Goal For The Green

While surfing today I came across this article about Edward B. Dilley Sr. He is the 57-year old man who has created what he calls the “Bio-Home.”

Since my prior post, A Foam Dome Home, he has updated the site there.  He enjoys his closed housing system where he pays no electric bill, recycles his own water, grows his own food, generates his own power, and also purifies his own air.  Mr. Dilley enjoys a lifestyle that allows him to live totally off the grid. Be sure to check out this report to see what the founder has added to his biodome.  He has all the comforts of home in a very green way.

If you are not quite so sure about going totally off the grid, or perhaps you want something that seems a little more homey then look what I found at Pink Tentacle. These homes offer both beauty and style at an affordable price, starting at about $30,000. If you are looking for more space, it is possible to construct larger, elongated domes by adding more pieces, and joint units that allow multiple domes to be connected into a single structure.

For the traditional person, or to find a contractor in your area to build a dome home that is more the R . Buckminister Fuller type that I lived in, consult your yellow pages in your area.

Here is a little dome history for your information. Man has always been looking for and experimented with designs and materials towards the goal of doing more with less. No man in recent history has done more to advance this goal than R. Buckminister Fuller; philosopher, mathematician, engineer, historian, poet and inventor of the geodesic dome design.

The world took little notice back in 1951, when Mr. Fuller first applied for patents on geodesic domes. Today geodesic domes are recognized as the most efficient building system known to man. Adapting the dome to the single family, wood frame dwelling unit has, until recently, been inhibited by a general lack of technical design information, standardized dome building components, and experienced dome home builders. With the recent widespread manufacturing of standardized and experienced dome home builder and distributor networks that have been established nation wide, dome home construction is a now a practical reality almost anywhere in the U.S. or Worldwide.

Dome homes are an economical, beautiful, and comfortable way to live and go green.  They have also been known to do well in areas that experience extreme weather, due to their eco-friendly design.

Ever heard of the Bakken Formation?

The U.S. Geological Service issued a report in April (’08) that only scientists and oilmen knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn’t been updated since ’95) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota; western South Dakota; and extreme eastern Montana … check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable… at $107 a barrel, we’re looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,’ reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It’s a formation known as the Williston Basin, but is more commonly referred to as the ‘Bakken.’ And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada. For years, U.S.oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the ‘Big Oil’ companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken’s massive reserves… and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That’s enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.

Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. Our government has know about this for at least the last two years!

We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:

-8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
-18-times as much oil a s Iraq
-21-times as much oil as Kuwait
-22-times as much oil as Iran
-500-times as much oil as Yemen- and it’s all right here in the Western United States.

So, my question is why are we looking at drilling in Utah? Much of the area they are talking about there is beautiful and pristine.  It would greatly deface the beauty of the area, to drill and put oil wells there.  Why are’nt we looking at The Bakken area to greatly help us get off of our foreign oil dependence? Why instead are we looking at drilling offshore? Why is this answer being ignored?

Yes, oil prices have dropped significantly since July of this year.  But, that doesn’t mean that we can return to our gas guzzling ways.  I’m not saying that oil is the answer, but this is like sitting on a gold mine. It can at least lead us to oil independence.  I can’t help but believe, that the Bakken holds many more answers to our energy crisis than just oil. It at the very least would be a great place to start the journey toward energy independence and conservation.

A friend of mine sent me information on this very important topic.  The tone of the article pertains to pregnant women, but actually it is important information for everyone.  Kristen J. Gough, wrote this very   informative article, in which she shares results from a new study.  The study suggests that cell phones may pose some health risks to a pregnant woman’s developing baby.  But, before you toss your wireless phone, find out exactly what those risks may by clicking here.

What you need to know at the heart of the debate over whether cell phone use can cause health problems—not just in pregnant women but to anyone—is the way wireless devices work. A cell phone uses radio frequency waves, a form of electromagnetic radiation, to transit messages to and from cell towers. For more information about this, check out what the Food and Drug Administration is saying, just click here.

These waves are the same as those your microwave generates to heat food but at a much lower amount. High amounts of these waves can disrupt body tissues—that’s one reason you wear protective shielding when you get an X-ray. Because stronger forms of this radiation, such as that used for X-rays, can be harmful to the body by damaging cells and DNA, it is called ionized radiation. Microwave ovens, cell phones, and other wireless devices also use electromagnetic waves to function, but because the radiation they produce is not thought to damage body tissue, it’s known as non-ionizing. Still, the body absorbs non-ionizing radiation generated from your phone. According to the FDA, which regulates radiation levels in cell phones, the amount of RF energy your body absorbs “is called the Specific Absorption Rate,” or the SAR level.

What concerns researchers, however, is that the long-term effects of cell phone use are still largely unknown. Cell phones may emit low levels of radiation, but does constant, heavy use amplify the effects of the radiation?

Available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones.  On the other hand, there is no proof, that wireless phones are absolutely safe.  Some studies suggest that some biological effects may occur, but such findings have not been confirmed by additional research.

The technology is simple and readily available. To date there are two billion people worldwide that use wireless phones.

What can you do If you are concerned about the potential hazards of cell phone use on your unborn baby, there are steps you can take to minimize your exposure to radio frequency energy (RF).  First of all, don’t do anything that can interfere with your phones signal strength. The harder your phone has to work the more RF (radio Frequency) energy it is putting out.  Use it according to the manufacturer’s suggestions, just as it came out of the box.  No, rhinestone or rubber sheaths.  Use a blue-tooth whenever possible, and keep the phone away from your body, especially your belly, on a waist-clip or in a pocket. Just a few changes can make a big difference.

For more information on how you can protect yourself and your children click here.

What I like about the information above , is that a person can look at one thing and continue researching, if you are interested in knowing more.   Another wonderful and highly recommended source that you can listen to or read, is the Electro Pollution Solution by Dr. Sherrill Sellman.