Happy Father's Day!

First off I would like to say Happy Father's day to all the fathers, grandfathers, greats, and other fathers.











Second: here is another sunset photograph I took yesterday



Thirdly and lastly:
This article courtesy of POP SCI magazine

In 1983, engineers at General Electric experimented with an “unducted fan” engine. Without the external casing, airflow through the blades increased, delivering more power for the same amount of fuel. The thing was loud, but the company pressed on because the trick could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 26 percent. Then fuel prices dropped, gas guzzling became acceptable, and GE mothballed the project. Now that airlines are again conscious of fuel costs and carbon, the idea is back, and new tech is making it feasible.
Last September, GE began wind-tunnel testing a one-fifth-scale set of the blades at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. Using computational-design advances, engineers are redesigning the original blades to evenly distribute the air coming off the tips when they spin at supersonic speeds, which should reduce the noise. The setup more than triples the airflow through the blades, says Theresa Zeug, the project’s lead engineer, and allows them to be 14 feet wide, four feet wider than today’s largest. The engine also saves fuel by tilting the blades to control speed—rather than throttling up or down—which lets it run at a constant, efficient rate.
GE will probably have to execute some spin of its own to get the public on board with the fearsome design, which engineers have dubbed the “flying Cuisinart.” But GE has time to figure that one out: The engine won’t be ready for midsize jets, such as the Boeing 737, until at least 2020.

Pool

So my pool is finally filled, fixed, sanitized, and cleaned. Thanks to the solar heater it is already at a comfy and refreshing 80 degrees

oh and here is an interesting little thing I picked up from thecoolist.com

Throughout the world, our rivers and our drinking water is horribly polluted by industry, by waste both chemical and human. Vincent Callebaut Architects have envisioned a floating monument to green conscious urban living– one that not only traverses the rivers of our cities, but cleans their water in the process. The Physalia Amphibious Floating Garden uses a bio-filtration system to clean our rivers much like a typical aquarium filter, but in this case the filter itself is the garden on its surface. The Physalia is covered in four gardens, exterior and interior, that provide foliage and awareness to its visitors, while taking in water from the river below and filtering it before it returns. Sure, we may never see on of these beyond the rendering stage, but we appreciate the vision of Vincent Callebaut.

NY pics and eco-future

This is going to be a combined Post.
First are a few pics from my recent NY trip the next is a few cool 'green' things.

The Citigroup building:
The first photo is not mine. However, it shows the massive stilts the building sits on. The building has a roof slanted at a 45° angle. It was originally intended to be covered in solar panels, but the direction it was facing was more away from the sun and the solar panels were dropped.


Here is my photo. I never really got a chance to get close to the building so this is the best shot I could get.

The Empire State Building

Don't know what building this is, but there was the sun.

Rockefeller Center

Hearst Tower

The Hearst Tower became New York City's first skyscraper to achieve LEED Gold accreditation from the USGBC when it opened its doors last year. 80% of the steel used to make the behemoth was recycled. On the inside, the floors and ceiling tiles are made from recycled materials as well.

The diamond shapes on the building's facade aren't just for show either. The diagonal grid required fewer steel beams to achieve the same rigidity as a conventional skyscraper, and the design allows more natural light to enter the tower.

What's more, rainwater is collected on the roof and is funneled into a 14,000-gallon tank in the basement. The Hearst gathers enough water from the sky to account for 50% of the tower's usage. It's pumped into the cooling system, used for irrigating plants and for the innovative water sculpture in the main lobby.

So that's it for the NY pix

I do have more but they did not turn out an my ego refuses to let them be posted

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Now comes the second part of this post. The green part.

To start it off lets all give a round of applause to the following for their efforts at a green transformation.

Greensburg, Kansas
After a tornado devastated the town in 2007, destroying 95% of the town, the community decided to rebuild as a model for a green town. Hoping to be completely carbon neutral by 2017 Greensburg will be powered by a mix of solar, wind, and geothermal.

Maldives
Going green for this island nation means a lot. A rise in sea level of only a few inches will put most of it underwater. To set an example for others the Maldives are investing their tourism dollars into energy infrastructure offsets. They hope to be carbon neutral by 2020

Vatican City
Dubbed "the green pope" in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI is working to make the Vatican Europe's first carbon neutral state. He's off to a great start already by installing solar panels on the Vatican's auditorium that produce 300,000 kilo-watt hours a year.

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi
Working to be carbon neutral by 2020, oil rich Masdar City is spending over $20 billion to transform itself into an Ecotopia by capitalizing on its other abundant energy resource, sunshine. It already draws significant energy from a 10-megawatt solar farm and has plans for an advanced array of mirrors to reflect sunlight to a central tower.

Well that's all I have for now...oh While in N.Y.C. I saw many Prius Taxis and a Prius Police Car ♥

New York Trip

So tomorrow I am going to New York with a bunch of my favorite people ever until Sunday
We'll be seeing Chicago, Wicked, and Billy Elliot
Expect pics soon after

I just realized

So after talking about a favorite series of mine with some friends I realized just how much Poke'mon is pro-environment

Quite a few of the movies focus on the delicate balance of nature or the care of creatures

just a thought ^^

I gots a card reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok so I got a SD card reader for my birthday
so now
picture time! :D
(If you want a full view just click the picture)

so here is a couple pics of the solar heater






Best part is...its free to run ;)

Next are some photos of the memorial day storm




10 minutes later



the churning sky





the aftermath




And to finish off this post an amazing photograph of a sunset I took the Saturday before Memorial Day

like this group

For those who aren't so fond of BP and their lax standards and failure to contain this mess

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BPBiological-Predator/116066765101768?ref=ts&v=wall