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Daniel B. Botkin

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Alternative Energy That Works For People

July 30, 2012 By Daniel Botkin Leave a Comment

Click here for a demonstration Home Wind Turbine, Boca Raton, FL

It Lake Wyman Park, the city of Boca Raton has a demonstration green building with solar photovoltaics on the roof, a wind turbine, collection of rain water, and other features.

This is a new section of my website. It tells about people’s experiences with alternative energy.

Here is the first:

Amherst, Massachusetts home, not the sunniest of locations. On a barn roof next to the house are 24 SunPower model 230 Solar Panels, covering 20.9 feet (6.4 m) by 15.3 feet (4.68 m) or 320 square feet.

These started providing electricity on May 20, 2010. More than two years later, as of June 30, 2012, the system had collected 13,271 kWh. Most months it has provided all the electricity used in this home and more. The owner writes “during the year we seem to oscillate on a monthly basis between high readings of 600-700 kWh in May, June, and July, to low readings of 300 kWh in Dec, and Jan. It has been only during Dec and Jan that we produce fewer kWh than we use. Thus, over the 25 months and 10 days, we have built a credit of about $500.00 . We are extremely impressed with the system. So far it has been absolutely trouble free.”

Example # 2: A resident in the California Bay area writes "I have had 5 kilowatts of SunPower modules installed on my house for the last 3 years. I have to pay the utility $13/month for a meter reading fee but the cost for electricity for my house was zero for the 1st two year and $15 for all of last year. I want to buy a Chevy Volt for my next car. I estimate that I will get over the equivalent of 200 miles per gallon if I don’t consider the cost of the charging electricity which should be much lower than gasoline energy."

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From Daniel B. Botkin, Ph.D

Daniel Botkin
I believe we are mostly on the wrong track in the way we try to deal with the environment. Everything I do, study, learn, and advise about the environment is different from the status quo. Throughout my career, I have tried to understand how nature works and use that understanding to figure out how we can solve our most pressing environmental problems.

My process over the past 45 years has been to look carefully at the facts, make simple calculations from them (sometimes simple computer models) and then tell people what I have learned. It’s surprising how rarely people bother to look at the facts. This has surprised me every time I’ve started a new ecology research project or work on an environmental issue.

In the course of my work and studies, I have learned many things and I want to tell you about them. That is the purpose of this website.

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Books by Dan Botkin

The Moon in the Nautilus Shell  Strange Encounters
Powering the Future  No Man's Garden
See all books by Dan Botkin

Jabowa III Forest Model


Jabowa Forest Model
Jabowa Forest Model for Windows 7.
This forest model, used around the world, was developed first in 1970 by Daniel B. Botkin, James F. Janak and James R. Wallis

JABOWA remains the most completely detailed and well validated forest growth model available, accounting for 95% or more of the variation in real forests where it has been tested.

The book Forest Dynamics: An Ecological Model (available as an eBook) provides a complete description of the model and the rationales behind its development.

Order Online

Sea Ice Study

The Bockstoce and Botkin Historical Sea Ice Data Study has a new home at the University of Alaska website. The data include more than 52,000 daily observations in an unbroken 65 year record from 1849 – 1914.

See related papers

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