There is a source above everyday thinking… that alows humanbeings to unite…

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Michael Pollan — Knight Professor of Journalism, UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism — explains why we need to transform our relationship with food: what we consume, how and where we produce it, and more. A radical new food policy is required if we are to resolve our energy, health, and environmental issues…

Serious Sustainability…

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Visualize world peace, plenty of water, and food for all.
-Bruce

Solyndra is making a few waves in the solar industry and proving that the world of solar is no longer flat…

press release

Solar Goes From Gardens to Gigabucks  -WIRED Science

By Alexis Madrigal

excerpt:

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FREMONT, California — In a nondescript Bay Area office park, a converted hard-drive factory with a shiny new façade began churning out unconventional solar tubes that big investors are betting will soon blanket commercial buildings across the world.
The highly-automated factory belongs to Solyndra, a three-year-old company that’s received $600 million in venture capital and $1.2 billion in orders for its new cells, which look like curtain rods.
Instead of the standard panels mounted on racks that have dominated solar for the last 20 years, Solyndra’s cylindrical solar cells collect sunlight more efficiently across a broader range of angles and catch light reflected off the roof itself.

Read more…

Photo:Marrngtn

Now, two years after our launch our vision is clear. Bring affordable decentralized renewable energy solutions to the masses. Our cooperative mission is stronger than ever and the bonds we have created through perseverance, patience and passion have forged a ship that will sail far into the future and weather many a storm.  Sure, their are some folks waiting and cheering from the dock, but they will soon be on board too… and the nay sayers will delight in a gourmet chapeau diet.

And now, with the passage of the renewable energy package in congress, the doors are even wider open. The green economy will thrive and bolster a weakened national economy through hundreds of thousands of new green jobs. Moving us away from our dependence on foreign oil… and hopefully seeing energy independence within 10 years. Let’s get to work… we can and WILL do this, especially with a game changing company like Citizenre.

Never underestimate how a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.  -Margaret Mead.

Below is a favorite song that I wanted to share with you. I am sure you and many are probably already aware of this wonderful song.  However it is worth inserting back into our consciousness because of such a loving parallel to our vision and the course we have all been on.

In-joy,
Bruce
Here is George Donaldson of Celtic Thunder singing “The Voyage”.

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I am a sailor and you’re my first mate
We signed on together, we coupled our fate
We hauled up our anchor determined not to fail
For the heart’s treasure together we set sail
With no maps to guide us we steered our own course
We rode out the storms when the winds were gale force
We sat out the doldrums in patience and hope
Working together we learned how to cope

Life is an ocean, love is a boat
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat
When we started the voyage
There was just me and you
Now gathered around us we have our own crew

Together we’re in this relationship
We’ve built it with care to last the whole trip
Our true destination is not marked on any chart
We’re navigating for the shores of the heart

Life is an ocean, love is a boat
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat
When we started the voyage
There was just me and you
Now gathered around us we have our own crew

Life is an ocean, love is a boat
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat
When we started the voyage
There was just me and you
Now gathered around us we have our own crew

The idea of combining photovoltaic and heat solar panels has been around for the last few years. I have seen a couple of new ideas and technologies brighten the horizon.

The fact is, if these two complementary technologies can be combined they would have a synergistic outcome. PV panels are more efficient when they are cooler and the waste heat can be used to heat various energy needs in the building.

Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems says he has found a way to double or even triple the energy yield of current solar panels. This is a huge potential and Mr. Khosla, knows it. After a recent reporter interviewed him for a story in the New York Times, he took down his website to keep more control over the spread of information regarding his technology. Click Here for the New York Times article.

Mr. Khosla is funding a company called PVT Solar, of Berkeley, CA, where they have been trying to harness the wasted heat from solar PV panels. The found the heat could be pumped into the house to heat the water in the furnace through a heat exchanger or some other type of heating system.

Apparently they have installed a few systems, but no details or cost analysis seems to be forthcoming.

This is one “not so cool” technology to keep an eye on! Hope to see something develop very soon.

Photo: PVTsolar.com