IAASP: Information & Articles About Saving our Planet

If you are interested in an exciting career, one choice may be a career in the field of renewable energy. Finding resources for generations to come can be both challenging and satisfying.

If you’re looking into this area of interest there are many different professions that will be and are available. Because of the vast variety of existing opportunities, it will also accommodate a number of different degrees and different types of training. Your goal is to find which career path is the right fit for you.

Certain jobs in communications, community outreach, sales, marketing and business support are available in every renewable energy field. In addition, each field will need construction workers for building of the facilities, architects for the building design, mechanical and electrical engineers for research and development and technicians to maintain operations of the buildings. There are other jobs that will specifically target certain renewable energy technologies.

The wind industry uses meteorologists in their search to find areas with adequate wind conditions. Certain speeds of wind are vital to allow wind farms to generate enough electricity. In addition, advanced degree aeronautical engineers are needed for research and development in efforts to improve design and operations. Mechanical and electrical technicians, called “wind smiths” are needed to maintain the wind turbines.

The solar power industry has a need for highly skilled professionals. The different areas would consist of photovoltaics, solar thermal electric, solar hot water systems and passive solar building design. Higher-level jobs would include chemical, material science and physics engineers who would take the lead in research and development to improve solar products costs and reliability.

Much research is needed to make biomass energy production, the conversion of biomass into fuel, an easier process. This research effort will require the aid of chemists, microbiologists, biochemists, agricultural specialists and engineers. It will also create a number of direct and indirect jobs in rural communities. There will be an increase in jobs for farmers and foresters to produce and collect biomass resources. There will also be a need for more truck drivers to transport resources to the plants. There may even be a need for chemical engineers cross-trained in engineering and biology or chemistry and agriculture.

Geothermal energy production requires geologists, geochemists, geophysicists, hydrologists, seismologists, reservoir engineers, mud loggers, hydraulic engineers and drillers for the development and location of reservoirs. Environmental scientists will be needed for impact studies and for the obtainment of permits. HVAC contractors and drilling crews are also needed for manufacturing and installing geothermal heat pumps. Direct use of geothermal technology will have a need for heating engineers and those trained in building and agricultural industries. Electrical machinists, welders, riggers and mechanics are also needed in the design and construction processes.

Hydropower industry will employ recreation planners, resource managers and educators in managing the reservoirs and surrounding lands. The employment of environmental scientists such as, biologists, hydrologists, ecologists, and wildlife habitat specialists will be needed for conducting impact studies. They are needed to examine the effect hydropower has on the environment, to deal with environmental safety and to satisfy state and federal licensing laws.

The renewable energy field offers careers for individuals with a number of different skills, degrees and training. By being among those who will apply their talents and areas of expertise to any of the renewable energy fields, you can help the United States in its quest to provide an safe, environmentally friendly energy to its citizens.

More Renewable Energy Careers Articles at http://www.RenewableEnergy-Today.com. Learn how to operate a Successful Niche Website Network with eWebCreator, profitable Adsense Software

Composting your kitchen and garden waste is a great way to reduce the amount of waste you dispose of in your rubbish bin. By composting your waste you can generate a free source of rich compost to help improve your garden, and also help to reduce global warming in the process.

How does home composting help to reduce global warming?

When sent to landfill organic waste is compressed under tonnes and tonnes of other waste types. The organic waste therefore does not have enough access to air, which restricts the waste from being able to decompose properly. Instead of decomposing, methane gas is produced which contributes to global warming.

The Compost Bin

The first step to start composting at home is to get a compost bin. You can either purchase a compost bin or you can make your own. Compost bins can be bought from the majority of garden centres. The government funded Recycle Now Home Composting Campaign also sells discounted compost bins.

The next important step is to decide where to position the compost bin, which can affect the overall quality of the compost that is produced. For best results place the bin in a well drained area which has good access to sunlight. The drainage will enable excess water to drain out of the compost and placing the bin in a sunny spot helps to speed up the composting process.

What waste items can I put in my compost bin?

There are lots of everyday waste items from your garden and kitchen that can go into your compost bin. These are broken down into ?Greens? and ?Browns?. Greens are the type of items that provide moisture and nitrogen and are quick to rot. Items classed as Greens includes:

Grass cuttings
Vegetable peelings
Leaves
Fruit
Tea bags
Weeds

Browns are waste items that take longer to rot but provide pockets of air, along with fibre and carbon. This includes items such as:

Cardboard boxes
Newspapers (scrunched up)
Toilet roll tubes
Egg shells (crushed)
Shredded paper
Twigs and hedge clippings

How do I make a good quality compost?

To make a good quality compost it is important to use a good mix of both ‘green’ and ‘brown’ wastes. It is simply a case of monitoring the compost and adding more waste depending on the look of the compost. For example, if it looks too dry add more ?green? waste, and if it looks too wet add more ?brown? waste. Every so often it is also a good idea to mix or turn the contents of your compost bin to add air.

How long will it take for my compost to be ready to use?

This will vary depending on the mixture of waste that is placed into the compost bin, the surrounding conditions and the weather. In general it should take between 6 and 9 months for your finished compost to be ready to use.

Nicholas Tate is the author of Recycling Supermarket.com with provides tips on recycling and guides on how to recycle.

There are many energy sources today that are extremely limited in supply. Some of these sources include oil, natural gas, and coal. It is a matter of time before they will be exhausted.

Estimates are that they can only meet our energy demands for another fifty to seventy years. So in an effort to find alternative forms of energy, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as the solution. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this.

Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The most common advantage of each is that they are renewable and cannot be depleted. They are a clean energy, as they don’t pollute the air, and they don’t contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also require less maintenance on their plants. A common disadvantage to all is that it is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to. Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.

Solar energy makes use of the sun’s energy. It is advantageous because the systems can fit into existing buildings and it does not affect land use. But since the area of the collectors is large, more materials are required. Solar radiation is also controlled by geography. And it is limited to daytime hours and non-cloudy days.

Wind energy uses the power of the wind to produce electricity. Although it is the largest job producer, it is reliant on strong winds. Wind turbines are large and, although you can use the area under them for farming, many consider them unattractive looking. They are also very noisy to operate. In addition, they threaten the wild bird population.

Hydroelectric energy uses water to produce power. This is the most reliable of all the renewable energy sources. On the down side, it affects ecology and causes downstream problems. The decay of vegetation along the riverbed can cause the buildup of methane. Methane is a contributing gas to greenhouse effect. Dams can also alter the natural river flow and affect wildlife. Colder, oxygen poor water can be released into the river, killing fish. And the release of water from the dam can cause flooding.

Geothermal energy uses steam from the Earth’s ground to generate power. It uses smaller land areas than other power plants. They can run 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Disadvantages are that it is very site specific and, along with the heat from the Earth, it can also bring up toxic chemicals when obtaining the steam. Drilling geothermal reservoirs and finding them can be an expensive task.

Biomass electricity is produced through the energies from wood, agricultural and municipal waste. It helps save on landfill waste but transportation can be expensive and ecological diversity of land may be affected. In addition, its process needs to be made simpler.

Ocean energy is a clean and abundant energy form. It does, however, have high costs. Ocean thermal energy also requires close to a forty degree Fahrenheit difference in water temperature year round. In addition, construction and laying pipes can cause damage to the ecosystem.

There are many advantages to the use of renewable energy sources. There are also some disadvantages. The fact is energy demands will continue to increase. Through research and development, as well as, new technologies, the hope is many of the disadvantages of renewable sources of energy can be eliminated and we can successfully incorporate it into our power supplies.

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These fascinating creatures come ashore on the deserted beaches of North Cyprus between May and August to nest and Alagadi Beach is classified as a special protected area.

While on your trip in Northern Cyprus, you may be intrigued to know that this is home to some of the most significant turtle housing beaches in the Mediterranean. The two species that live and nest in Northern Cyprus are endangered species. Just about 10% of the loggerhead and 30% of the green turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus. Bearing in mind that as little as 300-400 green and 2000 loggerhead turtles are likely to live each year in the complete Mediterranean, it is critical that people do all they can to help and protect these near endangered species.

These North Cyprus Marine turtles start their lives on land, where they come out to emerge from eggs, just after 45-60 days of incubation on land and in the sand. When these turtles hatch and emerge they then begin to make the attempt to reach the sea, they swim anxiously out to sea waters where they stay put for the remaining years of their lives, the only break in this would be when a adult female will come to shore and lay her eggs.

It is projected that only one single hatchling out from two thousand will make it and survive to full adult life and maturity. As soon as they are 25-30 years old, and reach 1-2 meters in length, the adult females and males with set out and migrate to waters off nesting beaches to eat and reproduce. For the duration of a nesting season a female lays 3-4 nests, each carrying just about 100 eggs. she will nest every 1-3 years and will always return to the exact same beaches. There is no exact number on how long these marine turtles live but they have been suggested to live up to 160 years old.

They are two species of marine turtles that find themselves nesting in the North Cyprus Mediterranean and they would be the loggerhead, caretta caretta and the green turtle (chelonia mydas) the grand total number of both of these turtles has said to be a estimated 300-400 for the green and 2000 for the logghead females that nest each and every single year. Both of these species of sea turtles are endangered , more so with the green turtles. It has said to be that North Cyprus and Turkey seem to be the only nesting grounds these turtles come to love. There is over 80 beaches along North Cyprus that between may and October and monitored closely for the precious turtle activity.

While on your stay in North Cyprus and wish to see these lovely creatures you may indulge in a boating experience of the shore and see these turtles swimming, and with many places to see at night you might catch a glimpse of these night nesting turtles.

Group of Ecologists and students have been observing and helping to protect these rare animals from extinction for a number of years.

Some general information for you to keep on hand:
Mating time for these turtles is May/June
Hatching time is Aug/Sep
Nesting time is June/July

I hope that by through this article you can take away some general information on sea turtles in North Cyprus. If ever in the area on vacation or stay pay a visit to these wonderful beautiful creatures.

Visitors are welcome to observe this exciting experience!!!

Orcun is the owner of Cyprus Holidays. You can find more information at Cyprus Hotels. Also you can visit our North Cyprus Guide for more information on North Cyprus.

Imagine this, every home in the US with solar panels on the roof. Each one feeding power into the national power grid. Or, industrious individuals producing biodiesel out on their suburban or rural homesteads. How about wind generators on buildings in cities making power and sending it all into the grid.

Historically energy has been produced by big enterprises that build big facilities to generate power and then sell the power to the consumer. Maybe it made sense at one time but it no longer does. Please do not think I am implying we should scrap our
current infrastructure and start tearing down generating plants, although that might be a worthy goal in the future. But with the technology we have now we should be looking at a differnet model.

Decentralization makes sense. It is far more secure than a big power generating facility because it is safe from terrorist attack or sabotage. Decentralized power generation is also more resistant to weather disruptions. Last winter a transmission line went down in our area during a storm and we were without any power for nine hours while the temperature was below freezing with a blizzard going on.

Local fuel production seems to be worthwhile also. Can you imagine who will work at shooting down this idea. But, why not produce some of your own fuel for your vehicle. I live in the country and could produce my own biodiesel. Interestingly enough, a man in Central Illinois was fined by the Department of Revenue for producing biodiesel. They said he had not paid fuel taxes on his production. Now they want him to fill out a monthly multipage form just like a major refinery.

This idea is not for everyone. Most people do not have the space to make a fuel like biodiesel or ethanol. Especially if you live in a town or city. But, most everyone has a roof of some sort, or, at least their apartment building has a roof. The electric generation would be good for what I think of as the “helpless” members of society. That is those who either think it is too much bother to do something for themselves or they just are too fuzzy brained to understand how to do it.

The power companies could provide the solar panels themselves. They could also do the installation and maintenance. I know there are some utilities that will let you interconnect to the grid with the proper equipment. And the price of that equipment is coming down all the time. The homeowner really would not have to do much of anything which seems to be the standard for too many Americans.

The greatest thing about implementing these approaches to energy production is the reduced need for new massive coal or nuclear power plants. Did you know there are people trying to revive the nuclear power industry on the grounds that it produces no green house gases? They fail to point out that it produces radioactive waste that no one knows what to do with. There have been no new nuclear power plants built for decades and it should stay that way.

What this will all take is individual intitative. Government does not seem to have the will to do much of anything except get re-elected. Industry just seems to have its head in the sand and wants to preserve the staus quo. Do a Google search on some of these ideas or technologies. You can buy cheap solar panels on Ebay. I bought six of them this year to power small fans to blow heat into the house from heat collectors. They make a small contribution to our heating needs in the winter. I will continue to expand this idea to cut down on my heating energy needs.

Michael Dappert is a co-founder of Winco, Inc., a provider of wireless internet access to small communities in West Central Illinois. More articles and discussion can be found at Mike’s Garden Blog and discusses a wide range of topics at Flyoverfolks.com.