|
Let The Energy Group of Rural System save you money.
It's working for you and the region, bringing a new quality of life dimension throughout the rural area of the nation.
Probably like you, we've heard enough about the needs for energy conservation and so we're doing something about it. We have created a dynamic non-profit organization within the business ecosystem that's called Rural System. We work with you following the survival rules learned from biology: get energy, store and conserve energy, and continue that process. With educated, experienced energy experts and computer assistance, we provide you with services of which you may only have dreamed.
The deal:
We have several services, but the key one is helping you and other very busy people be energy smart. We do an analysis of your property and show you whether you can save any money by taking our energy conservation strategy. It is a comprehensive thing involving all aspects of energy. You pay us for the analysis and that is a donation to our group, the cost of us "doing business." You get a form to use in gaining potential tax deductions. If you decide to make the suggested changes, we can arrange for group costs, savings, and efficiencies from using our trained contract staff. Part of the money that you pay for the analysis goes to the increasing the vast services of Rural System which includes improving the productivity of private rural lands.
The bottom line:
Over time (our 7-year planning period), our Group's unique computer-produced energy conservation strategy will not cost you anything but if you implement it, in year 8 it will start being profitable. If fossil energy prices increase (and we're betting on that), the needs for conservation will rapidly increase. If you have implemented our strategy, your net financial gains will rapidly increase.
Why We're in This Activity
We have links that describe the following products, services, and opportunities that may meet unlimited combinations of needs and ideas. Let's work together for the good of people in the rapidly changing rural arena. (Give us a call or email us if you have an idea. We hope that you will use with us the Department of Energy's advice.)
Here are some of our working premises, the basics of energy flow based on the works of H. T. Odum
|
Thoughts…after reading Odum, Watts, and others
1. Ideas are a highly concentrated form of energy. Information is energy (input). Energy releasing - for waste; for production.
2. Concentrated energy (e.g., gasoline) has a greater capacity to do work than dilute energy (e.g., sunlight) (concentration as a process).
3. Successful systems store energy, but at some cost (storage as a process).
4. Some energy must be spent on new alternatives for the system so that it can evolve as the system changes (feedforward).
5. For a system to be judged effective, it must maximize energy returns on energy investments over the short run, and diversify energy returns over the long run.
6. Any system that does less than possible is likely to lose in competition.
7. Developed systems have an inherent tendency to grow beyond optimum size, and at the expense of national systems (need for feedback).
8. Systems that can tap the most energy sources and that can maximize the flow of energy to do the most useful work will survive and expand over, or out-compete other systems.
9. In managerial energetics, the emphasis must be on net, not gross energy.
10. Maximum energetic efficiency in nature is not usually desirably for man. The nature climax sere of the biome (e.g., the deciduous forest) is a system most closely approaching this concept.
|
Other energy conservation techniques:
|
Part 2 of The Energy Group
A leading paradigm of rural resource management is that of energetics or of energy budgeting. Wild animals can be instructive for they can be analyzed as responding to the first laws of biology:
There is ample evidence that fossil energy sources are limited. McGinnes and I wrote about the energy problems related to environmental and faunal resource issues in 1981. Energy costs increase; prices are unstable. U.S. energy use rates continue undiminished. Energy policy is difficult to discern. Complete exhaustion of the resource is anticipated, but the laws of supply and demand suggest prices will be higher; wars may be fought over limited supplies; availability will be severely limited and unstable. Readily available supplies (for many reasons -- from cost to physical movement of oil and gas) are very likely to be very limited within 100 years. Most projections are for 60 years. The needs are to get ready; to advocate conservation; to demonstrate a belief in the projection; to demonstrate the principles that may assist future populations and their wildland; to prepare to stabilize the forests - the natural energy collectors that will be in high demand in the future.
The answers come up every morning.
 |
Jeffrey Dukes calculated that 89 metric tons of ancient plant matter is consumed every time a car uses a gallon (3.8 liters) of gasoline (equivalent of 40 acres of wheat in the tank every 20 miles). Since the industrial revolution 1751, more than 13300 years worth of annual net primary productivity (NPP) has been consumed by burning fossil fuel. Replacing fossil fuel with biomass fuel would increase human demand on NPP by 50%. (from Frontiers in Ecology, 2004)
| We can only begin to see the best pathway for enterprise development among the many that are available. We have begun developing concepts for deciding that pathway. See our work |
We propose significant energy-based modeling in the manner of H.T. Odum and others. Valued energy that is stored or readily available or is lost most slowly is one of the main objective functions. The composite function grounded in the above laws -- collection, storage, reproduction -- are the fundamental needs. Once defined (e.g., the role of embodied energy), then creative work can begin to select the best choice from among thousands of alternatives for doing productive, highly valued work.
We propose studies of the net energy to remove wood from each acre or alpha unit. One unit may be effective at collecting energy but if the cost of removing or processing it are excessive, the net amount may not be as great as that from another site.
We have already made significant gains in developing GIS map layers for solar radiation on surfaces and have produced large area radiation maps. The new maps needed are of solar radiation within the growing season of each alpha unit. Shadow or shade maps are needed. Deer and other animals clearly respond to temperatures. We need to integrate the temperature in the animal zone, wind (convective heat losses), ground radiation (soil albedo), and other factors in the animal models so that we can see and understand the animals as energy budgeters. This knowledge will benefit domestic animal producers as well and wildlife science can feel proud of its contribution to much more than just to the good of the animals.
We need to explore and implement a set of energy conservation strategies. Substantial work has been done in developing such lists and strategies and a quickly achieved task will be to find this work that has been done, then fit it to the county conditions for the future. Education for the skeptics will be needed but strongly held policy may suffice. We believe that contests, awards, and incentives can hasten these lists being used.
We need to create passive solar radiation structures, those that are easy (low energy cost) to build, easy to maintain, and are functional over the long term. The energy equations are grounded in energy costs to produce objects and concepts that work ... and do so over the long run. The cost in energy per year of objective-specific work is the criterion. A beautiful ancient vase is an example of a very functional object, working, beautiful, carefully maintained because it was of great embodied energy and did needed work.
The managers may adopt the concept of attempting to gain space-heating/cooling energy self-sufficiency and achieving high levels of cost-effective energy conservation. This unit of Rural System stays "up" on energy issues, develops strategic and tactical moves, and seeks to promote energy efficiency throughout the Forests. It provides consulting services. It uses existing energy models, seeks new ecosystem energy models, and develops strategies for obtaining maximum embodied energy within the system. It primarily works with and through System Central.
 |
| using local energy sources to build the future energetic base |
See Energy Farms work by others.
Some land owners will be recruited based on their willingness to work with people seeking special use permits for areas to produce alternative energy. As always, compatibility with a stable or increasing profits by energy retention and minimizing use will be a major criterion. Costs will typically be borne by the applicant for a "special use" permit.
The key energy concepts fundamental to operation and activities of the environment of the area are:
See solar water purification and collection potentials. Wind and solar powered opportunities are pictured at other sites.
Energy is so readily lost. There is ample evidence within biology that if life forms are persist over the eons, they develop diverse strategies for energy capture and storage and behaviors to conserve energy already gained. Perhaps this is the most important message for people of the region. It is one that is now available from a study of biology. Therefore it may be useful to consider using alternative forms of energy captive/storage and loss-reduction strategies.
See The Trevey's Firewood unit.
Precis provides a program to assist in regional climate modeling and energy analyses
See Energy Transitions.
See http://www.simplyliving.org/sl/peakoil.htm
Contact Ride Solutions a non-profit Roanoke Virginia regional organization.
Perhaps you will share ideas with me about some of the topic(s) above .
Home
Rural System
Glossary
Robert H. Giles, Jr.
February, 2006