Heath,I recall some one...
Heath,
I recall some one touching that very topic in a previous post...Something about ovens... Poster made a good point about gas being more plentiful than resource using electricity. My preference is gas range. Besides, I'm not fond of combining water and electricity regardless of how independent they are.... yet... I have a nicely folded piece of paper towel on the counter, next to the stove.
I to have heard about geo-the...
I to have heard about geo-thermal energy production, but know little details. Basically, I believe heated steam is used to power up turbines. Like any form of energy production, I've been wondering about any negative impacts it might have...butterfly effect... Siphoning heat from deep within the earth...hmmmm
There's also geothermal heating. Same concept as geo-energy, but the heat is circulated in the home during the winter. In the summer months, circulated back underground....or some variation like that.
One last bit of thread hijacking....
I recall reading that scientist somewhere on the east coast created a super tiny "sun" in a lab...fractions of a second...having the same temp as the "sun". Truly remarkable...
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I think its fairly low risk, here is a link. Sorry for the hijack too! But back to kettles, I just use a pot on the (gas) stove, le creuset with a spout, works good.
http://www.energyamericainc.com/index.php/geo_power/
I haven't received the kettle yet
but I'll let you know when I do.
I ordered it from Macy's, so if it sucks, it'll go back.
In the UK, the Russell Hobbs electric tea kettle is preferred over a stove top model.
As far gas vs. electric, I have always preferred gas, whether or not it's more environmental or not.
I was thinking about buying an electric kettle - I have the counter space for it - but since I have a rather large house, I wanted one with a whistle and the electric ones don't whistle.
I have been using an old Revere tea kettle, but without a whistle, it boils without me knowing it's ready.
I was going to buy a Michael Graves from Alessi (stay away from the cheap Target version, it's crap), but because the Alessi is more expensive and is so highly polished, I think by simply using it on a gas flame, it's not gonna age well.
Hopefully, this brushed-tone stainless steel will age nicely (I'm not buying it to look at, I bought it to use).
But it does look nice, doesn't it?
Just a short comment on electricity and gas
It is difficult...and most of the time wrong to recommend one energy system above the other. All depends on regional conditions. The use of electricity is not so obvious anymore when you drive south along the Rhône valley in southern France with the banks of the river punctuated by nuclear power plants, whereas we here in Québec have only a symbolic nuclear power plant for research, and all other electricity (with a few exceptions of islands that can not be reached by power cables) is hydro-power. I am not pretending that water dams are not polluting but it makes quite a difference and it is certainly better than a non-renueable resourse like natural gas.
On the teakettle issue, there is no doubt at all that the electrical teakettle is the more efficient way of boiling water...and most of them do not need a wissle because they turn themselves off when the water is boiling. It would not be a bad idea to combine the off switch with a pleasant sound.
But teakettles are like chairs. Their symbolic function is more important than efficiency and function. In most kitchens it's the piece of cookware that stays on the stove so I prefer a regular, non electrical one...and if I was asked to design one it would look like this.
But teapots are like chairs. Their symbolic function is more important than efficiency and function?
In UK charity shops (I think you call them Goodwill stores?) are full of teapots which don't work. Usually their crime is to dribble when pouring. However beautiful they are, if they don't perform their job, they are jettisoned.
You are quite right Madelaine...
....but I made the mistake to write teapots instead of tea kettle...I corrected it in the meantime. Tea kettles usually poor well simply because of the sharp stainless steel edge. Sometimes the heat is too well conducted around the shape of the kettle so when your flame is too high it heats up the underside of the spout making the water boil on that spot when you start to poor. Otherwise it's hard to find a tea kettle that does not poor well.
the other thing too, I've...
the other thing too, I've noticed, is that some electric ones are LOUD. in a quiet house they can sound like a jumbo taking off, or you could get one of these things instant things installed.
http://www.zipindustries.com.au/subcategories.asp?cat=15
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Don't you hate it when someone has an idea before you? I thought of this idea whilst typing my last poat and got very excited by how much money I could make, someone got there before me! But it seems a good idea.
http://www.invention.net/nadolski.htm
Heath...
The microwave hotwater heater, if located inside the house or apartment, could also contribute to birth control by sterilizing males. 🙂
Or better yet, it could be linked into the Dept. of Homeland Security and used to broadcast mind control microwave transmissions to contribute to a happier, more obedient population. 🙂
The possibilities with microwaves are endless, as DARPA has proven with their new crowd control microwaves.
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