Just a couple of weeks after having planted some cherry tomato plants I've got roughly fifteen small shoots coming up. Of course we are just passing through the winter equinox, the shortest day of the year, and now the days will get longer. Thank goodness. Hopefully these cherry tomatoes will actually grow and produce eventually. Stay tuned.
Last weekend I found some old cherry tomato seeds, as well as some basil seeds, so I decided to plant them from hanging pots to keep them close to the window in our greenhouse. Today there are some little sprouts coming up despite the dull mid December weather we've been having. I put some compact fluorescent lights right beside the pots. I've got these lights on a timer to extend the light hours hoping to keep these new sprouts thinking it is closer to spring than it is.
Oil companies and large utilities don't want you to know this but storing renewable energy is quite easy. You can quite affordably get eight large deep cycle lead acid batteries to power your home when the sun isn't shining or when the wind isn't blowing. You can implement these types of conventional batteries large scale, as have nuclear power plants for years. Add to that the fact that lead acid batteries typically can be recycled up to 99%, and you've got a well proven technology for storing renewable energy.
We've been running a battery storage system like this on our boat as the main power supply for the electric motor for a couple years now. Electric motors are about 60% more efficient that gasoline or diesel combustion motors. Less noise and so reliable. Once the true cost of the pollution caused by combustion motors is accounted for we'll see that the electric motor combined with batteries is far less expensive. Even today, the cost to upgrade our 35 foot 1974 sailboat was about the same as converting to a diesel engine (of course we don't ever have to pay for diesel fuel, and the cost of electricity is pennies, even when we add Bullfrog Power ensure it comes from renewable sources like wind and hydro).
The battery storage system in our boat is really simple. In fact, double the number of batteries from four to eight and you've got enough electricity storage capability to run most houses when the sun isn't shining. Combined with the latest LED lighting, high efficiency appliances, and good insulation, and you could get your house of the grid sooner that you might have thought.
Today I completed planting the vegetable garden. This year I am experimenting with an area where I've used Permaculture techniques. Where the white circle things are located I've planted tomatoes on top of compost. Below the compost are some old jean pants that keep the weeds down. Straw is laid on top to reduce weeds as well.
We live in southeastern Ontario Canada so planting fruit trees anywhere other than Niagara takes some special care. They don't call it the great white north for nothing. So, we plan for trees that are suitable for zone 3 at a minimum. Fruit trees are not available for colder zones 2 and 1. As you may have guessed zones 4 and 5 take you down south of the 49th parallel.
Now that we know we live on zone 3 we see that peach trees appear to be out. We'll plant apple, pear and cherry trees. With a piece of paper I plan out our tree placement around the house on the gentle slopes to ensure good water drainage. Our space allows for about six trees maintaining about twenty four to thirty feet between trees as required to give them enough space for their full grown size.
Off to the tree nursery to pick the healthiest trees we can find. We decide on three different varieties of apple thees (macintosh, liberty and granny smith) as they indicate a tolerance for our zone. We are hoping the close proximity to our house will provide a little extra protection from weather extremes allowing us to get away with these desirable varieties that we like very much. We choose a Bartlett pear tree and one other type. A variety of types is required for pollination. In addition we select a sweet cherry tree that is self pollinating. We carefully lay the six trees in the back of the Prius along with a big bucket of bone meal that we'll use to promote good root growth.
Now for the fun part, planting the orchard. We mark out the six spots we will plant by digging a small marking hole, checking each location for full sun and good drainage. We dig a four foot diameter hole for our five foot trees growing in a bucket. We then sprinkle some bone meal around the full area that the tree will grow into, about twelve feet in diameter for our semi dwarf trees. Using our compost prepared last year we mix a wheel barrow full of half compost and half soil. We place the tree in the prepared hole, fill in with our mixed compost and soil mix, level, and then fill in the top layer with removed soil. Around the four foot diameter of our hole we create a small retaining mound to keep water from running away too quickly. Finally, we cover the four foot circle around the tree with a layer of straw (a gift from a sister in laws Halloween decoration). Water throughly. Repeat for remaining five trees. Done.
Next we'll get into maintenance including pruning, fertilization, and protection from pests and disease.
Check out the parsley, thyme, oregano, cilantro, basil, and spearmint. Most are starting to sprout up after just a week since we planted them in old egg cartons and special seed starting mix. We've also used mini plastic containers with transparent lids to enhance the greenhouse effect.
Welcome. 17 years ago we set out on a journey to create a home that was sustainable for our children (my son Ian was born in 1992 and my daughter Claire was born in 1994). Part of that plan was to make the house a renewable energy power plant elliminating the need for any non-renewable energy sources. By 2001 we had built our award-winning sustainable natural home using local straw bales for the north wall, a green roofing system we custom designed, and passive solar design (click here for all the details on the design of our house).
Then in 2002 we selected Solera Energies to start building our renewable energy system in the form of a 1 kW Bergey wind turbine and a 400 W Siemens solar PV array in a net meter (running the meter backwards) configuration. Then in 2009 again working with Solera we added a 1.2 kW Sharp solar PV array on the Ontario renewable energy standard offer program (RESOP) for which we were being paid 42 cents/kW for 20 years.
Finally, to complete the 100% renewable energy goal and in order to turn the house into a power plant (generating more than we consume) we've added an additional 6 kW of Sanyo solar panels that complete the passive cooling awning system that has always been the planned design of the house. 5 kW of the new Sanyo panels and the 1.2 kW Sharp panels are now combined on a MicroFIT (the 1.2 kW RESOP system was grandfathered into the MicroFIT program upon request) contract for 20 years at 80.2 cents/kW generating about $500/month in income (the remaining 1 kW and the original 400 W Siemens panels will be used for some "off-grid" research and development projects related to an autonomous aquaculture system being designed and built for the greenhouse area in the house as well as an electric sailboat conversion).
Ultimately the goal is to switch to an electric car next year (finally it should be possible to buy them from your local Mitsubishi, Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, and other major manufacturers with the Ontario government giving you a $10,000 rebate as an incentive) to combine with our 35 foot 1974 C&C sailboat (floating cottage) which is being converted to electric so that both home, floating cottage and transportation are 100% powered by renewable energy power plants.
Bottom line is that installing a solar system on your roof offers one of the most important investments you will ever have the opportunity to make. You will make a better than average return on your investment while contributing in many ways to a sustainable future the value of which is beyond measure.
By joining thousands who have already put solar on their roof you become part of a movement that provides hope for our children. It has been estimated that if just 10% of us cover our rooftops with solar we could power the entire country...specifically the United States and Canada (who consume substantially more than European countries per capita). Imagine millions of us, making a reasonable investment of $200/month ($20,000 loan over 10 years) that will double our money in twenty years, while generating electricity without any pollution or fuel costs. While 90% of us want to protect the environment it is my belief that at least 10% of us are willing to invest now to make it happen. That gives me, and should you, a great deal of hope. We can do this.
So, now it is your turn. Let us get started. Here is what I suggest:
Before you go to the next step, check out Renewable Energy essentials. This documentary video shows you in about ten minutes the background of feed-in tariffs (FIT) and why they make so much sense.
Starting to use our greenhouse with herbs and vegetables
After ten years of building the house we've finally started putting planters into the greenhouse area. On the south east side are the first set of planters. In the first planter on the south side we've planted cilantro, parsley and oregano. It took about a week for the first little shoots to come up. We've been keeping soil moist every day.
Biomimicry in action, solar powered greenhouse restorations
Michael Pawlyn explains the genius in nature that we could use to achieve factor 100 savings in resources. Three big changes we need:
radical resource efficiency
from linear to closed loop systems
solar power driven processes
Ideas from nature can allow us to reduce resource requirements. The Eden Project created a massive greenhouse with alternative materials to glass that made the entire structure weigh less than the air inside.
We could transform the waste in cities to a closed loop resource recycling process. Cycles of food, waste and energy can be combined to transform linear systems into closed loop systems. Sahara greenhouse projects are find ways to de-salinate sea water, including the damaging waste from desalination plants, in order to create resources and reverse desertification.
Jeff Rubin is the former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets and author of Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller. He built his reputation as one of Canada's top economists based on predictions including the bust of the early 90's and the rise of oil prices. Currently Mr. Rubin predicts $225 per barrel oil will be upon us by 2012 and with it a new localized economic world order and a massive increase in the scale of energy efficiency.
The world is running out of oil we can afford even though it won't ever actually run out. Sixty percent of oil is consumed in our cars, trucks, ships, and planes as gasoline and diesel. Since a global economy requires transportation that is cheap, then the end of globalization is also about to end. Triple digit oil prices are coming again as we come out of this recent recession. The recent recession was caused by this triple digit oil price.
Critical numbers to understand are that the rate of depleted oil fields is worth 4 million barrels per day. That is 5% of world daily use. There is no allowance for increases in world demand since easily affordable oil is not keeping up with increasing demand. We are losing 20 billion barrels a day over the next five years of the easily accessible sweet crude oil. Where the new supply is expected to come from is the expensive "synthetic" oil from oil sands. This would cause an area the size of Florida to be turned into a tailing pond in Alberta. This will translate into $200 a barrel oil.
Why are increased prices increasing demand. Oil demand has peaked in Canada, US, and Europe. Increasing oil demand is coming from China, India and the OPEC countries. Fastest growth in oil demand is in OPEC, Mexico and Russia...as much as two Chinas. These are the countries that are supposed to supply the rest of the world. This massive growth in the oil rich countries are driven by economic policies in those countries that keep oil prices low for local consumption while using it to do things like produce needed water through desalination of salt water.
Since the Middle East is running out of water they are using oil to convert sea water into fresh water through desalination. Oil powered generating stations power these facilities. Exports from OPEC are going to decline as they need more of their own production. Higher oil prices will drive even greater domestic consumption.
In India and China it is the automobile that is driving demand. The Tata car made in India is a $2,500 car. Now many poorer people can afford a car in Asia. As these growing consumers in Asia increase, demand for oil will quickly outpace the dropping demand for oil in the US and Europe. Demand will be driven towards triple digits in the next ten to fifteen months. It is not clear that the economy will not act again as it did a couple years ago driving us back into recession.
It was not the sub-prime mortgages that drove the recession. It was the energy shock. Why then did the solution to recession get supposedly solved by bailing out the financial services companies and car companies?
There is not much we can do about triple digit oil prices. The key is to prevent peak oil from meaning peak GDP. The solution is to reduce demand in the time required. The key is to go from global to local economy. This will happen because the economic forces that drove globalization will now bring localization back with high energy prices. So the potential for growth in local development for steel manufacturing, cars, building materials, and other materials will be much more economically produced locally.
Food takes as much as 25% of energy demand. So, again local food development will be required. Triple digit oil makes food from far away not affordable.
At $200 per barrel everything will change. In addition to demand driven increases in oil price, carbon pricing will also drive increasing oil prices. Raising the environmental bar will make local economies sustainable.
China has surpassed US emissions because they have a lower price to emit carbon. So eventually, in order to bring developing countries in line, carbon pricing will be required for all. Since countries can't tell others what to do, they can only require carbon tariffs on imports to level the playing field. Carbon pricing will be futile unless it is on both local and imported products. So distance and carbon will create high oil prices. The world will become smaller again.
The good news is that a smaller world should be a lot more livable.
WWF Canada - The Business of Climate Change Conference - YouTube video
John Wilson - Founder of the Solar Village
Wilson
Today I completed planting the vegetable garden. This year I am experimenting with an area where I've used Permaculture techniques. Where the white circle things are located I've planted tomatoes on top of compost. Below the compost are some old jean pants that keep the weeds down. Straw is laid on top to reduce weeds as well.
John Wilson
Check out the parsley, thyme, oregano, cilantro, basil, and spearmint. Most are starting to sprout up after just a week since we planted them in old egg cartons and special seed starting mix. We've also used mini plastic containers with transparent lids to enhance the greenhouse effect.
Welcome. 17 years ago we set out on a journey to create a home that was sustainable for our children (my son Ian was born in 1992 and my daughter Claire was born in 1994). Part of that plan was to make the house a renewable energy power plant elliminating the need for any non-renewable energy sources. By 2001 we had built our award-winning sustainable natural home using local straw bales for the north wall, a green roofing system we custom designed, and passive solar design (
Finally, to complete the 100% renewable energy goal and in order to turn the house into a power plant (generating more than we consume) we've added an additional 6 kW of Sanyo solar panels that complete the passive cooling awning system that has always been the planned design of the house. 5 kW of the new Sanyo panels and the 1.2 kW Sharp panels are now combined on a MicroFIT (the 1.2 kW RESOP system was grandfathered into the MicroFIT program upon request) contract for 20 years at 80.2 cents/kW generating about $500/month in income (the remaining 1 kW and the original 400 W Siemens panels will be used for some "off-grid" research and development projects related to an autonomous aquaculture system being designed and built for the greenhouse area in the house as well as an electric sailboat conversion). 
Ultimately the goal is to switch to an electric car next year (finally it should be possible to buy them from your local Mitsubishi, Toyota, Chevy, Nissan, and other major manufacturers with the Ontario government giving you a $10,000 rebate as an incentive) to combine with our 35 foot 1974 C&C sailboat (floating cottage) which is being converted to electric so that both home, floating cottage and transportation are 100% powered by renewable energy power plants. 
After ten years of building the house we've finally started putting planters into the greenhouse area. On the south east side are the first set of planters. In the first planter on the south side we've planted cilantro, parsley and oregano. It took about a week for the first little shoots to come up. We've been keeping soil moist every day.
Jeff Rubin is the former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets and author of Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller. He built his reputation as one of Canada's top economists based on predictions including the bust of the early 90's and the rise of oil prices. Currently Mr. Rubin predicts $225 per barrel oil will be upon us by 2012 and with it a new localized economic world order and a massive increase in the scale of energy efficiency.