Monday, September 30, 2013
A Few More Questions for Ron Binz
The nominee for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) chairmanship Ron Binz will have plenty of potential questions to answer today at his confirmation hearing (9:30am ET), including these posted by the Institute for Energy Research.
The importance of the Binz nomination stems in roughly equal parts from:
(1) The growing significance of FERC as an agency with new and expanded authority,
(2) The context and timing of the nomination, which comes as part of an aggressive (Congress-and-voters-be-damned) climate action plan, and
(3) The details of Ron Binz’s history as a radical (pro-renewable) regulator and energy “expert.”
To complement today’s questions posed by members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, university economist and electricity specialist Robert Michaels would ask the nominee the following questions:
#1: You are aware that the transmission grid of most of Texas (ERCOT) operates as an in-state island separate from the Eastern and Western Interconnections. Do you favor maintaining its status, or do you believe that legislation and FERC initiatives to force closer integration would be valuable? If so, explain.
#2: If you do not favor further integration between Texas and the rest of the nation, might there be benefits from facilitating the secession of individual systems from existing regional transmission organizations (RTOs)? And if your answers differ, why?
#3: The federal government has taken a number of steps to foster the growth of renewable power, but has stopped short of imposing a nationwide renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Do you favor one? If so, how would you deal with the fact that different sections of the country will have quite different costs of compliance with it, e.g. the southeast is a poor site for both wind and solar generation.
#4: Your state of Colorado, in fact, has a very low penetration of renewables. Future plans for their expansion are a political football. What could have the Colorado Public Utilities Commission done to raise renewable power capacity and production during your tenure but did not do? And what might this have cost?
#5: Assuming that the underlying (federal) law remains unchanged, what do you hope FERC to do during your tenure to foster the growth of renewables?
#6: The members of Colorado’s PUC are elected rather than appointed like those in most states and at FERC. Would any of your policy positions have been different had you been appointed? If not, would you be indifferent as to whether regulators are appointed or elected?
#7: May we assume that you believe climate change is settled science? [Provide list of recent “denier” developments--lower climate sensitivity to GHG forcing, hurricane trends, polar ice growth, etc.] What sort of data might be required to change your views on climate change?
All of these questions are hard ones for the central planning mentality, as well as the climate alarmist.
What other questions might be asked from a pro-liberty, efficiency, consumer friendly, and taxpayer friendly perspective? Please feel free to share your questions in the comment section below!
Source: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/09/questions-for-ron-binz/
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Windfarm Mortality: Environmental Disinformation, Ecodamage
“Put simply, wind farms are causing considerable damage to nature’s balance, for no benefit whatsoever to society. Indeed, no country in the world has reduced its carbon footprint thanks to them…. It is high time to call a moratorium on wind farms, and examine the situation after ditching our blinkers.”
Wind turbines kill birds and bats, we all know that, but the billion-dollar question is: how many? I say “billion” because subsidies to the wind industry run into billions of dollars per year in the United States alone, and chances are the public would not support such expenditures if they found out that these machines were driving iconic, useful or beautiful species into extinction. It is therefore important to find out the extent of the mortality caused by their rotor blades and high tension power lines.
In a paper presented in 2009 at the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Biologist Dr. Albert M. Manville wrote: “While the wind industry currently estimates that turbines kill 58 000 birds per year in the U.S. … the Service estimates annual mortality at 440 000 birds.” (1) This created quite a stir, and the wind industry tried hard to fight this estimate ever since.
Three years later, consultant biologist Dr. Shawn Smallwood came up with his own estimate in the March 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed Wildlife Society Bulletin: “I estimated 888,000 bat and 573,000 bird fatalities/year (including 83,000 raptor fatalities) at 51,630 megawatt (MW) of installed wind-energy capacity in the United States in 2012.” (2) This prompted Birdwatching Magazine to post on their website: “Smallwood’s number of bird deaths represents a 30 percent jump over the 440,000 fatalities estimated by a 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report” (3). Their counterpart in the UK, Birdwatch, wrote a similar article under the headline: “Wind farm bird deaths more than thought”. (4)
The media, by and large, ignored this politically incorrect news. As for the above bird magazines, they overlooked the fact that the 2012 estimate is based on 51,630 MW of installed windpower capacity, whereas the previous estimate was based on 29,440 MW (1). On a per megawatt basis, the Smallwood estimate is in fact significantly lower than that of the USFWS: 11.1 birds/MW as against 14.9 birds/MW, respectively.
The end result is that the new, reduced estimate turns out to be of great help to the wind industry, which is trying to make believe that their machines have no overall effect on bird populations. Yet, years ago, Dr. Smallwood had found alarming estimates such as 116 golden eagles, 300 red-tailed hawks, 333 American kestrels, 380 burrowing owls, 2,526 rock doves, 2,557 western meadowlarks, etc. being killed yearly by the huge Altamont Pass windfarm (5).
This evolution towards compromise became apparent when the biologist wrote in a study that the repowering of the infamous Altamont Pass windfarm would greatly reduce the number of fatalities: “repowering the APWRA could reduce mean annual fatality rates by 54% for raptors and 65% for all birds, while more than doubling annual wind-energy generation” (6). His accommodating conclusions were helpful to the industry, and this deadliest of all windfarms has been granted permission to be repowered: it will be killing golden eagles, other raptors, etc. for another 25 years.
According to U.S. raptor specialist Jim Wiegand, mortality may in fact double at Altamont as a result, regardless of the lower number of turbines, because much more air space will be swept overall by the much longer blades. Fewer golden eagles (GE) may be killed, however, but only because their numbers have plummeted in California, largely due to mortality at wind farms. The GE population decline is the object of a cover-up, as is that of the Whooping Crane in the Great Plains. Nothing that may hurt the expansion plans of the wind industry is considered politically correct: it is thus being hushed, and surveys are being manipulated (7). Politicians have an interest in the prosperity of this industry, which is an important contributor to election campaigns funds (8), it is also a provider of golden parachutes – in Spain, just to name a couple, ex-Presidents Felipe González and José Maria Aznar now have “jobs” as advisors to companies with a sizeable wind energy portfolio: Gas Natural Fenosa and Endesa, respectively (9).
Despite all this, the truth has resurfaced in Europe, after 20-years of being brushed under the carpet. Last year, it was estimated by the Spanish bird society SEO/Birdlife that Spain’s 18,000 wind turbines are killing 6 to 18 million birds & bats a year. This range is congruent with earlier estimates from Germany and Sweden, mentioned by the California Energy Commission (10). Extrapolating the Birdlife estimates, for 39,000 wind turbines in operation in the US we would obtain 13 to 39 million birds and bats every year (11). Many of these deaths are of iconic raptors, beautiful cranes, and extremely useful bats, most of them protected species. By contrast, cats, cars and windows kill mostly common birds.
Birds and bats aren’t smarter in the U.S. than they are in Europe, thus we may reasonably infer that published, politically-correct mortality estimates in the US are shy of reality by more than one order of magnitude (ten times). To understand the causes of the massacre that is taking place, one needs to realize that bats are attracted to windfarms from sometimes as far as 14 km, as discovered by Professor Ingemar Ahlén in Sweden (12).
Raptors too are attracted, for other reasons:
- scavenging : raptors get close to the turbines looking for birds killed or maimed by the blades;
- abundance of prey: rodents abound under the turbines because they find a suitable food supply (graminae) in the open fields around wind turbines. Some also find it easy to dig burrows in the soil that has been softened by earth-moving equipment;
- wind conditions: this is where the wind blows strongest (hence the presence of turbines). Good wind attracts raptors, as it affords them effortless gliding and take-offs;
- because wind farms are surrounded by land that has been cleared of vegetation, and most raptors are looking for open spaces where they can see their prey and maneuver to grab it.
- perching: wind turbines offer perching sites with commanding views of vast hunting grounds all around, ideal for stalking prey (13);
- curiosity: when the construction phase is over, wildlife that had fled the area comes back, and investigate the new structures on their territory, as they would any new feature;
- a combination of these factors.
Finally, swallows, martins, swifts and some other insect eating birds of the Hirundinidae family seem to be attracted as well, probably for the same reason that bats are. This is based on evidence from another study by professor Ahlén, as brought to our attention by Clive Hambler, lecturer in Biological and Human Sciences, Hertford College, University of Oxford (14).
All of the above findings constitute a milestone on the road to understanding the effects of wind turbines on wildlife. They clearly tell us that it doesn’t really matter how carefully wind turbines are sited, since these attract birds and bats from miles around, and kill a great many – much more than is commonly admitted by governments and industry, and by yes-men consultants that are working for them. Wind turbines are thus acting as population sinks, and will cause unfathomable damage to the natural balance between winged predators and prey. The disappearance of bats and hirundines would among other things cause farmers to use more insecticides, and this in turn would affect our health, the price of food, and other insect-eating birds and raptors which prey on them. As for wind turbines killing raptors, they are helping rodents to become a plague, also affecting crops and food prices.
Put it simply, wind farms are causing considerable damage to nature’s balance, for no benefit whatsoever to society. Indeed, no country in the world has reduced its carbon footprint thanks to them. And here is a sobering thought: the price of electricity for households in highly-turbinized Denmark and Germany is over $0.34 (US) per kWh, and still going up as many more wind turbines are to be installed. In the U.S., the price is 12 cents per kWh.
It is high time to call a moratorium on wind farms, and examine the situation after ditching our blinkers.
References:
(2) – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.260/abstract
(4) – http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__14606
(5) – http://www.altamontsrc.org/alt_doc/cec_final_report_08_11_04.pdf, Page 73, Table 3-11, last column “adjusted for search detection and scavenging”.
(6) – http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2193/2008-464
(7) – http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/whooping-cranes-decimated-by-windfarms.html
(8) – http://www.epaw.org/multimedia.php?article=in9
(9) – http://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/Boda-Rajoy-Aznar-Felipe-Gonzalez_0_139986186.html
(11) – http://m.townhall.com/columnists/pauldriessen/2012 /12/15/stop-subsidizing-the-slaughter-n1467370
(12) – http://wcfn.org/2013/07/24/biodiversity-alert/
(13) – http://savetheeagles.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/raptors-attracted-to-windfarms-2/
(14) – http://wcfn.org/2013/07/01/tip-of-the-iceberg/
—————
Mark Duchamp is Executive Director of European Platform Against Windpower; President, Save the Eagles International ; and Chairman, World Council for Nature.
Source: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/09/windfarm-mortality-disinformation/
Back at Ya, IPCC: ‘Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science’ (Part II)
“There is no longer any getting around it. What we are dealing with here is nothing short of massive and systematic fraud. The IPCC and Political-Scientific-Environmentalist-Industrialist Climate Complex are deliberately and dishonestly taking billions in hard-earned taxpayer and consumer dollars – and using it to devise computer models, horror movie disaster scenarios, bogus official reports and countless “studies” purporting to link every imaginable event or oddity to human carbon dioxide emissions.”
The updated edition of Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) – Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science – makes a compelling case that the computer models, hypotheses, and policy prescriptions of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are at odds with reality.
The 1,018-page report systematically debunks IPCC claims that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are causing “dangerous” global warming/climate change – and that computer models can be relied on as a credible basis for alarming climate forecasts and scenarios.
The 14-page NIPCC Summary for Policymakers is illuminating and easy to understand. It should be read by legislators, regulators, journalists and anyone interested in climate change science.
Exaggeration Unmasked
The report makes it clear that the UN climate project has greatly exaggerated the amount of warming that is likely to occur if atmospheric CO2 concentrations were to double, to around 800 ppm (0.08%).
Moreover, moderate warning up to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) would cause no net harm to the environment or human well-being. Indeed, it would likely be beneficial, lengthening growing seasons and expanding croplands and many wildlife habitats, especially since more carbon dioxide would help plants grow faster and better, even under adverse conditions like pollution, limited water or high temperatures. By contrast, even 2 degrees C of cooling could be disastrous for agriculture and efforts to feed growing human populations, without plowing under more habitats.
The NIPCC also destroys the false IPCC claims that computer models “prove” recent global warming is due to human CO2 emissions, and can forecast future global temperatures, climates and events. In reality, the models greatly exaggerate climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide levels; assume all warming since the industrial revolution began are due to human carbon dioxide; input data contaminated by urban heat island effects; and rely on simplistic configurations of vital drivers of Earth’s climate system (or simply ignore them), such as solar variations, cosmic ray fluxes, winds, clouds, precipitation, volcanoes, ocean currents and recurrent phenomena like the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (El Nino and La Nina).
This is garbage-in, garbage-out (or Malthus-in, Malthus-out) at its worst: Faulty assumptions, faulty data, faulty codes and algorithms, simplistic analytical methodologies and other GIGO.
The NIPCC authors conclude that existing climate models “should therefore not be used to guide public policy formulation, until they have been validated [by comparison to actual observations] and shown to have predictive value.” And yet, the deficient models are being used: to justify policies, laws and regulations that stigmatize and penalize hydrocarbon use, promote and subsidize wind and solar energy, and have hugely negative effects on jobs, family energy bills, the overall economy, and people’s lives.
Countries are spending countless billions of dollars annually on faulty to fraudulent IPCC climate models and studies that purport to link every adverse event or problem to manmade climate change; subsidized renewable energy programs that displace food crops and kill wildlife; adaptation and mitigation measures against future disasters that exist only in “scenarios” generated by the IPCC’s GIGO computer models; and welfare, food stamp and energy assistance programs for the newly unemployed and impoverished. Equally bad, they are losing tens of billions in royalty, tax and other revenue that they would receive if they were not blocking oil, gas and coal development and use – and destroying manufacturing jobs that depend on cheap, reliable energy, so that companies can compete in international marketplaces.
Beware of IPCC Spin–and Note One ‘Remarkable Graph’
The latest IPCC report will be released in a week or so. However, Ross McKitrick and other analysts have reviewed and debunked a leaked semi-final draft. That draft reveals that even the IPCC has had to acknowledge problems with its models, temperature forecasts and predictions of planetary disaster.
As McKitrick observes in a hard-hitting Financial Post article, “Everything you need to know about the dilemma the IPCC faces is summed up in one remarkable graph.”
The graph dramatically shows that every UN IPCC climate model over the past 22 years (1990-2012) predicted that average global temperatures would be as much as 0.9 degrees C (1.6 degrees F) higher than they actually were! This is hardly surprising, considering how defective the models are, and how heavily they depend on the notion that carbon dioxide is the primary driver of global warming.
Notes McKitrick, chair of graduate studies at the University of Guelph (Ontario) Department of Economics: “What is commonly dismissed as the ‘skeptical’ or ‘denier’ view coincides with real-world observations.” We IPCC skeptics want evidence and observations to back up the hypotheses and predictions. Instead, when the observations don’t conform to the predictions, the IPCC ignores the data and trumpets the models, assertions and scary disaster scenarios.
Indeed, says McKitrick, the IPCC is in “full denial mode.” Despite its own graph screaming the opposite, the IPCC continues to insist that it has “very high confidence” that its models correctly represent the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 levels on global surface temperature trends; that it is “extremely likely” that “more than half” of the increase in global average surface temperatures between 1951 and 2010 were due to human influences; and that the planet will “continue” to warm catastrophically unless drastic actions are taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Put another way, considering the 17-year pause in global temperature increases, the abject failure of the models, and the lower confidence levels expressed about other findings in the full IPCC report, increasing the confidence levels attributed to the models and human influences is “incomprehensible,” says Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The UN IPCC claims are patently ridiculous. It is commonly acknowledged that fully half of planetary warming during the twentieth century came during the first half, 1900–1950, which includes the 1930s and Dust Bowl years, when so many high temperature records were set, and before atmospheric carbon dioxide levels really began to climb. The period 1951–2010 includes not just two warming periods, but also the period when average global temperatures were falling, and scientists were “almost unanimous” that the cooling trend would reduce agricultural output for the rest of the century. Moreover, the planet can hardly “continue” to warm catastrophically if there has been no warming at all for 17 years, following a decade of cooling and a mere twenty years of mildwarming.
Alarmist Countries Show their Hands
It gets even worse. Confronted with all this truly disastrous news on the eve of their upcoming global warming summit, IPCC politicians, bureaucrats and environmentalists are trying to figure out how to cover up the bad news. Germany wants all references to the absence of warming deleted from the IPCC report. Whereas 20 years of mild warming were enough to demand immediate drastic action to avoid a climate cataclysm, now it says 17 years of no warming is too short and “misleading.”
Hungary doesn’t want the IPCC to give “deniers” more ammunition. Belgium wants the “world’s most authoritative climate body” to manipulate the data and graphs, by using a different starting year that cleverly creates a more noticeable upward temperature trend. The Obama Administration wants the IPCC to explain away the absence of warming, by saying the mysteriously missing atmospheric heat was somehow absorbed by the upper 1.2 miles of oceans waters, which have not actually warmed, according to ARGO project data, or perhaps somehow in the really deep ocean, where we have no data.
A Massive Fraud?
There is no longer any getting around it. What we are dealing with here is nothing short of massive and systematic fraud. The IPCC and Political-Scientific-Environmentalist-Industrialist Climate Complex are deliberately and dishonestly taking billions in hard-earned taxpayer and consumer dollars – and using it to devise computer models, horror movie disaster scenarios, bogus official reports and countless “studies” purporting to link every imaginable event or oddity to human carbon dioxide emissions.
These fraudulent materials are then used to justify policies, laws, regulations and agendas that enrich and empower the Climate Complex – but send energy prices skyrocketing, cripple economies, destroy jobs, kill millions of birds and bats every year, and cause the premature death of thousands of people who are driven into fuel poverty or denied access to affordable, reliable modern heat and electricity.
These unethical, immoral actions can no longer be tolerated. They are too reminiscent of the lies, tactics, ethics and results of other infamous tyrannies. We cannot afford a new green or watermelon dictatorship.
Source: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/09/climate-change-reconsidered-ii/
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Selecting The Right Wire Size
It be hard to believe, but when selecting the right wire size, smaller is larger. Yes, that's right, The smaller the number, the larger the wire size. For instance, a #10 wire is larger than a #12 wire. The #10 wire can carry 30 amps, while the #12 can carry just 20 amps.
...Source: http://electrical.about.com/b/2013/08/30/selecting-the-right-wire-size.htm
Lighting 101: Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)
When looking into lowering your electricity costs, a popular option is to switch all of the light bulbs in your home or office to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Switching to CFLs couldn’t be easier, but it’s not uncommon to wonder: are these bulbs really more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs?
The answer is simple: yes!
Here are some facts about CFLs, according to ENERGY STAR:
- They use 75% less energy than standard bulbs.
- They can last for more than 3,000! Compare that to the average 1,000 hours for a standard light bulb.
- They can create less than 75% less heat than regular bulbs. This means, when you keep your lights on for a long period of time, your house won’t heat up!
- They can help lower your overall electricity usage and utilities.
The Science Behind CFLs
Creating light by running electricity through a resistive filament, incandescent light bulbs heat the filament to a very high temperature. This causes the bulb to glow and produce an extremely visible light, however more than 98 percent of the energy used is emitted as heat.
On the other hand, CFL bulbs produce ultraviolet light, working by passing electricity through a mercury vapor, exciting the gas. As the UV light hits the white coating inside of the CFL bulb, the coating changes into a light that you can see. CFL bulbs don’t use heat to create light.
Lumens Per Watt
A regular incandescent bulb can produce about 15 lumens per watt while CFL bulbs typically produce 50 to 70 lumens per watt. In other words, you can buy a 15-watt CFL bulb that produces the same about of light as a regular 60-watt regular incandescent bulb.
| Incandescent | CFL | |
| 40w | = | 10w |
| 60w | = | 13w-15w |
| 75w | = | 20w |
| 100w | = | 26w-29w |
| 150w | = | 38w-42w |
| 250w-300w | = | 55w |
General Cost and Lifespan
A 6-pack of GE 60-watt incandescent light bulbs costs approximately $4 while a 2-pack of GE 15-watt CFL bulbs (equivalent to a 60-watt regular incandescent bulb) costs approximately $13. While it’s clearly obvious that regular incandescent bulbs are inexpensive, the typical lifespan is around 1,000 hours versus an average lifespan ranging between 1,200 to 20,000 hours for CFL bulbs.
Savings
Using 2/3 less energy than a regular incandescent light bulb and lasting up to 10 times as longer, replacing your average 60-watt regular incandescent bulb with a 15-watt CFL can save you at least $30 in energy costs over the lifespan of the bulb. On average, you’ll save approximately $6 per year per bulb.
Questions? Feel free to contact us!
Source: http://powergenerationinc.com/lighting-101-compact-fluorescent-bulbs-cfls/
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Energy Audit
This article is an excerpt from an email to an energy audit client that I performed as a courtesy service to help clients become aware of easy ways to save energy at home: It was a pleasure meeting you in person today, thank you for the opportunity to help you lower your energy consumption. Just [...]
Source: http://www.enlighten-electric.com/2012/03/energy-audit/
How Long To Grow Tomatoes – Juicy Delicious Tomatoes
Ketchup is just one by product that you can get from tomatoes. And the fresher it gets better it is. To give you freshly picked tomatoes, you might want to learn how to start growing them. But instead of just learning how long to grow tomatoes, it is ideal to learn the essentials on how to care for them as well. There are only a few rules to follow so better start learning them for you to reap the rewards of fresh harvest in no time.
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As have said earlier, there are only a few basic steps in trying to grow your own tomatoes. And depending on how well you take each aspect in consideration, it will pretty much determine how long to grow tomatoes. You can always ask your neighbors if you seem to lack such information or you can find yourself a guide that you can now find online these days.
One of the things you might want to have in order to produce the best tomatoes is the proper lighting. As a matter of fact, the more you expose your crops to sunlight, the better they are going to get. However, make sure not to place them in a place where wind is abundant.
Another thing to consider is the soil you are planning to plant your tomatoes in. The best thing to do is to sterilize your soil from time to time. It is recommended to do so twice every season. What is important is that your soil is free from various infections or diseases that could affect your plants.
It is also important to keep your soil moist at most times. These are just some of the things to consider. Why learn how long to grow tomatoes if you could only learn the best ways to care for them instead. Doing so will surely get you there – an unlimited supply of fresh tomatoes.
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Source: http://reschelectrical.com/how-long-to-grow-tomatoes-juicy-delicious-tomatoes/
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Sunday, September 29, 2013
Energy Policy Myopia: George P. Shultz Remembered (Republicans have been bad too)
[Ed. note: George P. Shultz has long been an errant voice on energy and climate issues. A leading Republican climate alarmist, Shultz's energy views from decades ago, still held, are the subject of the post below.]
“Shultz writes: ‘The president requested service stations to voluntarily suspend the sale of gasoline on Saturdays and Sundays. The 90 percent compliance with his request resulted in long lines at gas stations on weekdays.’
Hogwash! The ‘long gas lines’ were the result U.S. government central planning with respect to oil. Notice how often those long gas lines have returned since controls ended in the 1980s.”
Peter Z. Grossman
When it comes to energy policy, President Obama seems to have learned nothing from the past. His ideas closely resemble the grandiose, failed policies of the 1970s.
But such historical ignorance knows no party. Republicans are just as likely to exhibit the same.
Case in point? An essay published in the Hoover Institution’s Defining Ideas by Nixon administration cabinet member (labor and then treasury) George P. Shultz. His article shows that even with the benefit of time, he has learned nothing about policies he helped make 40-plus years ago.
When he came to Washington in 1969, Shultz was put in charge of a task force to reconsider the Eisenhower-era oil import quota policy. The Mandatory Oil Import Program (MOIP) was a mess. Ostensibly created for national security reasons, (reasons that no one could credibly articulate), it was soon encumbered with favors to numerous interest groups.
Shultz boasts that the task force urged “a sharply improved management system.” But the recommendations of the task force were beside the point. The only solution for MOIP was its termination not its transformation.
Then Shultz jumps forward to the 1973–74 Arab oil embargo after the onset of war between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Syria and Egypt. Virtually all economists understand that the gas lines of the “energy crisis” that winter were the result of U.S. price and allocation controls. A price ceiling—enacted by the Nixon administration as an ill-considered means to fight inflation—is what elementary economics texts use to show how a shortage is created.
But that’s not how Shultz explains it. He writes: “The president requested service stations to voluntarily suspend the sale of gasoline on Saturdays and Sundays. The 90 percent compliance with his request resulted in long lines at gas stations on weekdays.”
Hogwash! The “long gas lines” were the result U.S. government central planning with respect to oil. Notice how often those long gas lines have returned since controls ended in the 1980s.
Shultz points out that the UK and France were spared shortages since they refused to support Israel though neither was spared price increases since the Arab OPEC members cut production to support their embargo. But Shultz fails to address the question of why the Netherlands, which was also embargoed by the Arab oil exporters, didn’t face shortages. They were spared because they didn’t have the kind of laws that had so distorted the U.S. market.
Shultz concludes by noting that Eisenhower had cautioned against “dependence” on oil imports, especially if they exceeded 20 percent of U.S. demand. “’Ike had a point,’” he claims he told himself.
The dependence argument has been the cornerstone of U.S. policy for 40 years. We are vulnerable because we are dependent.
But this argument, omnipresent though it is, is also wrong-headed. Oil was, and is, a fungible commodity bought and sold in a world market. If the U.S was importing, say, 50 percent of its supply and there was a disruption that reduced world output, prices would surely rise, but there is no reason why anyone would face “gas lines” or any other problem of that sort.
If U.S. refiners had been able to pay the market price in 1973–74 and immediately pass along the added cost, the market would have reallocated supplies to meet U.S. demand. The extent of import “dependence” wouldn’t have mattered in the slightest.
But the control system disordered the market process. This was proven once controls were lifted. From 1980 to 2008, oil market disruptions led only to temporary price spikes. The U.S., meanwhile, enjoyed robust economic growth even as imported oil topped 60 percent of supply.
There is only one important lesson in Shultz’s essay: That is, we will never have useful energy policies in the U.S. as long as leaders of both parties misconstrue the policies of the past.
Source: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/09/george-shultz-energy-myopia/
Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your San Gabriel Valley Home
Every California home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.
Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by your trained San Gabriel Valley electrician. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.
After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.
Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.
Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.
While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.
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Windfarm Mortality: Environmental Disinformation, Ecodamage
“Put simply, wind farms are causing considerable damage to nature’s balance, for no benefit whatsoever to society. Indeed, no country in the world has reduced its carbon footprint thanks to them…. It is high time to call a moratorium on wind farms, and examine the situation after ditching our blinkers.”
Wind turbines kill birds and bats, we all know that, but the billion-dollar question is: how many? I say “billion” because subsidies to the wind industry run into billions of dollars per year in the United States alone, and chances are the public would not support such expenditures if they found out that these machines were driving iconic, useful or beautiful species into extinction. It is therefore important to find out the extent of the mortality caused by their rotor blades and high tension power lines.
In a paper presented in 2009 at the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Biologist Dr. Albert M. Manville wrote: “While the wind industry currently estimates that turbines kill 58 000 birds per year in the U.S. … the Service estimates annual mortality at 440 000 birds.” (1) This created quite a stir, and the wind industry tried hard to fight this estimate ever since.
Three years later, consultant biologist Dr. Shawn Smallwood came up with his own estimate in the March 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed Wildlife Society Bulletin: “I estimated 888,000 bat and 573,000 bird fatalities/year (including 83,000 raptor fatalities) at 51,630 megawatt (MW) of installed wind-energy capacity in the United States in 2012.” (2) This prompted Birdwatching Magazine to post on their website: “Smallwood’s number of bird deaths represents a 30 percent jump over the 440,000 fatalities estimated by a 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report” (3). Their counterpart in the UK, Birdwatch, wrote a similar article under the headline: “Wind farm bird deaths more than thought”. (4)
The media, by and large, ignored this politically incorrect news. As for the above bird magazines, they overlooked the fact that the 2012 estimate is based on 51,630 MW of installed windpower capacity, whereas the previous estimate was based on 29,440 MW (1). On a per megawatt basis, the Smallwood estimate is in fact significantly lower than that of the USFWS: 11.1 birds/MW as against 14.9 birds/MW, respectively.
The end result is that the new, reduced estimate turns out to be of great help to the wind industry, which is trying to make believe that their machines have no overall effect on bird populations. Yet, years ago, Dr. Smallwood had found alarming estimates such as 116 golden eagles, 300 red-tailed hawks, 333 American kestrels, 380 burrowing owls, 2,526 rock doves, 2,557 western meadowlarks, etc. being killed yearly by the huge Altamont Pass windfarm (5).
This evolution towards compromise became apparent when the biologist wrote in a study that the repowering of the infamous Altamont Pass windfarm would greatly reduce the number of fatalities: “repowering the APWRA could reduce mean annual fatality rates by 54% for raptors and 65% for all birds, while more than doubling annual wind-energy generation” (6). His accommodating conclusions were helpful to the industry, and this deadliest of all windfarms has been granted permission to be repowered: it will be killing golden eagles, other raptors, etc. for another 25 years.
According to U.S. raptor specialist Jim Wiegand, mortality may in fact double at Altamont as a result, regardless of the lower number of turbines, because much more air space will be swept overall by the much longer blades. Fewer golden eagles (GE) may be killed, however, but only because their numbers have plummeted in California, largely due to mortality at wind farms. The GE population decline is the object of a cover-up, as is that of the Whooping Crane in the Great Plains. Nothing that may hurt the expansion plans of the wind industry is considered politically correct: it is thus being hushed, and surveys are being manipulated (7). Politicians have an interest in the prosperity of this industry, which is an important contributor to election campaigns funds (8), it is also a provider of golden parachutes – in Spain, just to name a couple, ex-Presidents Felipe González and José Maria Aznar now have “jobs” as advisors to companies with a sizeable wind energy portfolio: Gas Natural Fenosa and Endesa, respectively (9).
Despite all this, the truth has resurfaced in Europe, after 20-years of being brushed under the carpet. Last year, it was estimated by the Spanish bird society SEO/Birdlife that Spain’s 18,000 wind turbines are killing 6 to 18 million birds & bats a year. This range is congruent with earlier estimates from Germany and Sweden, mentioned by the California Energy Commission (10). Extrapolating the Birdlife estimates, for 39,000 wind turbines in operation in the US we would obtain 13 to 39 million birds and bats every year (11). Many of these deaths are of iconic raptors, beautiful cranes, and extremely useful bats, most of them protected species. By contrast, cats, cars and windows kill mostly common birds.
Birds and bats aren’t smarter in the U.S. than they are in Europe, thus we may reasonably infer that published, politically-correct mortality estimates in the US are shy of reality by more than one order of magnitude (ten times). To understand the causes of the massacre that is taking place, one needs to realize that bats are attracted to windfarms from sometimes as far as 14 km, as discovered by Professor Ingemar Ahlén in Sweden (12).
Raptors too are attracted, for other reasons:
- scavenging : raptors get close to the turbines looking for birds killed or maimed by the blades;
- abundance of prey: rodents abound under the turbines because they find a suitable food supply (graminae) in the open fields around wind turbines. Some also find it easy to dig burrows in the soil that has been softened by earth-moving equipment;
- wind conditions: this is where the wind blows strongest (hence the presence of turbines). Good wind attracts raptors, as it affords them effortless gliding and take-offs;
- because wind farms are surrounded by land that has been cleared of vegetation, and most raptors are looking for open spaces where they can see their prey and maneuver to grab it.
- perching: wind turbines offer perching sites with commanding views of vast hunting grounds all around, ideal for stalking prey (13);
- curiosity: when the construction phase is over, wildlife that had fled the area comes back, and investigate the new structures on their territory, as they would any new feature;
- a combination of these factors.
Finally, swallows, martins, swifts and some other insect eating birds of the Hirundinidae family seem to be attracted as well, probably for the same reason that bats are. This is based on evidence from another study by professor Ahlén, as brought to our attention by Clive Hambler, lecturer in Biological and Human Sciences, Hertford College, University of Oxford (14).
All of the above findings constitute a milestone on the road to understanding the effects of wind turbines on wildlife. They clearly tell us that it doesn’t really matter how carefully wind turbines are sited, since these attract birds and bats from miles around, and kill a great many – much more than is commonly admitted by governments and industry, and by yes-men consultants that are working for them. Wind turbines are thus acting as population sinks, and will cause unfathomable damage to the natural balance between winged predators and prey. The disappearance of bats and hirundines would among other things cause farmers to use more insecticides, and this in turn would affect our health, the price of food, and other insect-eating birds and raptors which prey on them. As for wind turbines killing raptors, they are helping rodents to become a plague, also affecting crops and food prices.
Put it simply, wind farms are causing considerable damage to nature’s balance, for no benefit whatsoever to society. Indeed, no country in the world has reduced its carbon footprint thanks to them. And here is a sobering thought: the price of electricity for households in highly-turbinized Denmark and Germany is over $0.34 (US) per kWh, and still going up as many more wind turbines are to be installed. In the U.S., the price is 12 cents per kWh.
It is high time to call a moratorium on wind farms, and examine the situation after ditching our blinkers.
References:
(2) – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.260/abstract
(4) – http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__14606
(5) – http://www.altamontsrc.org/alt_doc/cec_final_report_08_11_04.pdf, Page 73, Table 3-11, last column “adjusted for search detection and scavenging”.
(6) – http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2193/2008-464
(7) – http://savetheeaglesinternational.org/new/whooping-cranes-decimated-by-windfarms.html
(8) – http://www.epaw.org/multimedia.php?article=in9
(9) – http://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/Boda-Rajoy-Aznar-Felipe-Gonzalez_0_139986186.html
(11) – http://m.townhall.com/columnists/pauldriessen/2012 /12/15/stop-subsidizing-the-slaughter-n1467370
(12) – http://wcfn.org/2013/07/24/biodiversity-alert/
(13) – http://savetheeagles.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/raptors-attracted-to-windfarms-2/
(14) – http://wcfn.org/2013/07/01/tip-of-the-iceberg/
—————
Mark Duchamp is Executive Director of European Platform Against Windpower; President, Save the Eagles International ; and Chairman, World Council for Nature.
Source: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/09/windfarm-mortality-disinformation/
Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your San Gabriel Valley Home
Every California home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.
Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by your trained San Gabriel Valley electrician. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.
After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.
Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.
Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.
While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.
electrical installations electrical certification electrical inspection electrical maintenance electrician certification
Selecting The Right Wire Size
It be hard to believe, but when selecting the right wire size, smaller is larger. Yes, that's right, The smaller the number, the larger the wire size. For instance, a #10 wire is larger than a #12 wire. The #10 wire can carry 30 amps, while the #12 can carry just 20 amps.
...Source: http://electrical.about.com/b/2013/08/30/selecting-the-right-wire-size.htm
Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your San Gabriel Valley Home
Every California home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.
Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by your trained San Gabriel Valley electrician. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.
After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.
Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.
Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.
While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.
electrician company electrician tools electrician commercial commercial electrician electrician companies
Ground Rods...A Down To Earth Connection
Ground rods are the primary way of making a grounding connection to earth ground from electrical equipment. The very basis of electrical systems stems from the ability of the grounding connections to catch and funnel away harmful electricity so that us, as consumers, are not subjected to electrical shocks and dangers.
...Source: http://electrical.about.com/b/2013/09/10/ground-rods-a-down-to-earth-connection.htm
About
Enlighten Electric is a C2 licensed electrical contracting company (#75693) based in Las Vegas, NV. We believe in keeping close contact with our Clients and General Contractors to make sure that work is complete and on time. Being a small company we keep a low overhead and do our best to keep costs down and [...]
Source: http://www.enlighten-electric.com/2011/09/about/
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
Bad ceiling fan by Hampton Bay, 122-135 “Hawkins”
This higher style fan was priced such that it ought to have come with a drop tube mount option. The mounting bracket relies on “two screws and washers provided with outlet box”, but few fan-rated boxes include such hardware.
The fan housing/canopy requires perfect ceiling and excessive force to twist into place.
Licensed Electrician Robert Monk Bad ceiling fan by Hampton Bay, 122-135 “Hawkins” Copyright Robert Monk, 2012
Source: http://www.phillylicensedelectrician.com/bad-ceiling-fan-by-hampton-bay/
Solar Articles
On this page we will be listing article links and other writings of interest that we feel may help visitors to this blog learn more about renewable energy and sustainability: http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/08/solar-power-to-pay-nevada-citys-debt-government-costs-for-decades/ Las Vegas Review Journal article on Boulder City, NV and the benefits of a green economy. http://runonsun.com/~runons5/blogs/blog1.php/aN5 This article was written (02/08/12) in remembrance [...]
Source: http://www.enlighten-electric.com/2012/02/solar-articles/
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Dog Alerts Parents To Babysitter’s Abuse (of a baby)
. . . or so the story goes –
the dog began exhibiting aggressive behavior whenever the baby sitter, 22-year-old Alexis Khan, would approach the couple’s then 7-month-old son, Finn.
Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your San Gabriel Valley Home
Every California home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.
Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by your trained San Gabriel Valley electrician. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.
After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.
Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.
Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.
While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.
electrical contractors electric services electrical companies companies electrical electrical work
Hot Tub Installation by Electrician Beverly Hills Homeowners Rely On
Have you decided to take the plunge—pun intended, and buy a hot tub? Coming home after a long day and climbing into a hot tub can be extremely satisfying. The hot water bubbling and washing over sore muscles can soothe all those aches and pains that tend to build up over the day. Your first […]
The post Hot Tub Installation by Electrician Beverly Hills Homeowners Rely On appeared first on .
A Guide to Outdoor Electrical Outlets
There is a good chance that you use outdoor electrical outlets at some point during the year. That being said, there are some areas that will naturally make more use of this type of outdoor receptacle. When used properly, an outdoor electrical outlet can be a very handy thing to have. It allows you to power devices and appliances that you would normally be unable to use outdoors. How much do you know about the electrical outlets that are on the outside of your property?
For the most part, an outdoor electrical socket is exactly the same as the outlets within your home. In most cases, an outdoor receptacle is a 120v, three-pronged grounded outlet that the majority of our appliances plug into. You can find them on exterior walls, on decks, by pools and sometimes on important pieces of equipment such as pumps and other exterior appliances. Naturally, outdoor outlets are more popular in warmer and more temperate climates. These areas lend themselves to more time spent outside, which makes them incredibly useful.
What Can I Use It For?
The simple answer to this question is that you can use them for anything that you would normally power inside. This type of outlet is very popular for stereos, lights, fans and anything else that might be necessary outside. When used in conjunction with an outdoor kitchen, they can be used to power blenders, microwaves, hot plates and more. With the popularity of electrical lawn devices on the rise, it is also a great place to plug in electric mowers, weed trimmers and blowers.
Are Outdoor Outlets Safe?
As with anything else, outdoor receptacles are as safe as the person using them. Although it may seem less safe to use electricity outside, it is actually very safe to do so. In fact, most outdoor outlets have special protections in place to ensure that they remain as safe as possible. One of the most common ways that they are protected is by using GFCI outlets, rather than standard electrical outlets. GFCI outlets are equipped with special sensors that can detect small changes in electrical current and shut the power off if necessary. This will help you from accidental electrocution if there is a short, if something comes into contact with water and more. To further protect your outlets, it is common practice to cover them so that they are protected from wind, rain, dirt and other elements.
All in all, an outdoor electrical outlet is a great way to increase the versatility of your outdoor spaces. Whether you are using it to power your electric lawn equipment, special lighting or any other equipment, there is an unlimited number of uses for these outlets. If you need additional outlets on your home, or if you just don’t have any to begin with, get in touch with your local electrician. They can not only advise you on safe placement and usage, but install them fairly quickly and efficiently.
licensed electricians residential electrician electrician company electrician tools electrician commercial
Best Electrical Safety Tips For Your San Gabriel Valley Home
Every California home has electricity flowing through it and normally safe however, if you have young children or are planning to do work on you home, you must make sure you have some basic electrical safety training and electrical safety rules. Electricity is a part of modern society however without the proper precautions electricity can kill very easily. This article will give you some very basic electrical safety tips.
Small children love to learn by exploring and touching. Parents and caregivers must diligently remove any electrical hazards in their home and keep their children safe. First remove or repair any loose electrical lines. If you have loose electrical sockets or frayed wires protruding from the wall, you should have the issues fixed by your trained San Gabriel Valley electrician. Also, replace any frayed power cords on electrical appliances you use. In some cases you can have a frayed power cord repaired but you should also consider replacing the appliance completely.
After any electrical wiring issues in your home have been repaired, take some time to learn about electricity and what to do in the case of an emergency. When there are small children in your home you must know what to do in the case of an electrical emergency. Purchase a training DVD that will explain electrical safety in an easy to understand detail. If learning from a DVD is not for you, some communities offer electrical safety training for free through the electrical power company. The goal of learning about electrical safety is to not become an expert in electricity or electrical repair but to gain enough knowledge to be able to react in an emergency.
Now that you have training and the most pressing electrical hazards in your house resolved. Start childproofing your home. Cover all electrical sockets with plastic electrical socket covers to prevent your child from poking items into the sockets. Be sure that the covers you choose to use cannot be removed easily by your children and are large enough that they are not a choking hazard.
Finally, prepare for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a fire extinguisher specially designed for electrical fires. Water should never be used on an electrical fire because the water has the potential to cause the fire to spread. Knowing about electrical safety means being prepared for the possibility of an electrical fire by purchasing a chemical fire extinguisher and checking the charge on your extinguisher yearly.
While chances are you will never need to use your electrical safety training or use your fire extinguisher the knowledge of electrical safety tips in the home is vital to protecting your children. Take the time to take electricity and electrical safety rule serious and your house will be happy and healthy for years to come.
Emergency Back Up Generators
Hurricane season is is coming along nicely. Long time South Florida residents know that June to October is the hottest and most humid time of the year to live in the area. Hurricanes, severe thunderstorms and the occasional tornado are all things that can knock out the power to our home.
By hiring a licensed electrical contractor and electrician Miami, Broward County, or West Palm Beach for emergency generator installation, you can potentially save a life and or at least some comfort in the case of a prolonged power outage. Once your generator is installed, you can use it to run your Air Conditioning, refrigerator, hot water heater or even the stove.
In 2006, in the aftermath of hurricane Wilma, some South Florida residents were without power for 2-3 weeks. In that time, all the food in your freezer may spoil, humidity can destroy your furniture and mold can grow in your home. After a large storm, supermarkets and roads may be closed for a few days or longer and going shopping may not be an option for everybody. Also, what if you have an elderly parent or relative on a life support system that requires 24 hour electricity? Losing power is not an option!
A simple generator installation from one of our electrical services experts that cover Miami Dade County, Broward County and West Palm Beach can help you prevent many unfortunate mishaps that come with the territory of living in the sunshine state. There are many different types of emergency generators that run on a variety of fuel sources. Contact one of our electricians today for advice on what is best for your individual needs.
Southern Coast Electrical Services
Electrician Miami, Broward and Palm Beach
Some of the cities we normally service with emergency generator installation Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale, Parkland and Coral Springs. So call us today (561)-247-4513
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Friday, September 27, 2013
Mancave Credit
We recently did work on a man cave project with Tony Siragusa.
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