ragin'Geek » Green (Environmentalism) http://www.ragingeek.com from keepin' it geek to makin' geek sheik, it's all about geekin' out... Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:24:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Why do we let smokers litter? http://www.ragingeek.com/why-do-we-let-smokers-litter http://www.ragingeek.com/why-do-we-let-smokers-litter#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:13:52 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/why-do-we-let-smokers-litter On our summer camping trip in Yosemite my family and I were excited to get what appeared to be an excellent campsite at the Crane Flat Campground.  It was a large site on the edge of the meadow with lots of large rock formations for privacy and rock climbing.  While scouring the site to determine the best spot to pitch the tent I noticed several large clusters of cigarette butts.  There were literally thousands of cigarette butts throughout the campsite. My excitement turned to anger as I realized we would basically be camping in an ashtray.  Why do smokers so self-servingly disrespect others and nature?

My first day back from Yosemite on the way to work I stopped behind another car for a red light.  After the light turned green the driver dropped her cigarette out the window and sped away.  I thought about picking it up and following her to her destination.  And giving it back to her letting her know that she dropped it.

On a recent trip to Kauai, my son and I went to play a little football on the beach.  After being tackled on the first play I found myself face down in a pile of sand and cigarette butts.  This continued for the rest of the game.  They were everywhere.  I wondered if somehow it was the same a**hole(s) that preceeded us in Yosemite.

Why do smokers feel they have the right to litter?  Do you think anyone, even these same smokers, would be so careless with any other form of trash?  Why does society let smokers treat the planet like an ashtray?

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/why-do-we-let-smokers-litter/feed 0 Green Idea: Install Solar Panels Over Parking Lots http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-solar-panels-over-parking-lots http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-solar-panels-over-parking-lots#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 18:28:12 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-solar-panels-over-parking-lots Wouldn’t it be a good idea to put covers over open parking lots and install solar panels on them.  Not only would it keep our cars cooler and cleaner, but it would generate a lot of electricity too!

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-solar-panels-over-parking-lots/feed 0 Green Idea: Install Turbines on Ocean Pier Legs http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-turbines-on-ocean-pier-legs http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-turbines-on-ocean-pier-legs#comments Sun, 10 May 2009 18:28:02 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-turbines-on-ocean-pier-legs Why hasn’t anyone installed turbines on the legs of ocean piers?  It seems like an uninvasive way to generate electricity from the power of the ocean.

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-install-turbines-on-ocean-pier-legs/feed 0 Green Idea: Convert Pressure to Electricity http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-convert-pressure-to-electricity http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-convert-pressure-to-electricity#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 02:00:02 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-convert-pressure-to-electricity I was wondering if there is a way to convert the pressure at the bottom of the ocean into electricity. If it could be done, it would obviously be a unlimited source. Anyone have any thoughts?

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-convert-pressure-to-electricity/feed 2 Green Idea: Store Solar Energy Thermally http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-store-solar-energy-thermally http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-store-solar-energy-thermally#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:57:00 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-store-solar-energy-thermally Can we emulate nature to store energy as heat?  Think about the core of our planet.  It is a giant ball of molten rock, right?  This heat can be harnessed for energy production when it’s close enough to the surface.  So essentially the core is a giant battery right?  Can we make our own “giant batteries”?  Can we build solar collectors to concentrate the sun’s rays to super heat some sort of element that has efficient thermal properties?

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-store-solar-energy-thermally/feed 0 Green Idea: Remove CO2 from the Air http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-remove-co2-from-the-air http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-remove-co2-from-the-air#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:20:06 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-remove-co2-from-the-air I’ve been thinking, if rising CO2 levels are a major cause of global warming and we are rapidly loosing the only natural source of CO2 processing – rain forests, can we create something that will replace that functionality? Obviously the first thing we need to do is stop the destruction of the rain forests.  After that the best thing we can do is restore them back to their original state.  Since no one seems to be able to accomplish either of those goals, would it be possible to build farms of “artificial rain forests”?  The idea is to have small machines that can perform some kind of artificial photosynthesis or something that can remove the CO2 from the air.  These machines could hopefully be powered by solar panels and/or wind turbines.  Such farms could be installed on building rooftops and empty lots for example.

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-idea-remove-co2-from-the-air/feed 0 Green Tip: Buy a TerraPass http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-buy-a-terrapass http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-buy-a-terrapass#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:03:56 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-going-on-vacation-buy-a-terrapass Doing all you can in your everyday life to reduce, reuse, and recycle? You want to take a trip but are feeling guilty about the damage your flight, cruise, or car will cause? Well it won’t completely make up for it, but you can make a bit of a difference and ease your conscience by purchasing a TerraPass. When you buy a TerraPass you make a donation to fund greenhouse gas reduction projects such as wind farms and methane digesters.

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-buy-a-terrapass/feed 0 Aptera – The First Fully Electric Vehicle Coming Soon! http://www.ragingeek.com/aptera-the-first-fully-electric-vehicle-coming-soon http://www.ragingeek.com/aptera-the-first-fully-electric-vehicle-coming-soon#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:28:10 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/aptera-the-first-fully-electric-vehicle-coming-soon ApteraMy good friends at Greenerist have alerted me that the Aptera 2e, a fully electric vehicle, is due out in October!  I can’t wait to see one of these roll down the street.  I’m very anxious not only to test drive one, but to see how well they are received by the consumer market and if they can make an impact in the gasoline dependent economic world.  Hopefully the economy will be back on track and consumer confidence restored prior to it’s release date or it may not have a fighting chance.  If it does have any measure of success, perhaps it will spur U.S. automakers to produce electrics and save themselves.  So reserve your Aptera today and start saving for October!

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/aptera-the-first-fully-electric-vehicle-coming-soon/feed 0 Green Tip: Recycle Plastic Bags http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-recycle-plastic-bags http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-recycle-plastic-bags#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:46:36 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-recycle-plastic-bags Most grocery stores in the large chains (Albertson’s, Ralph’s, etc) have a plastic bag recycling bin just inside the door, so if you use plastic bags when buying groceries, bring them back next time and drop them in the bin.  Also if you subscribe to a newspaper, you can drop off the plastic bags they come in too.  You can also use these receptacles for plastic bags from any other place like: hardware stores, take-out food, and retail stores.  So just be conscious, any time you buy something and take it home in a plastic bag, save the bag for your next trip to the grocery store.  Another tip, if you’re buying something that you don’t really need a bag for, tell the clerk you don’t need a bag.

]]> http://www.ragingeek.com/green-tip-recycle-plastic-bags/feed 0 Irvine Spectrum’s Goin’ Green http://www.ragingeek.com/irvine-spectrums-goin-green http://www.ragingeek.com/irvine-spectrums-goin-green#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:08:11 +0000 ragin'Geek http://www.ragingeek.com/irvine-spectrums-goin-green While using the restroom on a recent visit to the Irvine Spectrum I noticed the urinals were waterfree!  Very cool!  If I remember correctly they were Sloan WES-5000 Waterfree Urinal’s. Mind you this was just one of the public restrooms at the Spectrum.  I’m not sure how many of the restrooms have been converted over (considering the many restaurants’ and the movie theater’s), but with water rationing on the horizon and the fact that these can save hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per year (Restaurant Saves 120,000 Gallons a Year) if not per day (No Water, No Problem at Rose Bowl), let’s hope they all do soon!

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