(PRWEB) July 29, 2010

Pineapplefish (1), the luxury Anna Maria rentals vacation company are leading the way in renewable energy on Anna Maria Island (2), having just completed the most extensive installation of Photovoltaic solar panels for electricity generation, and hot water heaters in their luxury vacation rentals ever seen on the island.

Photovoltaic (PV) uses sunlight to generate electricity. Solar PV cells can be arranged in panels on a buildings’ roof or walls and feed electricity into the building directly. Hot water generators use simpler technology - ‘black boxes’ which sit on the roof and absorb the heat of the sun. This hot water feeds the domestic hot water tank, where it can be heated further if required.

Four Pineapplefish homes - Plumfish, Limefish, Honeyfish and Berryfish have just received this treatment. Solar Technical Experts Tom Stockebrand (3) led contractors Solar Direct (4) and Harriman’s Inc (5). After an initial analysis, they determined how much technology would be needed by looking at the roof orientation, the amount of roof, and the size and building style of each house.

The average cost for each house was $6/watt of PV installed, which translated into $12,000 for a small home (before rebate) and $30,000 for a larger home. The current Florida State subsidy rebates 60% of these costs within the next 18 months (i.e. net costs of $4,800 and $12,000 respectively).

The homes then benefit from generating ‘free’ power, from selling electricity back to Florida Power and Light (FPL) for the same price, as they would have bought it (11c/kWh). If the solar is not enough, FPL continues to provide power to the house in the normal way.

Solar expert Tom Stockebrand said, “The great thing about solar power, is that the cost benefits are immediate. Including rebates from the State of up to 60%, having a much lower electricity bill, and the potential of selling what your home generates, but doesn’t need, it is very appealing. When looking to install photovoltaic panels, it is important to ensure that the amount you install is consistent with the needs of the house. You must also take into consideration other energy saving devises in the home, such as CLF and LED lights, careful temperature control, solar hot water and double-glazing. All these have an impact on the energy required.”

Lizzie Thrasher, said “whilst, as Green Entrepreneur’s, we fully appreciate and advocate the use of green energy in our homes, I am no technical expert, so working with Tom Stockebrand, who not only is an expert, but our neighbor, and our contractors, we have received excellent guidance and we are confident that we’ve got it right. We are passionate about energy efficiency in our homes. When we use the air-conditioning for example, the very thing that causes the house to use energy – the heat of the sun – can now generate the electricity to cover those costs. We believe that as one of the early adopters’ of this technology, we are helping to finance the research and development and creating the demand for more competitive USA manufacturing, essential in solving the climate problems we are facing”.

Hot Water heating installation costs were around $5,000 per house, of which $500 is then rebated. Hot water heating in this way is very efficient, with an average pay back of the technology of only two years.

To encourage vacationers and others to switch to solar power, Pineapplefish provides information packs in each house and on the Pineapplefish website showing the electricity savings in watts and $. In addition, each house will have a prominently displayed electricity meter (running backwards!) showing the savings, and at the end of each year the numbers will be calculated and shown as a Payback for the original investment.

Notes:

1.    Pineapplefish Luxury Villas

Pineapplefish is a collection of 7 luxury villas rentals on the beautiful Island of Anna Maria, on Florida’s Gulf Coast. All our homes are luxurious, stylish and all were chosen for the fantastic often waterfront locations with breathtaking views. Each of our luxury villas are unique and finished to the highest standards and whichever home you choose, each is full of high tech equipment such as flat screen TVs and wireless internet, combined with an eclectic mix of styles and designs, with luxurious furniture, high quality soft furnishings and original artifacts and often, original paintings hand-picked from the islands network of talented artists.

2.    Anna Maria Island is an undiscovered hidden gem on Florida’s Gulf Coast. With average temperatures of 84F/26C, exquisite white sandy beaches and the clearest Gulf seas, it offers complete, indulgent relaxation. And, the Island has it’s own ‘Old-Florida’ charm, low-rise houses, tropical plantings, quirky shops and world class dining. You may never want to go home!

3.    Tom Stockebrand is a solar expert, having worked at MIT Lincoln Lab for 7 years and 28 years at Digital Equipment Corp. In 1976 after moving to Albuquerque he build his own Solar house and in 1982, Tom converted a pickup truck to pure electric, and have been driving pure electrics ever since. In 2002 Tom, retired and moved to Florida. 3 key issues drive Tom:

i.    Power plants throw away 2/3 of the energy in the fuel (coal, oil, gas, uranium) that they burn. What a waste of increasingly precious fuels.

ii.    Electric vehicles are so much more efficient than gasoline ones, they use so little electricity that the cost per mile for fuel is well below that for petrol even with higher cost electricity from solar panels. It’s as if gasoline cost around $1 per gallon. So buy an EV (available soon) and charge it from the sun! And heat pumps that use the temperature of the ground as a heat source (winter) and sink (summer).

iii.    Zero net energy means building a building with great insulation, LED lights, solar hot water etc, so that it uses little enough energy that you can get the remainder from a solar array that’s cheap enough, that the return on investment is still reasonable.

4.    Solar Direct is a leading company for renewable energy, offering a wide spectrum of products and services. www.solardirect.com

5.    Harriman’s specializes in domestic hot water solar power systems, sales and installation and are based in Venice, Florida. www.solarbyharrimans.com

6.    The current rate of federal rebate is 60% of the cost of the equipment. In the future, the federal rebate will be 30%, which is enough to make the installation feasible in many cases.

7.    The cost of PV Solar Panels is $6/watt, of which $4.00 was due back as a rebate. The average house uses between 15 and 30 mega watt-hours per year. A 5kW solar array here in FLA provides around 8 megawatt hours per year (40%) and costs $30K ($21K after federal rebate). The resulting saving of around $1,000 per year yields a return on investment of 5% of the value of the installation per year at current rates, getting better as the rates inevitably rise. A larger array will give more of a return, but once installed, people tend to add improvements and use a lifestyle that reduces energy use in the first place, increasing the payoff incentive.

# # #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebanna-maria-island/pineapplefish/prweb4319574.htm

The Whitehall spending watchdog blames a lack of clear co-ordination for the missed target of generating 10 percent of UK energy from renewable sources.

According to the NAO, the latest available data from 2008 reveals that only 2.3 percent of energy was produced by green technology.

In its report, the NAO says Government funding for developing renewable energy technologies has delivered technology innovation and increased the supply of renewable energy.

However, it adds that co-ordination has historically been limited and the absence of a consistent approach to measuring and reporting on the impact of this support means the overall value for money of spending to date cannot be demonstrated.

Read full story

But a year-long study suggests that wine stored in bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – the plastic commonly used for fizzy drink and water bottles – begins oxidising much earlier.

The flavour and chemical composition of white wine changed within six months of being sealed in plastic bottles and bag-in-box packaging, researchers from the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (ISVV), in Bordeaux, reported.

In contrast, the same wine remained stable when stored in glass bottles, the study claimed. Red wine was also more stable in the non-glass formats.

The ISVV tested red and white Bordeaux wines which were packed in a range of glass, plastic and bag-in-box packaging, and tested them at regular intervals over the year.

While gas levels and taste of white wine were found to changed in the plastic and bag-in-box packs over the year, there was little change in the red wine.

Read full story

The third Global Biodiversity Outlook report said loss of wildlife and habitats could harm food sources and industry, and exacerbate climate change through rising emissions.

Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “Humanity has fabricated the illusion that somehow we can get by without biodiversity or that it is somehow peripheral to our contemporary world: the truth is we need it more than ever on a planet of 6 billion [people], heading to over 9 billion by 2050. Business as usual is no longer an option if we are to avoid irreversible damage to the life-support systems of our planet.”

The report confirms what a coalition of 40 conservation organisations said last month, when they claimed there have been “alarming biodiversity declines”. The coalition said that pressures on the natural world from development, over-use and pollution have risen since the ambition to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss was set out in the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The first formal assessment of the target, published at the end of April in the journal Science, is the basis of today’s formal declaration. This week’s meeting will see governments pressed to take the issues as seriously as climate change and the economic crisis.

Read full story

(PRWEB) May 3, 2010 — DynGlobal LLC, a worldwide leader in water purification and renewable energy solutions, issues a direct statement to foreign governments, communities, farmers, and individual families across Iceland, Scotland, the UK and Europe affected by the recent Icelandic volcano eruptions and widespread toxic ash spread: We can help.

DynGlobal is no stranger to large scale disaster relief and clean up efforts. The company is currently providing clean water to thousands of people daily in areas of devastated Haiti using its patent-pending DG 24/7 units. Powered completely by the energy of the sun, the DG 24/7 units remove deadly heavy metals like arsenic and lead, minerals and other harmful chemical compounds like fluoride, and provide up to 60,000 liters per unit per day of bacteria, cyst, virus, and pathogen-free potable water using a proprietary filtration system.

“Our line of water filtration products are specifically designed for extreme situations such as this,” says A. Vernon Wright, CEO and founder of DynGlobal. “Millions of tons of volcanic dust and ash have been thrown into the atmosphere by the recent volcano eruption in Iceland. High levels of fluoride in the ash contaminates the water sources and represents a serious health risk to both livestock and humans, not to mention threatens the entire ecosystem and crops for three years or more.”

And the health risks are significant. At higher levels, fluoride is classified as toxic through both inhalation and ingestion by the EPA. Experts estimate that the ash from the recent eruption in Iceland has an approximate mean value of 104 milligrams of fluoride per kilogram of ash. Just 40 ppm of sodium fluoride (NaF) in the diet is enough to cause fluorosis in cattle. This corresponds to a daily intake of 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. For sheep, fluoride poisoning starts at less than 1 mg per kilogram of ash ingested.

Sodium fluoride is also absorbed by plants, producing residues of fluoride that gets ingested by livestock, and crops meant for human consumption. Just one millimeter of volcanic ash on the ground is enough to pose a significant threat to livestock and plant life; the April 14 blast triggered major flooding that inundated hundreds of acres of fields and coated the area with ash up to four inches thick in some areas.

In humans, fluoride poisoning can occur at 3-5 mg per kilogram ingested, and less for children. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, dysphagia, hypersalivation, nausea, and vomiting. Electrolyte abnormalities, headaches, muscle weakness, hyperactive reflexes, muscle spasms, paresthesia seizures, and tremors may also occur. Multiple organ failure, severe arrhythmias, and cardiac arrest is typical in severe cases.

DynGlobal’s line of water filtration products produce from 20 gallons per day (75.6 liters) using a small handheld unit for rural household use to over 100,000 gallons (378,000 liters) per day of clean potable water, utilize the latest nano-fiber ultrafiltration technology, including proprietary media that removes heavy metals, minerals, and dangerous chemicals to well below EPA standard levels (currently for fluoride at 4 mg per L of water in the U.S.) DynGlobal’s products are operated using grid power or completely by solar generator for remote areas where power is unavailable or has been compromised.

“DynGlobal’s clean water technology is unique in today’s market. Our ability to help those in need - whether an individual farmer, small community, or entire municipality affected – and regardless of locale or the quality of the water, is also unique. Basically, our goal is to provide clean, safe drinking water to everyone who needs it.”

To illustrate his point, DynGlobal is offering a 30% discount off list price on their entire line of water filtration solutions to any family or community whose water supply has been contaminated by the Icelandic volcanic ash or that may present a future threat to its residents, animal and plant life. To learn more about DynGlobal’s water and renewable energies products, visit www.dynglobal.com or call +1 (888) 235-7755.

ABOUT DYNGLOBAL LLC – DynGlobal is a worldwide leader in water purification and renewable energy solutions for the United States and countries around the globe. Its scalable water filtration systems provide the most purified water on the market today, removing heavy metals like arsenic, fluoride and lead as well as bacteria, cysts, viruses, and pathogens. The company works closely with the U.S. Military and governmental agencies, NGOs and the private sector on clean water solutions and aiding in disaster relief efforts around the globe. For more information about the company, its solutions and relief efforts, visit www.dynglobal.com.

# # #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/05/prweb3952184.htm

Leicestershire, UK (PRWEB) April 18, 2010 — The addition of real time social media factors into results on search engines could serve to galvanise the quality of organic search according to PR, search and social media agency Punch Communications.

The evolution of real time social networks has resulted in news of current events travelling much quicker than was previously possible online, and the degree of online discussion occurring around a specific topic can be an accurate gauge of what the public is talking about at a given moment, and why it is important or relevant to them.

The appearance of this social network content in search engines has the potential to make their results much more organic than was previously possible, by sourcing current, up to date discussions from around the web and suggesting this as a solution to user’s queries. The influence of algorithms and Google’s page rank system on non-paid search responses could be lessened as a result, a process that will continue as more and more social media content permeates throughout the internet.

Pete Goold, Managing Director of PR agency Punch, said: “From a marketing perspective, the inclusion of social media content in search results places much more of the onus on marketers to deduce which members of the social sphere are going to be most important in reaching and influencing the end consumer. As the amount of such content increases, so will its effect on search results, so the reach of social media activity may travel much farther than the walls of a given network.

Punch Communications is a leading PR, social media and SEO agency with clients spanning the globe, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates. Punch has evolved its skill set significantly during the recession, engaging in key consulting and executing roles in social media and search marketing campaigns. As such, Punch now provides some element of digital marketing for all of its current clients.

For more information, please call 01858 411 600, or visit punchcomms.com.

# # #

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3885434.htm

Permission to share some of that data has since been gained, leading to its publication on the UK Met Office’s website, but some countries have either refused or not replied.

So it was interesting to see this point in the conclusions of the Oxburgh Report’s conclusions: “It was pointed out that since UK government adopted a policy that resulted in charging for access to data sets collected by government agencies, other countries have followed suit impeding the flow of processed and raw data to and between researchers. This is unfortunate and seems inconsistent with policies of open access to data promoted elsewhere in government.”

By way of background, Pro Edward Acton, in his appearance before the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s hearing on the subject, pointed out that the international data came from 150 countries, and that getting permission from all of them had not proved easy.

Read full story

The trend was illustrated in figures for March published by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) in Colorado.

It has prompted climate change sceptics to question claims the North Pole could be free of ice during summer by 2013.

However, the NSIDC stressed the March rise in ice could not be taken as a sign that global warming is coming to an end.

A change in the usual pattern of winds around the North Pole has resulted in more cold air than usual in lower latitudes.

Read full story

The agency mapped the energy hotspots of English and Welsh rivers and identified almost 26,000 locations where turbines could be installed to generate electricity from the water.

Not all those sites could be developed, as some could damage the environment or are in places with practical constraints, such as difficulty accessing the local electricity grid.

Around half the sites are in environmentally sensitive areas and would need fish-friendly measures such as screens to stop fish getting killed by turbines.

But the EA said that with many of the potential locations in areas where humans have interfered with the natural landscape – for example by putting in a weir – there is potential to generate green electricity and improve the local environment at the same time.

Read full story