrealistic,  tiresome and
       irrelevant to the world's energy demand SOLUTION, WHICH IS the
       ongoing transition to 100% Renewable Energy.
       I wish to point out, ONCE AGAIN, how ALL that infrastructure you
       mentioned CAN and DOES run quite well on 100% PLUS Renewable
       Energy, even if most of it does not now BECAUSE your beloved
       fossil fuel Fascists have consistently gamed the energy source
       and use market with laws and subsidy THEFT.
       SNIPPET from an article by Bill Ritter, Colorado’s 41st
       governor.
       Fossil fuels enjoy a variety of targeted tax benefits as well as
       MLPs. Denying the same mix to renewable energy investors
       perpetuates federal policies that have long picked fossil fuels
       as the winners. The PTC/ITC and MLPs should not be an either/or
       issue.
       Bill Ritter served as Colorado’s 41st governor. He is currently
       the director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at
       Colorado State University.
  HTML http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2014/09/30/lets-even-the-playing-field-for-renewable-energy/Negative
  HTML http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2014/09/30/lets-even-the-playing-field-for-renewable-energy/Negative<br
       />
       There is too much fossil fuel industry corruption in, and
       collusion with, our government. The fact is that fossil fuel
       industry has succeeded in getting EIA to the absurdly ridiculous
       conclusion that pushing "natural" (i.e. FRACKED) gas is in the
       "Public" (see: Fossil fuel Corporate Profits) Interest.
       If the "Public Interest" by Federal Agencies was not being
       equated to JOB SECURITY INTEREST for the fossil fuel industry,
       then the allegations from the EIA that "natural" gas power
       plants are "cheaper" to build and have greater "capacity" than
       renewable power generation from wind would be summarily
       dismissed as contrived numbers gaming.
       The EIA, like the EPA and FERC, continue to cherry pick
       thermodynamic science and energy costs, while totally IGNORING
       the social costs of carbon per ton (now a minimum of 11 dollars
       per ton), in order to continue to fraudulently PICK FOSSIL FUELS
       as WINNERS.
       In a sane world, the "IN the PUBLIC INTEREST" award for any
       energy generation source cannot be awarded without considering
       the SCC (social cost of carbon).
       Fossil fuels are in the fossil fuel industry's interest, not the
       PUBLIC INTEREST.
       Thermodynamic efficiency did not, and does not, have anything
       whatsoever to do with the prevailing use of fossil fuels, as you
       consistently, and erroneously, claim.
       People like you always want to reduce this to a cost estimate
       game. But it is really an ethical issue. I read this in an
       excellent article on GRIST about discount rates and estimating
       carbon pollution costs to society.
       --- Quote ---
       > Say you could ask the people of 2100 (some of whom may be your
       children or grandchildren), “would you rather inherit $1
       trillion in cash or $1 trillion worth of avoided drought, storm,
       and famine?” Which do you think they would choose?
       >
       > They will have lost biodiversity, up to half the species on
       the planet. They will have lost millions of acres of old-growth
       and tropical forest, most of the world’s coral reefs, and the
       bulk of world’s annual sea ice.
       >
       > Those things will never return, not in time spans relevant to
       our species. The natural world that has provided us sustenance
       since we were primates can not be restored once it’s gone. And
       there’s more to the biosphere than the “services” it provides
       humans. Some damages cannot be captured in dollar terms.
       --- End Quote ---
       
  HTML http://grist.org/article/discount-rates-a-boring-thing-you-should-know-about-with-otters/
  HTML http://grist.org/article/discount-rates-a-boring-thing-you-should-know-about-with-otters/
       It's a long article. They use pictures of otters to try make the
       math less boring. But it's good reading IF you aren't biased in
       favor of dirty energy.  ;)
       When you decide to figure in the subsidies, gamed laws and SCC
       (social Cost of Carbon - now between 11 and about 57 dollars a
       ton, depending on the discount rate used) in your energy math,
       we can talk.
       Otherwise, take your cherry picked numbers designed to pick
       fossil fuels as sine qua non energy winners elsewhere.
       --- Quote ---
       >
       > I dutifully drink my beer from aluminium cans on the grounds
       that they are expensive enough to recycle, whereas glass isn't,
       not at my distance from the rest of the world anyway.  Probably
       aluminium isn't worth recycling energy-wise either, and you are
       welcome to have the solar-powered aluminium smelter near your
       backyard, but they don't sell beer in glazed stoneware flagons
       any more.
       > [center]
       >
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       >
       --- End Quote ---
       BECAUSE of the subsidies, gamed laws and SCC, fossil fuels ARE
       NOT in the public interest. Fossil fuels are in the interest
       ONLY of the fossil fuel industry, PERIOD.
       Enjoy your beer and your energy costs cherry picking ignorance,
       fossil fueler.
       
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