A Greener America

CaliforniaGeo 8-5-17 A growing army of citizens, institutions, corporations, governments and cities (on multiple continents) are fighting climate change.  Their efforts grow from previously planned commitments to the Paris Accord of December, 2015.  Many of these soldiers have accelerated their efforts as an antidote to the Trump Administration’s official U.S. withdrawal from scheduled efforts.  The U.S. […]

CaliforniaGeo 6-25-17 Short-term learning has exploded in the last 25 years.  Conferences still exist, but tighter budgets for business related learning and renewal has been met with targeted seminars.  It’s get in, get it, and get out.  It’s like E. Scrooge meets Cliff Notes.  Seminars have been joined by the Internet-based webinar.  Distance, overnight stays […]

An Important “Proof-of-Concept” Project in Valley Stream NY taps flow from a water main for thermal exchange CaliforniaGeo 6-14-17 [This important HVAC retrofit at the William L. Buck Elementary School in Nassau County took on the first-cost issue of needing a ground heat exchanger for geo heat pumps head-on. Bosch Thermotechnology Corp.’s Business Development Manager […]

Heat Pump History by Bill Holladay From Engineering & Science Monthly (October, 1948) Take a look at mechanical history! We celebrate GHPs (geothermal heat pumps) as the most efficient thermal transfer equipment known.  But the grandfathers of GHPs go back to primitive compressor experiments prior to 1900 by VonRittenger.  In this Engineering & Science Monthly […]

CaliforniaGeo 3-2–17 As what may become known as the “greenest” large retailer in the nation, IKEA  has hit a new mark for sustainability with its Centennial, Colorado store, south of Denver.  This store has two levels of underground parking, two levels of retail space, two restaurants with total  seating for 550, and contains 415,000 square […]

CaliforniaGeo 2-17-17 Commercial wind turbines evolve- While commercial wind turbines of 30 Kilowatts (KW) output were turning at Tehachapi Pass in California in 1981, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy completed the first megawatt-scale wind farm in the nation at Goodnoe Hills, Washington.  That wind farm contained three two-blade turbine units, each capable of […]

CaliforniaGeo 1-31-17 This week, it was announced that General Motors and Honda Motor Company have formed a joint venture to build fuel cell battery packs and market cars carrying them under both companies’ brands.  Fuel cells run on gaseous hydrogen, and this is widely thought of as a major shift away from fossil fuels in […]

CaliforniaGeo 12-17-16 If you’re concerned with winter heating where you live, it might be helpful to know there’s a free, carbonless, renewable heat source under your feet.  That’s right.  When paired with heat pump compressor technology (well over 50 years old) you can concentrate low-grade heat from under the earth and deliver it inside your […]

CaliforniaGeo 12-7-16 Nikola Motors of Salt Lake City just may be the Tesla of the heavy duty truck world.  Hey good buddy, are you ready for big rigs powered by electricity and fueled by renewable hydrogen?   It was announced in today’s Sacramento Bee that the California capital is in the running for Nikola’s main […]

 CaliforniaGeo 12-5-16 As reported by the Associated Press, OPEC will cut production for the first time in eight years as a step to prop up prices.  In theory, less supply raises prices if demand is otherwise steady.  But skeptics forecast that individual OPEC producers will cheat, exporting more than their assigned allotment. Why? The reasons […]