Category: Renewable Energy

The Cheapest, Easiest Way to Produce Solar Power at Home

I’ve gotten some comments from people saying this is illegal in some places. This video is not meant to imply that you can just connect to the grid and feed back into it without an agreement with your local utility, it is just intended to show you one way you can easily grid tie and backfeed if you have an agreement or want to get one with your local utility to grid tie.

I thought I’d have to spend a lot of money, but it ended up being cheaper than ever to get my solar system feeding back into the grid.

It used to be that you had to invest a lot of money in a solar power system. Despite that solar panels eventually paid for themselves in energy cost savings, it was a really expensive initial investment. Then there were government tax credits for renewable energy that made solar systems much more affordable to the average American. This led to the increased production of solar panels and the driving down of prices. Now technological advance is bringing costs down even more, and the technical know how to set up a solar power system like this is simpler than ever.

If you are still using grid power from fossil fuel you are propping up people and corporations that are responsible for our current government and for the system we have that benefits corporate interests over the public interest. The best way to ensure that these people lose power is to stop giving them money by becoming energy independent. It’s never been easier or cheaper, so why aren’t you doing it?

Wind Power: Sailing on the Tall Ship Lynx

The Amara Zee is technically a sailboat, but because it has been adapted as a theater ship, it can’t use its sails anymore. But I had the chance to take a ride on true tall sailboat, the Lynx, when it was docked across from us. The Lynx is a small replica a schooner from the War of 1812 and features 12 sails to harness the wind’s power to maximum efficiency. We invited the crew of the Lynx to dinner at the Amara Zee one night, so they offered us free rides on their ship. It wasn’t the best day for wind, but nevertheless we got to see how the crew uses the power of the wind to sail a boat the old fashioned way. It takes a lot of hands to sail a boat like this and it was inspiring to see the skilled, strong women and men on their crew working together to hoist the sails.

Harnessing Wind Power the Old Fashioned Way: Sailing in the Gulf

My aunt and uncle take me out sailing on a sailboat my uncle built himself. This is wind power technology that humans have been using for thousands of years. I love the feeling of speeding along knowing we are moving without the use of anything but natural power. Maybe next time I can get them to do the entire trip without the motor. I know they have the skills. I’ve only gone sailing sporadically in my life and most of those times were with my aunt and uncle.

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Making Fire-roasted Salsa Over a Hardwood Fire

One of the canned foods I eat most of every year is salsa.  In the late summer, I get a bounty of tomatoes and other salsa ingredients pouring in from my gardens and I like to turn them into a good supply of salsa for the year.  If you’ve never had real fire-roasted salsa, you should try it sometime.  It’s like a different animal from store-bought salsa.  So much depth of flavor and a smokiness that liquid smoke just can’t replicate.  In this video I take you through the process of making it from scratch.