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The continent Australia can be seen as having the unluckiest hand in the geological draw. Instead of being a part of Pangea, the large mass that other continents broke off from millions of years ago, Australia was part of a super-continent situated closely to the South Pole, Gwondanaland. It has experienced a drift over the past millennia, but to a less amiable position than most, to a latitude where dry and arid temperatures are the norm. While other continents experienced tectonic fluctuations that promoted fossil fuel formation, Australia continued to remain the driest of all continents, a hard and rough landscape, more conducive to coal formation than to the formation of crude oil deposits. In fact, Australia continues to be the largest exporter of coal (mostly to China), but their oil reserves started at the smallest of amounts at nine billion barrels, about half a percent of the world's supplies. Luckily, Australia possesses quite a small population due to its harsh landscape and oil usage has been pretty conservative.

Australia has been mostly self-sufficient with its oil production and usage, as 85% of the oil used is domestically produced. However, reserves are dwindling as oil usage is on the rise. Estimates show that by 2010, Australian oil supplies will only provide 42% of their need and will be forced to import the difference, mostly form Middle Eastern reserves. The population of Australia has experienced 300% growth since 1945, but mostly to the coastal cities, while its rural populations have dwindled. The cities are heavily motor vehicle dependent, making need for oil supplies to increase. Because Australia is an island quite separated from other continents, transport of imports to their population is very costly. Transportation of all products throughout Australia is dominated by semis and eighteen-wheelers. As a result, oil dependence continues to grow.

Energy Tags: solar energy, clean energy

The global demand for more environmentally friendly options for fuel, energy and food continues to grow and this growth is only expected to continue as concern about climate change increases. With this growth, more and better options for solar lighting are coming to the marketplace. Whether you need lighting for inside or outside your home, there are excellent, practical solar lighting options for you to choose from.

The advantages of using solar lights are many. The up front cost of solar lighting was once a problem for many people, but that has changed. The technology of solar lighting has continued to improve and the initial costs have gotten more reasonable. With the added advantage that the cost of solar energy is free, solar lighting is experiencing greater demand than ever before. Nowadays, solar landscape lights are almost ubiquitous in many neighborhoods.

What's available for inside your home:

Energy Tags: alternative, solar power

The truth is definitely becoming clearer. Thanks to widespread news coverage and Al Gore's book and documentary, people are becoming more and more aware that energy needs to be conserved, even if it means inconvenience. Recycling isn't something only "tree-huggers" do anymore. Even big companies are getting into the habit of recycling and reusing their waste products. My local Wal-mart has barrels set up to collect used plastic bags and one of the local grocery stores uses their cardboard boxes instead of bags for their customers to carry their purchases home.

With all the basics covered; changing light bulbs, recycling your paper, plastic and metal goods, and turning off the faucets when brushing your teeth, you are doing a great job of conserving the Earth's natural resources. But there is more that you could be doing. Follows is a list of lesser-known ways to conserve energy in the comfort of your own home.

1. Replace the filters on your air conditioner every month that you are using it. By running the machine with a clean filter, it doesn't have to work as hard and doesn't need to use more energy to achieve the keep the rooms cool.

2. Turn down the water temperature on your water heater. By lower the temperature of the water to 120 degrees, the heater won't have to use as much energy to heat up the water to a warmer temperature. It's also safer to have the water heater lower if you have young children in the house, as the hot water won't scald them if the heater is turned to 120 degrees or cooler.

3. Avoid over checking your food while it is cooking in the oven. Every time you open the oven door while it is on, the temperature inside the oven drops as much as 30 degrees. The oven then has to expend energy to bring the temperature back up. By reducing the number of times you open the door to check on your meal, you can save energy.

4. Avoid washing your clothes in hot water. Most clothes that are not stained can be cleaned in cold water (it's also better for the dyes and less harsh on the fabric). Clothes that are dirty but not overly stained can be pretreated and washed in warm water. Hot water is really only necessary for heavily stained clothes or if you are trying to eliminate pests such as lice. Many detergent companies are formulating their products to work as well in cold water as in warm and hot in order to help consumers conserve energy.

5. Adjust the blades on ceiling fans for seasonal changes. The fan company (and occasionally the blades themselves) will inform you of the optimal position for your fan blade to keep the air circulating during the summer and winter months.

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Clean Technology Startup Offers 100% Green Solar-Powered Web Hosting for Business and Consumers AlwaysOn GoingGreen 2007

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greenest Host, a pioneer of green powered Internet services, today announced worldwide availability of its 100% solar powered web hosting plans. Like most web hosting companies, Greenest Host offers a suite of services that allow users to host websites, register domains, host email accounts, and build their own custom web presence. What makes the company unique is their green technology data center, which operates 100% of the time on clean solar energy.

The company has combined cutting edge green power technology with custom, easy-to-use account management software, point-and-click website development tools, and world-class ecommerce software. For the first time, consumers and small businesses have the freedom to sign up for a green technology web hosting account, build a web presence, and know that with every web visitor’s click they are reducing carbon emissions. And for every new account created through the end of 2007, Greenest Host will donate $5 to the Environmental Defense Fund – up to $500,000.

“The idea for such a venture developed out of our firsthand experience with data center operations. Ask any data center operations person how power and cooling-hungry most web servers are,” said Mike Corrales, President and CEO of Greenest Host. “When we ran the numbers, we were astounded by how much pollution can be reduced when switching to green technology hosting. Greenest Host literally produces zero carbon emissions.”

“It is important to note that this is NOT a green solution because we are buying [tag-tec]Renewable Energy Credits[/tag-tec] or carbon offsets,” said Corrales, “it is energy from the sun that powers our web servers and data center cooling day and night. We are not paying a penance for our emissions sins, we are just not committing the sins in the first place.”

Greenest Host is also sponsoring the Green Power Inside “Million Green Powered Website” campaign, where the goal is to convert one million websites to clean power, resulting in pollution reductions equivalent to:

* 2,000 passenger cars not driven for one year
* 1,070,000 gallons of gasoline not burned
* 21,900 barrels of oil not burned
* 1,200 households not using electricity for a year
* 240,000 tree seedlings grown for 10 years
* 7,900 acres of pine or fir forests storing carbon for one year
* 77 acres of forest preserved from deforestation
* 48 railcars of coal not burned
* 3,200 tons of waste recycled instead of landfilled

Greenest Host web hosting plans start at $14.95 a month. More information about Greenest Host, it’s state-of-the-art clean powered data center, and its web hosting plans are available at http://www.greenesthost.com.

Greenest Host is changing the Internet web hosting landscape one website at a time, by offering zero emissions web hosting. The company powers all of its state-of-the-art servers and data center cooling with 100% clean solar power 100% of the time.

Energy Tags: alternative energy, alternative

According to the Energy Saving Trust, the UK has 40% of Europes total wind energy. But its still largely untapped and only 0.5% the UKs electricity requirements are currently generated by wind power.

Wind power is proportional to the cube of the winds speed, so relatively minor increases in speed result in large changes in potential output. Individual turbines vary in size and power output from a few hundred watts to two or three megawatts (as a guide, a typical domestic system would be 2.5 - 6 kilowatts, depending on the location and size of the home).

Uses range from very small turbines supplying energy for battery charging systems (e.g. on boats or in homes), to turbines grouped on wind farms supplying electricity to the grid.

In Saddleworth, near Greater Manchester, an eco-war about wind turbines is waging. United Utilities want to build seven 350 foot wind turbines.

These will generate enough power to supply the average electricity needs of 8,500 homes in the local area. This wind farm is not situated out to sea but in the picturesque hills of the Saddleworth Moors and would be visible for miles around. Government targets state that 10% of the UKs energy should be supplied by renewable resources by 2010 and developments like the Saddleworth Moor turbines would contribute towards that total. Leading environmentalists from across the country have previously convened in Saddleworth for the first ever National Forum opposing the creation of wind farms on rural beauty spots.

World renowned TV botanist, Professor David Bellamy, joined former Downing Street press secretary, Sir Bernard Ingham and hundreds of activists at the National Wind Farm Group Conference. There were a total of representatives from over 50 environmental groups from across the country attending this event. It aimed to raise awareness about the perceived dangers of wind farms and bring environmental groups closer together in their fight against the government. The Saddleworth Moors Action Group says the turbines would have a negative impact on a unique landscape. The group also insist their campaign is not prompted by 'not in my backyard' sentiments, but through a genuine desire to preserve the character of the local area.

One could argue that the government is not bothered about the environment then they are continually financing the construction of coal fired power stations in the third world and building more airports and more motorways in Britain? As tensions are mounting in Iran and Nigeria leading to increased oil prices, is now not the ideal time to exploit wind power both on land and at sea via grants to companies? With labour slipping up at the local elections in 05/06 and the Conservatives pushing the eco argument, is not in Labours interest to follow the Conservatives lead and not to pay lip service to wind farms as they currently do?

OR

Will the people that have to live near wind farms and see the things every day change their minds and believe that wind farms form a concerted effort to save the environment or just another commercial money making scheme for the companies involved?

See renewable energy companies in GuideMeGreens green directory

The author works with the Green directory GuideMeGreen.com .This growing green directory lists 100s of Organic Food and Drink Companies and Food and Drink Jobs and campaigning Videos

Energy Tags: Wind power