Mirrors, Mirrors in the Desert, Who's the Hottest of Them All? Solar Power, Mama gnome...

Once upon a time, in a land far away (Pasadena), a council (eSolar) of magi (scientists), wizards (engineers) and earth friendly humans (environmentalists and some pretty cool men and women humans) came together and project Sierra Sun Tower was born.

Their idea was majestic and lofty. Higher than the tallest mountains.

Higher than the atmosphere and the ozone layer. Yes, even higher.

Higher than the moon?

U-huh.

Higher than the stars?

Um, okay, now come back down a bit and settle on the nearest star to our planet.

Yes, that one.

The sun.

For their goal was to harness the sun's power using thousands of mirrors (24,000 mirrors or heliostats) to heat up water in two towers to convert solar energy into enough electricity that will power 4,000 houses.

What is Mama gnome talking about?

Is Mama gnome suffering from heat stroke?

No, no, no. Though sleep deprived, Mama gnome's mind is as sharp as sloth's toes.

According to eSolar:

"Sierra SunTower will supply 5 MW of clean, renewable energy to the grid. The full-scale power plant, the only one of its kind in the U.S., produces electricity for Southern California Edison (SCE) and will power up to 4,000 homes."

photo from: eSolar


In addition to creating clean, renewable energy, they've created hundreds of jobs for people at this time of economic difficulties.

Mama gnome is really impressed with this council of gifted humans.

Can they be any more brilliant?

It turns out, YES.

According to their Sierra Tower Fact Sheet:

The 5 MW output of Sierra SunTower will reduce CO2 emissions by 7,000 tons
per year. For perspective, Sierra SunTower’s annual impact is equivalent to:
• Planting 5,265 acres of trees
• Removing 1,368 automobiles from the road
• Saving 650,000 gallons of gasoline

Here's a video by another brilliant human, Hank Green of ecogeek.org explaining this project:

video from: ecogeek

Mama gnome feels hot all of a sudden.

Did the TV just turn on by itself?

Whoa...

Mama gnome will hide in her burrough for a while but will return soon after she's cooled down sipping relaxing draught.

Meanwhile, stay Cool, stay Hot, stay GREEN.

(c)2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Mystery Animal of the Day

Little gnomelet asked me yesterday, "Mama, do you have a new Mystery Animal of the Day?"

And so...

Mama Gnome presents MYSTERY ANIMAL OF THE DAY...

It has a flat, short head, big eyes, long legs and a short tail.

It's the slowest mammal in the world. It moves so minimally algae grows on its fur.

It can hang from tree limbs quite adeptly.

A three-toed species of this animal is critically endangered.


If your guess is Sloth, you win a double high-five and

Mama gnome asks, "Why don't you go volunteer at an animal shelter then?"

Here is a picture of a Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth:
photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bradypus.jpg


Sloths are found in Central and South America.

The pygmy three-toed sloths are critically endangered according to IUCN.

And with continuing loss of habitat and poaching, other species are also threatened.

Sloths are grouped into two families, the three-toed sloths and two-toed sloths.

Here is a picture of a two-toed sloth.


photo from nationalgeographic.com

As you can see the three-toed and two-toed sloths are equally cute and awesome.

The only difference is the two-toed sloths have two fingers. And the three-toed sloths have three fingers.

But all sloths have three toes.

Is that confusing or what?

Never mind.

Just remember the cuteness and awesomeness of both groups are equal as proven by the algebraic formula below:

3 toed-sloth = (100 % cute) + (100% awesome) = 2 toed-sloth


Sloths move at a speed of 1.2 miles per hour or .54 meters per second.

And when it's in a super hurry as in running away from danger it moves at a staggering fifteen feet or 4.5 m. per minute.

The main staple of the sloths' diet are leaves.

Sloths' fur is host not only to algae but also to non-parasitic insects.

Here is a video of this fascinating mammal.

video by http://www.youtube.com/BBCEarth

Mama gnome now feels like slowing down, eating edible leaves and looking cute and awesome.

Hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about Sloths.

Please visit Mama gnome's garden soon for the next Mystery Animal of the Day.

Go green.

(c) 2009 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog