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Enertia® Building System Low Energy Homes

| Monday, 25 June 2007

In the Enertia® Building System, solid Energy-Engineered(tm) wood walls replace siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. An air flow and access channel, or Envelope, runs around the building, just inside the walls - creating a miniature biosphere. Here solar heated air circulates, pumping and boosting geothermal energy from beneath the house, storing it in the massive wood walls. Thermal inertia causes the house to "float" between the cycles of night and day, and even between the seasons.

Many aspects of the Enertia® House are unusual and innovative - but backed up by science, common-sense, and prototype homes across America. In fact, each aspect listed below increases the energy efficiency of the building. The effect is Synergistic - equal to more than the sum of the parts. The Enertia® House can make more energy than it uses!

Google Aims to Jump-Start Plug-In Hybrid Cars

| Thursday, 21 June 2007

from TechNewsWorld.com

Google.org, the search giant's philanthropic arm, has focused on promoting new ways to distribute energy with its RechargeIT initiative. The plan promotes the use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles -- hybrid gas/electric cars that can be plugged into a wall socket to either charge the battery or sell excess electricity back to the power grid.

Google's latest idea takes it off the information superhighway and onto the world's real-life streets with it's new RechargeIT initiative.

Google's Monster Garage

Promoted by its philanthropic arm, Google.org, the new initiative aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil and gasoline use, and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the development and adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that are capable of selling stored electricity back to electric companies.

To get started, Google modified some of its vehicle fleet to plug into its own solar electricity power supply, as well as into any 120-volt power outlet.

Google's Monster Garage

Current hybrid electric-gasoline cars offered on the mass market use the engine and brakes to generate electricity, which is then stored in batteries and used to help power the vehicle.

Google's cars, on the other hand, have been specially modified with additional batteries and electrical adapters to let them charge and discharge electricity via plug-in electrical cords. Some companies, organizations and individuals have been able to modify existing hybrid cars to work this way, but they are few and far between.

The major key benefit for consumers of plug-in hybrids is the ability to run nearly entirely on electricity with the option of extended-range travel powered by gasoline.

The RechargeIT effort showcases the feasibility of plug-in technology, as well as gathers research data to help promote the industry, said Google.

Headed to Bonnaroo

| Wednesday, 13 June 2007

The staff at TheHopeInitiative.com are taking a much deserved vacation and we're all heading to Bonnaroo.com. There won't be any new posts until Tuesday June 19th. In the meantime check out the featured video on the Right. Peace, Love and Music !! We will be there to see (in no particlar order: The Police • Tool • Widespread Panic • The White Stripes • Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals • Wilco • The Flaming Lips • MANU CHAO Radio Bemba Sound System • The String Cheese Incident • Franz Ferdinand • Ornette Coleman • Bob Weir & Ratdog • Damien Rice • Ween • Gov't Mule • Ziggy Marley • The Decemberists • The Roots • Kings of Leon • SuperJam feat. John Paul Jones, Ben Harper and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson • Michael Franti and Spearhead • Wolfmother • Regina Spektor • The Black Keys • Galactic • DJ Shadow • Gillian Welch • Spoon • Keller Williams (WMD'S) • Sasha & John Digweed • Lou Donaldson & Dr. Lonnie Smith Quartet • STS9 • Old Crow Medicine Show • North Mississippi Allstars • The Hold Steady • Lily Allen • Fountains Of Wayne • David Murray Black Saint Quartet • Hot Tuna • Feist • Hot Chip • Mago Feat. Billy Martin & John Medeski • John Butler Trio • El-P • Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys • Ravi Coltrane Quartet • Aesop Rock • The Richard Thompson Band • Dierks Bentley • James Blood Ulmer • Xavier Rudd • The Philadelphia Experiment • David Bromberg and Angel Band • Gogol Bordello • Junior Brown • Tortoise • T-Bone Burnett • Mavis Staples • Don Byron Plays Junior Walker Feat. Chris Thomas King • Clutch • Pete Yorn • Stefon Harris & Blackout • Cold War Kids • Dr. Dog • Scott Amendola Band Feat. Nels Cline • Paolo Nutini • Brazilian Girls • RX Bandits • The Nightwatchman • The Slip • Lionel Loueke • Girl Talk • Railroad Earth • Martha Wainwright • Yard Dogs Road Show • Rodrigo y Gabriela • Annuals • Tea Leaf Green • Sam Roberts Band • The National • Elvis Perkins in Dearland • Charlie Louvin • Sonya Kitchell • Robert Glasper Trio • Mute Math • The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars • Jacky Terrasson Trio • Apollo Sunshine • Stanton Moore Trio • The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indians • Uncle Earl • Doug Wamble Quartet • The Little Ones • The Black Angels • Ryan Shaw • Gypsy Hands Tribal Belly Dance • Firecracker Jazz Band • Miss Lolly Pop's Burlesque Coterie & The Sideshow Bennie Experience • Eenormus Sidecar

Meraki Introduces First Solar Powered Outdoor WiFi Access Kit

| Thursday, 07 June 2007

New Meraki Solar and Meraki Outdoor Work Together to Cover Entire Neighborhoods with Outdoor Wireless Access

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - June 4, 2007 — Meraki Networks, pioneer of the first consumer wireless mesh Internet network designed to “unwire the world,” today announced the new Meraki Outdoor repeater and the Meraki Solar accessory, that together can cover entire neighborhoods with Wi-Fi access.

Priced at just $99, Meraki Outdoor can send a signal up to 700 feet. Paired with Meraki’s existing indoor $49 Mini, the Meraki Outdoor repeater can power access for dozens of households sharing one high speed connection. Meraki Outdoor can be easily installed on a wall or even a pole outside the house. It marks another step forward in Meraki’s efforts to change the economics of Wi-Fi access, driving the cost per household of high speed connections to $1 to $2 a month.

Adding the Meraki Solar accessory kit will allow the repeater to broadcast a signal without being connected to any electrical source, making it an ideal solution for any community, even emerging markets where electricity is scant or unreliable. Once connected, Meraki Solar’s power usage can be distributed throughout the day and managed by the Meraki Dashboard service ensuring the repeater is powered during peak usage times. The Meraki Dashboard is a web-hosted management tool designed to make monitoring, configuring, and monetizing a Meraki Network easy and is included with all Meraki products for no additional charge. The solar kit includes a solar panel, battery pack and an outdoor Ethernet cable.