Spend a dime, save a dollar with NRGLab

It used to be that companies invested in green technology just to look trendy. Solar and wind alternatives made for good publicity, but as soon as they ceased to be economically viable, executives wouldn't hesitate to cut their losses.

Now it seems as if green technology is here to stay! Earlier this month, Verizon Wireless announced plans to generate 70 million kilowatt-hours' worth of solar energy to power its 19 nation-wide facilities. From Starbucks' conservation efforts to Apple's commitment to solar, corporate America is finally realizing that investing in green energy cuts costs and, as a result, bolsters their bottom lines.

The average cost of electricity has risen by more than 35% since 2001, and for many businesses (especially smaller, independently-owned ones), that increase constitutes a major concern. So what are their options?

Layoffs? Reduced hours and overtime? Cut employee benefits?

Surely, these measures, extrapolated over the global economy, would prove devastating. But there are responsible ways in which companies can stay afloat and competitive in today’s market. For instance, Starbucks is reducing its energy consumption costs by 25%. Based on conservative estimates and current electricity prices, the renovations will save the company approximately $50 million a year by the end of 2015.

Don’t chase the dream – follow the green. (Only in this case, green represents money and renewable energy!) It’s a lot easier to get ahead in the free market when your costs are less than your competitors’.

Today’s Fortune 500s are betting the future of their companies on the green revolution being victorious. In March, Apple revealed that 75% of their operations are powered by alternative energy.  Energy bills can represent as much as 75% of total operating costs for a single data center (of which Apples owns TONS), so the investment in a low-cost energy source can pay for itself in relatively no time at all!

Sound like something your business might be interested in?

Don’t tremble at the sight of your utility bills. Never worry about making the rent versus keeping the lights on. By investing in a cost-effective generator like NRGLab’s SH-Box, not only could you be paying as little as $0.03 per kW, but you could help solve global warming. The SH-Box is 100% carbon-free; powered by a poly-crystalline core that harnesses geothermal energy. It’s light-weight and portable. When you’re done at the office, you could even bring the SH-Box home with you!

Sound like a pretty good deal? You can learn more about NRGLab’s various green energy projects, including the SH-Box, by visiting nrglab.asia. If corporate America has come around – shouldn’t you?

So spend a dime now. Save a dollar tomorrow. And let NRGLab help you do it.

Living off the grid: financially, spiritually, and environmentally responsible

Our modern world has jaded the population into believing we need certain things in order to survive. The internet, for one.  A cell phone. A car. But what if I told you a person could have all of these things, and still live off the grid?

It’s a trend that’s becoming increasingly popular in developed countries like the United States, where an estimated 750,000 Americans have been living without governance and dependent public utility for the better half of a quarter century. They grow their own food. They harvest their own energy. Cash means nothing to these people who’ve sworn a pact to uphold communal harmony. And so they trade. They cooperate and share and live off of the land. Some may call this way of life, ‘primitive,’ yet these self-reliant pioneers continue to lead free and happy lives.

Why break away from the government, you ask? Why live off the grid?

Financial, spiritual, environmental– people are driven to escape the norm for any number of reasons.  Nick Rosen, author of Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America, says: "You can't get off all of the grids all the time. It's a question of which grids you choose to get off of and in what way and for how long. [But] going off the grid is not a game. It’s real life and a real choice for real people."

From a few months to a lifetime, people choose to break away from basic utilities, stay attached to what Rosen refers to as the "car, supermarket, or bank grid."

Sure, these people may escape society for personal reasons, but ultimately, they have a positive effect on the environment. A majority of off the grid communities are in areas where nature plays an integral role in social sustainability. "You become much more aware of the sun and the wind because you need it to power yourself," says Rosen, who goes on to explain that the average consumer is “consuming too much. One of the big motivations for off-grid living is a weariness of the consumer society. It's not necessarily anti-consumer, but post-consumer."

Think of all the unnecessary luxuries we enjoy. Three-car garages. Big-screen TVs. Air-conditioning. Even heated steering wheels in our cars! Rosen estimates that the average off-gridder uses about 20% less energy than the average U.S. household.

However, some people go off the grid to get away from the stress of urban living. Rosen claims that the “biggest motivation is a loss of trust in the government and the ability of social networks to look after us.”

That’s because the government is monitoring our emails and text messages. They’re patrolling the skies with killer robots. They’re forcing fossil fuels down our throats, not for the greater good, but because fossil fuels offer the highest return on consumer investment.

The best part is – you’re capable of much more than you give yourself credit for! In fact, you could escape the government’s stronghold with as little as a half an acre, "as long as it's the right half-acre,” says Rosen. “The era of 40 acres and a mule has been replaced by the era of a half an acre and a laptop and a solar panel.” Just enough to grow a few crops and harvest a few kilowatts. But ultimately, “the best way to get off-grid is to go off with others in a group of families, so each have half an acre and share resources and skills. One is tending livestock and one is growing vegetables, while a third is looking after the power supply for everybody else."

Many off-the-grid communes are actively seeking new members willing to relocate. "There's a huge generation of 1970s back-to-the-land movement people who are now getting pretty old and they're sitting on these huge tracks of land that can't be broken up,” says Rosen. "The idea of land trusts is being used as a way these older people can get some new residents to help look after them and then work on the land or take over part of the land as the older generation dies out."

NRGLab provides those looking to live an alternative, environmentally friendly lifestyle with the opportunity to own a carbon-free electrical generator. Weighing only a few pounds, the SH-Box is the most affordable and efficient option out there today. You don’t have to give up your Wi-Fi or iPhone or Benz after all.

If you’re interesting in going off the grid, or just joining in the independent energy revolution, visit nrglab.asia for more info on how you can come to own an SH-Box.

U.S. energy sector hacked by cyber terrorists from the Middle East

Following a series of cyber-terror attacks on their energy sector, the United States defense department is heightening security and cracking down on potential threats. The New York Times cites two senior government officials who believe the attacks came from somewhere in the Middle East.

You may remember the U.S. accusing China of hacking into corporate networks and stealing propriety information several months ago. “By contrast, the new attacks seek to destroy data or to manipulate industrial machinery and take over or shut down the networks that deliver energy or run industrial processes,” write David Sanger and Nicole Perlroth of the Times. “Two senior [U.S.] officials who have been briefed on the new intrusions say they were aimed largely at the administrative systems of about 10 major American energy firms, which they would not name.”

But is this simply a case of the U.S. government getting a taste of their own medicine? Hacking into a foreign nation’s industrial network is exactly how the U.S. destroyed Iran’s nuclear program years ago.
 
Trend Micro, a global leader in online content security, recently conducted an experiment by creating an alluringly-vulnerable ‘dummy utility corp’ in the U.S. energy sector. Within seconds, cyber terrorists began attempting to infiltrate the corporation’s system, “doing things that would change the water pressure, or temperature, or stop the flow on a water pump,” said a Trend Micro employee.

With over 20 years of experience, Trend Micro is recognized as the world leader in server security, delivering top-ranked solutions that identify threats faster and protect data in physical, virtual, and cloud-based environments.

Luckily, NRGLab protected its propriety secrets like the revolutionary SH-Box. The carbon-free electrical generator is geared to take the energy sector by storm. Offering a range of power outputs fit for the home, office, or a manufacturing plant, the SH-Box produces electricity for as little as $0.03 per kW. Learn more about the money you could be saving on energy bills by visiting nrglab.asia.

And remember – in this digital age, metal locks are obsolete. Make sure you and your personal information are safe by investing in file security. Make sure you and your family’s financial futures are safe by investing in the future of clean energy.

Higher education is failing. Enter the Internet to save the day!

The cost of higher education around the world is simply too high to have a positive impact on our children’s futures. Sarah Lawrence College in New York tops the list of the world’s most expensive institutions, coming in at a mind-boggling $61,236. That’s $45,900 for basic tuition, $14,312 for room and board, and another $1,024 in miscellaneous fees.

Seriously – who can afford to pay that for a four-year degree in an economy where no job is guaranteed? Are we really willing to burden the next generation with an insurmountable debt?

In Mexico, higher education costs range from $11,777 to a mere $527. In Japan, the average student pays $11,865. Only 33% of Australian families can afford to send their children to college, while in countries like England and Wales, that number drops to around 21%.

That’s only addressing the developed world. In places like Afghanistan, Honduras, and Somalia, higher education is the last thing on the agenda. These countries are busy fighting wars on numerous fronts – against disease, poverty, and tyranny, to name a few.

So do we give up and leave these developing countries to educate themselves? Over two-dozen prestigious universities in the U.S. and abroad say, “No.”

Brown, Columbia, Emory, Vanderbilt and Wesleyan now offer free courses online, joining the likes of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Berklee College of Music, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of British Columbia, University of London, University of Melbourne, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The internet is reshaping the way the world views education. Coursera, an online platform that features some 200 courses from 33 institutions, has drawn over a million students across the globe. Another site called EdX was founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to allow absolutely ANYONE with an internet connection to complete independent certification programs.

Still, we have to remember that not everyone in the world has access to regular electricity, let alone an internet connection. That brings us back to our original question:  do we just give up and move on?

NRGLab doesn’t believe quitting is ever an option. We’ve dedicated ourselves to developing a clean, cost-efficient system of power generation with the aim of bringing electricity to the third world.

Because electricity is the seed from which all modern innovation flourishes. With an SH-Box generator in every home, on every island, across the driest deserts and wettest wetlands, not only can we can give people the security of energy independence, we can give them an opportunity to better themselves through education.

Not everything has to cost an arm and a leg in such uncertain economic times. See how affordable an SH-Box can be by visiting nrglab.asia and learning when we’ll be holding our next auction.