EcoWho Blog Feed

Are Lithium Ion Batteries Safe?

ecowho.com — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 21:25:28 +1100

We ask if Lithium Ion Batteries are actually safe for use in home power storage systems or not?

Lithium Ion batteries, like all batteries, store their power using a chemical process. Different processes have different energy densities and characteristics, like sensitivity to heat and longer term usable storage capacity (most batteries degrade over time).
The particular question with Lithium Ion and their safety, in part, relates to their incredibly high energy density; a high energy density means there is a lot of 'chemical potential' stored in a given volume. In essence there is more energy in a Lithium Ion battery to go wrong 'with' if something does happen to go wrong. Also Lithium Ion has a nasty characteristic of being able to self sustain a fire event, it literally can feed off itself. For instance on some planes with Lithium Ion backup batteries, they actually have a 'vent' to the outside, so if they do happen to catch fire all the heat and fumes go outside..
Now, if we were to just install basic Lithium Ion batteries in our homes without appropriate safe guards, we would be setting ourselves up for a disaster. Luckily though manufacturers of Lithium Ion batteries for home use have worked hard to put in place multiple design safe guards to prevent 'run away' fire situations occurring, they do this by:

Physical Design - making the battery robust and secure
Monitoring - checking temperature and battery vitals to ensure it does not overcharge
Installation Procedures - ensuring it isn't installed in places where it could be a problem.

So, Lithium Ion batteries have the 'potential' to catch fire; but the actual risk of them doing so has been reduced through design and processes to actually make it not a significant worry.
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Solar Batteries Comparison Table is Live

ecowho.com — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 08:32:18 +1100

The new solar batteries Comparison Table is now live.

After much hard work, the Solar Batteries Comparison Table is now live.
This lists the most common batteries for use with solar panels (or time shifting) with the ability to sort, them got into a detailed page on each battery, so you can easily select which batteries are of interest to you.
These battery pages are fully incorporated into the site, so you will find references to them all over the site where appropriate.
We will also be adding more functionality to the database over time to make the pages more useful, so please keep coming back.
If you did find the pages useful, please remember to Like the pages for us!
Enjoy!

BTW If you are a supplier or manufacturer of a battery and find something wrong, please do get in touch and we will correct. Also, we would appreciate it if you would point us to the following up to date information for your battery:

White background media ready images of your battery.
Fully detailed technical specifications.
Specific description of the warranty and any conditions.

This way we can ensure people are evaluating your batteries based on the most up to date information.

2016 February temperature uptick caused by El Niño

ecowho.com — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 20:39:36 +1100

The AGW alarmists seem to think the Feb 2016 sudden uptick in temperature is caused by Co2, this is not the case, its a strong El Niño - as it matches what has happened before.

Given the current screaming and shouting going on in the media with respect to the February 2016 temperature increase in the GISS Land-Ocean Temperature Index, you would be forgiven for thinking the end is nigh - well it isn't. This has happened before and we survived without issue - its called a strong El Niño.

This can be proven to be nothing unusual in the cycle by the following two charts:

The above chart shows the changes differences one month from the next, as can be seen by the red line, the February jump is nothing odd.

Now the above charts show how this El Niño compares to the previous one in 1997/1998 - looks pretty similar doesn't it? Now if you take into account the uncertainties (error bars), and mentally put a +/- band of 0.17 degrees around each line plot - they overlap each other considerably - thereby they are statistically similar...
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Must watch video about the Green movement and environmental damage

ecowho.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 21:26:41 +1100

This video exposes the gross hypocrisy of the Green movement and the damage their policies are causing to the environment and peoples standard of living - their are effectively anti-people and dangerous.

BLUE (Blue Beats Green) Full Movie HD from JD King on Vimeo.

The above video was funded by a crowd funded campaign, it talks to many people negatively effected by the Green movement and provides evidence of the environmental damage caused. Anybody who has an interest in a better future for themselves, their offspring and the planet should watch this video.

The Australian Carbon tax is no more

ecowho.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:04:36 +1000

Yesterday in the Senate the Carbon Tax was removed. This was a great victory for common sense as concerns realistic environmental policy.

The Carbon Tax in Australia is gone - hurrah!
Now, you may think this is somewhat a strange statement to find on an environmental website, but this is actually good news. The Carbon Tax, in its construction and operation, was actually more about money moving around for political gain than actually about doing anything to 'save' the environment.
Australia, in terms of 'carbon footprint' is a minor player on the international stage; China dwarfs us in its Co2 emissions and does so burning coal Australia supplies - anybody detect a hint of hypocrisy here? Our political class seemed perfectly happy to place an additional tax burden in our businesses and indirectly on the public - yet were perfectly happy to let Co2 producing coal go overseas to China?
Anyway its gone and good riddance. Hopefully this might lead to more enlightened policy decisions with respect to the environment and the real issues that impact Australia. For instance:

Water availability and supply;
Land degradation;
Energy usage efficiency.

I'm a firm believer that environmental policy needs to based on rational, realistic and hard science based logic. Of late we have had too much 'knee jerk/follow the leader' policy and too little analytical thinking. It's time to change the game for the benefit of all.

Dueling Climate Reports

ecowho.com — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 09:13:45 +1000

In the interests of free speech I'm reposting this article so it gets better exposure.

Guest essay by Dr. Craig D. Idso

The release of a United Nations (UN) climate change report last week energized various politicians and environmental activists, who issued a new round of calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the most fiery language in this regard came from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who called upon Congress to “wake up and do everything in its power to reduce dangerous carbon pollution,” while Secretary of State John Kerry expressed similar sentiments in a State Department release, claiming that “unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy.”

Really? Is Earth’s climate so fragile that both it and our way of life are in jeopardy because of rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions?

In a word, no! The human impact on global climate is small; and any warming that may occur as a result of anthropogenic CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions is likely to have little effect on either Earth’s climate or biosphere, according to the recently-released contrasting report Climate Change Reconsidered II: Biological Impacts, which was produced by the independent Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC).

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Second hand building materials

ecowho.com — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 22:53:46 +1100

Second hand building materials offer an excellent way to reduce environmental impact, we show you how.

Houses and buildings are constantly being demolished and rebuilt all the time. This creates a large amount of second hand building materials, that with a bit of careful planning and thinking can be used to not only reduce environmental impact but reduce the costs of a build as well.

1. Know what can reuse and what you cannot

Some materials from old building are not suitable for reuse, either due to legislation or known health effects. Asbestos is the best know of these, but there are a whole range of 'old' building materials which cannot be used. We suggest if in doubt do not use.

2. Prepare to be flexible

If you are buying second hand, its unlikely you will exactly what you need. So do not wait around for the perfect door or window, rather have a minimal set of requirements and shop to those. This will also make searching for such materials easier online.

3. Take your time

You need to plan to make use of second hand building materials; it won't all come together over night. Plus you carry the responsibility to locate and move anything you find, this all takes time to plan.

4. Have somewhere to store it

Yes, you can store what you buy on your building site, although unless you are regularly onsite and have secure storage - its not ideal. Plus this rather limits your ability to store smaller but higher value items (think door and window fittings, lights, etc).
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Climate Council, represents who?

ecowho.com — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 21:03:58 +1000

The Climate Commission is being reformed as the Climate Council, we ask who do they represent and what is their funding model?

According to this article Tim Flannery is reforming the Climate Commission as the Climate Council. The new Climate Council will consist of Commissioners from the old Climate Commission.
They need to be very careful in setting this up, as it could just been seen as an attempt to reuse the 'authority' of the old Climate Commission to continue the same messaging as they did before; which they cannot do, as they no longer have the 'platform' of being a government funded body; i.e. they have to now prove independence and transparency, it cannot be just assumed to be so.
For instance in this article:
'Professor Will Steffen said one of the first orders of business for the not-for-profit Council will be assessing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) fifth assessment report, due for release on Friday.

"We will do the very best we can to pull out the main points to this report and make it understandable to the Australian public," Prof Steffen told AAP, adding that he and colleagues hoped to produce a summary document within days of the release.'

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Rise of the Eco Warriors Screening

ecowho.com — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 06:30:19 +1000

Rise of the Eco Warriors is a film about spending 100 days in the Borneo jungle and saving wildlife

If you are in Sydney and looking for something to do come the 9th of October 2013 - you couldn't go far wrong by going to see an advance screening of 'Rise of the Eco Warriors' - a film about a group of people spending 100 days in the Borneo jungle and saving wildlife effected by the all habit destruction occurring in that country.

See here for more details and on how to book.

Fringe Benefits Car tax change bad for the environment

ecowho.com — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 05:45:23 +1000

The changes proposed by Labor to the fringe benefits car tax will be bad for the environment actually.

Changes in the fringe benefits tax proposed by Labor will remove the statutory rate; this means for abut 320,000 people they will have to keep log books and loose the ability to salary sacrifice against the benefit of having a company car - essentially making it uneconomical to 'share' the use of one car between a company and private usage.

So why is this bad for the environment? Well, cars these days for most families are essential to getting around. Removing the advantage for a company car to be used for private usage is forcing people to make a choice between having no car or buying another (cheaper) car. This is bad news for the environment, as it forces people into using two vehicles when they wouldn't otherwise need to.

It's also bad for the local car industry, as a lot of new lease hire cars will no longer be needed, the public rarely buys new cars and the manufacturers know this. This is turn is bad for the environment, as vehicles which are less efficient and clean are kept on the road for longer.
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Solar Power Installers, what to look for..

ecowho.com — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 07:11:14 +1100

When looking for a solar power installer, it pays to do your homework and double check that you are getting the best.

Given the money to be made from doing solar system installation, both for the installer and the final client. There are a lot of businesses doing solar power system installation. This, of course, means that some are better than others and some are rather worse than others.

So, given you want to have a system which will last for at least 20 years ideally, we provide some straight forward advice on how to find the best at a price point that works for you.

1. Shop around installers

Do not go with the first company you come across. As with most things in life, it will pay dividends to shop around. Not only will you get a better idea of what the price ranges and differences are between the systems being installed; you will also educate yourself on what goes into these system far quicker than just going with the first you find.

BTW you won't go far wrong read some of our articles in solar power anyways, plus they are free..

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Choosing a water tank

ecowho.com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:38:16 +1100

Water tanks, they come in so many different sizes and forms, it is often hard to work out what to choose and why, we can help..

A few years back we were having a reno done, and given we wanted to have a 'lush' garden without the water bill to match; we did some extensive research into what sort of water tanks would work for us and how to maximize the rainwater harvesting our roof would offer.

Well I have good news for you, all the research has been written up in an article - The Facts about Water Tanks . I hope you find it a useful read that will really focus your thinking on what you can do with a water tank or two..

Free Green Business Listings

ecowho.com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:33:39 +1100

If you are running a Green or Eco Business, you can list it for free.

If you are running a business which is green or eco related, you can list it for free in our Company Listings Directory . This is great if you are a small business looking for additional online exposure.

Also if you provide a link back to ecowho.com, we will upgrade your listing for free.

So, you have nothing to lose, give it a try!

Shale Oil in South Australia, problem or opportunity?

ecowho.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:39:48 +1100

Potentially massive amounts of shale oil exist in South Australia, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

According to this article it looks like up to 233 billion barrels of oil might be sitting in shale deposits under South Australia...

Now if that is so, and it looks like it could indeed be, it amounts to a heck of a lot of oil, something to rival the oil rich Middle East. Which in turn equates to billions upon trillions of money to be made from extracting this.

So given the many zeroes sums of money to be made from this - I doubt even the political Green movement will be able to 'bury' this. Sometimes the rewards can be so great to 'leap' over any obstacles, and I think this clearly qualifies on that regard.

Now, of course, if this is going to happen, one wants to see the best outcome for the environment and given the monetary return it should indeed be possible to extract the oil whilst doing proper environmental protection.
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Sea level rise of 1 meter in Australia unproven

ecowho.com — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 23:18:12 +1100

The ABC is currently saying that properties on the Australian coast are at risk for a 1 meter rise by the end of the century - where is the proof???

The ABC are currently promoting a blatant lie as concerns proven sea level rises.

The problem with this is that what they say will impact on the property market close to the sea, in the same way that a Greenie fraudulently issued a press release, they are in serious danger of making those who issue or present such false statements legally liable.

As regards the 'threat' of rising sea levels - to rise one meter by the end of the century would require 11.5mm per year. Yet if one looks at the current rate of sea level rise, as recorded since 1850 we get the following graph.

As can be seen, there has been no acceleration on this record since 1850. In fact we would need the rate of sea level rise to be eight times faster than it currently is; i.e. in reality we have a rate of sea level rise of about 9cm per 100 years - a darn sight less than 1 meter. For more information on this read this article .
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Tasmania Bushfires, lack of hazard reduction burns to blame

ecowho.com — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:13:40 +1100

The Tasmania Bushfires are more a result of a lack of hazard reduction burns and not due to Climate Change.

Miranda Devine has just published an article concerning the fires in Tasmania and how the lack of back burning and hazard reduction burns have in fact contributed massively to the intensity of the fires and that it is NOT caused by climate change.

She has also done a radio interview on the matter.

To be honest, what she says make a lot of sense. If gum leaves, bark, etc are left to accumulate you quickly have a 'fuel load' so high that it is not possible to be managed in the event of a fire. As someone who has pile burnt leaves, sticks, etc to keep my place tidy, there is a very clear reason why you do not pile it all up too high, rather than being a controllable fire it soon turns into an absolute fireball of intense heat. All those oils in the wood create a 'perfect storm' of conditions in high fuel load to create something that is uncontrollable.
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Mental Maths app Maths Bug updated

ecowho.com — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 05:27:10 +1100

Maths bug, the app to help teach and improve mental maths skills has been updated.

Maths Bug has been updated as follows:

Several annoying bug fixes
Support for latest version of Android OS
Localized into Chinese and Spanish.

This is a significant update to help users across the globe get more enjoyment from the app.

Its available for free from the Google Play Market here . If you would like to learn more please visit the apps' website .

Enjoy!

Updated Green Directory

ecowho.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:21:48 +1100

Our Green Dictionary App has undergone an upgrade.

We have just finished doing some upgrade work to the Green Dictionary App as follows:

Well over 800 definitions and terms covering the green, eco, environment and climate space;
Better support for tablets and latest edition Android (including Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean).
'Live' fetching of related blog posts for each definition, so for instance look up 'solar power' and see the latest blog posts that relate from leading eco, climate and science blogs.

If you have not got the App already you can download it from free from the Google Play market here . Give it a go!

Greenland Ice Sheet Melt

ecowho.com — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:00:45 +1100

We look at reports regarding the rate of Greenland ice sheet melt.

According to recent reports (see CNN & The Australian) it appears that the speed of the Greenland ice melt has been increasing at an 'alarming' rate...

The trouble with this is that this is only a problem if:

The measurements are indeed accurate enough to allow this analysis to stand, and,
The melt water remains as melt water and is not taken up by other parts of the climatic system (i.e. it gets converted back to ice somewhere else) and remains in balance as a whole.

Now, look at the following:

Embracing Data 'Noise' Brings Greenland's Complex Ice Melt Into Focus

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Straw man science: keeping climate simple; watch the pea..

ecowho.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 02:57:10 +1100

The conversation has just published a rather incorrect article claiming that none of the human produced Co2 is absorbed by the natural Co2 cycle, we blow it out the water.

See the offending article here , to quote:

"We produce a modest percentage of all CO2 emissions. But the extra emissions aren’t absorbed by the carbon cycle, so CO2 builds up in the air. A small rise each year has resulted in a 40% increase of CO2."

Wrong, yes Co2 has gone up, but it has been going up for the last 50m years, see here. Although, as noted in the paper, working out the exact source of Co2 and its relationship is very hard to do, as each source does not have a distinct Co2 'fingerprint' - rather there is a lot of overlap as different sources and sinks inject and consume different isotopes of Co2 in different ways.

As for the extra Co2 emissions from man not being consumed in the carbon cycle, it is well know that Co2 is growth promoter in plants. So much so that commercial operations growing plants often inject Co2 into their greenhouses to speed growth. Also it is known that the biosphere is blooming, and that the African Savannah's are turning into forests.
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