Survival on Matai islands

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted anything lately, but now im back!

We have been studying our jobs on the Matai islands and our island groups. My job on the island is to get Solar power and now im going to explain a bit about my job. Solar power is probably the cleanest, most viable form of renewable energy available and it can be used in several forms to help power were you live. Solar power works by absorbing solar energy and using it to give your home electricity, or hot water and a lot of other things. In my village it would be a great boost to have electricity.

My other job is an orchard. An orchard is someone that grows fruit and vegetables. I think the one of the main things you need to survive on an island is food, so now since im growing fruit and vegetables it would be an HUGE boost to have in our village. Stay tuned into my blog and soon you'll find out a couple of other things about what im doing in the Matai islands like the villagers in my village and their jobs and what are the six things me and my group members would take to the Matai islands.

Economics, Supply and Demand

Supply and Demand. At first I thought supply and demand was really really hard, but now since someone explained it to me I understand it a bit better. Please tell me if you like the way I explained this or you didn't understand it at all, thanks!

The supply of something is how much they have in stock and the demand of something is how much the people buying the products want it. If the supply of something was low and the demand was really high, then obviously they would make more copies of the product thus, making the supply increase. But if the demand of something was really low and the supply of it was really high, they would stop making copies of it because they would be losing money. When the supply and demand are both equal, this is called the equilibrium point.

Here is a diagram of supply and demand.

My Eco House

If we went to the Matai islands I would have a house like this. It would be one of the best eco friendly houses to live in. I have solar panels on the roof to heat up the house. I will also have insulation (I would test a few materials used for insulation and find which one is the best) to help keep this eco house warm.

I would have wind turbines to turn kinetic energy (Kinetic energy is moving energy) into electricity. These wind turbines will not produce enough energy on a normal day, it would need a day with pretty strong winds. But, this will not only save you alot more money but it will also help the environment alot.

I would also have photovoltaic cells (photovaltaic cells turn sunlight or any type of light into electricity) on the roof for more electricity in case the wind turbines don't produce enough electricity. Some materials show a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity.

My house windows would be double glazed windows. Double glazed windows will let the suns rays into the house and will keep the rays in the house so the house will stay nice and warm long after the sun has set.

I would have Ground Source Heat Pumps under ground my house. This will keep my house warm in winter and cool in summer, and of course it is one of the best eco friendly things to use in your house.

A water butt is a great way to get fresh rain water. You can get a range of sizes from 209 litres to 30000 litres! These water butts will save rain water inside them and you can use them to get fresh tap water, refreshing shower water and heaps more. It is a great way to save money and obviously one of the best things to use in your home.

Here is the link that I got all of this interesting information from: http://www.righthouse.co.nz/