In addition to using geothermal energy to produce electricity, it can be used to assist in the heating and cooling of houses and buildings.  The system that does this is called a geoexchange system, and can be used anywhere in the U.S. and will drop your electric bill 40%-70%.  It works by using the consistent 50 degree temperature found underground to regulate the temperature indoors.  Currently 300,000 homes and businesses in the U.S. are utilizing geoexchange systems. Learn more at http://www.geoexchange.org/

Continued development of geothermal energy will greatly reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels.  At Renergycafe.com we hope to see more geothermal energy.

(This video describes a geoexchange system)

There is an excelent slide show here: http://geothermal.marin.org/geopresentation/

      The 2010 Toyota Prius reportedly will come with a solar panel option that will extend the battery life, but what if more could be done.  With the new material the Ohio State Researchers developed about the conventional cells it will increase the output potential.  What if all day you could operate your vehicle and charge it’s batteries simply by using a fixed solar panel.  Also consider powering your entire house with one smaller solar cell and even being able to contribute excess energy back into the grid for others to use.

      Whether we as a global community will be energy dependent in ten years from now is unsure.  What is known, is that advancements are being made in both the solar cells and the batteries that are often used to store the solar energy.  It may be anywhere between five years or twenty before highly efficient solar collectors are produced. When they are, we will all benefit.

In 1996 GM introduced the EV1 (electric vehicle1) and began allowing the public to lease them.  The EV1 could do everything the Volt will do, amply accelerate, reasonable top speed (around 80 mph), and Charge of the grid or solar panel.  There is one area that the EV1 far surpasses the volt.  The EV1 could go 3 times farther on a single charge with a range of up to 150 miles.  It may not seem far, but most people don’t commute to work further than 60 miles anyways.  In fact most people don’t drive that far every day.

GM’s next move has been very controversial, they had pulled all working EV1’s off the streets by 2003 and crushed them, then proceeded to sell the patent for their batteries to Texaco (part of the conglomerate of oil comapies).  Learn more by watching the video documentary ”Who Killed the Electric Car.”  To make it more drastic some universities that were given deactivated EV1s have reactivated them and come under fire from GM for violating agreements. GM reacted sternly to the schools for allowing the cars to be driven on the road, which violated the agreement.

There is no fear because this will all soon become GM’s loss as a result of independent automakers beginning to produce electric vehicles with ranges around 250 miles and quick chargers that can charge these batteries in 10 minutes.  To learn more see Electric Cars, Renergy Cafe’s Top 3.

Whatever the reason for GM creating a vehicle with a range of only 40 miles is now irrelevant.  What is important is that there is new technology that truly can change the future of our world.

Author James Moelk, site owner

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