July 14th, 2010 | 
Author: The best method of educating young people about alternative energy production that this writer has ever witnessed is the use of the PicoTurbine Company’s kits, books, and projects. The PicoTurbine Company produces these things for the purpose of advancing the cause of renewable (alternative) energy and getting young people to look into the future and see that the environment that’s being seeded now is the one they will inherit then. As the late, great Gerry Ford said, “Things are more like they are now than they have ever been before.” If we are to change the future world for the better, then it starts right here and now with the advent of “green” energy systems.
One of the core concepts of PicoTurbine can be stated: Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I might remember some of it. Involve me, and I will master it. Based on this old tried and true adage, the kits that the company produces come with activity suggestions to get the young people into hands-on learning situations. One suggestion of the company is to demonstrate how heat can be produced by wind energy (the company’s specialty) through using a “picture wire” for the heating element.
PicoTurbine has found that people typically think of wind energy as being “cold” energy, and are pleasantly surprised to see how wind can be used for generating heat in the home. Another project suggestion that the company offers is to have different groups split off in the classroom and then compare their respective wind turbines that they have built. They can see which ones produce the most or least electricity; which ones start up with need of the least amount of wind power; and for very young children, which ones have the most aesthetic appeal.
There is a core curriculum that PicoTurbine has in mind for teachers to instill in their pupils. Renewable, alternative sources of energy include solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass in addition to wind-produced energy. When we use more alternative sources of energy, we decrease our nation’s dependence on foreign oil supplies, which often come from nations who cannot really be called our “allies”. Alternative energy is already becoming cost effective when set against the fossil fuels that we are so reliant on currently.
PicoTurbine points out that wind farms and solar arrays are already letting their makers enjoy commercial success. In the last two decades, the cost of photovoltaic cells expressed in terms of per-watt has gone from nearly $1000 to just $4! It has been predicted by analysts that by the year 2015, the cost per watt should only be about $1 (in today’s dollars).
Students also need to be taught about the hidden cost of fossil fuels: pollution and environmental degradation. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels has been shown through studies to increase incidences of asthma attacks, heighten the effects of allergies, and even cause cancer. Switching over to clean, green energy found in the alternative forms would prevent air pollution and help bolster the environment.
Watch the video related to Green Energy
www.sulltek.com This is a video of the Passive Solar Heating System in use at http in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It provides a great deal of heat, and the installer, Chris, will be making it more effecient by adding a second computer fan to push the warm air at the top, painting the inside better and taping the duct work. Also, the duct work will be directed into the office where the door can be closed and used in a smaller air mass. This kind of heater is ideal for urban survival and bugging in, since it requires no power input and is cheap and easy to make. It’s not just for strawbale, cob, cabins, cottages, earth ships or businesses. They can be installed on a home, and they look great when done right. Ragnar Benson would be proud. Visit our site at envirosponsible.com or call us at 905-666-2002.
Help answer the question about Green Energy
What is cons for using nuclear power as a "green" energy source for canada?burning fossil fuels, such as coal, is contributing to global climate change, including dramatic changes in Canadian arctic. Should we consider using nuclear power as a "green" energy source for canada?
plz give me reasons why we shouldn't use nuclear power as a green energy source for canada.
Thx!
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Toks J -
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Cut down on your electrical bills today with information’s and materials you can build your own source of alternative energy from.
Posted in Green Energy | 
Tags: Alternative, alternative energy, alternative energy resource, atomic energy, Biodiesel, Climate Change, Energy, energy education video for kids, Green Energy, natural energy, ping, Power, renewable Energy, SCIENCE, solar, solar energy, Space, start, tidal wave energy, wind Energy
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first thing to do is read up:
at least skim through the following:
http://www.asic-world.com/digital/tutorial.html
and
http://www.circuit-magic.com/laws.htm
you probably won't get most of it, but that won't matter it's just to ease your passage into the first book:
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/jbb/
and buy this kit as well:
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/mf08_bundle/
the book will talk you through the basics and the kit has all the stuff you will need for the projects in the book
once you are pretty comfortable with this book i would recommend Robot Building for Beginners by David Cook. this will get you started on how to design and build basic robots without kits. also read Dave's website, robot room: http://www.robotroom.com/
he has alot of info on how to simplify things and save money on projects. his book and his website will tell you where to go from there.
Dave's book will say all this but i'll say it here anyway. definitely get a breadboard for experimenting with. once you have the basics down don't be afraid to copy public work, open circuits and sparkfun are full of tutorials and schematics that anyone can use.
http://www.opencircuits.com
http://www.sparkfun.com
keep practicing soldering, sparkfun has some great soldering kits that make this easy. Also try buying a bunch of random cheep components and some scrap boards
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8477
just solder stuff into them at random, they don't actually work so just go nuts.
If thisis still a problem look into wire warping, it is a bit slower , but is really easy. sparkfun has all the supplies you need for that.
Eventually you will want to check out Parallax.com they make kits and simple microcontrollers that are really easy to use but have enormous potential. they also have some good educational kits that are a good way to learn. Only problem is parallax is a bit pricey, and after ten min on their site you will want to buy the entire store.
PS don't wory about anything you can't figure out. for any aplication you don't understand, somewhere out there there is a plug in module that will do it for you.
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