How to Make a Solar Oven

Learn how to make a solar oven that works beautifully, is built to last, and costs less than a purchased solar cooker.

By Eric Smith
October 2011 Web

 

 

The following is an excerpt from "DIY Solar Projects" by Eric Smith (Creative Publishing, 2011). 

Solar ovens are simple devices that capture heat from the sun with a reflective surface that's angled or curved towards a cooking pot. Because they can be easily made from cheap materials like scrap cardboard and tinfoil, they are widely used in areas of the world where trees and fossil fuel are scarce or expensive. Once made, they can be used to cook food and boil water in a reasonable amount of time for absolutely no cost.

There are dozens of possible designs; some angle the rays down into a small center area, while others focus the rays upward toward the underside of a pot, like a reversed magnifying glass. You can also buy portable solar ovens assembled from polished metal online—they're great equipment for camping. But if you're serious about integrating free fuel from the sun into your cooking, the plan below features a solar oven that works beautifully and is also built to last. Plus, you can build it for a fraction of the cost of a purchased solar cooker.

Depending on variables like location, ambient air temperature and the angle of the sun, a solar oven can reach temperatures above boiling (212° F). In ideal conditions, some types can reach 300° or more. This temperature range is high enough that you can safely cook any food, including meat. Cooking times are longer, but because the temperature is lower there's little danger of overcooking, and the food is delicious.

Solar Oven Types

Solar cookers can be made in a wide variety of designs. The main criteria is that they have a reflective side or sides that focus sunlight toward a heat-absorbing (usually black) pot or base.

Made from cardboard and aluminum foil, this solar cooker is still capable of heating food almost to boiling. Variations of this basic design are widely used in poor areas of the world that have abundant sunlight but limited fuel; their use helps preserve dwindling forests.

Solar Oven

There are numerous ways to make a solar cooker—one website devoted to the subject has dozens of photos of different types sent in by people from all around the world—and all of them seem to work reasonably well. We settled on this model mostly because we're carpenters and we like working with wood more than metal. Feel free to modify it as you wish.

The cooker is big enough to hold two medium-size pots. All the pieces are cut from one eight-foot-long 2 × 12 and a sheet of ¾" plywood. The cooker would work just as well with ¼" plywood, but we used ¾" because it made it simpler to screw the corners and edges together. The base is made from 1½"-thick lumber for ease of construction and for the insulation value of the thicker wood, but thinner material would also work.

The foil we used was a type recommended for durability and resistance to UV degradation by an independent research institute. Unfortunately, it was expensive, and if you're just starting out you may want to do a trial run with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Although foil looks a little dull, it actually reflects solar rays almost as well as specially polished mirrors.

Tools and Materials 

• Straightedge
• Circular saw
• Jigsaw or plunge router
• Tape measure
• Drill/driver with bits
• Speed square
• Stapler
• Eye and ear protection
• #8 countersink bit
• ¾" × 4 × 8-ft. BC or better plywood
• 2 × 12 × 8-ft. SPF SolaRefle× foil  or heavy-duty aluminum foil
• 1⅝ and 2½" deck screws
• Clear silicone caulk
• Contact cement, or white glue and brush, optional
• Mid-size black metal pot with glass top
• Wire rack
• ¼ × 17¼ × 17¼" tempered glass
• No-bore glass lid pulls (Rockler item no. 29132)
• ¼ × 2" hanger bolts with large fender washers and wingnuts

Cutting List 

Key	Number	Dimension	Part	Material
A	2	1½ × 11¼ × 19"	Base	SPF
B	2	1½ × 11¼ × 16"	Base	SPF
C	1	¾ × 19 × 19"	Bottom	Plywood
D	1	¾ × 10 × 17"	Adjustable Leg	Plywood
E	1	¾ × 20 × 33¾"	Back	Plywood
F	1	¾ × 10 × 25¼"	Front	Plywood
G	2	¾ × 20 × 31¼"	Sides	Plywood
H	1	¼ × 17¼ × 17¼"	Cover	Tempered Glass

Sun rays reflect off the foil sides and are concentrated at the base of the cooker, where they are absorbed by the black pot. The glass cover (or clear oven cooking bag) helps hold heat and moisture in the pot. The cooker should face the sun. Raise or lower the box depending on the time of year so that you catch the sun straight on. Shim the wire rack as needed to keep the pot level.

For the rest of the instructions, go to:  http://www.motherearthliving.com/diy-projects/how-to-make-a-solar-oven.aspx

 

 

 

Why awe might be awesome for your health

Whether you're looking down from a mountain or up at the Sistine Chapel, experiencing awe via nature, art and religion can help reduce pro-inflammatory proteins in the human body, a new study suggests.

 

By: Russell McLendon

February 10, 2015

 

Feelings of awe, contentment, love and pride can improve overall physical health, a new study finds. (Photo: Zach Dischner/Flickr)

You know that sense of awe when you're dwarfed by a starry sky or caught up in the crescendo of a song? It's not all in your head, new research suggests. In fact, it might benefit your entire body.

That's because certain positive emotions — especially the awe triggered by nature, art or existential thinking — are associated with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, according to a new study published in the journal Emotion. Cytokines are proteins that help rally immune cells around an injury or infection, but this beneficial mission can go awry when they accumulate at high levels for too long. An overabundance of cytokines can raise the risk of inflammation that promotes a wide range of ailments, including heart disease, Alzheimer's, arthritis and other autoimmune conditions.

"That awe, wonder and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions — a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art — has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy," says study co-author and University of California-Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner in a statement about the research.

While negative emotions are "reliably associated with poorer health," the study's authors write, "only recently has research begun to acknowledge the important role of positive emotions for our physical health." Awe is a particularly interesting emotion, like a mix of fear and fascination that prods us to explore, investigate and wonder. In a 2003 study about awe, Keltner offered this description:

"In the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear is a little-studied emotion — awe. Awe is felt about diverse events and objects, from waterfalls to childbirth to scenes of devastation. Awe is central to the experience of religion, politics, nature and art. Fleeting and rare, experiences of awe can change the course of a life in profound and permanent ways."

Mountain vistas and other scenes of natural beauty are among the most common inspirations of awe. (Photo: Sylvia Sooyon/Shutterstock)

Natural beauty inspires awe worldwide, but different cultures articulate it differently. It's a key part of Norway's friluftsliv, for example, as well as other nature-centric customs like "forest bathing" in Japan. It's also similar to the Japanese concept of yugen, which refers to the way something vast and beautiful can capture our imaginations and trigger deep, difficult-to-describe emotions. "It is like an autumn evening under a colorless expanse of silent sky," Japanese author Kamo no Chōmei wrote about yugen in 1212. "Somehow, as if for some reason that we should be able to recall, tears well uncontrollably."

For the new study, Keltner and his colleagues conducted two experiments in which 200 young adults reported levels of several positive emotions on a specific day, including amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, joy, love and pride. The researchers also took samples of gum and cheek tissue, known as oral mucosal transudate, to see how these emotions correlate with interleukin-6, a cytokine used as a marker of inflammation. People who experienced more positive emotions had the lowest levels of interleukin-6, the study reveals, especially those who reported feeling awe, wonder and amazement.

An excess of cytokines has also been linked to clinical depression. These proteins are important for normal development and brain function, prompting us to alter our behavior to accommodate injury or illness. A spike in cytokines "produces adaptive behavioral responses that promote conservation of energy to combat infection or recovery from injury," explained a 2013 study in the journal Neuroscience. "However, chronic exposure to elevated inflammatory cytokines and persistent alterations in neurotransmitter systems can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders and depression."

Photo: Kevin Krejci/Flickr

Other recent research has found that depressed patients have more TNF-alpha, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, than patients not suffering from depression. Scientists suspect cytokines can block certain hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which would mean the proteins wield influence over everything from mood and memory to sleep and appetite.

The new study suggests awe is the most likely positive emotion to affect levels of interleukin-6, but it's too soon to know which causes which, explains co-author Jennifer Stellar, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto. "It is possible that having lower cytokines makes people feel more positive emotions," Stellar says in a statement, "or that the relationship is bidirectional."

But that caveat shouldn't discourage anyone from seeking awe-inspiring experiences. Not only is awe usually fun, reminding us to marvel at the beauty and mystery of existence, but the activities that prompt it can also bring other perks, such as helping us boost creativity on a mountain hike or rejuvenating our brains with music. Being active, engaged and curious tends to benefit our bodies and minds in general, and Stellar notes that awe is strongly linked with that kind of mindset. "Awe is associated with curiosity and a desire to explore," she says, "suggesting antithetical behavioral responses to those found during inflammation, where individuals typically withdraw from others in their environment."

If you need help jump-starting your own desire to explore, check out the awesome video: https://vimeo.com/118338567

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/why-awe-might-be-awesome-for-your-health#ixzz3in9ZUuOE

 

 

 

Google’s new project could convince you to buy solar panels

 

by Napier Lopez

 

 

Google wants to make it easy for people to consider using solar power for their homes. Today it launched a tool called Project Sunroof, which uses Google Maps data to calculate your roof's solar energy potential.

 

Project Sunroof Introduction Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_BXf_h8tEes

 

It's a simple but clever system: using high resolution satellite imagery, Google measures your rooftop area to calculate how much you could benefit from solar energy.

It'll provide an estimate for the amount of sunlight your rooftop will have available per year, taking into account shade from trees and nearby buildings, as well as roof orientation and weather. You can also input your typical electricity bills to fine tune your results.

This information is then combined to calculate how much money you could save, and Google will link you to local solar providers.

It's a clever idea that could actually entice people who might have otherwise not been interested in solar energy. Carl Elkin, Engineering Lead, says he created the project to counter people who misguidedly believe that solar energy is too expensive, or that their rooftops don't get enough sunlight.

Project Sunroof takes away the complications and makes it easy to make this assessment quickly and at your own leisure, without needing to invest hours on an expert to come in and provide a price quote. The process takes about 10 seconds.

To try out the tool for yourself, simply enter your address on the Project Sunroof website. It currently only works in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno and Boston, but will expand to other regions "over the coming months."

http://thenextweb.com/google/2015/08/17/googles-new-project-could-convince-you-to-buy-solar-panels/

 

 

 

 

Smart Ways to Save Around the House

Apr 6, 2015

A few quick fixes can add up to significant energy savings.

 

 

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/tips/a31921/smart-eco-friendly-swaps-cree/

 

 

 

Friday Funny - This Spiky Invention Won't Let You Dawdle in the Shower

Jul 23, 2015

It could turn anyone into a morning person — with a little tough love.

 

There's a guilty party in every home: The family member who loves to linger (and belt out a few bars of "Shut Up and Dance," we bet) in the shower. It's a not a problem that's easily solved — but artist Elisabeth Buecher thinks she has the answer. 

Buecher designed a concept shower curtain with inflatable spikes. After you spend four minutes washing up (half the the time an average shower takes — sans leg-shaving, we can only imagine), the spikes fill with air and literally kick you out the tub. She calls her rude awakening the "green warrior," because its intention is to get you to conserve water. 

You can't buy one (yet, anyway), but we bet budget-minded moms with a sense of humor would line up for one. For now, consider a low-flow showerhead to save on your water bill and help out Mother Nature.  Still, we're not sure there's anything more impossible to ignore than this spiky surprise:

 

Elisabeth Buecher

 

[via Bored Panda]

 

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/a33557/spiky-shower-curtain/

 

 

 

Why Wildlife is Cheering for the Clean Power Plan

8/3/2015 // By Jim Murphy

 

 

President Obama has taken a historic and ambitious step in the fight against carbon pollution that threatens wildlife. With the announcement of the finalized Clean Power Plan, the President has enacted the first ever rules designed to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Power plants comprise about 40% of the nation’s emissions.

The National Climate Assessment shows that wildlife and communities are already feeling the impacts of climate with rising seas, ocean acidification, heavier precipitation, changes in growing seasons, decreased cold and snow pack, increased incidence of pests, devastating wildfires and droughts, and other significant impacts. Photo by Mary Harvey

The plan is part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, and a key component of America’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by up to 28% by 2025. The plan sets achievable reduction targets for states to meet using three building blocks: efficiency improvements at existing coal plants, switching plants from coal to natural gas, and increasing renewable energy. States then have flexibility to tailor their own plans to meet their target.

 

An Improved Plan for Tackling Climate Change

The final rule has some noted improvements over a proposed rule issued last year. For one, the final rule has a more ambitious target for overall emissions reductions, set at 32% by 2030. Also, the EPA listened to the countless voices who called for more emphasis on renewable energy.

Building on the soaring growth of clean sources of energy like wind and solar, the final rule has incentives and goals that are projected to result in an increase in renewable power generation from 22% to 28%. This is extremely welcome news.

The EPA has also included changes to give states even more latitude in terms of achieving compliance by moving back the compliance date and allowing states more time if they have reliability concerns. But compliance should not be a problem as more than half of states are already on track to meet the proposed rule’s 2020 benchmarks for reducing carbon pollution, with 14 of those states on track to exceed those benchmarks.

We Need to Act to Protect Wildlife

These measures come none too soon. The first five months of 2015 were the hottest on record, on pace to surpass 2014’s record year. A recent study published in the journal Nature finds an increasingly visible link between global warming and extreme weather, with warmer temperatures adding fuel to superstorms like Sandy.

Climate change poses a direct threat to wildlife and communities. If carbon pollution continues unabated, scientists predict that higher temperatures will lead to extinction of 50% of species around the globe.

Here are four species that are cheering about the President’s Clean Power Plan:

Ducks

Mallards and other ducks stand to gain from the Clean Power Plan. Photo Credit: USFWS.

Nearly half of America’s ducks come from a region in the northern Great Plains and Canada called the Prairie Pothole region. This vast expanse, which covers the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana and three Canadian provinces, can contain up to six million shallow, often seasonal ponds that provide optimal breeding grounds for ducks.

Climate change will bringer warmer, dryer weather that will significantly reduce the number and quality of these breeding ponds. Without action, like the Clean Power Plan, duck hunters may soon be asking, “Where did all the ducks go?”

Brook Trout

Brook trout could be extinct in states like Virginia if global warming is not addressed. Photo Credit Flickr USFWS.

Brook trout, a favorite catch of anglers, inhabit only the clearest, coolest streams. In many places, these streams are at the upper most part of the watershed. As the climate warms, so do these streams. Increasingly, these streams are becoming too warm for brook trout have nowhere else to go.

For instance, in Virginia, where brook trout are the official state fish, recent climate modeling suggests brook trout could be gone from the state by mid-century. The Clean Power Plan is a big step in the right direction to ensuring brook trout will keep swimming in our streams.

Moose

Moose are already suffering significant declines likely due to climate change in several northern states. Photo by Mitchell Rothman.

Moose are America’s biggest and most recognizable ungulate. But moose are not well adapted for warm weather and are not found in places with extended periods above 82 degrees F.

Heat is already taking a toll on moose. In addition to heat stress, warming temperatures are allowing parasitic ticks to flourish, and tens of thousands of ticks can attach themselves to moose, literally sucking the life out of them. The results are high fatalities particularly in juvenile moose. In the last 25 years, one of Minnesota’s moose populations has plummeted from 4,000 to fewer than 100. Declines are also being seen in Maine and New Hampshire.

Without action like the Clean Power Plan, it is likely that moose populations will largely be driven out of the lower 48 states.

Loons

The Clean Power Plan will also reduce other harmful pollutants, like mercury, that are poisoning loons and other wildlife. Photo by Ronald Norman.

Currently, most states have fish advisories in place concerning thousands of water bodies because mercury from power plants have resulted in serious health risks associated with eating fish. Coal fired power plants are the source of over half of human introduced mercury into the environment.

While we can choose not to eat fish – a choice we shouldn’t have to make – wildlife can’t. Wildlife, like loons, that survive on fish in our lakes have no choice but to eat contaminated fish. A recent report found that 75% of loons in once pristine Adirondack lakes far from coal plants had mercury levels that posed high to moderate risks.

Mercury is so toxic, that 1/70^th of teaspoon to the make the fish in a 25 acre lake unsafe to eat. As the Clean Power Plan powers down mercury spewing coal and powers up renewables, EPA estimates that the Clean Power Plan will remove thousands of pounds of mercury from the environment. That’s good news for both people and loons who like to eat the fish they catch.

What’s Next?

Now it’s up to states to craft implementation plans to ensure the Clean Power Plan’s goals are realized. If states fail to act, the EPA will implement a federal plan on the state’s behalf. However, the plan is designed to make implementation easy for states. As National Wildlife Federation’s President and CEO Collin O’Mara explains:

The President has provided states with the flexibility necessary to achieve meaningful reductions in a way that unleashes American innovation to maximize benefits and strengthen the economy. From the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to California’s carbon trading system, state-based and regional limits on industrial carbon pollution are proven effective at both cutting pollution and creating jobs.

There’s still a lot of work to do. But the President has taken a huge step towards reducing carbon pollution and has set the stage for further national and international action to keep ducks, trout, moose and loons a thriving part of our children’s future.

Urge Congress to stand strong for wildlife and climate action!

---

from Wildlife Promise

http://blog.nwf.org/2015/08/why-wildlife-is-cheering-for-the-clean-power-plan/

 

 

 

 

Help Fort Lauderdale Kids Receive 100,000 Books!

I know it’s not really a “green” thing but it’s a worthy cause!  -- Gene

 

JetBlue wants to donate 100,000 books to one lucky city!

Vote for Fort Lauderdale today by clicking on the link below!

http://www.soarwithreading.com/