http://www.denversunsponge.com

Denversunsponge.com is a great blog with some up to date articles about alternative energy solutions. I suggest you take a look while I continue my quest for innovative ideas here at www.forgeyourownfuture.com.

Ontario-wide rebate saves energy and money!

via newswire.ca

"BURNABY, BC, July 5, 2011 /CNW/ - Legend Power Systems Inc. ("Legend") (TSXV: LPS) has successfully secured an Ontario-wide cash rebate that reduces our customers' purchase price by up to 50%. This recently launched incentive, branded as the saveONenergy retrofit program, is available to all businesses throughout Ontario. Legend is able to secure this cash rebate on behalf of its customers to seamlessly reduce their one time capital investment towards energy efficiency." Read more at www.newswire.ca

Legend Power Systems is one of the the local companies that I have been watching the last couple of years. Their Harmonizer-AVR basically regulates the incoming voltage to the optimum operating level, automatically adjusting to compensate for grid and load fluctuations. This system has been tested and proven by BC Hydro and is currently being used by companies such as IKEA, Honda and Loblaws.

"Even during our summer period with air conditioning loads, we still ended up with the equivalent electrical bill saving results in the range of 8.7% on our entire facility load."

- Doug McCann, General Manager IKEA Richmond Ltd

At www.legendpower.com you can see realtime numbers representing the amount of energy, money and greenhouse gasses saved. This feed seriously backs up the potential of the Harmonizer-AVR and in my opinion illustrates a brilliant concept in energy conservation. Ontario is really leading the way with their new rebate program and I can only hope that other Provinces, States and Countries will catch on. Hey China, are you interested?

TED Talks you should watch!

Angela Belcher : Using Nature to Grow Batteries



Fiorenzo Omenetto : Silk, the Ancient Material of the Future



Eli Pariser : Beware of Online Filter Bubbles

2nd Day of Living Future 2011

The 2nd day of Living Future 2011 started at 7am with a nice buffet breakfast followed by the morning plenary by Jason F. McLennan, one of the most influential people in today's green building movement. He gave a strong presentation, inspiring everyone with his ideas and innovations in sustainable design.

I was already impressed with the diversity of the attendees, young and old, salesmen, technologists, engineers, writers, contractors, buyers, architects, the list goes on. It was great to meet people and talk about green buildings, biotecture, alternative energies, and best of all our own city! It's amazing how mature our young city appears, with regard to our use of renewable energy and the efficiency of some of our modern buildings. Vancouver has always been utilizing hydroelectric power and has recently stepped up to the wind energy game with Grouse Mountain's 200-foot tall wind turbine and projects like Naikun Wind Energy's offshore wind farm. Green roofs and rooftop gardens have been popular in this city for quite some time and now ideas like urban farming and living walls are favored.

Today I attended two 2-hour class sessions, the first being Renovation Revolution : Quantifying the value of building reuse. It talked about really looking at all the factors when deciding to renovate a building or tear it down and build a new one. Factors such as building efficiency, type of occupant, imported materials, energy requirements, local workers and urban impact among others. The instructors made it easy to understand and encouraged participation and conversation around the classroom. This session really opened me up to the analysis and considerations that must go into a building renovation or new construction.

After an offsite lunch at V Restaurant in Yaletown, I returned the the Sheraton Wall Centre to attend my afternoon class, The Red List and Beyond : Engaging to find Healthy Materials and Transform the Industry. This course was a great introduction to the Red List and the intentions behind it. The Red List is a list of materials and chemicals that we definitely do not want in our buildings, such as asbestos, formaldehyde, mercury and lead. This session brought out some great minds and resulted in a lively discussion about how to best regulate these Red List standards and how to persuade both manufacturers and consumers to adopt these logical practices.

I was unable to attend the Big Bang Awards Dinner or the 2nd day of classroom sessions, but I was impressed with what I did experience at this years Living Future Conference. Thanks to the girls at the Sheraton for taking care of this one, and I am seriously thinking about dropping the $700 to attend World Future 2011 and/or Living Future 2012.

1st day of Living Future 2011

I was not sure what to expect when attending Living Future 2011 as this was going to be first unconference. As I entered the North Tower of the Sheraton Wall Center, I was greeted by an organized registration booth and a loud buzz in the air. As I received my lanyard and program, I noticed many small groups of people interacting and an overall positive forward-thinking vibe.

I went up the escalator to the check out the trade floor level, and I was impressed by a few of the new products, but not the diversity. Most were wood based building products while only a few were new innovations such as Biostruct's Earthen Wall Systems, a hemp-based concrete or hempcrete and Liveroof's Hybrid Green Roofing System. I was quite happy with the little snacks and my two free scotches, but the variety of booths didn't really satiate my palate.

I was really looking forward the keynote presentation and it did not disappoint, with presentations by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robinson, CrowdBrite founder Darin Dinsmore and eco-entrepreneur Majora Carter.

I can't wait to share more of my experience at Living Future 2011 but in order to do that I should probably head to bed so I can be well rested to take it all in tomorrow.

Future Living 2011 : The Unconference for Deep Green Professionals

I am excited to say that I will be attending this years Future Living 2011 Unconference taking place at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, BC from April 27th to 29th. This event is put on by the Cascadia Green Building Council and this years theme is - Our Children’s Cities: Visualizing a Restorative Civilization. Below is an excerpt from their website.

Their future is in our hands.

As stewards of our children’s planet, we are faced with an incredible challenge. We must lay the groundwork for a built environment that thrives within the reality of increasingly limited resources and foster an economy that serves the triple bottom line.

A tall order to be sure, but not impossible.

When the green building movement’s leading thinkers and practitioners come together to share their deep expertise and dearest hopes, we can leap ahead as a movement and as a society. Living Future, Cascadia’s annual unconference, offers a unique forum for exactly this kind of gathering.

Living Future 2011:

* It’s where cutting-edge practice meets inspiration.
* It's where visionaries get down to brass tacks.
* It's just around the corner.


Join us.


http://cascadiagbc.org/living-future/11

Blind mice no more

Logitech has utilized a cool technology that allows you to use your wireless mouse on any surface around the home or office. From the leather couch to the kitchen counter or lacquered tabletop, this mouse is designed to work on all surfaces. With a retail price of between $80 - $120 and I think it is a fair price for this technology.

"Beginning in 2005, Logitech – the world’s leading manufacturer of computer mice – embarked on a multiyear research and development project to create a mouse (that could be used on any surface). After considering many options – including Doppler radar, UV imaging and interferometry techniques – Logitech® Darkfield Laser Tracking was developed.

Darkfield Laser Tracking provides precise cursor control on virtually any surface – even glass. Darkfield is derived from the principles of dark field microscopy, which is used in laboratories around the world to detect the most difficult-to-see particles."

Read more at www.logitech.com and check out an excerpt from the Wiki page below...

Dark field microscopy is a very simple yet effective technique and well suited for uses involving live and unstained biological samples, such as a smear from a tissue culture or individual water-borne single-celled organisms. Considering the simplicity of the setup, the quality of images obtained from this technique is impressive.

The main limitation of dark field microscopy is the low light levels seen in the final image. This means the sample must be very strongly illuminated, which can cause damage to the sample. Dark field microscopy techniques are almost entirely free of artifacts, due to the nature of the process. However the interpretation of dark field images must be done with great care as common dark features of bright field microscopy images may be invisible, and vice versa.

While the dark field image may first appear to be a negative of the bright field image, different effects are visible in each. In bright field microscopy, features are visible where either a shadow is cast on the surface by the incident light, or a part of the surface is less reflective, possibly by the presence of pits or scratches. Raised features that are too smooth to cast shadows will not appear in bright field images, but the light that reflects off the sides of the feature will be visible in the dark field images.

China Creek USED SK8 Gear Giveaway!

I wish there was an event like this when I was a kid! Skateboard gear is not cheap even though it has been the same price for 20 years and if you have been skateboarding for that long you know what I mean!

On Saturday, April 16th at 1pm at China Creek Skatepark, bring down your used decks, trucks, wheels, helmets, etc. and donate them to those in need - all the local kids that want to skate, but can't afford the gear!!

For more information, check out the Facebook page...

And for all you old timers from Burquitlam and Coquitlam, be sure to check out the Washed Up Skateboarder Reunion at Railside park in Poco on April 30th! Again, check out the Facebook page for more info!

Red light visions in the Colorado skies

A strange shape-shifting triangle composed of red lights has been spotted in the night skies above the town of Lafayette, Colorado. Numerous reports have been flooding in to news stations and UFO websites such as www.uforadar.com and www.ufodigest.com. The triangle shape is common in UFO sighting, but it is unusual to have so many reports of the same incident. According to MUFON, a non-profit UFO classification and analysis organization, case # 28335 describes what first appeared to be three red dots in the sky in a triangle formation on March 20 moving slowly to the east, described by a witness in Broomfield - located in the southeastern corner of Boulder County.

"Then two of them veered off together, almost came to touch each other, then veered away and looked as if they were heading back toward the other red dot," the witness stated. "They were very far away and appeared to flicker in the night sky. I'm not sure if they're still outside within view as I wanted to come in and report it! Cars were stopped on our street (Miramonte Blvd. in Broomfield) watching what was a pretty eerie movement of three red lights in the sky."

New TransAlta wind project in Quebec

Calgary based TransAlta Corporation has announced plans for a $200+ million wind farm in the Gaspe region of Quebec. This will be the corporations second development in Quebec and they have already secured a 20-year power purchase contract with the Hydro-Quebec.

TransAlta is confidant that their dedication and innovation in the wind power industry will secure their place as one of the top wind power corporations in the country. This new development will output 66 megawatts, enough to power over 10,000 homes while their current project in the same region generates 99 megawatts powering over 15,000 homes.

This is a positive step forward for wind energy in Canada, as traditional energy sources are becoming more expensive and scarce and we look towards lowering emissions and pollutants in all areas and industries. I am proud to say that I fully support alternative green energy in Canada and around the globe, and it's pretty cool that Canada is becoming a leader in the green energy industries.

Read more at www.cbc.ca and www.transalta.com

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival

"The annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is a popular tradition in our city, bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate the quintessential symbol of spring. As we prepare for Vancouver's 125th anniversary, please join me in congratulating the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival on this year's celebration and the 3,000 new flowering Birthday Blossom cherry trees being made available to property owners throughout the city.These commemorative trees will serve as a legacy for Vancouver's residents and visitors to enjoy for the next 125 years."

-Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson

Celebrate the coming of Spring in Vancouver by taking in the sights and sounds of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The troubles of the world should be left behind as you explore our beautiful city with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Spring is a time of transition, a time of optimism, of hope. Rebirth and rejuvenation come to mind, with longer days of sunny skies ahead, we embrace the future in a positive way.

I will attempt to enjoy the city as I move today, with the Whitecaps game on TEAM 1410 Radio, my beautiful girlfriend by my side and the sun blessing me with its warmth and vitamin d.

Earthquakes, Earthquakes, Everywhere

Mother Nature must be really pissed off, cause she's shiftin' plates all over the place! Japan's recent earthquake/tsunami combo is garnering so much media attention that we have forgotten about or ignored so many other earthquakes and natural disasters elsewhere in the world.

Christchurch, New Zealand was hit with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake and Queensland, Australia experienced devastating floods. Even Ethiopia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, China and Brazil have experienced earthquakes in the last couple months.

Many would say that this is the beginning of the the end and that 2012 is the end of the world as we know it because some old school dudes decided that they had made enough calendars. Mother Nature is angry 'cause we've been sucking up all the oil and digging out all the diamonds and gold, setting off the equilibrium. The moon is getting closer, the earth is getting hotter, high demand for staple crops, oh and don't forget that ozone layer is still depleting despite our little carbon footprints.

Radiation detected on BC coast

The repercussions of Japans nuclear power plant issues are being felt as far away as British Columbia and California, and even though the amount of radiation detected is minute, it still has many residents scrambling to get their nuclear survival kits ready. Radiation was detected on the coast of BC over the past few days, calculated to be 0.0000005 millisieverts, which is a negligible amount and does not pose a health risk. Looks like we can still drink our milk and eat our spinach, but how much longer until a larger quantity of radiation makes it's way across the ocean? I hope it never happens, but definitely something to think about.

Thanks to the BC Centre for Disease Control and an anonymous source, we can find out more information about radiation and how to respond to a radiation emergency here, just in case!

Read more at www.theprovince.com

Wind power to the rescue!

I think we can all say by now that Japan is pretty messed up. Their dependence on nuclear power has led them down a dangerous path, and it's up to green energy to straighten things out.

Japans nuclear power plants have not taken well to the recent earthquake/tsunami combo and are already leaking radiation, contaminating the local milk and spinach. Unaffected were the nations wind farms, quietly working away providing a steady power source to help contain the radiation and neutralize the risk of a nuclear meltdown. This illustrates the need for the worlds nations to take a deeper look into wind power as a sustainable and viable power source.

Laneway homes, an amusing alternative!

We all know that Vancouver house prices are through the roof, and most people that buy do so with the plan to rent out the basement or upstairs in order to help pay that huge mortgage, or gauge of death as it could be loosely translated to. To help with the population density problem that has fallen upon Vancouver, the city has recently allowed homeowners to convert their garages to small homes, called laneway homes. These 400 to 800 square feet homes are perfect for couples or single occupants that want their standalone privacy in a convenient location without having to live in a generic beehive condo. The laneway homes also provide the homeowner with some additional mortgage help without giving up their family privacy by sharing an entrance or laundry with their tenant.

A few companies have started to create new designs for laneway homes that can be constructed when new houses are built or just added on to the end of an existing property. One of these local companies is Lanefab, started by Mat Turner and Bryn Davidson whose designs have already garnered attention from CBC, CTV, Globe & Mail, Scout and Western Living among others. Check out their site at http://www.lanefab.com/ for more information.

I fully support these ideas and innovations to address the housing and density issues that we all face here in Vancouver, and only I hope more cities will take note and make laneway homes more than just a topic of conversation in the near future.

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We're blue, We're white...

...we're funkin' dynamite, Van-couv-er-er, Van-couv-er-er!!

The Whitecaps did not fail to impress the 22,000 plus crowd for their home opener against Toronto FC under sunny skies this Saturday at Empire Field. Their entry into the MLS had the entire city wearing blue and white and fans singing their anthems as they walked down the streets. This is a proud day for the Whitecaps organization and huge step forward for soccer in Vancouver and Canada as a whole. More Canadians play soccer than any other sport, including hockey, and the country is counting on the Whitecaps induction into the MLS to boost interest in the sport and to push the development of homegrown talent.

Big ups to the Southsiders, the Whitecaps FCs most dedicated fans, for providing a electrifying atmosphere and chanting the home team to victory. To support your Vancouver Whitecaps FC, go to www.southsiders.ca and for more information about the Whitecaps FC, go to www.whitecapsfc.com

GO WHITECAPS!

Mercedes to build $50M fuel cell plant in Burnaby!

Quoted from The Vancouver Sun

METRO VANCOUVER - Mercedes Canada today announced it will manufacture all its fuel cell stacks for its pre-commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at a new $50 million plant opposite the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC) building on North Fraser Way in Burnaby,

The plant is expected to be in operation by 2013 and its production will be shipped to Germany for installation into a fleet of vehicles that will be assembled that year.

Mercedes Benz officials said the plant was the first of its kind worldwide said they expected to put fuel cell vehicles into commercial production in about 2016.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Is nuclear power really new and clear?

Is nuclear power really the right way to go? In my opinion, no it is not. The recent reactor issues in Japan are said to be not quite as bad as Chernobyl, which was the worst nuclear disaster ever. We would hope that modern technology would drasticly reduce the risk of nuclear meltdowns or disasters, but it still seems to be pretty difficult to keep these power plants safe. To add insult to injury, the CBC has just reported a leak at the nuclear power plant in Pickering, Ontario. Apparently, the risk to the public is reported as "negligible", but it still doesn't sit right with many Canadians. It's surprising that in this world of green energy generation, that nuclear power is still an option for many countries. BC and Saskatchewan have reported that two huge wind farms have recently been brought online and are now supplying power their respective grids. Such modern green technologies are embraced by Western Canada and the rest of the world should really take note. I have been promoting green energy for years as a renewable and efficient energy source and the current media coverage of these nuclear issues should create another push towards worldwide green energy implementation.

Chinese battle for microblog supremacy

Quoted from www.ft.com

In the autumn of 2009, when the Chinese web portal Sina launched its microblog, the new platform was barely noticed in the worldwide online cacophony. People were already sending more than 20m tweets a day on Twitter.

But while China may have had a late start, homegrown services resembling Twitter are now gaining such momentum in the world’s most populous internet market that they are bound to change the local industry landscape.

“There is a real war of the microblogs going on,” says Charles Zhang, chief executive of Sohu, one of China’s largest web portals and one of Sina’s fiercest rivals.

By the end of last year, 63m people, almost 14 per cent of the country’s 457m web users, had taken to microblogs, according to China Internet Network Information Center, the state web registrar.

Analysts estimate that number has more than doubled over the past two months as Sina’s microblog, called Weibo, hit 100m users alone by the end of February.

Half a dozen other Chinese internet companies run similar products, with Tencent and Sohu being Sina’s most serious competitors. All of them are thriving because Twitter is blocked in China. But the popularity of the tool means that those internet companies that have established themselves as main ‘homes’ for Chinese web surfers in the past are at risk of losing that valuable position.

That risk is clearest for Tencent, the world’s third-largest internet company by market capitalisation, which has built itself into a formidable social networking company through QQ, its instant messaging tool with more than 630m active accounts. Baidu, the company which runs China’s leading online search engine, could be challenged for its dominant share of the country’s online advertising market.

Read the full article at Financial Times here

Warning: Beer costs to increase by 30%

The worlds consumers are soon going to feel the effects of the rise in price of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn and barley. Many of the processed and pre-packaged foods we eat contain these staples, and due to poor crop yields, increased demand and natural causes, we are soon going to have to pay for it. The cost of these commodities has been steadily rising for some time now, but it usually takes about a year for increase to show up at the consumer level. The most painful cost increase that will affect most of us in the Americas is barley, which has risen almost 30% since 2009. Barley is the main ingredient for beer, of which Americans consume about 80 litres per capita per year while Canada is not far behind at around 70 litres per capita per year. Currently, a six pack of Pilsner is considered a bargain at $12.45 at the cold beer and wine store and I can't imagine paying $16 or $17 dollars for the finest of cheap beers.