Welcome to NLCPR

This site is my personal contribution to creating a sustainable society. All of the material here is original and unlike other sites, there are no Google ads nor do I hesitate at calling things as I see them. I want you to have the knowledge to recognize environmental foolishness when you see it.

There is a scam busting section here that gets a lot of attention. I consider this a public service because it can be found virtually nowhere else and there is a need for it. My main focus is in the underpinnings of a sustainable society which includes housing design, cooperative enterprises and alternate energy.

You shouldn't be surprised to hear that much of what you hear in the media is simplistic, distorted and often just plain wrong. Journalists often don't have the science backgrounds needed to see through the deceptions and even if they did, the media giants are concerned about offending the commercial interests that give them their ad revenue. You really need to question everything, sort of a guilty (fraud or delusion) until proven innocent attitude.

Another major problem is the perceived need to provide "balanced" journalism, so for example, a story about something totaly undisputed like "global warming is not due to sun spots" is paired up with a quote from an opposing view. As a reader, you might conclude that there is legitimate uncertainity when in fact, there is none. The opposing views are often as trustworthy as the 'National Enquirer' or the local anti-gravity society yet get equal coverage in 'science' articles. I do not include any 'opposing views' that are not grounded in science nor do I consider this unbalanced.

For those of you that like to do it yourself or have an interest in science and the engineering of sustainable living, like to experiment or are interested in solar power, hydronic heating, monitoring energy consumption or home automation - new pages in these areas are being added all the time.

There is also a blog called the Voice of Reason which you can subscribe to with a RSS feed and a free e-mail newsletter. The blog is where I put all sorts of interesting tidbits and analysis, and the newsletter is more focused on saving energy costs. We have also started a sustainable living Wiki.

We also have a lot of other projects on the go including:

• A system to enable grantors/philanthropists  to figure out what ideas they should be funding to reach their goals, and to match them up with researchers.
• Encouraging a systems approach to environmental governance
• Weather instruments with no moving parts.
• A complete home automation system that allows you to control your house from your cell phone or iPod touch.
• Wind power generation, C02 demand based ventilation controllers, whole house energy monitors and components to support sustainability living.

Have fun and enjoy the site, and please leave comments. We are always open to ideas for improvement.

About me: Some of you have asked about my background. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and I am currently pursuing a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering. Most of my career was spent in the IT (computer) industry in positions ranging from programming to senior management. I like to design and build things. My daughters are in university and my wife works for a large community college.