Month: March 2007

Japanese Interior Design Focuses More On The Natural

When many think of Japanese interior design their first thoughts are of large pillows in the middle of a room surrounding low tables with paneling of rice papers. Much of the western opinions of Japanese interior design are the fault of misrepresentation on television and in movies. Eastern art, for example is simple and strong while western art tends to be more complicated and in many ways confusing.

Focal points in an American home are geared toward the perimeter with items such as fireplaces or large pieces of art on the wall or on a large stand by an exterior wall whereas in the east the focus is more towards to room s center and may be a fruit display on a table in the center of the room.

When you consider Japanese interior design also think about any alcove or entryway you may have. In the eastern culture displays are often changed as often and weekly, while in the United States they tend to be dormant for months at a time.

Japanese interior design at times also utilizes Feng Shui in interior arrangements in the typically geometric structure of furnishings. Japanese interior design also attempts to balance color and texture, think of Ying and Yang, such as highly polished wood floors with heavy floor mats. While most westerners would shun the use of black as a color in their home, it is often contrasted with white or much lighter colors to reach the opposing color variation.

Furnishing Few And Far Between

Typically, Japanese interior design utilizes minimal furniture, but most pieces are used for more than one purpose. For example, futons are common, used as sofas during the day and beds at night, but other objects, such as the hibachi have always had more that one use. The western world thinks of the hibachi as small tabletop grill. However when used in Japanese interior design they also serve as small heaters and warmers for liquid drinks.

A large silk sash worn by women in Japan called Obis, can also be used as a table runner or a room divider. If you are trying to achieve Japanese interior design they can also be hung on the wall behind your bed to serve as a head board. Keep in mind that Japanese interior design utilizes neutral colors and emphasizes architecture rather than furnishings, attempting to reduce the appearance of clutter.

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Ethanol Fuel: An Alternative to Gasoline

If you are looking for an alternative to gasoline look no further than ethanol fuel which can be pure ethanol or be combined with gasoline in concentrations that vary according to desired levels. With anhydrous ethanol or ethanol not containing water you may find that it being blended along with gasoline in different levels of concentration ensures that consumption of petroleum gets reduced and it will also lessen pollution in the air.

The advantage of using ethanol fuel lies in it being a particulate-free burning fuel source which forms carbon dioxide and water through clean combustion and it produces less carbon monoxide than gasoline. However, some of the benefits of clean environment using ethanol fuel are negated when one considers the pollution that producing ethanol creates and many environmentalists have objected to modern farming practices, especially factory farming. This would lead to substituting automobile pollution with

Flexible-Fuel Vehicles That May Be Run On both Gasoline and Ethanol Fuel

US vehicles have different levels of ethanol fuel tolerance and vary from individual vehicle to vehicle, while in Brazil there are many flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on hydrated ethanol and also by using a combination of ethanol fuel as well as gasoline so long as there is at least twenty percent ethanol contained in the mixture. There are also some flexible-fuel cars that can also run on pure gasoline and Renault and Fiat also produce such types of cars.

To mass produce ethanol fuel, one would need to ferment sugar or hydrate ethylene from petroleum as well as some additional sources. At present, ethanol fuel is produced from crops and is a sustainable energy resource having many advantages pertaining to cleaner environment as well as long term economic benefits over fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel. Extraction is from sugar or starch using many different crops and is mainly dependent on how much land is available as well as soil conditions and availability of adequate water and sunlight.

The prime use for ethanol fuel is in powering cars though it can also be used to drive a tractor and even airplanes and one can get ethanol engines that are customized gasoline engines which do not need many adjustments to function consistently. Though ethanol fuel consumption is a third higher than that of gasoline one may, through higher compression rates, get better power output. In the case of flexible-fuel cars, the power output is the same whether it is gasoline or hydrated ethanol driven.