I write all the time about solar energy and the blossoming solar industry, but what about ethanol? What is it and how does it compare to solar?

Ethanol is the same type of alcohol you’ll find in your beer or whiskey. Ethanol, as a biofuel, is relatively easy to manufacture and process and is a native crop to the Americas; perhaps why you find it blended with gasoline at pumps across the nation. Ethanol can be produced from sugar cane and maize (corn). Logically then, it is no surprise that the United States (corn) and Brazil (sugar cane) are the far-and-away world leaders in ethanol production and use. (more…)

Those of you who’ve been contemplating a do-it-yourself solar heating project may just be unsure on where to start, or just can’t find a good set of instructions, or maybe you’re intimidated by a price tag in the hundreds of dollars, even for a DIY project. Well, two ingenious gentlemen from Springfield, Missouri just may be your solar-knights in shining armor. As detailed in Mother Earth News, Don R. and George Waterman managed to construct a solar heating system for their 30′ x 40′ shop for a measly thirty dollars. That’s right, thirty dollars.

With just some plastic sheeting, salvaged lumber, and scrap parts from an old gas furnace, the two men built the system in just a few weeks. Using the south-facing wall of the shop, and battling temperatures that often fall to near-zero degrees, their simply-designed heating system can provide nearly all the heat necessary to work comfortably in the shop, even on the coldest of days. (more…)