How To Use Wind Power To Light And Heat Your Home And Who S Already Doing It

Go outside on a gusty day and you'll feel the wild force of the wind. For at least a thousand years, people have sought to harness its power. We've used sails to push boats to new distances, and windmills to pump water or grind corn. Today, we're using the wind to create electricity. In our polluted, energy-hungry world, wind power comes forward as a clean, green, renewable answer. In 2008, the United States became the world's top producer of wind energy, and China doubled its wind power capacity. The real beauty of wind, however, is that you don't have to wait for the power company to install a wind farm near you. Concerned citizens all over the world are looking to be part of the new energy solution, installing their own personal wind turbines in their backyards or even on their roofs. Can your family join them and harness the power of the wind?

Imagine living in a world with clean air and very little pollution. Imagine never having to hear your parents complain about paying the electric bill. Does that sound too good to be true? It's all possible with solar energy. Learn how actor Ed Begley Jr. lives in his solar home. Read how solar power works and why scientists think solar energy will be the next great energy resource. You can learn how to save energy in your own home. You can even find out how to make your own solar oven and cook yourself a solar hot dog feast.

On average, each American throws away a staggering one ton of trash every year. Most of that trash will reach a dead end in a landfill, taking up space and polluting the earth. We can all make an effort to live a life less trashy by recycling, reusing, and being smart about what we buy. But what can we do with the trash we do make? Cities all over the world are making their trash work for them by turning it into energy. In waste-to-energy power plants, trash is burned in a controlled way to generate electricity while keeping it out of the landfill. Even landfilled trash can be used to generate energy, if we harness the gas released when garbage breaks down. Turning trash into energy is a practical way to help our landfills last longer and reduce our need for polluting energy from coal and oil. Tell your parents!

Can one person really make a difference? Yes! Every environmental change you and your family adopt can make the earth a cleaner and greener planet for you and the generations of people who will follow in your carbon footprints. Discover what you can do in your home to make it a better place for the environment, and how going green can save green—money, that is. Meet other young people who are making a difference, and read about the green-living efforts of some of your favorite celebrities.

Text and illustrations take you through the construction of a small building that incorporates a wide spectrum of alternative techniques and materials.

What's the big deal about hybrid cars? Why are so many celebrities driving them? Are these cars really better than gasoline-powered cars? You can learn how hybrid cars work and explore new inventions in the automotive industry. Discover vehicles powered by hydrogen and cars that run on sunshine. Learn how to reduce your own carbon footprint and help your family save gasoline. It's all possible when you explore the world of hybrid cars.

IN PREFAB GREEN, architect Michelle Kaufmann shares her vision of creating thoughtful, sustainable design for everyone. Her firm, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, blends sustainable home layouts, eco-friendly materials, and low-energy options to create a "prepackaged" green solution to home design. Kaufmann tells about five eco-principles that are present in every design her firm creates-smart design, eco-materials, energy efficiency, water conservation, and healthy environment-and how each work together to create homes that make a difference. Michelle Kaufmann founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs in 2002. Michelle's work is widely published and her homes have been showcased in a number of museums including the National Building Museum, the Vancouver Art Center, MOCA in Los Angeles, and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Michelle lives in Marin County, California. Cathy Remick has worked as a staff architect and designer for several national firms in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She is a design manager for mkStudios. She lives in Orinda, California.

The book contains the data required to measure and manage energy consumption in residential buildings. This book describes energy information in detail so that any homeowner can measure energy use on a continuing basis, make decisions regarding how to conserve energy, implement improvements, then monitor the results of those improvements. In the past, it has been difficult to collect residential energy consumption data in real-time. This book helps overcome that challenge by teaching readers how to use self-installed data collection devices that monitor consumption of circuits or appliances, along with freely available information to benchmark against other homes in the area. It demonstrates how information derived from many sources, such as the kWh listed on an electric bill, can be combined into simple calculations that illuminate how well conservation efforts are working from day to day, month to month, or year to year. Homeowners have ultimate control over the decision making process required to realize energy savings. This book simplifies the tasks of collecting, calculating and reporting energy information to the homeowner, putting the power to conserve energy in the hands of the people who will ultimately benefit the most directly from conservation efforts.