My Blog

Affording Gas: Buying A Hybrid And Other Options

As you pull up to the pump and fuel your car up with $10-$50 worth of gas, you may find yourself releasing a long drawn out sigh. How did gas get so expensive?  Should you check out one of those hybrid cars, you saw on the news? Everyone is talking about hybrid cars anyway. Hybrid cars and other types of cars may seem like a good idea, but before you go out and do something rash, maybe you should ask yourself some questions about how you can begin to save on gas.

There are many options out there that include everything from staying home to purchasing a hybrid car, but you have to find out what's best for you. You can only do that by asking yourself the following questions.

Should you just drive less?

Sure, you could spend the rest of your life at home on the couch, but how will you eat then? I know, you're thinking you will walk more and get more exercise. That may be true, but what happens when you get bored with walking and riding your bike? How are you going to be able to get to the gym? And, did you forget about work? You know you love listening to your books on tape while you sit in traffic at the end of the workday.
Should you drive less? Probably not. What should you do? Well, have you ever considered buying a hybrid car?

Should I buy a car that gets more miles for less gas?

You could do this, but what about when the vehicle starts to depreciate and it's not as fuel-efficient as you thought it would be? And subconsciously, because you know you have a car that gets more mileage, you are going to start traveling more miles than you traveled before.

Should I get up each morning looking for the cheaper gas prices in the area?

Who has time for that? If you think about it, you could probably spend your time better finding the right answer to this question: Do you really want to spend extra time looking for a cheap gas station? What will your boss think if you arrive late for work and tell him you were trying to be cheap? And really, how long do you think you'll last doing that?

Should I find a way to run my car on batteries?

Well you certainly don't want to have to recharge your car each morning before you go to work because that might make you late. With a hybrid car, you won't have to worry about that. Therefore, the next question should be obvious.

Should I purchase a hybrid car?

Maybe you should. It's possible that buying a hybrid car could be a sensible way to avoid high gas prices. Does your car depreciate after you drive it off the lot? A hybrid won't do that. It becomes brings the buyer in more and more money as they save on gas. A hybrid car just might be a good choice here. However, it's still a good idea to conduct further research on hybrid cars.

If earth, pollution, global warming and nature are what you are looking for, you are in the right place. www.earthyap.com  is your site to create your profile, upload your pictures and videos post on your own blog about earth, nature, pollution global warming and everything related.

If you are interested in solutions to earth destruction , please visit our other site at: www.stopearthdestruction.com

Bookmark us to be able to come back as often as you want!

This site is a proud member of the www.mybigyap.com portal

All About Hybrid-Car Battery Packs

Those considering purchasing a hybrid car may be a little concerned about what's under the hood. Hybrid cars have battery-powered motors. Since a battery-powered motor is not something that typically comes to mind when people think about what's under the hood of a car, it's a good idea to get a good understanding of the hybrid-car battery-pack.  Below are a few facts about it.

Battery packs in hybrid cars do not need to be replaced

Made to last over the lifetime of the vehicle, a hybrid car's warranty covers the battery for a time period that lasts between eight and ten years. In terms of mileage, a battery pack is expected to last between 150, 000 and 200,000 miles, and it probably lasts longer than that.

Battery toxicity is a concern, but not a major concern

Hybrid cars use NiMH batteries, not the rechargeable nickel cadmium. Nickel cadmium batteries are usually detrimental to the environment, but the NiMH batteries that are used in hybrid cars are fully recyclable.

Hybrid batteries contain hundreds of cells

Hundreds of cells means that hybrid cars have a lot of complexity going on underneath their hoods, and complexity does usually mean expensive, but with the generous warranty car manufacturers are giving on these cars, there is little involved in purchasing a hybrid.

The numbers of battery failures in hybrids have been really low

When I say low, I mean really low. If failure happens, it's probably before the cars even get off the lot. Toyota has even said that some of its original Prius models have packs that have gone over 300,000 miles.

The cost of replacing hybrid batteries isn't even an issue

It isn't an issue because the battery packs in hybrid cars are built to last. The Department of Energy looked into hybrid vehicles, but stopped its test when the capacity was "just like new" after 160,000 miles. So no one really seems to know for sure what it costs to replace the battery pack in a hybrid car.

The battery packs in hybrid cars are evolving

If we look further into the future, the next generation of hybrid batteries is in the works. The goal: To discover a technology that gives lots of power, lasts for the hybrid car's lifetime, and costs less to make.

If the battery pack in your hybrid car does run out, there is a solution

Toyota has put out some advice on what to do if your hybrid battery should run out after the warranty has ended. The advice is to recondition the battery. The solution works well because if something goes wrong, the problem lies within only one of the 28 modules that the battery is made up of.  So if you simply replace the problematic module with one that matches the chemistry of the other 27 modules, your hybrid car's battery should be in good shape. You can find a match by getting a battery pack from another car that has a similar mileage and age.

Solar Energy - A Sustainable Power Is Harnessed

Since ancient times the sun was considered as a source of energy: spiritual and other wise. It is so sad to find out that in fact only 10% of solar energy is actually used. Perhaps if we are more aware of its use and its capacity as a sustainable power then maybe we will be able to use and promote solar power.

The Beginning of All Things

Unbeknownst to a lot of people, solar energy actually is the source of numerous sustainable powers like radiation, waves and wind. Solar energy has many usage it can give us light, heat, promote cooling, it can be harnessed through technology to power many things like for machines cooking, distillation, hot water, and disinfection.

Technology and The Sun

As we all know heat produces unfathomable amounts of energy. This energy has to be aided by technology in order to be converted into something that is usable by mankind. There are two types of solar technology, the passive and or the active solar energy. A classification between the two depends on how the heat from the sun is harnessed and channeled into ordinary things powered by electricity.

Active Solar Technologies use solar (photovoltaic) panels, combined with solar thermal collectors, and then channeled thru mechanical or electrical equipment. Passive solar technology is merely a technique in order to capture the suns useful rays; for example a skylight.

Electricity From The Sun

We are all familiar with the term “solar panel”; solar panels convert the heat from the sun into actual electrical current with the use of what is called the photoelectric effect. Concentrated solar power produces insurmountable energy. In fact it was greatly utilized during the time of the Ancient Chinese Civilization.

To concentrate the power of the sun, a series of mirrors and lenses are used in order to focus the light in one area thereby producing a single beam. There are a lot of technological advances out there that concentrates solar energy in order to produce a concentrated amount of power they are: the solar power tower, the parabolic dish and the solar trough.

Dilemma, Solution, And Economics.

The primary concern of the use of solar energy as a sustainable power is that there is no sun during the night. Modern times require continuous supply that is why storing solar energy is a key component of solar technology. Thermal storage systems can store solar energy. Newer scientific discoveries also paved the way for thermal mass storage systems which vary storage capacity and function by storing more energy during off peak times and varying supply at peak consumption hours.

It usually takes a crisis for people to actually look at possibilities, and like with almost everything else solar energy began getting attention after the 1979 oil crisis and the 1973 oil embargo. In fact solar technology began its appearance in the 18 hundreds. IN the past solar energy as a sustainable power was a dream but cannot be realized due to expensive technology needed to use it.

Today, with the rising costs of electricity, the volatile oil prices, and its degenerating source have paved the way for solar energy once more. The consciousness environmental welfare has prompted companies to manufacture affordable solar technologies and sell it commercial. Indeed it is a fact that solar technology is expensive but it is only in the purchase of the machines needed in the long run if you calculate it, you are actually getting a bargain.

The Solution to Pollution - Sustainable Power

The World Health Organization, The U.N., and governments from all over the world are now concerned with pollution. You hear celebrities calling a call to arms, to unite against pollution. A media frenzy on how polluted the whole planet is the event of the decade.

Pollution causes instability, discomfort, disorder and harm the environment and the people living in it. There are many kinds of pollutants it could be noise, energy, light, heat, and worst chemical.

Sources Of Pollution

There are two kinds of pollution source; the point source pollution or the non point source pollution. Point source pollution is aptly named because the source is readily identifiable and may be singled out. Usually a point source only affects only a single span of area or space while the non point source will affect a larger area. Non point pollution usually affects water bodies. It’s so severe that nothing will be able to reverse the damaging effects.

A History Of Pollution

If you believe that reverting to a “traditional” way of life will reduce or at least slow down the effects of pollution then you’re wrong. The moment fire was discovered, and metal grinding was used pollution ensued. Even human wastes probably some polluted areas since the Paleolithic times, its just that at that time nature dwarfs human actions giving it a period to recover.

Pollution gradually increases as humanity evolves and society develops. In fact glacier slices in Greenland show pollution in connection with the ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, roman and Chinese era. A closer study showed that pollution increases with the rise in the utilization of metals. With the decline of any human social progress the middle ages showed a slow pollution progress; although, pollution was generally concentrated in pocketed areas like cities.

The gradual increase of populations and the widespread use of industrial processes saw the materialization of a civilization that is slowly but surely creating a negative impact on nature. It was inevitable that pollution would get so severe that people would finally notice that the environment is slowly degenerating. The industrial revolution paved the way for total environmental pollution as we know it today

A Declaration

Unknown to a lot of people, the issue of pollution is not one that’s been discovered during the 19th century. During the 9th towards the 13th century Arabic writings regarding pollution were already prevalent.

The first medium of action in which the western society first notice was so basic and simple that it is literally all around us: air. Pollution as a cause became popular towards the end of world war II when the effects of atomic testing and the atomic bomb became undeniable destructive. In 1952 great smog descended upon London prompting the death of more than 8,000 people. This event precipitated legislations sanctioning the use of coals and other polluting energy resources prevalent in those days.

Over time, the growing pollution made people realize that the main cause of nature’s demise is our relentless use of energy. This gave rise to environmentalism and the quest for sustainable power. Energy is an integral part of the human world. We cannot live without energy; our very existence depends upon it. That is why it is imperative that we find alternate energy resources that will never be exhausted and will not harm the environment as time goes by.

Dams - A Source of Sustainable Power

Dams have been around for a century now. Beavers used it, although not for energy and now humans employ it as source for that ingredient in survival: power.

Hydroelectricity

Hydropower generates hydroelectricity. It produces power with the help of gravity. It is the most common alternate source of energy. After the dam (called the hydroelectric complex) is built the complex it produces no waste whatsoever. Hydroelectric power comes from waters potential energy.

Imagine a glass bubble, and you’re in it. When the walls crack water exerts pressure on that one whole until water comes through that tiny gap. It’s the same thing with a dam. The engineers collect the dam’s power by harnessing it with the use of a turbine which then connected to a generator.  In this matter the power extracted from the rushing water depends on the amount of force the water exerts on the turbine and on the difference of the water’s average gravitational pull. The difference between the height and the outflow is called the head

The amount of the water’s potential energy depends on how high the dam is from its outflow. Dams help cities by supplying energy during extremely high demand times and during off peak the turbines pump water into higher reservoirs so that when electricity consumption is high again.

Where Is The Power Supplied

Most hydroelectric power plants supply public entities; there are some which are funded by industrial companies for their specific use. Such industries like aluminum electrolytic plants build there own hydroelectric power plants due to their high energy consumption. In fact the world’s largest dam the Coulee Dam, located in Bellingham Washington was switched to support Alcoa Aluminum plant, which at the time was the largest supplier of materials for war planes; afterwards though it was used for public electricity and as a source for irrigation.

There are also small scale hydroelectric power plants, most of them are located in north America. A plant is classified as small scale when it only produces 10- 30 megawatts. These power sources are usually connected to power grids to supply energy to small isolated communities or even to a single family home. In China small hydro schemes are very popular due to a high number of factories wishing to have their own supply of electricity.

Other Common Water Energy Sources

Other common hydro resources are rivers, the ocean, waterfalls and even ponds or lakes. Rivers power plants where in no reservoir can be built are called run-of-the-river-, while the ocean is put into good use because of the tides. A tidal power plant harnesses the energy of the coming and the going of the tides. Uncommon but never the less employed are kinetic energy water plants.

Why It Makes Sense

Economically the use of hydropower is cost effective because our primary source the fossil fuel is expensive and slowly getting used up. Water is of the abundance and most of the time it is free. Granted that dams and other hydroelectric power plants are quite expensive to build, but the pros far out weigh the cons. The operating and maintenance cost of a hydroplant is considerably cheaper than looking for fossil fuel, drilling for it, and refining it to become oil. What’s more a hydroelectric power plant cannot be affected and is not subject to the rise and fall of fuel prices. 

www.earthyap.com  © has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy.

 The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this website:
1) We do not track our visitor's identity.
2)   We only send email to people who request specific information from us.

Your personal information including your email address will never be sold, rented, shared or given away to anyone for any reason. www.earthyap.com © requests your email address only if you subscribe and in order for us to deliver our free report/s.

This website contains links to other websites and we not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of any other websites.