Wind has been used for thousands of years to generate power, from the early sailing vessels to the windmills that pumped water from underground wells. Today the wind is looked upon to power our homes. Preliminary 2006 statistics from the Energy Information Administration report that energy consumption from wind energy is up 45% from the previous year.

Texas is the biggest mover in Wind Power development and overtook California last year as the leader, with over 3,300 megawatts of wind capacity in operation. The American Wind Energy Association recently announced that well over 3,000 megawatts of power will be added throughout the nation's power grid this year alone.

The biggest hurdle keeping more wind farms from cropping up is the shortage in wind turbine production, and manufacturing companies are discouraged from investing in new facilities due to the lack of commitment by the U.S. government's renewable energy policy.

But their is hope!

Last month, Congress passed the latest energy policy, but there are other issues within the Bill that the Senate and House cannot agree on. Not included in the House Bill, are the Small Wind Provisions that would give home owners a $1,500 per 1/2 kilowatt tax credit for installed small wind systems. The Senate has included these provisions, but the House has not and the Bill is in danger of being vetoed by the President. Democrats and Republicans alike, give overwhelming support for this particular portion of the "Rural Wind Energy Development Act" but help is needed.

Passing of this bill would give us all a tremendous incentive to install our own personal wind turbine, which not only will generate enough energy to power our home, but with the tax credit, nearly pay for half the cost!

Edison supports the bill...by customers demanding less energy, and possibly generating enough to send back to the power grid, it helps eliminate the need for more generating stations, which is good for everyone.

Contact your Representative and urge them to support this Bill!

For those of us in Southern California, it appears like it may never rain. We do, however, know it will and when the skies finally do open up, it seems like it will never stop.

Those rainy days are coming and by utilizing Rainwater Harvesting methods, we can implement some Green measures:
• Save water for future use
• Keep the yard from flooding
• Save some money on the water bill

Rainbarrels come in many varieties and colors, and all hold about 55 gallons. This is enough capacity to hold the amount of rain runoff from a 100 sq.ft. roof area during a 1-inch storm event. The angle of the roof does not matter, as the amount of rain falling on a given area is the same regardless of the slope.

Rainbarrels can be incorporated into areas where the downspout, collecting the rain runoff from the roof, empties onto a slow draining driveway, or walkway. Perhaps you have an area of your yard that constantly floods. By capturing the water during a storm, this allows you to use the water later at a more controlled rate.

Rainbarrels should be placed on level ground and can be connected in-line with other barrels and a short hose. A downspout can be placed directly into the top of the rainbarrel, but be sure to include a leaf screen and seal the barrel from bugs, mosquitoes and curious children and pets.

Find out more about Rainbarrels and how WJRB Consulting & Design can help you capture the rain at their web site...

Visit Roxanna's Garden for a Rainbarrel in action

WJRB Consulting & Design has joined the ENERGY STAR "Change a Light Pledge" drive and has set our goal of 500 Pledges.

This will save 141,000 kWh of energy!

Please join us and take the pledge to change the world, one light - one energy-saving step - at a time.

JOIN US

Fun Facts