One good site you might want to check out is http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com/
They have a lot of people there who have built their own equipment and they have many reviews of purchased equipment too. Also some interesting alternatives. It is a good group of people.
What I would do:
1. Legalize Gay Marriage (because all marriages cost lots of money wether they be gay or straight)
2. Legalize Marijuana for Sale, keep it regulated (ask for I.D., etc.)
3. Legalize Prostitution, moderate it (like the porn industry) to keep it safe and put much less money in the hands of criminals since a majority of all prostitution is to fund criminal and gang-related activities
4. Get all soldiers back to the U.S., get them working and spending (let the "terrorists" do as they like in their own country since this war is basically pointless)
5. Fix energy problem (stop off-shore drilling and implement more land-drilling to create more jobs and make it slightly safer for the environment; build more solar panels, windmills, etc.)
6. Slightly increase taxes of upper-middle class and above, and decrease taxes of lower-middle class and below
7. Stop printing as much money
8. Stop printing "In God We Trust" on the dollar, since printing "In God We Trust" is a violation of the seperation of church and state, and also uses a fraction of a pennies worth of ink. Over time that cost builds up and with as much money as we’re printing currently, that only adds to the national defecit.
9. Tax all places of religious worship
10. Remove all bans of abortion and stem-cell research (without abortion there is no stem-cell research)
11. Not try to bail out miserably failing companies.
12. Stop it with the stimulus packages, we’ve tried three, two of them huge, and only created 20,000 jobs.
13. Stop buying everything from other countries.
14. More funding in space projects. Create jobs and interest kids in engineering.
15. Stop making pennies since it costs more than a penny to make a penny.
16. Introduce some sort of pay scale for high-paying jobs and do something about these bonuses for bank managers and such.
17. Have most, if not all, major sports franchises and leagues widely owned, and introduce a new CBA for each league which doesn’t allow for outrageous pays.
18. Switch from unit banking system to a branch banking system
19. Don’t "leave it to the market." Some situations should require intervention, especially oil.
20. Minimum voter IQ, as well as mandatory voting or voting that requires a tax to get out of
21. Pay science, engineering and math teachers more money so that higher qualified people from the field will interact with students.
22. Place restrictions on quantitative finance methods, hire better educated financial experts who are focused on sustainable business and not short term maximization
23. Raise tariffs
24. Increase minimum wage
25. Lower minimum drinking age to 19.
With more money in circulation, the national debt will be gone very soon.
Keep in mind, I’m far from an expert when it comes to economics, but what I do know about economics is that by doing these things the debt will decrease greatly.
Your ideas?
right on. i like all these solutions
legalizing marijuana for sale! its a major cash crop. that alone would help the economy
What I would do:
1. Legalize Gay Marriage (because all marriages cost lots of money wether they be gay or straight)
2. Legalize Marijuana for Sale, keep it regulated (ask for I.D., etc.)
3. Legalize Prostitution, moderate it (like the porn industry) to keep it safe and put much less money in criminals since a majority of all prostitution is to fund criminal and gang-related activities
4. Get all soldiers back to the U.S., get them working and spending (let the "terrorists" do as they like in their own country)
5. Fix energy problem (stop off-shore drilling; build more solar panels, windmills, etc.)
6. Increase taxes of upper-middle class and above, decrease taxes of lower-middle class and below
7. Stop printing as much money
8. Stop printing "In God We Trust" on the dollar
9. Tax all places of religious worship
10. Remove all bans of abortion and stem-cell research
11. Put less funding in space projects
12. Not try to bail out miserably failing companies.
With more money in circulation, the national debt will be gone very soon.
Keep in mind, I’m far from an expert when it comes to economics, but what I do know about economics is that by doing these things the debt will decrease greatly.
Your ideas?
Printing "In God We Trust" is a violation of the seperation of church and state, and also uses ink. Ink costs money and printing "In God We Trust" uses a fraction of a pennies worth of ink. Over time that builds up and with as much money as we’re printing currently, that only adds to the national defecit. Getting rid of it would be a very intelligent idea, no?
1. Stop it with the stimulus packages, we’ve tried three, two of them huge, and only created 20,000 jobs.
2. Convert everyone who works at BP into alterntive fuel.
3. Okay, since the invention of the lightbulb, we have known how to make lightbulbs last forever, STOP scamming us and give EVERYONE PERMANENT LIGHT.
4. Stop buying everything from other countries…
5. Do we really need more allies? I mean, Iraq was revenge, but Afghanistan is just camping…
6. MORE funding in space projects. Create jobs and interest kids in engineering.
Well, we have to make a model on anything we’d like to. And our team has chosen the topic of a building of the future. Due to vertical expansion of cities, it has to be a skyscraper with maximum optimizations. Some of them are:–
* Interlocking floors for higher stability, providing more height.
* Tapering upwards, again for stability AND sunlight for the bottom floors and the buildings around.
* Solar panels on the side of the buildings that gets Sun in the afternoon for optimum money to energy ratio
* Foldable furniture inside the office rooms to conserve space, since there is an increasing shortage of space per capita.
* Elasticity against hurricanes and a pendulum inside the top floor to regain balance.
* Helipads for quick transport, which would be a expensive but not uncommon mode of transport by then.
I need help with the following topics:–
* Transportation through the building (Elevators, Escalators, optimum to minimize crowding)
* Emergency exits
* Ventilation
* Structural help against earthquakes
* Minimizing electricity wastage and the arrangement of electrical lines to not let the Thrust created by the current (By the Fleming’s Left Hand Rule) to weaken the building itself.
* Materials to be used for construction
* Waste disposal.
* The base of the building, so that the building doesn’t sink inside the ground by its own weight.
* Anything else you can think of.
Also it is nice to have a greenhouse on the top floors? Just asking 
Need more physics+practicality. Thanks for your help. 
Alan B — Any idea where I can get a download of that episode? Thanks. =)
Watch "Extreme Engineering" on Discovery Channel. One episode is on the proposed Sky City by the Japanese. This should answer most of your questions.
What I would do:
1. Legalize Gay Marriage (because all marriages cost lots of money wether they be gay or straight)
2. Legalize Marijuana for Sale, keep it regulated (ask for I.D., etc.)
3. Legalize Prostitution, moderate it (like the porn industry) to keep it safe and put much less money in criminals since a majority of all prostitution is to fund criminal and gang-related activities
4. Get all soldiers back to the U.S., get them working and spending (let the "terrorists" do as they like in their own country)
5. Fix energy problem (stop off-shore drilling; build more solar panels, windmills, etc.)
6. Increase taxes of upper-middle class and above, decrease taxes of lower-middle class and below
7. Stop printing as much money
8. Stop printing "In God We Trust" on the dollar, since printing "In God We Trust" is a violation of the seperation of church and state, and also uses a fraction of a pennies worth of ink. Over time that cost builds up and with as much money as we’re printing currently, that only adds to the national defecit.
9. Tax all places of religious worship
10. Remove all bans of abortion and stem-cell research
11. Not try to bail out miserably failing companies.
12. Stop it with the stimulus packages, we’ve tried three, two of them huge, and only created 20,000 jobs.
13. Stop buying everything from other countries.
14. More funding in space projects. Create jobs and interest kids in engineering.
With more money in circulation, the national debt will be gone very soon.
Keep in mind, I’m far from an expert when it comes to economics, but what I do know about economics is that by doing these things the debt will decrease greatly.
Your ideas?
@ Jacob: Me to!!! It’s about time the LGBT community has equal rights.
@ Purple Eye Blonde: Screw god. I should trust him just as much as I should trust Santa Claus. Neither exist.
@ Breezy: Actually, there are ways to keep the hooker safe. You can’t have stem-cell research without abortions, but to compromise abortion should only be done in certain circumstances (i.e. the mother or child dying in child-birth, if the baby is the cause of rape or incest).
Those are all good ideas. However number 4 would be easier said than done.
I heard this one from a guest on the colbert report. This guy wrote a book explaining why we should stop producing pennies. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. It costs more than a Pennie to make a Pennie.
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Read more: How to Build your Own Solar Panel | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4857970_build-own-solar-panel.html#ixzz0u7NjcQLX
that was fairly bright and no need to put solar panels outside or run wiring would you buy it ? Makes no difference if you live in an apartment . I see allot of people say they cant use solar because they have no place to mount panels . Anyway would you buy such a light with say 15 to 20 amp florescent bulb and approximately what would or should such a light be worth to you .
I made up my own lighting system that is kind of unique . I have not seen them on the market or on the web i build them myself . In fact that’s what im sitting here with now . Its so simple and it cost me approximately $10 to build each light and im trying to figure out what to sell them for on ebay .
No Mickey you would need one huge panel to even come close for it to feed itself
But thanks for the answer
Very intriguing! I’d be interested in knowing how you’ve managed to do this without wires or external panels, and whether your invention is original? It does sound very innovative and commercially viable because it would have such a huge market - people in flats or apartments, business, etc.
I think people would buy such a product but you’ll only be making pocket money in the ebay market. It’d need a proper launch to be commercially viable; a lot of advertising, promotion and selling in stores.. obviously is more cost effective to produce on mass as this would also lower the retail price to the consumer.
Has anyone out there actually done this? The guide says anyone can figure it out and its only a few hundred dollars per panels, but it seems like if it were that easy everyone would be doing it.
Whats the truth?
Brilliant deduction! Yes, if it were that easy, we would see at least a few people doing it. I don’t personally know a single person who has homemade panels on their house, although I would say I do know a good number that have commercially-made panels. Including our family.
LIKE NATURE INTENDED? I’m moving into my new apartment and I’d like to make or build my own system….I want to build my own!!!! Forget buying huge oversized expensive panels from greedy so called eco friendly companies….I want the knowledge to build my own.
"Solar energy can be used to power almost everything now, and it can be used at home with or without solar panels. Some of the most common and effective ways to use solar energy are to capture it without having to buy expensive or complicated panels for your roof. You can use small, inexpensive solar panels to power laptops, lights, and even use solar ovens to cook your food"
-Ehow
First of All, linnyon or whatever your name is. How do you think our ancestors survived the winter??? There were no Edison of PG&E Obviously they did, you and I wouldn’t be here. I’m not giving PG&E Shit!!! Candles are not expensive and I also know how to make my own battery for light. Have you heard of zero point energy. I don’t think so. And to the rest of you, I pay my money that mean the apartment is mine….I don’t care if its not mine on paper or by law….Laws don’t mean anything to me. My Money my rules….I PAY RENT!!!THAT MEAN WHILE I’m there I could do whatever I want. I’m using Solar Panels on MY ROOF..YEP I SAID IT. You all can remain passive and fearful or laws and rules while your hard earned money go right to corporations and governments if you want to good luck.
Ehow
I too live in an apartment, am a dreamer and would love to save the whales, the air, environment, etc but the reality is that we (in apartments) can’t live off of the grid…..but you can be more efficient, and not consume as much. The solar panels for laptops, lights and oven sound a bit dreamy and a tad unrealistic, but I would love to be proved wrong!
My advice for immediate "green living" would be to first off, contact PG&E, & Edison for an in home energy audit. Usually the utilities will do this for free, and they will tell you what if any changes you should make to your apartment, house, etc. I live in Florida, and ironically enough had Florida Power & Light at my apartment yesterday afternoon for my free audit. I found it quite helpful, as I found out that our hot water heater was set to 180 degrees!! (Now I can assure you that our showers did not feel as though they were that hot, and I still have skin on my body so I don’t know about the 180 degrees but that’s a lot of money and energy being wasted!) I had the technician adjust the interior thermostat…for obvious reasons.There are also private companies that do Energy Audits, but they charge for their services. A typical price range for their services are from $200-$800. Other easy to do fixes in the apartment are to install a low flow shower head in your shower, make sure that your toilet is a 1.6 gpf, replace the filters in your AC every 3 months, make sure your dampers are open, and that your AC grills are not dirty, install 3M window film on the inside of your windows (or slidding glass balcony doors) and hang curtains or window blinds to reduce solar glare, don’t drive your car as much, etc etc. The cost for some of these recommendations , low flow shower head, 3M window film, etc are eligible for the energy efficiency tax credits on your return, so that can be helpful.
Secondly, contact PG&E and Edison to see if they have a renewable energy buying program. A few years ago Florida Power & Light (FPL) had a program where you paid an extra $10 a month and that extra money went towards the purchase and use of renewable energy. (allegedly)
Lastly check with your landlord or property owner as to what if any "green" characteristics there are to the building. Is the roof is white? ( so that it obviously does not absorb as much heat and the building’s AC doesn’t have to work as hard) Perhaps the pool has a solar heater? the Air Handler is a new energy efficient model? the outdoor flood lights have fluorescent bulbs? the driveway is sealed with a permeable material? (reducing storm water runoff) there are solar panels on the roof? Should the building have some of these components then the property manager/management company/condo board, etc can be eligible for federal tax credits (under the 2005 Energy Act and its enhancements from the ARRA) where that savings conceivably could be passed down to you. Check with a company called ETS (Engineering Tax Services) as they will come to the building, check everything, and then report to the management company as to what efficiency changes can be made. If the roof is capable of supporting solar panels or film and there is enough sunlight then solar might work too. Check with a company called Sun Electronics, as they are a solar system distributing company that has relationships with installers all throughout the country. I know these questions and recommendations may sound a bit Extreme and although there is no silver bullet, a close second is always good.
As I said before I too live in an apartment, hate paying an electrical bill, and most of all love the environment and would love to do what I can to prevent its destruction.
Good Luck
I will already do this cool AC thing I heard about (can you tell me the name or give me a website? cause I can’t find it). You dig multiple wells and run pipes down each one. Run water through the pipes and it cools off to the temp under ground (low 70s) then when it comes back up you blow air across it like a radiator and it cools off the house. (When your house is cold it actually warms up instead).
I will also have a tank less water heater so I can cut back the light bill there too.
I want to use as little energy as possible so that I can in turn CREATE my own energy to make up the deficit.
Any ideas I haven’t thought of yet?
How do I make the energy in a cost effective manor? Solar panels won’t work because they cost WAY more to maintain then the money saved on the light bill. I need, maybe a mixture of stuff?
Related Question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090620214018AA54kEu&r=w
Insulate, insulate, insulate. That is the biggest bang for your buck.
6 inch outside stud walls so you can get in more insulation.
build it tight to minimize air infiltration.
wide eaves or porches to keep direct sun from the walls
if you are going to have a fire place or wood stove, be sure it has direct outside combustion air.
look into solar hot water heaters, they are simplier than electric solar power and cheaper.