Repair (Heal) Your World

What if we could make our own electricity cheaper than we can buy it?

2012-02-25T16:28:00.003+02:00

Read my Net Metering article and see for yourself.

The Green Capitalist Party, The Rondebosch Common and the Occupy Movement

2012-01-29T19:20:00.000+02:00

I just posted this on Facebook in reply to a question about the Green Party's view on the Occupy Movement and Rondebosch Common, and thought I should repost it here.

"On January 27 2012, 42 members of a group called "Take back the Common", were arrested by the SAPS for holding an illegal gathering on or near the Common". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondebosch_Common

The FB Green Party isn't the official Green Party. In fact, I started a FB page called The South African Green Capitalist Party and got so much flack that eventually I started this one. The good thing about the SAGCP party was that there was a huge amount of correspondence - And I have been considering going back to the original name. What do you think?

Note that there is an official South African Green Party which has been registered, but I have never been able to get hold of the people who run it.

See http://mypowerstation.wordpress.com/article/what-is-capitalism-anyway-213ev1gehazzh-2/ for how I feel capitalism should be defined and why I coined the term Green Capitalism. Also note that Capitalism as we know it is becoming more and more like Communism as we know it. In Communism a few people own everything.

I'm reading Richard Branson's new book "Screw Business As Usual" and he has also doesn't like what's happened to Capitalism, and he has invented a new name, Capitalism 24902; 24902 for the distance around the equator in Miles!

The Green Party doesn't have an official position on the Occupy movement, save that I personally support what they are doing.

As for the Rondebosch Common, it was proclaimed a National Monument in 1961 and the Common was originally much bigger. It included The Red Cross Children's Hospital, for example. As a monument, it is given in perpetuity for the use of the Citizens of our beautiful city and country. I agree that it is underutilised, but it is one of the few Green Lungs left in a town with sprawling overdevelopment and no thoughts for parks. Think London other great cities with their amazing parks and public spaces all over the city. The Common could have a running track and a cycling track, toilets, and small stall type shops around the outside supporting local indigenous industry where the wealth remains in Cape Town. Any organisation which sends profits overseas will not be allowed to use the common under this scenario.

PS: I visited the occupy London site outside St Paul's Cathedral when I was in London in November. Photos on my David Lipschitz Facebook page.

2011: The Year of The Forest?

2011-12-16T13:04:00.002+02:00

In 2012, the year of the forest, at least 50,000 (check number of trees) have been felled on the Table Mountain National Park and within Cape Town. The reason given is that the trees consume precious water resources. However, this is only one variable in a complex equation. Millions of birds, their chicks, snakes, other fauna and hundreds of millions of flora that live under the forest canopy have been murdered in this process. Billions of essential bacteria living in the ground has been destroyed. And we are left with a more acidic environment, with less ground cover and fewer trees holding the soil, thus erosion will be increased radically. Trees remove toxins from the ground, provide oxygen to the air, provide an environment where people can go walking and stay fit, and provide a myriad other environmental needs. Removing the trees has also dramatically increased South Africa's carbon footprint, just at the time that ministers are saying South Africa needs help from the "developed world" at COP17. If we don't start in our back yard, we cannot expect help.

We have spoken to the chief director of environmental affairs of PAWC environmental department who told us that the trees should have been replaced with indigenous trees. This has not happened and in the process we have lost a forest that was planted by our ancestors whose vision saw a massive growth in the population of South Africa; a population that would need trees to survive. And this population has allowed our trees to be chopped down and sold to the highest bidder.

As far as water goes, it is true that the water table decreases when there are trees, but the benefits outweigh this particular disadvantage. Furthermore, the Table Mountain Range has something like 35 springs that could provide enough fresh water for half the citizens of Cape Town, but most of this water is allowed to run into the sea. South African Breweries, Woolworths, and some other companies make use of this water. Citizens fetch water at a couple of the strings, for example in Spring Road, in Newlands.

New research in Israel and Germany, the only two countries in the world that ended the 20th Century with more trees than they started with, show that creating a indigenous rain forest makes weather patterns less erratic and we can see that weather patterns in Cape Town have started becoming more erratic with storms in the middle of summer, cold temperatures and new snow on the Ceres mountain range.

In Gaviotas in Columbia, a non-indigenous forest was planted as a way of getting trees into an arid area. After 10 years, local seeds that had been dormant in the soil for perhaps thousands of years germinated and the natural forest canopy took over. If the seeds in the soil of Table Mountain had seen the opportunity, they too would have germinated.

So we have cut down trees which supposedly use our water, whilst at the same time wasting the water from our springs. And furthermore, most of our water in Cape Town comes from the huge dams in the Hottentots Holland Mountain Range, 60km South East of Cape Town, so what is the problem?

It is time for the Citizens of this beautiful city to get together and prevent more destruction of our precious environment. We cannot rely on our leaders and government to do it for us anymore, be they ANC or DA. Our government is meant to be an organisation that are "public servants", but unfortunately governments today see the public, who pay their salaries, as their servants and this situation must change.

Showing that we are concerned about our trees will change this behaviour pattern and make Cape Town and the Western Cape into an environment that we all want to live in. Positive energies created will lead people to look at creating their own electricity, collecting their own rain water (as our grandparents used to do), dealing with our own sewerage, collectively growing our own vegetables and chickens, and generally leading to an increased vitality and health, unknown in the past couple of decades.

WHERE IS GOD IN THE WORLD?

2011-12-13T20:49:00.002+02:00

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God ? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

The Energy Internet

2011-12-12T12:47:00.000+02:00

Japan Group to Build Smart Power Grids That Treat Energy Like Network Data | PCWorld Business Center

The Fight for Clean Air - Article in Tabletalk 16 Nov 2011

2011-11-16T16:41:00.001+02:00

Dear Editor

Your article about Chevron and pollution refers.

It says that Chevron "complies with SA air quality laws." But where are Chevron and other big corporations Values, Morals, Ethics, Social Responsibility?

The world is in a huge financial mess because many large banks, corporations and governments have "obeyed the law" but have left the really important things called values and ethics out of their business dealings in the singleminded pursuit of profit. The huge loss is to humankind and nature. This loss is becoming more and more visible each day as many corporations and governments destroy the very environment that supports humankind by creating laws which ignore nature and ethics.

Chevron's values statement, on the internet, says: "We are honest with others and ourselves. We meet the highest ethical standards in all business dealings. We do what we say we will do. We accept responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for our work and actions." I wonder how many of Tabletalk's readers agree with this statement? Does Delight Chandler, PR Manager for Chevron, agree with this statement?

Yours faithfully

David Lipschitz

Day 2

2011-10-30T11:02:00.000+02:00

The Mayan Calendar Ended on the 28th October 2011

The world ended on the 28th October 2011.

Actually the world as we know it ended. The world will never be the same again. In the past month, Desmond Tutu said that the new regime is worse than Apartheid. And ANC NEC member Fikile Xasa called for an end to corruption.

World wide Photovoltaic production doubled. We are already at parity with City of Cape Town electricity under certain circumstances, ie the price of buying electricity is the same as producing it yourself!

Every Day is a Bonus Day.

We are now in Day 2. Love Day 2. Embrace it. Nurture it.

A Jewish "Niggun" or rhym: "Return to the land, return to the land, return to the land of your soul. Return to the land, return to the land, return to the land of your soul. Return to who you are, return to what you are, return to where you were born and reborn again." This is not about going back. It is about finding out who you are, why you are here, and getting onto the path that God has given you. A Buddhist Meditation (called Meta): "May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. My I be happy." Replace I with we. Replace I with "my family." Replace I with "our world." etc.

We are in Day 2. Do we need to call it week 1 or month 1 or year 1? I don't think so. Let's just call it Day 2. If you want to name it, perhaps call it StarDate 2.

Maybe I'm nuts. Maybe I'm eccentric. But Genesis 1, 28 informs all our actions on Day 2 and every day henceforth: We should "go forth and multiply, and replenish the earth." We cannot simply take and take, but must consider how we can put back. We are also told that the "sins of the fathers will be on the children to the forth generation" (Deuteronomy 5, 9). Four generations are about 100 years. This sentence means that we should consider 100 years time in all our decision making. The warnings are in our most ancient teachings. It's about time we heeded them.

With all my love and support for us all,
David

PS: It's a beautiful day.

The Crash of September 2011

2011-09-23T17:26:00.000+02:00

Who needs to be bailed out anyway?

The usual rhetoric on the radio from the managing director of the EU Central Bank. "Banks balance sheets are weak and they need to be bailed out so that they can lend to business which keeps the economy going." The only true bit here is that business keeps the economy going.

The USA, with its QE1 and QE2 bailout programs has pumped TRILLIONS ($1.7 per annum) into banks over the past 3 years. Most of that money went into the stock market pushing up market prices. Now the market crashes because there is no QE3 which means the US$ increases in value and becomes worth something again.

So now the banks have weak balance sheets again because their stock market investments have just crashed.

If the USA and EUCB really want to help, they should lend the money that they want to give to banks directly to the people who create the jobs and make the world a better place - sustainably.

If you don't vote you vote for the winner

2011-05-18T11:52:00.002+02:00

South African Municipal Elections: 18th May 2011

If you don't vote you vote for the winner.

Why?

Assume 10 people are eligible to vote:
* 4 vote for party A
* 3 vote for party B
* 3 don't vote

If any of the 3 people who didn't vote had voted for party B, there would either have been a draw or party B could have one. Therefore by not voting, the 3 people who didn't vote automatically voted for the winner.

Note that with 4 people voting for party A, party A gets 4/7 of the vote, ie 57% of the vote, not 40% of the vote as one might expect.

So please vote today and in every future election.

Have your say. Be heard. And in future, when you have a grievance, address it to the party you voted for. Otherwise you don't have a say and you aren't involved.

Impacting Goverment and Saving Money

2011-05-14T13:39:00.000+02:00

Suppose that everyone bought a geyser timer and suppose that everyone set these to work outside peak hours.

Users would send an immediate signal to Eskom that this peak energy is not required thus saving several new power stations.

It's time for us to take responsibility for the costs that government incurs on our behalf.

The fastest way for us to do this is to change our behaviour.

Beaver Anal Gland in Vanilla Icecream

2011-04-10T09:33:00.000+02:00

Jamie Oliver Watch the video

Castoreum

Treason, Recession, Freedom, Energy, Employment, Health

2011-01-27T06:53:00.000+02:00

We just heard that the UK is entering a "double dip recession." The recession that most of the Western World is in is not going to stop. It cannot end while our focus is on the tertiary services sector, whilst our secondary productive sector's resources are outsourced to the cheapest bidder, partly because of minimum wages, and partly because our capitalist leaders and government think they can make more money and profits by this outsourcing. It is narrow minded, myopic thinking and it is treason!

Part of our productive resources are our power stations. South Africa will spend about R2 trillion over the next 20 years on new power stations. Most of this money will leave our country; it will create relatively few permanent jobs; it will ruin our environment; our balance of payments will continue to skyrocket; and it won't help the recession to end; because we will be beholden to our major creditors, China and Germany. China is growing at 10% whilst the rest of the world fiddles the books to show growth, but if the trend shows that unemployment is increasing, how can this be called growth?

There is an alternative. It is called Renewable Energy. South Africa is uniquely placed in Africa, which will be the world's biggest market in 20 years time, to take advantage of the amazing growth that will take place here. We have the knowledge, resources and capital. There are even foreign companies who are trying to build factories here, but the government has been saying no for years.

Please note that this letter is not an attack on China. It just shows what a nation can achieve if they all work together to make themselves wealthier and healthier. Over a decade of 10%+ growth. The fastest growing renewable energy industry in the world. The world's second biggest economy. The world's wealthiest nation. Isn't it time for South Africa to make its true mark on the world stage?

Veg Pride Campaign

2010-10-20T16:40:00.001+02:00

If you can, please take part in the Veg Pride activities on Saturday 30th October in Cape Town.

See http://www.bwcsa.co.za/campaigns

15% of Americans live in Poverty

2010-09-16T23:02:00.002+02:00

The Washington Post reports that 1 in seven Americans live in poverty.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/16/AR2010091602698.html?wpisrc=nl_pmheadline

What happened to The American Dream?

It is time to start implementing a Free Life On Earth.

Do we need retirement funding and a cost of living?

2010-09-08T10:00:00.001+02:00

Can we live a Free Life On Earth without Retirement Funding and without a Cost of Living for ourselves and for our environment? David Lipschitz believes we can: see http://knol.google.com/k/david-lipschitz/free-life-on-earth/213ev1gehazzh/1#.

RYW: David's new year message 5771

2010-09-06T22:38:00.000+02:00

Greetings my friends,

I have written a Rosh Hashanah and Eid Mubarak message which is applicable to my Jewish and Muslim friends at this time of year, and is also applicable to all my friends and everyone I know and/or who know me. It is here.

It deals with my philosophy and shows how we can live in this life, not be apathetic or dead, reduce our carbon footprint, reduce our cost of living for ourselves and this earth and think differently. Enjoy. Grab a cup of tea or coffee as it is 8 pages. There are bits in bold in each paragraph in case you'd like to have a quick scan.

Sorry it is so long, but I haven't written for a long time and there is a lot to catch up on. I have recreated myself at MyPowerStation. You can read about how it happened on my PR page.

The order of importance of the highlighting in the text is yellow, then green, then purple.

The article refers to Genesis and Deuteronomy and our Constitution and President Jacob Zuma and Helen Zille and Dan Plato and you and me. It also refers to R100 Billion and shows us how we can think about such big numbers and what we can do with R100,000,000,000 if we decide not to build a coal powered power station and spend the money differently. We have to assume that if the government can find R100,000,000,000 to build a power station, they they (we) can find the money and use it for purposes that reduce our cost of living both for ourselves and our planet. We have to further assume that if our government ministers can think about the value of One Hundred Thousand Million Rand then so can we.

I wish you all a content 5771 or 2010/2011 and may you "retire" by at least 5% in the next year, ie worry about the future 5% less. If we seek to retire by 5% per annum for 20 years, then in 20 years time we will be retired, ie we won't need to worry about the future. If you are confused then read the Knol.

Shalom Aleichem / Salaam Aleikum / Namaste / Peace (of mind, health, body and soul) to You
Your friend, David

SA's power gap becoming worrying again, big business warns

2010-08-18T06:25:00.002+02:00

More here.

The Oil Spill and Renewable Energy

2010-08-02T08:42:00.001+02:00

In the same week we read of the terrible damage that oil production is doing to our world, and at the same time as the world's worst economic recession, we see hope: renewable energy. Here are some articles.

Toxicologists warn that waters that look clear of oil can be deceiving

Photos of the disaster.

Also take a look at BP Oil Spill on Youtube for an interesting view of the oil spill.

Renewable Energy at the Tipping Point

"Over the past two years, the United States and Europe have both added more power capacity from renewables than from coal, gas, and nuclear combined, according to the report. Worldwide, renewables accounted for one-third of the new generating capacity added.

Renewable energy, including hydropower, now provides 18 percent of total net electricity generation worldwide. Meanwhile, biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are making inroads in the transportation fuels market and are now equal to about 5 percent of world gasoline production. And in China, more than 150 million people heat at least some of their water using solar hot water systems.

The economic weight of the renewable energy sector is now large enough to attract many of the world's largest and most powerful companies, from GE and Siemens to unlikely players such as Samsung and Google. Renewable energy investment of $150 billion worldwide in 2009 was the equivalent of nearly 40 percent of annual investment in the upstream oil and gas industry, which topped $380 billion.

Changes in government policy are responsible for most of these advances. In 2009 alone, 10 national and state governments enacted policies giving renewable power generation access to the grid at prices set by policymakers, bringing the number of governments with such policies to 70. Altogether, the number of countries with policies to encourage renewable energy has increased from 55 in 2005 to 100 in 2010 [and South Africa is being left behind as although we have policies, we have no way to implement them. The reason for this is that we do not have power purchase agreements. Many people, including myself have asked government to simply allow "net metering" where we can efficiently connect ourselves to the grid and provide battery and generator backup for emergencies. Doing this will cost the government nothing, and will create many jobs, investment, additional taxes for the fiscus, etc, but the ANC won't allow it as they see electricity generation "being the responsibility of the state" even though private individuals wish to provide for their own energy security and are prepared to pump excess energy into the grid without a feed in tariff].

One of the forces motivating new renewable energy policies is the desire to create new industries and jobs. Employment in the renewables sector now numbers in the hundreds of thousands in several countries. In Germany, which has led renewable energy development for more than a decade, more than 300,000 people were employed in renewables industries in 2009. This figure almost equals the number of jobs in the country's largest manufacturing sector: automobiles."

Renewables 2010 Global Status Report

Note: [comments in square brackets are by David Lipschitz; the bolding is also by David Lipschitz]

• "For the second year in a row, in both the United States and Europe, more renewable power capacity was added than conventional power capacity (coal, gas, nuclear). Renewables accounted for 60 percent of newly installed power capacity in Europe in 2009, and nearly 20 percent of annual power production.

• China added 37 GW of renewable power capacity [this is almost South Africa's entire production added in one year!!], more than any other country in the world, to reach 226 GW of total renewables capacity. Globally, nearly 80 GW of renewable capacity was added, including 31 GW of hydro and 48 GW of non-hydro capacity.

• Wind power additions reached a record high of 38 GW. China was the top market, with 13.8 GW added, representing more than one-third of the world market — up from just a 2 percent market share in 2004. The United States was second, with 10 GW added. The share of wind power generation in several countries reached record highs, including 6.5 percent in Germany and 14 percent in Spain.

• Solar PV additions reached a record high of 7 GW. Germany was the top market, with 3.8 GW added, or more than half the global market [Germany has much less sun than South Africa, but look what it is doing - Renewable Energy is cheaper than any other form of fossil fuel energy if all costs are considered]. Other large markets were Italy, Japan, the United States, Czech Republic, and Belgium. Spain, the world leader in 2008, saw installations plunge to a low level in 2009 after a policy cap was exceeded."

Efergy e2 Energy Meter Videos

2010-07-27T15:18:00.000+02:00

Apathetic People and The (A) Messiah

2010-07-26T18:28:00.000+02:00

I've been involved in various causes for decades. A few people take it upon themselves to make their world a better place.

I've decided that "Apathetic people do what they like because one day the (or perhaps a) Messiah will come and save them."

Do you agree with me?

Do you agree that each of us has a piece of God inside us and therefore we have shared responsibilities to take care of our world?

My Power Station

2010-07-15T19:13:00.002+02:00

My new sales and energy management web site is up and running. Take a look at http://www.mypowerstation.biz/

My Power Station concerns internal (personal) and external (relationships, electricity) energy. Both of these types of energy are renewable, ie can and should be renewed.

Renewed implies a time limit. The time limit should be reasonably short, eg 1 month to 10 years. Fossil fuel energies are "renewable" in the sense that it takes millions of years for trees to become coal and oil, but this stored energy is being released far too quickly into our atmosphere and the 20th Century Process is causing environmental destruction.

We need a new process for the 21st Century. We don't want our children to think of us as living in The Age of Stupid. "Why didn't we save ourselves when we had the chance" is the question asked in the video.

I believe we live in The Age of Procrastination. We don't understand something so we leave it for someone else. Or we believe something will take us too long, so we rather watch sport and let other "green" people handle these problems. But these "green people" are not "green" (stupid) anymore. We are waking up and using our knowledge to make changes. Some of us are business people and we are helping this movement take shape. We need your help.

So ...

In the internal section, we will explore:

Tai Chi
Reiki
Meditation
Djembe Drumming
Walking
Nature
Saving Ourselves
The external section will explore:

Relationships
Business Energy
Renewable Energy: energy from the sun, wind, water, underground, etc
Ideas for 21st Century Energy
We'll be updating this part of the site in the next few weeks.

In the meantime you can start saving money, saving the environment and saving yourselves (with our creator's help) by reading our Reduce section.

RYW: Skills for Community Self Reliance Course

2010-07-14T12:50:00.005+02:00

To my dear RYW BLOG readers

I just attended a week long Ecovillages and Sustainable Community Design Course.

It was brilliant.

If you'd like more information, please email me or reply here.

Love
David

PS: I will be prefixing these BLOGS with RYW in future. RYW stands for RepairYourWorld, my BLOG.

Oil Slicks and Slick Oil

2010-06-18T16:55:00.002+02:00

Oil spills of the magnitude of the one in the Gulf don't just happen. A combination or series of errors and misjudgements leads to them. One could say that 100 years ago when we had electric cars before petrol cars that we should have stayed with electric cars, but we didn't. And recently BP tried to save money and at the same time drilled into pressures that have never been dealt with before and the latest oil spill is the result.

Here's a short video that shows what might be going on. It concerns a coffee spill and 5.4 million people have watched it already.

The latest BP oil slick isn't the only one in the Gulf and there are probably loads more elsewhere.

Here is one that was toppled by Hurricane Ivan 6 years ago. It still leaks today to make a plume 10 miles long. If BP and the USA government and current technology can't control this, then what about the latest debacle?

A huge undersea slick and with sea currents running at one to two knots, then I believe that we can expect oil from the latest gusher off South African coast in less than 10 months. There is already talk of the gulf stream taking the slick to Europe.

This is not just a USA catastrophe, but a world wide one. Here is a more up to date video of the latest Horizon oil slick.

Take a look at some photos.

BP could have prevented the disaster, but greed overrode safety. Take a look at this business analyst's analysis of what happened. See http://www.haroldrobinson.co.za/News/2010/06_2010_June.html

So what of an alternative. We are constantly told that Sun and Wind cannot give us Base Load power, ie power our factories that run 24 hours a day. But think about Ocean Current Energy. There are alternatives.

I understand that about 40% of our energy is used to get more energy; eg look at this huge coal digger, the Bagger 288. It requires 16.56 MW of energy to run it as it gets more coal. How wasteful is that? And then consider that most of the energy from our power stations is lost on its way to the consumer. How much better to have localised electricity with 90% efficiency?

Please make your voice heard. It's getting late and we have much to do. According to The Global Education Project 69% of electricity produced is lost in transmission and distribution, ie getting it to us. So the Bagger 288 requires 24 MW of energy to run, ie energy produced at the power station to give 16.56MW of energy at the digger.

So you're reeling and you don't know what to do and you want to make a difference right now? ok, step 1: eat less meat. Simple and easy. Find nutritious alternatives. Try healthy sprouts. Step 2: recycle everything you can, eg leaves in the garden; your clothes; old toys. step 3: try to find ways to use less. These three things will all reduce the amount of energy needed to run your life and you will start making a difference today.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the soccer.

World Cup, Grid Tie, Net Metering, Ecovillages, Acid Mind Drainage

2010-06-11T14:58:00.002+02:00

Dear all

World Cup fever is here. I'm supporting Bafana Bafana and hope you are too. Kick off in an hour. Even if Bafana Bafana don't win, South Africa wins. The opening ceremony was great.

Take a look at The Spectacular World Cup circle.

Click anywhere in the circle and on the outside of the circle. An amazing bit of programming and a great reference.

I thought you all might like to know that things are starting to change in South Africa with more and more people connecting grid tie systems. I met the Minister of the Environment in the Western Cape Province on Tuesday about grid tie and net metering and he wants me to come back and do a presentation to his department.

I'm also currently doing quotes and working on proposals for systems of 2KW, 3KW, 5KW, 100KW and 1MW, so things are hotting up.

If you're thinking about lowering your cost of electricity over the next 20 years and of getting security of supply, please contact me. I'm also in touch with a Solar Water Heater installer in case you need one. If you don't know where to start, then buy an Efergy e2 Energy Meter from me. It shows me you are committed and gives you an hour of my time. R995 for a single phase system and R1295 for a three phase system. Prices include VAT.

There is also some good news about Eco Villages and about Acid Mine Drainage.

I pray you are all well.

Love
David

David Lipschitz on The Midday Report

2010-03-08T21:18:00.000+02:00

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Questions from Chris Gibbons: How does Renewable Energy Feed In Work? Can every house feed electricity into the grid? Are we reinventing the wheel or has it been done before? How about wind energy? Why aren't we doing it in South Africa? Is NERSA colluding with ESKOM?
Answers include: Monopoly; Power Purchase Agreement; Farmers; Job Creation; Different between renewable energy jobs and base load power station jobs.