On standby
(Fort Worth Star Telegram) The problem of "phantom loads" - the stand-by electric use of devices not being actively used - has been growing over the past several years as we use more and more electric items at home. As televisions get bigger and have more features, as we plug in our DVDs and VCRs and our video games and surround-sound systems and radios and phone chargers and ... well, you get the picture. Most of those products use electricity when they are turned off to give you stand-by power for an instant-on feature, keeping those clocks operating all the time. A recent report from Steven Winter Associates, a well-known national building systems consulting firm, cited a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that estimated that 10 percent of home electricity usage can be traced to standby power users.

Bahrain must utilise solar power says researcher
(Trade Arabia) Bahrain's hot summer climate makes it an ideal location for utilising solar power, says a prominent Bahraini researcher. Bahrain University Sciences Dean Dr Haifa Al Maskati said, in a report in our sister publication Gulf Daily News, that Bahrain should look at ways of using solar power to generate electricity. "The reason that solar power is still an alternative energy source is because of the high start up costs associated with using it," she said.

College students go unplugged
(News 10 Now) Over the river and through the woods is a group of students taking a road less travelled. Baylor Johnson, a St. Lawrence University Professor, said, "We give up on purpose a lot of the comforts of modern civilization and a lot of the distractions." Here, in the Adirondack Park, 14 students have traded in their otherwise hectic campus lives to chop, cook, and provide their own entertainment. But, that's not all. "They discover what really feeds them, what really makes them happy. And it is changes their life permanently," Johnson said. Students are not allowed to listen to TV or radio, but they do have electricity. In fact, the entire camp is powered by solar energy.

Non conventional energy
(The New Nation) A non traditional source of energy of much potential in the rural areas of Bangladesh is solar power. It is very well suited for rural Bangladesh because it does not involve expending so much resources on wires, poles and other equipment. Users need to make only a one time investment in solar panels that last decades with good maintenance. They do not have to pay bills and are not harassed by regular power shut-offs of the type suffered by consumers of the Rural Electrification Board. Solar power has proved to be efficient in all assessments made so far.