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  • Backup to a Better Backup Generator Solution

    You may already have a backup generator for the house. In
    fact, you may have the backup generator with you just about everywhere you go.
    Plus, it might be totally quiet, for hours.
    Yep, we are talking about your hybrid gas-electric vehicle.
    Hybrids have been selling like crazy on the farms because they can easily be
    used to generate 120-volt electricity to run hand tools and generally provide
    backup power.
    Most newer vehicles offer a 120 plug, but they won’t power
    much. What you need is an inverter that will power whatever you want,
    frequently 300 to 400 watts will be sufficient for many applications. Smaller
    inverters can be simply plugged into a cigarette lighter, but bigger inverters
    should be wired directly to the battery.

    A backup solution for the house is rather awkward,
    inconvenient and requires fuel at a time when the least fuel is available,
    storms and outages. Here’s the cost for a generator solution.
    Generator
    The generator solution costs something like this:
    ·        
    Generator $500 (or about $500 to $1,000 for an
    inverter that is much quieter and provides smoother power).
    ·        
    Fuel, maybe 8 to 12 gals per day. At 10 gals x
    $3 is $30 per day.
    ·        
    Storage of generator and fuel cans.
    Traditional generators (gas or propane or diesel) provide
    lots of smoke, noise, and require maintenance. The generator produces
    electricity, even under very low loads, so much (maybe most) of the electricity
    (and fuel) is wasted.
    Generators are best used some distance from the house so as
    not to asphyxiate the inhabitants.
    Tip. Make sure not to allow the generator to run out of
    fuel, the sputtering causes the generator to surge which kills off appliances
    at an alarming rate.
    Auto with Inverter
    Hooking an inverter to the vehicle may be a very good
    solution for many purposes, especially lower loads in the house such as
    refrigerator, lights and fans. However, you will have to go start the vehicle before
    the battery gets too low. (Taking regular lead batteries below 50% will
    seriously erode their life span.)
    A 1000-Watt inverter can cost between $80 and $110
    (modified-sine wave), and about twice that for the higher quality output of a
    pure-sine wave recommended for sensitive electronics.
    Your vehicle is rather quiet, and rather fuel efficient
    compared to a generator. Your typical vehicle will not be able to handle large
    loads, however. One approach is to set up a battery (or battery bank) that can
    be recharged via the vehicle.
    Even better is to hook up to your hybrid vehicle.
    Hybrid Vehicle with Inverter
    The hybrid vehicle is a wonderful backup power supply, just
    like the uninterruptable power supply (UPS) you use for your computers and wifi.
    You can have continuous power as needed, when needed. Plus, the hybrid vehicle is
    designed to start up the motor and recharge when the collective batteries get
    low. Very cool.
    Here’s how you do it. Hook up your power inverter directly
    to the 12-Volt (direct current) battery of the hybrid vehicle to produce
    alternating current (120 AC). Put the vehicle in the “on” mode, but with all
    the vehicle electronics turned off, i.e., turn the air conditioner and lights
    off. Now, when the batteries run low, the vehicle will automatically start to
    recharge all the batteries, lithium as well as the 12-volt battery.
    Tip: Please make sure the vehicle is in a safely ventilated
    area. Do not set this arrangement up in the garage!
    Add in a Battery
    (Bank) and a Solar Panel (or More)
    So good news, you now have an inverter with your vehicle so
    you can use good, clean, quiet power anywhere you and your Prius happen to be.
    Yippee!
    But how about the home or cabin when the Prius is away?
    Get a battery or more, and hook up the inverter to it. This
    should help you get through several hours with just the refrigerator. Batteries
    of this type (deep cycle, for example) will cost $150 to $350 each.
    Then, get a solar panel, or more, and hook them up to
    recharge your batteries during sunlight hours. (Costco has a 100W Coleman with
    8.5 amp charge controller for $159.)
    Now, I have continuous power for low load (the battery plus
    a 1100W inverter at $90, all for under $400). I’ll buy more batteries and/or
    more solar panels as and when I need them. The 1100-watt inverter does
    everything that I want to do in emergency or in the cabin. It does a small air
    conditioner (window unit or small mini-split for a short period of time; a
    refrigerator for several hours; LED lights and fans for days). It won’t do
    central air, well pump, oven, dryer, hot-water heater, microwave, or several
    heavy load items simultaneously. Bigger load electronics include blenders
    (making Hurricanes and Margaritas), blow dryer; coffee pots, electric saw, etc…
    Be careful putting together your system and your battery
    banks. Hooking two 12V 100 amp batteries together can result in doubling of the
    voltage (48 Volt in series) or double the amps (200 amp hours in parallel)
    depending on how you hook them together. Make sure you get the right inverter
    to match the higher voltage if you go in series. Try to get the same batteries
    if you bank ‘em.
    I can see you eyeing your electric golf cart, you already
    have your own battery bank on wheels. Unfortunately, the voltage will be 36 or
    48 Volts (say 6 x 6-volt batteries hooked up in series is 36 volt). Your
    inverter would need to match the voltage of your cart (or carefully hook up a 12-volt inverter to 12-volt battery equivalent,
    which in this case is two 6-volt batteries).
    In short, you may already have a great backup power supply
    solution. Hook up your hybrid to an inverter and you are good to go. Add in a
    battery (or more) and a solar panel (or more) and you have a nice, quiet,
    renewable power solution.
    Tip. Use a volt meter. The meter is cheap. Burning out electronics
    can be expensive, cause fires, shock the bejeebers out of you, and generally be
    very inconvenient!
    Tip2. When you buy your new hybrid vehicle you get “up to”
    $7,500 back in the form of current-year tax credits! The federal tax credits for new
    EV and PHEV cars (and for home solar, as well) are phasing down, so you might
    want to accelerate your purchasing decisions. (See ins
    and outs of tax credit     for vehicles at Edmonds.)
    Do we all need to rethink the way the design/plan for (emergency) backup power? Let us know what you think? 

  • Our Sister site, IPZine, just published an article about Sustainable Ag and the Monsanto Dilemma.

    Where Intellectual Property (IP) and Sustainability Meet (GMO and Monsanto)

    Monsanto is an IP Giant.
    Or was. Patented both the herbicide (RoundUP) and GMO crops designed to ignore
    it. But, Monsanto has been less than honest with us. Glyphosate, and Monsanto’s
    fate, in jeopardy. #IPZine #GMO #NonGMO #glyphosate

    RoundUp is a cocktail that contains glyphosate and several “inactive” ingredients. But, don’t take the research on glyphosate to guarantee an exact comparison with RoundUp which contains surfactant(s) among other agents to help the herbicide stick and penetrate. In addition, RoundUp seems to build up over time, especially with increased usage (because of increased week tolerance).
    Combine that with genetically modified crops, and you have a trifecta of experimentation on the world’s food supply.
    Monsanto takes both sides of the bet, making money on the RoundUp side and on the genetically modified crop side. Even though the patents on seeds and on roundup are expiring, Monsanto has been using all means at its disposal to maintain monopoly power (on the US ag markets).
    Plus, there’s RoundUp Ready 2 Yield(r), the next generation.
    Enjoy the read at IPZine and think about how comfortable you are with our US food supply?

  • Where Intellectual Property (IP) and Sustainability Meet (GMO and Monsanto)

    For decades Monsanto has enjoyed Intellectual Property (IP) protection on both sides of the plant-agro business. The dominant herbicide in the world, RoundUP, and the Genetically Engineered (GE or GMO) crops that shrug off the active ingredient – glyphosate – in RoundUp.

    Patented Product (herbicide) that relies on Patented Products (GE crops)
    Monsanto started using their glyphosate product in the 1970’s, a product that would become widely marketed under the branded and trademarked name of RoundUP®. Although the patents expired in 1991 and a related patent in 2000, Monsanto is still the major producer of glyphosate produces. Plus, the use of RoundUp has escalated over the years, for several reasons including the unfortunate fact that weeds have started to adapt and have become more tolerant of glyphosate.
    But the major reason for the escalation in the use of RoundUP is that Monsanto genetic engineers have developed crops that are genetically modified to ignore glyphosate. That’s right, the engineers have twiddled with the genes of corn, soy, cotton and other crops that ignore RoundUP, so the herbicide kills only the weeds. In fact, the entire field can be sprayed in order to kill the weeds. These genetically modified plants are patented using “Plant Patents” and marketed under the branding of RoundUP Ready”.
    Sex on the Farm, In the City, and in the GE Labs
    First, a little background on sex, the birds and the trees. A new sexually created plant would be like taking pollen from one flower and introducing that plant to another. If they are close enough cousins, say a red and white rose, they may result in a new “varietal”, say a pink rose. If they are dissimilar then there is little chance that reproduction will happen. Creating a completely new varietal of plant using sexual approaches can be protected by the US Department of Agriculture through the Plant Varietal Protection Office.
    On the other hand, asexual reproduction might be protectable through the US Patent and Trademark Office in the form of a plant patent. The USPTO discusses plant patents and summarizes “Asexually propagated plants are those that are reproduced by means other than from seeds, such as by the rooting of cuttings, by layering, budding, grafting, inarching, etc.” Tubulars (underground kind of plants like potatoes) have special exceptions.
    There are only about 1,250 plant patents issued per year in the USA, just a fraction of a percent of all US Patents. The whole protection of new types of plant and animal concepts are rather specialized and esoteric.
    A quick overview on GMOs (and Organic Foods) can be found at these sites:
    In the USA, more than 90% of all corn, soy, cotton and more are genetically modified. Even though the RoundUP Ready® soybean patent expired in 2015, Monsanto has other intellectual property and legal agreements that tie up the crop. A farmer probably cannot legally save seeds from this year’s crop of RoundUp Ready® soy and plant the seeds next year (without paying a royalty or licensing fee). Plus, as you might expect, there are new patents on RoundUp Ready 2 Yield®, the next generation of patents to protect Monsanto’s monopoly in US food crops. (See this discussion/video at Soybean.com, a Monsanto site.)
    The problem with Genetic Engineering is that we are making DNA changes that may have taken millions of years to occur in nature, if ever. When you change one gene in the DNA, you also need to change “transgenes” for the twiddling of the genes to be successful. The GE corn that is fed to the cows for years, will modify the DNA of the cows. The people who eat the corn, eat the meat, drink the milk and eat the cheese, will also have their DNA impacted. There are massive numbers of plants, animals and insects that interact with every crop. It may be decades before the full effect of a single genetically altered crop can be fully understood as they transition through bio systems.
    Monsanto has been less than Truthful!
    In mid-2018, Monsanto lost a major $289 lawsuit in California where a jury ruled that RoundUp resulted in the likely cause of non-lymphoma cancer to grounds keeper Dewayne “Lee” Johnson. There are many non-lymphoma cancer cases that have been building. This saga will go on, even though Monsanto has sold/merged into the chemical giant Bayer from Germany.
    The prolonged use of RoundUp has resulted in glyphosate showing up in soil, waterways and food supply including vitamins and cereal. The available research showing about a 50-50 split on several factors including the health of soil. (See our discussion of available research by the Soil Association at SustainZine.com on soil and glyphosate impact.)
    But, discovery in the Johnson case demonstrates the efforts by Monsanto to influence research findings and block academic research that was damming to the use of RoundUp. One aspect is that glyphosate, when used as directed, in moderation, seems to be rather safe. But, glyphosate and RoundUp are two different things even though the herbicide product, obviously, contains the active ingredient. Other ingredients in the RoundUp cocktail would help with sticking and penetration. The surfactant(s) help penetrate the leaves/cells of a plant (or an animal, for that matter). Discovery also showed a very cozy relationship between Monsanto executives and the FDA.
    Conclusions
    When you see research that says that organic is much better than GMO, and research that says GMO is much better than organic, you have to ask yourself who is likely more truthful. The independent research, or the research commissioned by an Agro Giant? Given that the pro-GMO research is tainted, you should go with research that is totally independent and ignore the noise on the other side.  
    We love innovation, intellectual property protection, and economic development… Monsanto is where intellectual property protection and sustainability meet: feeding a hungry world while protecting the innovators who work to do so…
    You have to wonder, however, if Monsanto, like the tobacco industry before it, will end up on the wrong side of history on GMO-RoundUp?
    As inventors and innovators, “may we collectively make the world a better place. And, may we have the wisdom to use a wealth of new technologies wisely.” (Hall & Hinkelman, 2018, p. 8)
    …
    For an overview of Intellectual Property and Patents check out Hall & Hinkelman’s  Patent Primer 4.0 a booklet in the Perpetual Innovation™ series at LuLu Press or Amazon.
    References
    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2018). Perpetual Innovation™: A guide to strategic planning, patent commercialization and enduring competitive advantage, Version 4.0. Morrisville, NC: LuLu Press. ISBN: 978-1-387-31010-4 Retrieved from: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan
    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2017). Perpetual Innovation™: Patent primer 4.0: Patents, the great equalizer of our time! An overview of intellectual property for inventors and entrepreneurs. Morrisville, NC: LuLu Press. ISBN: 978-1-387-07026-8 Retrieved from: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan  [Amazon v4.0e  ASIN: B074JJCDHG Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JJCDHG ]  

  • IP for Corn that fertilizes itself with Nitrogen Fixing bacteria.

    From SustainZine: Corn that fertilizes itself with Nitrogen Fixing bacteria. How best to propagate the innovation & commercialize it. #SustainZine #RegenerativeFarming
    http://sustainzine.com/2018/08/corn-that-fertilizes-itself-with.html
    *** Blog Article ***
    This is a cool article in Science by Ed Young about a giant corn varietal in Sierra Mixe Mexico that grows in very poor soil, but actually fertilizes itself. There’s a bacteria that grows around the roots that absorbs nitrogen from the air and provides it to the corn. The team of researchers led by Alan Bennett from UC Davis referred to this a “Nitrogen Fixing” which works just like roots absorbing nitrogen from the soil.
    In this case, the soil is very poor quality, so the corn actually gathers nitrogen from the air (78% nitrogen for dry air).
    One major disadvantage of this corn is that it takes 8 months to mature.
    The benefits are many. In a linear world of farming, row crops are raise on big farms and the crop shipped off to marked (cities), which deplete the soil. So fertilizers are needed to replenish the soil to grow the next crop. The fertilizers (mainly phosphate and nitrogen) end up running off into the water ways and result in massive ecological damage such as algae blooms and red tide.
    Because fertilizers are expensive to buy, and expensive to apply, farmers continue to do a better job with fertilizers. (Other factors like urbanization, turf grass and golf course are taking over lead positions in pollution generation.)   However, linear systems in farming are non-sustainable, broken systems, compared to Regenerative Farming approaches that use non-til and corp rotations to restore the quality of the soil.
    To commercialize this “nitrogen fixing” cereal crop requires some improvements, new varietals (sexual reproduction) or genetically engineered (GMO crops). The intellectual Property (IP) of such crops will be important. Profits and the capitalist system at work, availability to the people and countries that need it, and the property rights protections that make IP work are just a few important ingredients in the dissemination of new technology — in this case, new crops.

  • Corn that fertilizes itself with Nitrogen Fixing bacteria.

    This is a cool article in Science by Ed Young about a giant corn varietal in Sierra Mixe Mexico that grows in very poor soil, but actually fertilizes itself. There’s a bacteria that grows around the roots that absorbs nitrogen from the air and provides it to the corn. The team of researchers led by Alan Bennett from UC Davis referred to this a “Nitrogen Fixing” which works just like roots absorbing nitrogen from the soil.
    In this case, the soil is very poor quality, so the corn actually gathers nitrogen from the air (78% nitrogen for dry air).
    One major disadvantage of this corn is that it takes 8 months to mature.
    The benefits are many. In a linear world of farming, row crops are raise on big farms and the crop shipped off to marked (cities), which deplete the soil. So fertilizers are needed to replenish the soil to grow the next crop. The fertilizers (mainly phosphate and nitrogen) end up running off into the water ways and result in massive ecological damage such as algae blooms and red tide.
    Because fertilizers are expensive to buy, and expensive to apply, farmers continue to do a better job with fertilizers. (Other factors like urbanization, turf grass and golf course are taking over lead positions in pollution generation.)   However, linear systems in farming are non-sustainable, broken systems, compared to Regenerative Farming approaches that use non-til and corp rotations to restore the quality of the soil.
    To commercialize this “nitrogen fixing” cereal crop requires some improvements, new varietals (sexual reproduction) or genetically engineered (GMO crops). The intellectual Property (IP) of such crops will be important. Profits and the capitalist system at work, availability to the people and countries that need it, and the property rights protections that make IP work are just a few important ingredients in the dissemination of new technology — in this case, new crops.