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I highly recommend Jade Mountain Appropriate Technology News as a
resourse worth consulting. And it is wholly available from the web.
They sell innovative tools for a wide variety of levels of sustainability.
David Wimberly
ag487@chebucto.ns.ca
Halifax, Nova Scotia
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/6847/
A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents
and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents
eventually die and a new generation grows up ญญ Max Planck
*******************************************************************
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 13:01:00 -0600 (MDT)
From: owner-atenews@indra.com
To: unlisted-recipients: ;
Emailed to Subscribers Only (see below to add/delete from list)
*===================================*
* Jade Mountain Appropriate Technology News 9 *
* April, 1998
*
*=================================== *
Sender: owner-atenews@jade-mtn.com
Precedence: bulk
=>> Space as Value
=>> New Catalog/Handbook on the way!
=>> New Thermoelectric Generator
=>> Thermoelectric Update
=>> Good News
California offers $3/watt PV and/or Wind System rebate
Combining solar electric with solar heating
New Composting Toilet Code Approval
Fire Department saves $125,000 with greywater system
New Air-Powered Cars
Energy Value Housing Award Winners
New EV battery charger break-through
---------------------------------------------------
=>> Space as Value
We have customers in every state and over 60 countries. Talking with people
in diverse places clarifies the relativity of wealth. For example, in a
place like New York City, salaries are high but people have astronomical
living expenses. Though someone might be making three times the hourly wage
of someone in a small town, they may only be able to afford a living space
a third of the size. Which one is really making the higher salary? In a
similar way, property connected to the utility services costs much more
than land without water, sewage, and electric lines. Books like "Stand on
Zanzibar" by John Brunner and "Beauty" by Sheri Tepper depict a future
where population is so high that people are sardeened into tiny cubicles
like Japanese hotels. Increasingly, space could become the new real
wealth. Appropriate technology gives people choices and more options to
value things like space and personal experience over just dollars.
=>> New Catalog/Handbook on the way!
We're calling our '98 catalog a "Handbook" because it's so full of design
and sizing information, articles, FAQ's, and in-depth detail. 160 pages
with a hard cover and spine, it's becoming a book! In fact, it will be
selling in book stores for $5. If you've ordered from us though or sent in
a newsletter subscription, you will receive a free copy in the mail soon.
You can also download it from our web site or order extra copies - PI3661
<http://www.jademountain.com/jademountain-cgi-bin/basket/PI3661>.
=>> Thermoelectric Generator
Revolutionary new power generator - no noise, no moving parts, no vibration
& only 27 lbs.! A major breakthrough in back-up power technology - 5000
watts, 120 vac from a small 27 lb. generator! Extremely low maintenance
with no moving parts to wear, no noise, no vibration. Powered from locally
available heat sources like propane or natural gas, this new thermocouple
design uses special copper plates and creates a magnetic field for
producing power from high temperature differentials. We believe this
product will make traditional gas generators with their noise, pollution,
and high maintenance obsolete. 230 vac 50 Hz, kerosene, diesel, and alcohol
powered models available during the next year. Heat comes out the top and
can be used for cooking or space heating. At full power uses about 1 lb. of
LP/hr (c. 6 gallons).
(Don't use this inside buildings where people live or work as natural
gas and propane can cause or worsen multiple chemical sensitivity. A note
from David Wimberly)
=>> Thermoelectric Generator Update
This is the first product we've introduced that people have had a hard time
believing really exists. We keep hearing, "This sounds too good to be
true!" In fact, we haven't seen or tested one yet. We frequently talk with
the manufacturing company and saw a video of one in action; but, adding
this as a new product was a little premature. Manufacturing problems still
need to be worked out. Some of the machinery parts melt down after just
making two units. Reports from the field indicate big drops in power output
after just 100 hours of run time. Changes were made to correct this problem
as well but both these factors further delay U.S. availability.other hand, because availability this year will be limited, we've been
taking orders for people who would like to get one as soon as possible.
Before shipping we'll test and make sure quality is good. And of course,
not process credit card orders until we send generators. The latest
delivery estimate is June '98 and we hope to receive a sample in May.
<http://www.jademountain.com/genmotchg.html>
=>> Good News
California offers $3/watt PV and/or Wind System rebate
Just fill out a simple form, install a PV utility intertie system within 90
days, have a building code official sign off your system, and get a rebate
from the state of $3 for every watt of solar modules you installed. For
example, if you install ten 100 watt Solecs, you would get a check from the
state for $3000! California set aside $53 million for this program. Forms
and more information available online at <www.energy.ca.gov> (Started March
20th, 1998)
Combining solar electric with solar heating creates higher efficiency
A new "PV Solarwall" product (still in R & D) uses a steel panel behind
photovoltaics to produce both electricity and space or water heating. The
heat transferred through the heating module cools the PV and makes it more
efficient.
New Composting Toilet Code Approval
The new plumbing code in Massachusetts now includes composting toilets
under the category "plumbing appliances". This means people don't even need
to get a permit when they take out a flush toilet and install a composting
toilet. We expect similar additions in the rest of the states during the
next 5 years.
Fire Department saves $125,000 a year by installing a greywater system
The Harwich, MA fire department recently discovered that their discharge
water fell under the hazardous waste classification and proper disposal
would cost over $125,000 each year. Instead, the fire department with
approval from the EPA teamed with community groups and installed a
"Washwater Garden" that uses the water for landscaping. In successful
operation for over a year, this project offers a wonderful solution for car
washes, DPW yards, police stations and other municipal facilities now in
violation of federal law.
New Air-Powered Cars
Experimental vehicles at Universities in Seattle and Texas run on liquid
nitrogen (by volume 78% of air). These vehicles have zero emissions, no
batteries, the possibility of 3x the range of electric vehicles, and a
by-product that gives free air-conditioning. At present, top speeds are
only 22 mph but researchers expect rapid progress. The nitrogen fuel can be
made from the exhaust of fossil-fuel power plants while condensing
pollutants and preventing their release into the atmosphere at the same
time. (Popular Science 2/98)
Insulated Concrete Homes lower energy costs up to 80%
Winners of this year's Energy Value Housing Awards sponsored by the DOE
used insulated concrete to lower heating and cooling costs 60-80% while
downsizing furnace and air-conditioner sizing 50%. The homes are quieter
than wood-frame, don't have termite problems, better withstand earthquakes
and hurricanes, have lower fire-insurance premiums, and of course don't use
trees! (Popular Science 2/98)
New battery charger gives 40 extra miles in 20 minutes
A new battery charger designed for electric vehicles recharges batteries up
to 80% in just 10-20 minutes. For the first time, this makes cross-country
travel with EV's practical. Both Ford and Chevrolet have versions of this
charger for their new cars. (Popular Science 1/98)
---------------------------------------------------
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Jade Mountain Inc. P.O. Box 4616, Boulder, CO 80306
voice 800-442-1972 or 303-449-6601 fax 303-449-8266
email: stroy@jademountain.com web site: www.jademountain.com
(you can now download our complete 1997 catalog and order online!)
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