Bio Energy Dome

Stalking the Wild Duckweed-Success!    We have finally located some duckweed growing in its natural habitat. The location is at the Houston Audubon Societies' Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary in High Island, Texas. This is a really neat bird sanctuary. It is about three quarters of a mile north of the Gulf of Mexico at an elevation of about 32 feet above sea level. High Island is a rather unusual geological formation on the upper Texas Gulf Coast. It is a salt dome where oil was found early in the Twentieth Century. The area around High Island is barely 5-8 feet above sea level and the salt dome juts up above very obviously. Sea faring mariners back in the Nineteenth Century would see the salt dome and think they had espied an island. As their ship sailed closer, they soon saw the rest of the Texas coastline and realized it was merely a hill...and named it "High Island".   To this day the locals lovingly refer to it as: The Hill.    The Houston Audubon Society maintains two bird sanctuaries in High Island. The Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary and the Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary are absolutely incredible wild life refuges that attract people from all over the planet. In this video, we are featuring Purkey's Pond which is located at the entrance to the Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary. Purkey's Pond is a small pond that is frequented twice a year by various songbirds as they migrate from the northern United States and Canada to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. When the songbirds migrate south in the fall of the year, they stop off in High Island to feed and build up their strength for the eight hundred mile non-stop flight across the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan. They usually stay for a month or so and catch the next "blue northern" across the Gulf.    In the spring; after spending a warm winter on the Yucatan Peninsula, they make the eight hundred mile non-stop flight back across the Gulf of Mexico to High Island, Texas. Their first stop is to Purkey's Pond to wash the layers of salt off that have built up on their wings during the flight. Bleachers are set up at Purkey's Pond for people to sit and set up their video cameras to capture this marvelous site. When the songbirds land at Purkey's Pond, they are generally oblivious to the people sitting in the bleachers filming them. Their main concern is to get a well deserved drink of fresh water and wash the salt off of their bodies. It is truly a magical event!    One of the reasons I think we did not locate any duckweed in the Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary is because it is on the north side of High Island and downhill from the highest point on High Island. The ponds in the Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary were inundated by the flood waters and tidal surge of Hurricane Ike in September of 2008. Those ponds probably still have a high salinity and duckweed prefers fresh water. Purkey's Pond on the other hand is located on the highest part of High Island and was not inundated by Ike's tidal surge. The two locations are hardly a mile apart and the difference in elevation is the deciding factor.    In ideal conditions, duckweed doubles its weight every 24 hours and is rich in oil content. This makes duckweed a prime sustainable and renewable biomass fuel. A Pacific Domes Bio Energy Dome can grow enough duckweed to generate the electricity to power a small home. We also have larger units to generate electricity energy to power groups of homes and small subdivisions. The electricity generated along with the tilapia and vegetables grown in the http://www.trumananderson.com/category/bio-energy-dome-2/bio-energy-dome-bio-... amounts to a payback for the initial cost in 2-3 years. The larger units pay for themselves much sooner. Our energy future is getting greener and greener! Positively Truman

Bio Energy Dome

Stalking The Wild Duckweed    I was here in the summer of 2008 with a friend of mine who wanted to come and take photos of all the waterfowl, alligators, turtles, etc. At that time, Heron Pond had a healthy layer of duckweed on its surface. Over two and one half years later, there is no duckweed to be found on this pond. It is possible that when Hurricane Ike's flood surge inundated the pond, the salinity level is still too high for duckweed to flourish here. Duckweed seems to grow best in water that is fresh or very minor levels of salt.    Duckweed is the smallest flowering plant in the world. The tiny fronds are usually from about one sixteenth of an inch to one eighth of an inch in length. Their root systems consist of tiny hair-like roots that grow to about three quarters to an inch and a half in length. Due to their tiny size, duckweed prefers more calm and still waters. The fact that the SouthEast wind has been blowing at about twenty to twenty five knots for the past two weeks may be another contributing factor for its absence here. I will continue to search until I can find some growing in its natural habitat. One of the best species of duckweed for growing in a Bio Energy Dome is the Lemna Minor species.

Bio Energy Dome

   Today, we are at the Audubon Society Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary to search for some duckweed to grow in a Bio Energy Dome. This is one of my favorite places to go to commune with nature here on the Bolivar Peninsula in High Island, Texas. This is an incredible nesting area, or rookery for many waterfowl. Some of the species of waterfowl are the White Heron, Snowy Egret, Anhinga, Roseate Spoonbill, Tri-Colored Heron, and Green Heron. Along with the many bird species are the usual fishes and animals that habitate a swampy environment such as, alligators, all types of watersnakes, mink, nutria, otter, etc.

   I have been coming here to this bird sanctuary for about twenty years and on many occasions have seen this lake covered in duckweed. The southeast wind has been blowing for over a week at about 25-30 miles per hour. I think the wind may have blown the duckweed to the northwest area of the lake. The duckweed is a tiny aquatic plant that floats on the surface of the water. The leaves are about 1/16" to 1/8" in length and have tiny roots reaching down into the water of the lake. The duckweed grows super fast and is consumed by the ducks, geese, fish, and other animals that enjoy their nutrient rich composition. We will now trek on up to the northwest area of this lake to see if we can find some duckweed.

Positively Truman

truman@pacificdomes.com

 

bio energy dome

 

Bio Energy Domes-Tuscon, Arizona

Recently, Pacific Domes Inc. erected a 24 foot diameter Bio Energy Dome in Tuscon, Arizona. In this video, Rex Lee Jim, the Vice President of the Navajo Nation, is featured describing the wonderful attributes of this Bio Energy Dome. I would also like to express a special thanks to earthday4corners.org for their Spirit filled article about the Bio Energy Dome and Earth Day.    I was very impressed to see the Mayan glyph, Hunab Ku, in the logo for EarthDay 4 Corners. Hunab Ku, The Giver Of All Movement, is like a Native American Yin/Yang symbol. I am Cherokee and Choktaw; as well as Scot, Irish, and English. I have a deep abiding respect for all of my ancestors and feel the need to promote Green Energies and Green Building. We must promote and develop these technologies for the good of all people and to heal Gaia...Mother Earth. This is now more evident, in light of the recent disaster in Fukushima, Japan. My heart goes out to the victims and survivors in Fukushima...and pray to The Great Spirit That Moves In All Things And All People to bring relief to the people of Fukushima... In Spirit, Positively Truman Truman Anderson truman@pacificdomes.com Mobile Phone#: 409 599 7112 bio energy dome

Greenhouse Domes Revisited

Bio Dome Greenhouse in Crystal Beach, Texas    This Bio Dome Greenhouse is a 16 foot diameter Pacific Domes Greenhouse. The Greenhouse Domes have removable roofs complete with a screen that can be removed in the Spring and Summer to allow rain and dew to water your plants naturally. This is a perfect setting for hydroponic gardening,  growing tomatoes, canteloupe, greens, lettuce,herbs, etc. It is also a perfect place place for bonsai trees and house plants since the greenhouse fabric transmits 82% of the suns rays.   Another prime use of this Greenhouse Dome is to start your garden plants in the winter so that when spring arrives, your plants are established and ready to be planted in your outside vegetable garden. This will allow you to reap early harvests of your garden. The Pacific Domes Greenhouses are both earthquake and wind resistant to 150 miles per hour. This  Greenhouse Dome was erected in one day and can be easily disassembled and moved to a new location. The dome in the video has a zippable screen door. A zippable door made of the greenhouse fabric is available as well as a standard hinged door. The greenhouse fabric is both UV and flame resistant. bio energy dome Positively Truman Mobile Phone#: 409 599 7112 truman@pacificdomes.com http://www.TrumanAnderson.com Skype ID: truman.anderson

Bio Dome Greenhouse

Greenhouse Dome    Pacific Domes International offers several different Bio Domes. In the last post, we looked at a Pacific Domes Bio Energy Dome in Tuscon, Arizona. Today I will show a video of a Greenhouse Dome in Ashland, Oregon. This dome is a spacious 44' dome complete with a sprinkler system.    The Greenhouse Domes are constructed of galvanized pipe and a fiberglass reinforced vinyl greenhouse fabric. This vinyl cover transmits 82% of the sun's light and is UV resistant. The door options are either a prehung door or a hoop door with a screen. Base screens are included for ventilation with roll-up flaps. For ventilating the roof, a removable shade screen is interchangeable with a removable roof. A solar powered exhaust fan is also included for roof ventilation.    A stove pipe vent is an available option to vent a wood stove for heating in the winter. The Greenhouse Domes are delivered onsite with a manual for erecting the dome and detailing the proper care for the Greenhouse Dome. Positively Truman Truman Anderson Mobile Phone#: 409 599 7112 truman@pacificdomes.com http://www.TrumanAnderson.com

Bio Energy Dome

Bio Energy Dome

    One of the really neat aspects of the Pacific Domes International 

Bio Energy Dome is the speed and ease of construction. All of the 

components arrive onsite complete with a manual explaining the 

assembly and operation. The 24' Bio Energy Dome has a 5000 gallon grow 

tank which is set into the ground for geothermal insulation. This is to 

help insure that the water maintains a relatively constant temperature.

    Heating of the dome is accomplished by a couple of ways. One, is by 

solar gain or solar heated greenhouse effect. The clear marine vinyl 

bay window allows the water in the grow tank and the air inside the 

sealed dome to be heated directly by the sun's rays. Another way, is 

the heat given off by the state of the art generator inside the dome 

producing the electricity. The aquatic plants in the grow tank are the 

fuel for the generator...and the generator feeds the plants water vapor 

and carbon dioxide.

   The divine matrix of this ecosphere proves that technology and 

nature can be melded together synergistically and exponentially without 

 producing harmful emissions to Planet Earth. Our task is to continue 

to discover more efficient formulas for green energy.

 

Positively Truman

Truman Anderson

truman@pacificdomes.com

http://TrumanAnderson.com

Skype ID: truman.anderson