renewably em-powered festival(www.sunrisecelebration.com)

[sun bird]

The sunrise celebration is an event for 6-8000 people that aims to set new standards in event management and inovative design.
there will be some of the largest solar- wind event power providers working alongside bio diesel power for the main stage and site lighting.there will also be a visit from the bicycle powered rinki dink system to compleat the wide range of concepts on show as solutions to the carbon linked energy crisis.
workshops and demonstrations from zia solar and solarquest.
solar stages from eartheart,small world ,horsedrawn,solarquest,ogham cafe,bimble inn.
the licensing requirements forced us to have site lighting so we have gone for it and have a state of the art main stage with full lighting rig 20ft video screens and 15k innerfield p.a. .We see the promotion of bio diesel as a fuel for the future.It will play a large part in the transition from the age of oil into the future of free energy production.
check out the website for more details about the event including our fantastic lineup and all for £50 for an early bird ticket.thats less than you can camp for in the summer!!and for 6 days leading up to summer solstec!! see you there.
sunbird

che

[Shirley]

It SOUNDS FANTASTIC and I would be there like a shot if we still lived near Bath... but we are in Aberdeenshire and S.K.I.N.T so it's unlikely.... will this be something that you do every year??

Wishing you lots of luck with it and will definitely let my friends know about it.

[sun bird]

hi there
we aim to do more than one next year with one being in the north midlands.so it won't be so far to come.it would be worth making the effort to come this year as we are pulling out all the stops in this production the very best that is available and for a very reasonable cost at £50 for an early bird ticket for up to 6 days!
hopefully see you there?
sunbird

[Wombat]

How about Aus? 8)

Nev

[Muddypause]

We see the promotion of bio diesel as a fuel for the future.It will play a large part in the transition from the age of oil into the future of free energy production.

'Free energy production' being what, exactly?

Bio diesel could certainly have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions while we still depend so much upon our current energy requirements. But the more I think of it as a fuel for the future, the more worried I become. It would be disastrous. It would mean vast areas on monoculture across the world, GMO being foisted upon us, and third world countries being ever more the victim of the cash crop demands of the first world.

[Wombat]

Good points Stew,

Part of the problem rather than being part of the solution! (to paraphrase a cliche)

Nev

[sun bird]

we are living in an age where 6 billion people are demanding more and more access to power.the tecnology exists to produce power from water however we are in a transition from where we are to where we want to be.this process will bring about great changes in the way we go about our every day lives.
to say that being carbon neutral with an events power supply and with vehicle movement today and not at some idealistic future point in time makes the use of bio diesel a very real alternative today!
when the alternative is bussiness as usual and a visit to the petrol station for the easy option.
if we are to survive as a race we will have to find universally new ways to access the energy that is all around us.if you can do this let me know and we will power the main stage with it!!
sunbird

[Muddypause]

It's the 'fuel of the future' bit that worries me, not its immediate application. I think the reality is that we are going to have to use less energy in the future. A lot less, and on a cultural basis. I don't think we should consider a future energy policy that just props up an economy based on unsustainable consumption. 6 billion people using biodiesel will be every bit as bad as if they use fossile fuel.

Power from water may be a usable resource (I assume you mean tidal and wave power), but it will still mean that energy production is firmly in the hands of the big power companies - probably, in fact, bigger, multinational conglomerates dominating the use of international waters. This will make it a long way from being 'free', and will make them politically very powerful. Their interests will not be served by saving the planet, but by getting us to consume even more stuff. No viable company has ever adopted a deliberate policy of selling less of their product. Any consequenses to wildlife, tidal patterns, coastal errosion, and suchlike are yet to be seen.

Alternatives have a place, particularly at the moment, and may indeed become the dominant form of energy production in the future. But if we exploit renewables in the same way that we have exploited fossile fuels, we will just be raping the earth in another way. In the UK, if we gave over all our arable land to biomass production, we would only be able to supply a fifth of our road fuel needs. If biodiesel is to become, universally, the fuel of the future, the planet could not possibly survive the assault upon it.

In my old fashined sort of way, I believe that if the energy companies get their teeth into renewables in the same way that they have into fossil, then the future doesn't look any better.

Mind you, I see you have The Incredible String Band booked. As I recall, they couldn't bear to be on the same stage as each other in the 60s and 70s, so in getting them together, you may be able to generate considerable amounts of energy from the heat coming from them alone.