Noodle fishing is the sport of jug fishing but some anglers often refer to it as noodle fishing because of the popular way many anglers build their fishing juglines.

It has become quite common practice to use closed cell polyethylene foam (also known as swimming pool noodles) to make and build jug lines for catfishing so the term noodle fishing has gained popularity. This is really just a slang term for jug fishing for catfish.

Building noodles is something that can be done using a very simple approach or an even more advanced one. Some anglers prefer the simplistic approach of just cutting a short section of the swimming pool noodle and attaching a length of braided nylon twine, a hook and a small split shot weight. These setup is then baited and allowed to float in the water (hopefully catching catfish) and is most often referred to as a drifting jugline.

Other anglers prefer to take a more advanced approach to noodle fishing by adding additional implements to the foam to make the jugline “flag” or stand up when a fish bites the baits. The jugline is built with a ballast and other additions that make the jug tip up when the fish bites and this alerts the angler to their being a catfish on the line.

Flagging juglines were designed in Texas and became very popular on a regional basis but their popularity quickly spread all over the United States.

Regardless of which approach you take to noodle fishing, you are sure to have a great time catching catfish using these techniques.

Make sure you read the book how to make the best catfish juglines for jug fishing before you start making your catfish jugs.

Fortunately, Al Gore’s Academy Award winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth” all but did away with any doubt that the globe is eating, and sooner or later we will be riding around space on a planet aflame. Yet, while I am sure my other is concerned about the rise of ocean temperatures throughout the world, she is far more busy dealing with an “inconvenient truth” of her own; “an inconvenient truth” about a phase of life where women would prefer water-boarding over ten years of endless, consistent night sweats, and the mental and emotional trauma that my father suffers as a result. This terribly inconvenient truth that anyone who steps within ten feet of my mother during a preemptive hormone strike or after a bout of excessive insomnia will face, is a frightening, dangerous, and downright torturous condition known as menopause.

My poor mothers’ body temperature rises and falls like gas prices. At this point, the thermostat is practically shaped for her hands and fingers, the dial constantly shifting between sixty and eighty degrees. There have been times when my father waited for her to fall asleep, so that he could sneak out and adjust the thermostat to a temperature suitable for humans, only to turn around and see my mother, half-asleep and furious, her nightgown blowing under the air-conditioning vent creating the image of a very angry, incredibly upset ghost. My mother’s own, personal climate change has nothing to do with clear-cutting, or the release of carbons, or the decline of the Ozone Layer. It has to do with good old-fashioned hormones.

Apparently, when a woman turns forty, these hormones decide to get drunk and dance around inside of a woman’s body like Mick Jagger soaring across a concert stage. Again, fluctuating body temperature, irritability, moodiness, IRRITABILTY; my mother is going through what the great scientists of our time have defined asmenopause
. Me, I’m no great scientist. Nor am I some inspired theologian. Call it menopause if you’d like. Call it aging. Blame it on global warming if you want. Yet, as far as I’m concerned, there is only one word that justifiably wraps up the experience my mother and her poor, supportive family has been going through during the last decade. The word, in short, is hell.

From crankiness to irritation to random aches and pains and fluctuations in body temperature and irritable bowel symptom and loss of appetite and extreme gain of appetite and nausea being just a few of the symptoms of menopause, I can’t imagine what my poor mother must be going through. However, for me, her loving son (so long as she never reads this article), the mother I loved and cherished quickly evolved into a fire-breathing monster, the angry villain in a superhero comic book, simply if she can’t find her TIVO remote (which usually is under a cushion right next to her, yet still my father’s fault). They say there’s a troop shortage due to our extended stay in Iraq. Again, neither a foreign policy hack, nor does my military expertise extends beyond watching SAVING PRIVATE RYAN nearly a thousand times, but I have a solution to this shortage.

Catch my mom and her equally menopausal friends (imagine those gatherings) on an off day, and she’ll serve up Bin Laden who will be begging for the death penalty. Be it a loss of appetite and therefore a drop in her blood sugar level; or be it my kind dad saying the wrong thing, like “good morning, you looked lovely”; or be it me, her loving, caring son not putting a coffee mug away, or leaving a plate of food out that I am still eating, well, even Will Smith on a 4th of July couldn’t save the world from my mothers’ preemptive menopausal strikes.

However, my perspective is beginning to change. I am writing this article for men, husbands, and sons, even adopted ones begging to go back to poverty-stricken, war-torn Africa rather than suffer through their new mothers’ menopause years, as both a warning of things to come, and a survival guide as to how to make it through these tortuous years. I mean, yeah, my new perspective is all about making her feel better. Yeah.

Start with the word. Menopause. Break it down. Men. Oh. Pause. I think who ever defined It was trying to tell us something (hell, I bet there is a hidden message in a Da Vinci painting giving us clues how to make it through, and going even further, maybe Van Gogh yanked off his hear so as to not have to hear the complaining anymore), but my new theory, or point of view, is this: Men of the world, pause. Just for a moment. Just to regroup and decide how to best battle the demons unleashed from the woman you love during these fiery ten years. The first step is to identify that your mother, wife, sister, of girlfriend is really is going through menopause, and isn’t simply a terrible woman. Hell, I’ve had a date canceled because or a girl telling me her menopause was “acting up”. She was twenty. If your mother is the sweetest, kindest, and most caring woman in the world who, over the past ten years has transformed from the heroic Beowulf to the evil, frightening Grendel, you must pause and take heed. She is, most definitely, suffering from the M word.

In this case, the following are a few tips

1. Stay the hell out of her way. I mean it. Move! A simple shoulder bump in the hallway can unleash an unexpected, emotionally bruising breakdown on how you dress like crap, oughta get a better job, and meet a nice Jewish girl and settle down already. All from a simple shoulder bump. Think about it.
2. Fall asleep, stay asleep, and under no circumstances, shall you awaken in the middle of the night and go out to the living room to watch a little TV. If the woman has menopause, she will likely be suffering from insomnia as well. Unless you want to find yourself watching the ladies of “The View” yakking away, or worse, some late night, sexually graphic cable movie that came on after said mother or wife or sister finally conked out on the couch,, under no circumstances, shall you awaken in the middle of the night.
3. When commenting on how she looks, there is only one answer. Wonderful. Ignore the dark circles under her eyes. Don’t stare at her wildly un-kempt bed-head hair for longer than a second, and unless you want to get beheaded, tell her it’s okay that she has been wearing the same tattered nightgown now every single night for a good month and it is stained with tomato sauce from last weeks lasagna. You know what? Doesn’t matter. She looks wonderful, or so you tell her, and your head stays firmly fastened to your neck.
4. Finally, and maybe most important, try to understand. Now, if you’re a man reading this, than you share my frustration when the words “women” and “understand” fall into the same sentence, which is why I specified “try to”. However, menopause is a truly brutal phase that all women go through, which serves as a cruel, physical reminder that she is getting older, and that with aging comes new conditions, abnormalities, overall unease, with only one guaranteed finish line. Try to understand. Try to stay the hell out of her way. Try to stay asleep, and tell her she looks wonderful. Do all this, and maybe the blow of menopause can be lessened for us. I mean, right. For her.

In conclusion, Climate Change is happening at a rapid rate. Whether your concern is for the survival of our planet or the physical comfort of your ice-pack covered mother or wife, take a pause, and just think how lucky we men are, not to have to go through periods, and child births, and menopause. Try not to think how unlucky we are for often being the unwilling victims of it. They should give out medals for those of us who survive. And, you know, yeah. For her, of course. For her too. God speed.

Carp rods are made from carbon material which are thin, light and very durable. Most manufactures produce the rods in many lengths ranging from ten to thirteen feet and can come in two or three piece set. If you are buying a two piece set, make sure there is room in your car to store it. Some rods come with cork or foam grip just for aesthetic purpose only. The rod guides are made from composite or titanium material. If you are using braided line for carp fishing, the titanium guides are recommended.

When choosing your fishing rods, you should look at the test curve of the particular rod. It measures the amount of tension that the rod can handle. If you are fishing for small size carp, then a two pound test curve is ideal. However, if you are looking for the 40 pounds plus monster, I would recommend choosing a rod with a higher test curve such as 3 to 4 pound.

Another important feature that you should consider when picking carp rods is the type of action. Fast tip action rod provides enough power to sling the bait over long distance. The medium action type rod is ideal for hurling large bait such as feeder and PVA bags over very long distance. If you prefer more rod control and casting close to shore, the all through action is the one to pick.

You don’t have to purchase multiple rods all at once when you’re just getting into carp fishing. A good rod to begin with is a fast tip action with 2.5 test curve and 12 foot in length. You can add more rods to your collection as you get more advanced with your skills. Test out different fishing rods at the fishing shop and decide on the one that you like the most.

Carp fishing requires a reel with large spool to handle the long distance cast. The baitrunner reel is a popular reel to use for carp fishing. It has a drag system that allows the fish to pull the line without pulling the rod with it. You should try the reel and rod together to make sure you’re comfortable casting with it.

For the everyman, the regular Joe, making steps towards a greener tomorrow is no longer as far fetched as it once seemed. With the introduction of hybrid cars, solar paneling for homes, and the bountiful selection of recycled goods on the market consumers are now able to make an impact by exchanging a little green for a greener planet.

Eco-friendly products are not just limited to cars, light bulbs, and organic fruits and vegetables. New products from old companies are being introduced to the market place with green in mind. Vodka is the latest product in a long list of product to go green and with the wide selection of premium spirits already on the shelves it may be confusing to pick out the right bottle.

There are three major manufacturers of vodka that are forging the way for others in the new and greener market. These three are VEEV, Purus, and 360 Vodka. These brands are already well known to aficionados and casual drinkers as representing some of the finest vodkas on the market today but there is a difference between each.

The difference does not lay in taste alone, though it does play a factor, the real difference between the green vodkas is how they are environmentally aware. Each of the brands is going green in their own way and it is up to the consumer to decide which vodka is for them.

VEEV

VeeV is becoming a popular vodka at parties and restaurants as it boasts of a smooth taste. Ingredient wise, VeeV is set apart from the rest of the Vodkas on the market for its use of Acai, an exotic berry that is found in the Amazonian Rain forest and is the national fruit of Brazil. The fruit is revered for its natural properties and VeeV is the first spirit to use the Acai. Using the Acai fruit presents a great opportunity for VeeV to give back to earth from which it takes.

Consumers of VeeV may be concerned about the use of this Amazon resource and VeeV understands why. The Rain forest is being rapidly depleted by overuse and deforestation and in an effort to counteract their use of that resource VeeV gives $1 to the Rain forest for every bottle bought. While this may not seem like a large amount, the impact is huge. The money goes directly to the farming communities where VeeV receives the Acai berry and helps to ensure that the berry is organic diminishing any negative impact on this fragile ecosystem.

This is not all VeeV does. VeeV’s distilleries are carbon neutral, the first in its industry. Carbon neutral means that the company maintains a zero balance on their carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources, buying eco-friendly products, and taking other steps in an effort to reduce negative impact on the world. This is an important step in reducing Greenhouse gases that are depleting the Ozone layer and causing Global Warming.

Distilled Resources Inc, VeeV’s distilleries, is now using renewable wind energy, and using a renewable energy source is a major step for a major company.

VeeV is certainly setting the standard when it comes to the Industry. Along with trying to benefit the Earth in eco-friendly standards, VeeV is also taking social responsibility through the use of Co-op America, Planet Green, and Climate Clean among other companies interested in aiding the people of the Earth along with making the Earth a Greener place to live.

Purus

Purus Vodka is a family owned distillery in its third generation that has the ability to boast the fact that it is made from 100% organic wheat. Along with this, Purus is working with American Forests in an effort to replenish the dwindling North American forests. For every person that registers on the Purus website, the company vows to plant a tree through American Forest to replenish the loss of trees do the wild fires and deforestation that has plagued this nation for years.

Purus takes its environmentally conscious attitude to its packaging as well. With its concern over the state of the American forests, it only makes sense that Purus use labels that are 100% free of trees. The bottle is also 100% recyclable so it will have a new life as something else and will not just sit in a landfill. Even the ink and adhesives are environmentally friendly. Using soy based inks Purus has eliminated the use of harmful petroleum based ink and the adhesives used are water based.

Purus is relatively new vodka on the market but its impact is already being felt through its tree planting program and the use of environmentally friendly materials.

360 Vodka

360 Vodka has taken the title of Eco Luxury Vodka a title that it certainly deserves. 360 is a well respected vodka much loved for its taste and nature and now for its efforts for creating a Greener environment.

360 Vodka believes in taking cooperate responsibility for the planet and uses greener methods in the creation and packaging of its drink. The company promises to donate $20 from each case of 360 Vodka sold to the Coastal Conservation Association located in the Florida. The CCA is a non profit organization striving to protect the natural marine resources that can be found all around the state of Florida. This pledge of money has greatly benefited the CCA and its efforts. Along with this, 360 are also giving $1 to environmental causes around the world with every cap returned. This initiative is called the “Close the Loop” program and has already benefited many areas and people.

The packaging of 360 vodka is also eco friendly, with 85% recycled glass along with recycled paper and water based ink.

360 Vodka is also taking steps in its daily routine to help the environment. The company as a whole is taking steps such as recycling paper, ink cartridges, and other materials on a daily basis. 360 has even added an on site recycling center at the McCormick Distilling to make this process easier and convenient. Along with other measures, procedures, and methods McCormick Distilling and 360 Vodka are taking major strides in helping the environment and reducing their impact by researching other ways to go green.

While these three brands of Vodka take different methods in helping the environment, they are all great examples of ways that companies can make a positive impact on the world.

Consumers will have to make a decision in which to buy and take not only taste into consideration but how the brands are working towards a greener tomorrow.

1. What is a Carbon Footprint?

The term is used to describe a measure of the direct effect our activities have on the environment around us. It allows you to asses your impact on various global issues such as climate change. It is essentially the amount of “greenhouse gas” (Carbon Dioxide) produced as a result of our everyday lives. We produce greenhouse gases when we burn any kind of fossil fuel, we burn fossil fuels when we use electricity, heating and transportation etc.

The term was coined as the measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce as a household or as a business, it is measured in tonnes or kilo grams of carbon-dioxide equivalent.

A truly accurate impact assessment is made up of two parts, direct and indirect.

• Thedirect footprintis a measure of your direct emissions of Carbon Dioxide green house gases from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). You will be amazed how much control you have over these and these direct footprints are easily reducible with some concentrated effort.
• Theindirect footprintis a measure of the indirect green house gas emissions from the whole life cycle of products we use – for example the energy used to create a plastic bottle, delivery it to a store, recycle it and so on. You will hear people say that you can decrease your carbon footprint by reducing and reusing – this is because the more we buy the more emissions will be caused on our behalf.

2. So How Do I Calculate My Impact?

2.1 The EASY Method!

The easiest way to start calculating your footprint is search for an on-line tool such as that provided by CarbonFootprintLtd which uses information from the following sources;

• DEFRA’s Guidelines for Reporting Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions – July 2008
• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• US Department for Energy (DOE)
• Green House Office – Australia
• Canadian Standards Association (CSA) GHG Registries

2.2 The Complete and Detailed Method

OK, so you have tried out the easy method and perhaps are ready to take your impact calculation to the next level. You need to go visit an amazing site known as the Green House Gas Protocol Initiative, they are a self proclaimed foundation for sound and sustainable climate strategies and their site contains literally every guide you will need to completely detail and calculate your home or business green house gases impact.

If you want to delve deeper into the detail of calculating your environmental impact visit their resource section, register with GHG Protocol and start downloading the free guides;

You will find a choice between a PDF document with guidelines for producing hand calculations or excel spreadsheets for you to get started entering your consumption values straight away. Registration is easy, it took me less than a minute to register and start using the free calculation spreadsheets.

For example, I downloaded the “Indirect CO2 emissions from Purchased Electricity, Heat, or Steam” calculation tool and filled in information such as the square footage of my home and the number of occupants, the amount of electricity we use in KWh and the Texas CO2 grams per KWh which is provided in a look-up table in one of the worksheet tabs. In less than 2 minutes I had calculated the amount of CO2 my household produces from purchased Electricity!

So what are you waiting for? Get started today and who knows, tomorrow your eco impact might be reduced significantly!

Waste and Global Warming

The amount of greenhouse gases released by a certain product depends on its life cycle. For example, all manufactured products, from plastic cups to automotives, require energy to produce. This energy is drawn from fossil fuel, which produces greenhouse gases. Even the use of these products can contribute to carbon emissions. The higher demand for products, the more energy it requires to produce them.

Waste Disposal and Global Warming

The more waste we generate, the more waste we need to dispose of. Some methods of waste disposal consume fossil fuel and produce greenhouse gases. For example, wastes that are dumped in landfills release pollutants and known greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Incinerating waste also consumes energy. Incineration is the second most used method in disposing waste worldwide. If the method is not very efficient, pollutants from burning mix with the air and can contribute to global warming. Modern incinerating facilities, however, are more sophisticated that they lessen the consumption of fossil fuel to run incinerating machines and reduce the amounts of pollutants the process produces.

Addressing Waste Issue

Consuming less has always been the best way to reduce carbon emission. Reduction of demand for different products eases the burden to our planet as less production means less greenhouse gases emission and less waste to manage. Promoting this can help solve waste problem.

Most wastes can be avoided. This is because a large portion of waste we consume are disposable items, mainly plastic water bottles, plastic bags, food containers, and tin cans. The issue whether or not we should still use these disposables has been debated, but we can now see initiatives to reduce the use of such products and go back to using reusable items. We too can help. By simple bringing reusable water bottle help reduce the demand for plastic water bottles, at least one bottle a day.

By now, just about every suburban community has a place for their refuse and recycling. All you need to do is to drive down to yours and leave it there so that recycling plants can take over (or have it collected for you, if the service is available). There, you may find a neatly set-up areas for yard-trimmings, plastics, glass, cardboard, paper, tires, oils, toxics, etc so you need to learn how to segregate first. This is actually quite easy to do. You just have to keep different items separated and you are good to go. The best thing about waste segregation is that all recyclables can be used to manufacture new products, which help reduce the demand for harnessing natural resources.

Reduce, reuse, recycle… these are just what we have to remember when you seriously want to help in helping our environment and solve global warming. Collectively, we can do something about this pressing issue.

The ongoing debates about the causes of climate change can be divided into two camps, those who believe the Earth was designed to go through natural cycles of climate change, from cooler to warmer and back again and those who believe that the causes of climate change are a direct result of humans infusing a combination of gases within our atmosphere. These gases are known as greenhouse gases are believed to artificially heat up the Earth’s atmosphere.

We all know from our high school science courses that the Sun is a burning star. It is the heat and energy that it gives off that is so vital to warm up the planet Earth. What also is normal is that about one third of that heat and energy will return back into space to essentially keep the planet from burning up.

Many scientists believe that greenhouse gases prevent this natural occurrence from happening. Since the Industrial Revolution, men have been creating sooty factories and large industries, producing machinery, and finding uses for coal, oil, and gas that exceed anything that has ever come before it. Mass goods, products, and new technology govern our times and our way of life. All of these products, release fossil fuel gases into the atmosphere, the most infamous being carbon dioxide gas emission. However there are other gases such as methane gas, mainly released into the air from landfills that also add to the problem. When garbage is burned, methane gas is released during the process. The Nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons that we use in such basic things as agriculture or as coolants for our refrigerators are also at the top of the list of greenhouse gases contributing to the causes of climate change.

What these greenhouse gases actually do to prevent the Earth from going through natural cycles of warming and cooling is that they absorb much of the heat that comes from the sun and prevent the portion that is designed to return to outer space from leaving the Earth’s atmosphere. This buildup of gas blankets the Earth keeping it hot. Scientists have already seen how the Earth’s climate has gotten warmer since the widespread use of greenhouse gases and have linked these gases to the causes of climate change.

1. Going on a fishing trip in the North Country requires you to invest on your outfit, permits, license, and especially on the vehicle you’ll going to use. Many people consider fishing as the best part of their trip. It is preferred to use a new line for your reel.
2. Before going to the trip, buy a high quality pair of polarized sunglasses. This will definitely protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays and it will also let see well through the water.
3. Prepare separately the mosquito repellent from the plastic worms in different containers. Keep them out of the tackle box since these items has lacquer solvent that can cause softening of paint in plastics, metals, or even wood lure. Softened paint will not turn hard again.
4. You can use a small file or a stone to sharpen your needle and it is wise to keep some of these items.
5. Make sure that your ties are well knot so that it will definitely get hold of the fish.

Here are some guidelines when you’re already fishing:

1. Do not stay on the same location when you have cast the line for more than ten times. Change your location if you have been fishing with any bait for a long time and still you weren’t able to catch any fish.
2. Estimate the position of your canoe from the fish. It should not be very near to the fish to avoid frightening it and it should not be far since it may not be noticed.
3. In top water fishing, make sure that the fish has already been lured before setting the hook so that the fish would not be puzzled. Slowly lure the fish towards your position then set the hook.
4. Endure the wait and be patient. Just make sure that you’re position is in a highly-producing fish region.
5. Keep your silence. Sound waves travel better in water than in air and it may disturb the fish.
6. If you do not plan on eating the fish that you caught, you must cautiously release the fish in water right away. The species of fish in the Ontario waters must be preserved in order for more fingerlings to be produced and for the fishing activities to thrive longer.
7. If you haven’t caught any fish yet or still waiting for you’re next catch, why not breathe in the scene around you? Enjoy the scenery, feel the breeze, savor its Lakeland wilderness.

Fishing License Regulation

In fishing, there are also different regulations to be followed. If you are going to indulge yourself in a fishing activity, you have to bring with you your fishing license. For Canadian residents, they have to be provided with a fishing-version Outdoors card. Attached to this card is a license tag that will validate the card. For non-residents of Canada, they should carry with them their signed basic license form. For it to be valid, the proper licensed tag must be attached to it.

The license card or outdoor card must be brought along every you would go into fishing. The non-resident license card or the fishing-version outdoor card is non-transferable. Only you are entitled to use it. If a Conservation officer asks for your license or outdoor card, you have to show it since it is authorized by law.

State and District Rules and Regulations

Anglers in Ontario have to follow the State and District rules and regulations. The major law implemented by State with regard to fishing in Ontario is the “Fisheries Act”. The act states that the diversity of fish and their habitat must be protected and preserved. This act is implemented by limiting the catch, size, gears and possession of the anglers, controlling fish seasons and building fish sanctuaries. In the provincial level, the “Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act” is being implemented. The act requires the anglers to have their fishing license.

Wildlife Protection and Preservation Authorities

Wildlife Protection and Preservation officers are authorized personnel assigned by the law to search, inspect, seize or arrest any angler or his/her possession if he or she has not followed the States “Fisheries Regulation and Act” or the “Fish and Wildlife Preservation decree” of Ontario.

Under his or her duty, a Conservation officer may perform any of the following:

a. Conduct examination and review of buildings;
b. Halt any vehicle, boat or aircraft and examine it;
c. Inquire relevant information significant to their inspection;
d. Confiscate certain items from an angler, if such items are not permitted by the law to be used in the Ontario waters;
e. Take into custody anyone which the Conservation officer believes that has performed or committed a violation against the State and district rules and regulations.
f. Provided with a warrant, they can investigate and search any facility, vehicle, possessions, etc.
g. If immediate attention and action are required in a certain situation, they can investigate even without a warrant.

Fishing Seasons

Fishing seasons have different opening and closing dates depending on the species inhabiting the area. The law prohibits fishing during close seasons since these are the times that species are very susceptible. Yet, there are certain species that have year-round open season which is declared by law.

For example, lawmakers in Sacramento have come up with a hybrid tax incentive to encourage businesses to make the switch from large, low-mileage behemoths to highly efficient gas-electric autos and trucks. Although at this writing, the hybrid tax incentive has yet to be signed into law, these particular vehicle tax incentives could ultimately save your company as much as $4000 when it acquires such a vehicle for business use. You may find it well worth your while to invest in vehicles that qualify for the hybrid tax incentive, such as the Prius.

When it comes to federal business taxes, your California business may also qualify for alternative fuel credits. Depending on the weight of the vehicle and the type of alternative fuel it uses, alternative fuel credits can mean up to $32,000 in savings in corporate taxes.

In addition, the recent federal stimulus package has included additional vehicle tax incentives for business. The amount of depreciation that can be claimed during the first year of corporate ownership of a vehicle has has been increased to $10,000 for passenger vehicles and $11,000 on light trucks and delivery vans.

More vehicle tax incentives come when your company chooses to lease vehicles rather than purchasing outright. The difference here is that your tax deduction is based on the percentage of business use of the vehicle in years during which lease payments are made, as opposed to simple depreciation.

Is your company eligible for emission credits or the benefits of a hybrid tax incentive? This is where you’ll definitely want the advice and counsel of a qualified, expert CPA in the LA area. This individual is trained in the fine points of the California tax code and is required by law to stay current on the changes that frequently come from the state house in Sacramento. A good CPA is a worthwhile investment, as he can help you determine whichyour company qualifies for.

By 2020, 80% of the UK’s gas requirements will need to be imported and over half the world’s gas reserves are concentrated in just three countries, Russia, Iran and Qatar.

When the electricity bill lands at the house of the future, the envelope could well contain a pleasant surprise. Rather than showing how much the family owes, it may well contain a cheque to pay for the energy it has generated for the national grid!

The government’s recently published energy and planning white papers combine to sketch a rosy future for householders generating small amounts of electricity on-site, which is then used to power a home’s Lighting, Heating and electrical appliances. Any excess power generated can be exported back to the grid.

The energy white paper ‘Meeting the Energy Challenge’ ushers in a potentially bright future for electricity with detailed proposals pointing to how electric heating and hot water will be integral to reducing carbon emissions and improving energy security.

To meet the government’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050 (based on 1990 levels) requires a radical shift in energy policy, especially as power stations in the UK are responsible for generating over half of them.

This is given even greater emphasis by the fact that by 2020, 80% of the UK’s gas requirements will need to be imported and over half the world’s gas reserves are concentrated in just three countries, Russia, Iran and Qatar.

The white paper pushes for investment in increasingly low carbon electricity, principally large-scale renewables, clean coal and nuclear power.

Illustration of a ‘greener’ home

Microgeneration

…by 2016 all new build will be zero carbon – achieved by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency together with the use of microgeneration technologies…

This will be utilised by low carbon homes – by 2016 all new build will be zero carbon – achieved by a combination of improved air-tightness and thermal efficiency together with the use of microgeneration technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, biomass boilers and heat pumps as well as heat recovery ventilation systems.

Solar panels or photovoltaic cells are used to generate power from the sun and changes to the planning rules, due autumn 2007, mean that these should be much easier to install. According to the white paper, only 1,300 eco-pioneers have installed panels on their homes while solar water heaters are much more widespread – the Department of Trade and Industry estimates there are about 80,000 in use – as they are much cheaper to install.

Mini wind turbines have also taken off in recent years, with more than 20,000 in use by householders or small businesses around the UK. They are only viable in some areas where average wind speeds are high enough and there is little wind turbulence from neighbouring buildings.

Ground and air source heat pumps are also set to see a massive growth in demand as on average for every 1 kW of electricity they consume they produce around 2 to 3 kW of heat.

Generating electricity locally avoids transmission losses and enables waste heat to be exploited for both heating and cooling. This applies as equally to commercial developments as much as individual homes.

In London, where 75% of the city’s carbon emissions come from buildings, the London Climate Change Agency, which is championed by the Lord Mayor’s office, is encouraging the growth of mixed-use developments which lend themselves to CHP (combined heat and power) systems, with residential and commercial property providing a balanced demand for energy around the clock.

One example is the regeneration of Elephant & Castle by Southwark Council. When redeveloped the 39 hectare site, due for completion by 2016, will have treble the floor space, with no in crease in carbon emissions. The majority (85%) of the total energy requirement of the development will be delivered by a gas-fired CHP plant augmented by biomass boilers at peak loads.

What is most significant for electrical contractors is that the majority of this technology, including low energy lighting and lighting controls, is out of the reach of most DIY enthusiasts.

Existing Buildings

Some of the new thinking being applied to new build will translate into existing buildings, but most pundits believe they are set to become two very different markets. Existing build will continue to be dominated by gas condensing boilers while new build will become solely electric – the prediction is that in five years time there will be virtually no gas in newly built properties.

What does this all mean for installers and specifiers? Firstly, electrical contractors working with developers to achieve zero carbon homes will need to fully understand and advise on the technologies available to assist with this goal. Alternatively, in existing properties the aim will be to reduce energy consumption by understanding when and where it is used in ‘real time’. Until now this has never been the case, which is where smart metering and controls come into their own.

The government has already said that it expects smart electricity and gas meters to be installed in every home within a decade. Trials have shown that they are effective in reducing people’s energy consumption by encouraging them to switch off appliances when not needed and see an immediate reduction of their carbon footprint.

Ultimately, the drive for energy efficiency in the residential and commercial sectors will have a significant impact on designers, installers and end users – whether it’s the migration to electric heating and hot water in new builds, the increasing use of renewable energy sources in the pursuit of zero carbon homes or the adoption of smart controls.

What is most significant for electrical contractors is that the majority of this technology, including low energy lighting and lighting controls, is out of the reach of most DIY enthusiasts.

As for every home in the country exporting electricity back to the national grid, there are a few technical issues that still need to be resolved, but watch this space.