On ENN Radio: 'Sick' Buildings, Renewable Energy, Cosmic Questions, and Solar Backpacks

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Sick and tired of work? If you sometimes feel like your job is killing you, you could be right. But it might be the building you work in rather than the job you do that’s having the impact on your health. Tune into ENN Radio with Jerry Kay for more.

Sick and tired of work? If you sometimes feel like your job is killing you, you could be right. But it might be the building you work in rather than the job you do that’s having the impact on your health.


On this week’s ENN Radio, Jerry Kay speaks with Jeffrey May of May Indoor Investigations and author of My Office is Killing Me! to learn about the causes and consequences of indoor air pollution.


On the prevention side, May says that proper filtration, keeping mechanical equipment in pristine condition and opting for non-off-gassing materials in the office environment are key factors in ensuring a healthy building.


Jerry’s next guest, Dan Chiras, wrote The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy, featuring a myriad of cost-saving tips for the energy-conscious consumer.


Chiras offers up a startling statistic: In the United States, we waste approximately 75 percent of the energy we use. Stated another way, we only really need to spend about a quarter of what we currently do on energy to power this country. Chiras says the silver lining is the huge potential for greater efficiency that exists if we can tap into what we currently waste.


“Are we alone?” This cosmic question is just one of the big topics tackled by Joel Primack and Nancy Ellen Abrams in their book, The View from the Center of the Universe.


Primack, a pre-eminent cosmologist, and Abrams, an attorney, tell Jerry that cosmology (the study of the entire universe, including its origins, structure, evolution, and composition), is the rug on which a culture stands. When a cosmology shifts, that rug is pulled out from under us.


Primack and Abrams believe that we’re about to experience an historic shift in cosmology, much as we did when the “understanding” of a flat earth was replaced by the concept of a round earth at the center of the universe. By thinking “cosmically” and acting globally, they say, we just might find some big-picture solutions to the problems that face us here in our tiny part of the universe.


Finally, Texas businessman Randy Gray tells Jerry that had a “eureka!” moment while enjoying a relaxing day in the Hawaiian sun. Observing fellow backpack-carrying sun-worshippers scrambling back to their cars and hotel rooms to recharge cell phone batteries, Gray thought how great it would be if the sun could do that job for them. Thus, the Solar Backpack was born.


Gray’s line of solar charging carrying cases bring solar charging into the mainstream, making it practically effortless for consumers to charge up cell phones, MP3 players, and more while they go about their daily lives. Solar collectors built right into the backpack harness the sun while the wearer is out and about. Check out Gray’s whole line of bags at Eclipse Solar Gear.


Tune in to ENN Radio for more.


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