* RodWarnock.com *

Hi,

       Happy Christmas to everyone! As we celebrate today the birth of Christ I hope that Christian leaders around the world and even non-Christians will reflect on the wasted opportunity and their selfish self interest demonstrated at the recent conclusion to the Climate change summit in Copenhagen in not agreeing to any binding action to curb global warming.

One wonders if they will only begin to take global warming seriously and be prepared to take decisive action when a disaster happens due to climate change. I am of course talking about for instance some low lying countries which will just disappear as sea levels rise. I am sure we all hope that it will never happen.

There are things that we can do individually however small to reduce our own carbon footprints. It may be as simple as changing a few of our light bulbs to lower energy light bulbs. Or we may decide to generate our own energy at home by building solatr panels to heat water or generate electricity, or perhaps build a wind turbine or magnetic power generator to generate free electricity. In doing any of these things at least we can make a contribution to climate change even if our leaders are not prepared to do so.

Learn how to build a solar or wind power generator solar and wind power systems
Information on how to build a magnetic power generator

Hi,

With the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit reaching its conclusion this Friday, it is highly likely that Governments will encourage us all not to fly. Aircraft apparently contribute significantly to global warming due to the carbon emissions as a result of the fossil fuels they burn.

When we do fly in future we may be asked to offset our carbon footprints in some way as a matter of course. Indeed Carbon offset companies already exist. The most frequent method used by companies is to offset your carbon footprint by planting a tree.  Trees of course absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and so help to reduce carbon emissions.

There are of course many ways to reduce our carbon emissions. One obvious way is to use our cars less often, particularly for short journeys. I am sure many of us are used to jumping into the car to visit the local shop for the odd grocery item or a newspaper, when we could easily walk. The great benefit of this method is that we will be taking exercise which is very good for our health.

What other methods can we use? I am sure that many of do not want to have to plant a tree every time we take a flight, but how about changing one of our light bulbs to an energy efficient light bulb. According to the experts if we change three standard 100w light bulbs with energy efficiency equivalents, we can save 1Kg of CO2 in eight hours.

Surely this is a very simple way to reduce our carbon footprints. The energy saving light bulbs are a little more expensive but they last longer and are perfectly adequate to light your home or office. They now come in different shapes and despite reports of them causing skin alergies in a very small percentage  of people, I would recommend them. I have changed more than 90% of the light bulbs in my house for energy efficient equivalents and am delighted with the result. you just need to get used to the light taking a little longer to come on.  

Hi,

There is lots of talk these days about “Green Energy Resources” and renewable resources. I am sure that for some it is sometimes confusing to understand exactly what they are and indeed if they are applicable to us. There are probably at least seven green energy resources in existence at present.

Many other sources are under examination. The Green resources that most of us are familiar with are Solar energy and wind energy. Solar panels are now widely used to generate electricity and heat water. Wind energy is also well established in the form of wind turbines. More recently it has been demonstrated that magnetic power generators can produce electricity.

Large scale green energy Resources are now being adopted by Governments to generate electricity in the form of wind turbines. They talk also of using wave power to generate electricity, but so far little progress has been made. However some initiatives have been started such as the scheme in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland where there is a giant underwater windmill which uses the power of an eight knot tide to turn a turbine to generate electricity.

Hydro electricity has been established for a long time, and Biomass is now beginning to attract more interest in the form of wood burning. Then there is Geothermal energy which extracts heat from the earth. Some of these Green Resources are only suitable for largescale operations, so what can we use in the home?

We can build our own solar panels to generate electricity and to heat our water. We can build a magnetic generator to produce electricity, and where there is sufficient wind speed we can build out own wind turbines to generate electricity. If you are in an area where there are forests, or a wood chip depot then you can and really should use a wood burning stove for water and space heating as it is carbon neutral. Geothermal heat pumps can be used to heat a domestic dwelling, but whilst the heat from the earth is free, the electricity required to operate the system makes it not completely green.

I have lived in a house with a wood burning stove and it was excellent and economical for space heating and water heating. I have solar panels to heat the water in my present house and enjoy hot water all day long from the sun from April to September. I have not yet tried solar panerls to generate electricity, or indeed magnetic power to generate electricity, but I will try one of these in the future to make a saving on electricity bills.

Learn how to build your own solar and wind power systems
Information on how to build a magnetic power generator

Hi,
The really important climate change summit in Copenhagen is almost upon us. Many Governments have stated that they are really keen that a really meaningful agreement on reduction of emissions should be the outcome. I wonder what we can realistically expect?

On thing is for sure the measures that Governments take will be unlikely to have any immediate affect on us as individuals. There are still a large group of people who do not believe that despite the scientific evidence that global warming is caused by emissions.

I think that the important thing to remember here is that fossil fuels will not last for ever, and developing natural sources of energy will save us money. This is most important at a time of economic hardship. The crucial thing about natural sources of energy is that as individuals we can for a modest sum build these natural energy systems in our own homes and reduce our energy bills.

So if you are sceptical about climate change, then consider the amount of money you can save on your household bills by investing in natural energy systems such as solar panels and wind turbines. You can even make money by selling excess electricity back to the grid.