With the current global energy crisis, it’s little wonder research into alternative sources is being talked of with more urgency. Below is an example of a water powered car…Capable of running a car for one hour on 1 litre of H2o, for a distance of 80KM.

Choosing a Digital Camera can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, with so many options available. Here are some useful points to consider to better enable making the right choice.

Movie Camera or Still.

It may sound obvious, but first consider the style of pictures you are going to use most. Some stills camera’s offer motion capture, but it’s often better to elect buying a movie camera which offers the choice to save still images, if you think motion pictures is going to occupy your attention.

Mega Pixels.

In essence, the higher the number of Mega Pixels (MP) you choose, the greater detail your images will be. It makes sense therefore to get the highest you can afford.

High Definition.

There’s little doubt High Definition is the shape of things to come, and the greater detail. So exactly why should you even consider non HD? It’s still possible to get great images non HD, and the price of HD may become more affordable later , following the technology trend of greater capacity for less money as time goes on. It is possible to get higher Mega Pixel camera with greater zoom facility more within your budget.

Zoom; Optical or Digital.

Which brings us on to zoom. Again, your style of photography will determine just how important zoom is to you. Example, if you are into sports photography, or even fashion parades, zoom is a factor to consider. Just what is the difference between Optical Zoom and Digital zoom? In a nutshell, optical is far superior image quality. The lens is sometimes bulkier, but the same number of pixels are captured when the image is magnified. The only thing that changes is which rays of light are projected onto the sensor to form those pixels. Digital zoom works by scaling up the pixels in the final image after it is captured. This enables you to zoom after the picture is taken, but with far less detailed images than optical.

Digital Camera’s have both types of zoom facility. If optical is 5x digital is 12x it’s possible to combine the two for a total zoom of 12×5. But again, don’t think the digital zoom will give anything like the same quality. If zoom is a major factor, it makes better sense to buy the highest optical zoom you can afford.

Image Stability.

Nothing is more annoying in movie camera’s than a shaking lens. Look to see if the camera you are considering has image stabilization. Even so, it always makes sense to use an old fashioned tripod for filming. No serious photographer can afford to be without one.

Memory.

Finally, the question of how to store your images, or movies. When buying a camera, also consider an SD card, even if the camera has built in hard drive for storage.

Tags: Digital Camera’s, Camera Guide, Camcorders, HD Camera Guide

With oil prices hitting record highs, and showing no signs of weakening, global consumers are feeling the heat, not to say pain.

So what’s fueling (no pun intended) oil price rises, when analysts are already saying fundamentals do not justify current price levels?

It is thought to be fear of global shortage which is causing speculators to gamble on heavy investment. Political responses? United Kingdom; Wait and see in six months time whether to cancel proposed 2p per litre INCREASE in fuel tax! USA; President Bush is calling for offshore drilling restrictions to be lifted, calling them “outdated”. Which sounds sensible enough, until you factor in trying to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted.

So many things we pay for is determined by oil; Milk and all farm produce, because of wheat and grain, tractors use petrol. Many bathroom related purchases are related to oil, from shower gel to hair sprays. Also domestic energy is severely affected, with many of my clients now saying they cannot afford to heat water in the summer, because summer usage limitations has to effectively enable greater winter consumption. So, we are nations who can go to war in the middle east at the drop of a hat, yet we are prepared to allow people to do their washing up in tepid water…

I tend to think of the younger generation…. How much will today’s school children be expected to pay for petrol? £5 per litre? Ridiculous? Well, can someone explain to me why we will NOT get to that point please? Perhaps though, the young are the lucky ones, simply because they will never know any different, perhaps some will be too young to remember the ice glaciers before they melt away in the heat of consumer driven smog.

Clearly, with one nation presidents like Bush at the helm, with self interest being taken to the point of obsession, and weak minded puppets like Brown and Blair of UK, there appears little chance of quick recovery. Reasons for optimism? Well, Bush is outgoing, and someone might well think seriously about shooting Gordon Brown and his energy minister….With every boom there is also bust, just look at the housing market predictions…So there is another one on the horizon with oil. But exactly when is the key question, how much further will we have to go…

Tags: oil prices, enviromant, global inflation

The world is having to face up to a major crisis, as oil prices surge, inflation skyrockets, house prices plummet, and consumer credit squeezing. It may sound like a small crumb of comfort right now, but more and more is being invested in renewable energy sources.

Even so, United Kingdom is set to miss it’s target on clean technology investment. Here is the news source from The Guardian;

Britain could invest more than £100bn in renewable energy over the next decade and still fail to meet an EU target on clean technology, the government’s own renewables advisers have warned.

The Renewables Advisory Board (RAB), made up of senior figures from across the industry, says the best the UK could realistically hope for is to generate 14% of its energy from sustainable sources by 2020. The EU has set Britain a target of 15% renewable energy generation by then.

The government will next week publish a consultation on how it aims to meet the EU target - which is expected to outline measures to speed the installation of wind turbines and boost the take-up of domestic-scale renewable technologies such as solar panels.

But the industry analysis says even significant policy changes and massive new investment will not be enough. Government insiders admit they are unlikely to hit the 15% figure, and officials are already pushing for Britain to be allowed to offset some of the target by investing in clean energy schemes abroad.

In a report on the issue the RAB says 14% renewable energy could be achieved by 2020 through “significant but achievable policy changes”.

It says: “If the 15% target is to be approached we need to establish a different energy world with new policy, economic and social drivers. Many of these changes will need to be radical and will require, above all else, political leadership and a determination to succeed.”

Current policies will produce just 6% renewable energy by 2020, it says.

The bulk of the changes will fall upon the electricity industry. The EU target applies to all energy sources, but experts say there is little scope for rapid take-up of green technology in the transport and heat-generation sectors. That means up to 40% of Britain’s electricity must come from renewable sources by 2020 - eight times the current level - to stand a chance of hitting the overall target.

Brian Mark, director of sustainability at Fulcrum Consulting, who sits on the advisory board, said: “The figures on electricity show the extent of the challenge. This [report] was a true attempt to give a figure which is achievable with further measures.”

To reach the 14% figure, the report assumes huge increases in the use of wind, biomass and energy from waste. The amount of electricity generated by onshore wind farms needs to jump from 1,850MW at the moment to 13,000MW by 2020. Offshore wind capacity needs to be 18,000MW by 2020, up from 394MW operational now.

On domestic renewables, the analysis says one home in every 20 would need to be fitted with solar panels to heat water, and one in 38 would need photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity by 2020. “The UK is starting from a very low base in this sector,” the report noted. Last year Germany installed 130,000 PV panels, while the UK fitted 270.

The final bill for Britain’s required renewables revolution, the report notes, would be “expected to exceed £100bn”. It is not clear how the money would be found, but a large proportion of the investment could be passed on to consumers as higher energy bills.

The RAB says there is now an “urgent” need for studies on how to extend and reinforce the National Grid to make it suitable for large-scale renewables generation. “Arguably, we are already too late [to do these],” it says. Industry experts say the UK will need 34,000MW of new transmission infrastructure to channel the power from new renewable projects. Completed wind farms in Scotland are already standing idle because they have not yet been connected.

The report also highlights the recent spate of objections to wind farms by the Ministry of Defence due to concerns over interference with radar systems as “precisely the form of policy instability which seriously undermines investor confidence”.

Britain could still conceivably reach the 15% target but only through options such as a contribution from a proposed new tidal barrage across the Severn estuary. Privately, some industry sources say the target is unrealistic, and that Britain could struggle to reach even 10% renewable energy by 2020.

Any weakening of Britain’s targets on transport biofuels in the face of concerns over sustainability would also make the target harder to reach.

Britain’s energy policy also comes under fire today from a parliamentary committee, which says a lack of urgency from government and the electricity industry threatens UK efforts to tackle climate change.

Phil Willis, chairman of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills select committee, which produced the report, said: “Unless the government starts to address some of these concerns then all these targets are pie in the sky.”

Robin Webster, of Friends of the Earth, said: “The government must deliver a strong green energy strategy instead of trying to wriggle out of EU renewable energy targets. Next week’s renewable energy consultation must set out a blueprint for a greener future.

“Britain’s abundant wind and wave power could create a new industry worth millions of pounds and thousands of jobs, cut carbon dioxide emissions and wean us off our increasingly expensive fossil fuel dependency.”

EU target for UK’s renewable energy - such as solar power for office buildings - above generation by 2020.

David Adam.