« December 2008 | Main | February 2009 »
January 31, 2009
January 29, 2009
Data Center Energy Efficiency Measurement
The Green Grid aligns with the European Commission’s Code of Conduct on Data Center Energy Efficiency to enable common standards. The two organizations collaborate on various workshops. ...
... "The DCiE metric helps data center operators clearly determine how much energy is consumed by IT equipment and how much is consumed by the facility itself. DCiE, the reciprocal of the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric, provides a way to determine opportunities to improve a data center’s operational efficiency, to compare efficiencies with competitive data centers and to determine opportunities to repurpose energy for additional IT equipment. " ...Via Green Grid: DCiE Metric Furthers Global Standard for Measuring Energy Efficiency
Storing Wind Power for Later Use
There are several "limitations" to wind power --- one is that the source is concentrated far from the using population (issue with transmission). Another is that wind is available when demand for power is not; so there for the need to "store the wind energy".
Check out this possible solution from Iowa ...
" ... municipal utilities ...are planning to build a new energy park that would integrate a 75-150 megawatt wind farm with Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology."
" ... Iowa Stored Energy Park (ISEP), will use ... wind energy that is not being sold on the grid at that time -
- to store air in an underground geologic structure of porous rock. ... as demand for electricity rises, the stored air will be released, heated, and used to drive generators -- in turn producing electricity for residents in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas."
"F ... hopes that construction on the park will commence in two years. ... expected to be fully operational and providing electricity to Iowa and surrounding states by May 2011."
Via: Renewable Energy World Link
January 27, 2009
Principles in Green Building Standards
Green principles that enable many building standards ...
Green Snow
IBM creates consulting service that optimizes the suuply chain logistics network for sustainability and operational efficiency. The offering is branded as SNOW, for Supply Chain Network Optimization Workbench. ...
... "Using IBM’s SNOW consulting offering to provide a detailed analysis of its operations allowed Chinese shipping and logistics giant COSCO to reduce the number of distribution centers it uses from 100 to 40, lowering logistics costs by 23 percent and reducing CO2 emissions by 15 percent. This allowed COSCO to avoid 100,000 tons per year of CO2 emissions, while maintaining service levels for clients and incurring no additional costs. " ...Via IBM: Oh, The Climate Outside Is Frightening…
January 26, 2009
Sun Leverages Experience with Green Data Centers
Sun Micro completes green data center in Broomfield, Colorado and leverages the best practice experiences of its previous datacenter designs. Rasied floor space was dramatically reduced and energy efficiency resulted in $1million of operating savings. ...
... "The new Broomfield datacenter follows similar Sun projects completed in Blackwater, UK, Santa Clara, Calif. and Bangalore, India in August 2007. It builds on designs used in Sun's Santa Clara datacenter and features water savings, chemical reduction, free air cooling and flywheel uninterruptible power supply (UPS). As in Santa Clara, the Broomfield datacenter is based on Sun's Pod Architecture, which delivers dramatic footprint compression while still providing capacity for future growth. " ...Via Sun Microsystems: Energy Efficient, Flexible Datacenter
Earth Drive - World's First Recyclable USB Drive
EarthDrive is a "USB thumb drive" made with PLA -polyactic acid) - and is highly recyclable.
" ... built using ... (PLA), resulting in a fully recyclable product. PLA ... polylactic acid) is a biodegradable polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn. ...
" ... partnership with American Forests' National Tree planting projects ... planting of over several thousand trees already, we have made on ongoing commitment to continue the planting of trees with a portion of the profits generated from the EarthDrive line of products. ..."
Via: EarthDrive LINK
January 25, 2009
Audubon Green Building Workshop
Sustainable home workshop begins this week. ...
... "This four-part workshop series begins Tuesday, January 27th with Green Homes 101: An Introduction to Green Building and features a panel of noted experts in the field of green building and home design ... " ...Via Audubon Greenwich: Green Homes Workshop
January 24, 2009
Obama on Green Building
The impact of Obama policies on green building is discussed. ...
January 23, 2009
Sustainability Series - Radnor Township (Pa)
Radnor Township has a number of "green" sites: a new school has a green roof, restored wetlands at Villanova University and leaf pick up / composting by the township. Now they are presenting a series of lectures on Sustainability in Radnor.
Read on for more >>>
" ... Sustainability Series: Issues in Sustainable Living and Growth in Radnor Township ... GREEN BUILDING 101 ... Thursday, January 29, 2009 - 7 to 9 pm ... Radnor Township Municipal Building (also aired live on Comcast Cable Channel 10 and Verizon FiOS Channel 30)"
Topics covered include " ... What is Sustainability and Green Building ... How Green is Green? ... Promoting Green Building ... Making it Real in Radnor, a Success Story ... "
Via: Radnor Township LINK
Future topics include ...
*
" ... Understanding Emissions and Carbon Footprint Reduction, Greening Your Own Home ...Alternative Sources of Energy: Wind, Solar and More
Via: Radnor Township LINK
January 22, 2009
OJ's Carbon Footprint
PepsiCo collaborates with the Carbon Trust to calculate and certify the carbon footprint of its products. Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice is the first to be certified by the Carbon Trust at a carbon footprint of 1.7 kilograms for a 64-ounce carton of OJ. ...
. .. "Working together with the Columbia Earth Institute, PepsiCo has calculated the lifecycle carbon footprint of the 64-ounce container of Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice. The Carbon Trust, a UK government-backed independent organization established to address climate change, has certified the footprint, giving PepsiCo a verifiable benchmark against which the company can measure greenhouse gas reduction progress going forward. " ...Via PepsiCo: Carbon Footprint of Tropicana
January 21, 2009
Refurbished Computer Initiative
Looking for a way to safely dispose of used computer hardware and help a non profit? Refurbished Computer Initiative may be just what you are looking for ...
Read on for more >>>
"... Refurbished Computer Initiative gives nonprofits nationwide ... refurbished computer systems at a discount. The first nationwide refurbishing program geared strictly to nonprofits ... provides an environmentally friendly alternative to used equipment disposal."
" ... partners donate their used computers, which are then refurbished ... TechSoup ... distributes all of these refurbished computers to qualified nonprofits for a low administrative fee."
" ... hope to significantly decrease the disposal of still-useful computers while acting to reduce harmful waste. In the future, we will provide incentives to nonprofits to trade in refurbished RCI equipment that has reached the end of its useful life cycle, or has become obsolete, for a further discount on newer refurbished machines."
Via: TechSoup Stock LINK
January 20, 2009
Manufacturing Plant Powered with Landfill Gas
Solar Efficiency Record Achieved at Fraunhofer
... "The researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have succeeded in overcoming this obstacle. They have managed to localize the defects in a region of the solar cell that is not electrically active. As a result, the active regions of the solar cell remain relatively free of defects – a prerequisite for achieving the highest efficiencies. " ...Via Fraunhofer Institute: World record efficiency reached for multi-junction solar cells at Fraunhofer
Optimal Technoloigies - AEMPFAST
Power Grid management is becoming an important tool since the ability to get more out of an existing infrastructure is very cost effective ... new plants are large cost items ... and give big increases ... getting more efficiency from the grid is usually much less costly. Additionally -- deferring new construction offers environmental benefits ...
Read how Optimal Technologies AEMPFAST is helping in this area. >>>
"AEMPFAST™ (Advanced Energy Management & Power Flow Analysis System Technology) ... identifies 10+% additional effective capacity and increased system reliability ... provides end-to-end optimization technologies to the electric power industry ... allows for multiple significant environmental benefits to be met, including improved air quality; cleaner water; natural gas, and other natural resources conservation."
January 19, 2009
Green Data
Compute-intensive applications, such as data warehousing, can be made more energy efficienct through hardware design and high-performance transaction processing. ...
... "A smaller hardware footprint draws less power, occupies less space and requires less material to manufacture. This also reduces the need for peripherals such as tape and other off-line storage devices by reducing storage requirements. " ...Via B Eye Network: The Green Data Warehouse
Contessa Green Cuisine
Contessa's plant in Los Angeles, California was designed to minimize it's environmental impact ...
Read on for more >>>
" ... Contessa’s Green Cuisine plant ... reduces its energy use and CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by more than 65% daily ... the first environmentally responsible, LEED... is carbon neutral ... uses recycled and recyclable materials in its packaging, and recycles paper, materials and equipment in its operations and offices."
" ... Individuals can make a difference in mitigating climate change. But manufacturers can do more toward achieving that goal in a single hour than 100 well-intentioned people can accomplish in an entire year."
Via: Contessa Green Cuisine LINK
January 18, 2009
Office Depot Green Retail Store Achieves LEED Gold Rating
Office Depot achieves LEED Gold for Green retail store pilot. The store has demonstrated green building performance through significant energy savings, use of solar photovoltaics to offset electricity from the grid, efficient lighting and water conservation techniques. Kudos to Office Depot for their commitment to sustainability. ...
... "Office Depot received the Gold Rating for the Company's Store Prototype as well as for its first Green retail store in Austin, Texas which opened during the summer of 2008. The Office Depot Austin store was the first location the Company constructed following its environmentally preferable prototype design or master set of drawings. The prototype, which will be utilized for future stores where Office Depot manages the new construction process from the ground up, has now been recognized with Gold Certification, obtaining one of the highest levels of environmental sustainability. " ...Via Office Depot: Retailer Receives LEED Gold Certification from U.S. Green Building Council
Apple Touts Greeness of new Macbook Laptops
Apple's new MacBook line of computers boasts some impressive GREEN credentials ... the result of design efforts to remove mercury and arsenic from the display, and new packaging that uses less material and highly recyclable aluminum cases and glass screens.
Read on for more >>>
" ... designed with the following features to reduce its environmental footprint: * Arsenic-free glass, * Mercury-free LED-backlit display, * BFR-free internal components, * PVC-free internal cables, * Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure, * Up to 41 percent smaller packaging ..."
" ... the greenest family of notebooks ever made ... the MacBook, can run on just one-quarter the power of a single lightbulb. ... packaging is up to 41 percent smaller ..."
Via: Apple Computer LINK
January 17, 2009
Solar Panel Efficiency Performance
January 16, 2009
Gemline - Living Green - Green Products
Gemline, a manufacturer, based in Massachusetts that has a line of ECO friendly products, eco-CHOICE, ... so if you are looking for alternatives to everyday products or products made with recycled PVC, paper and the like ... read on.
" ... our recycled PET products begin with plastic bottles ... recycled cardboard products are made from cardboard boxes ... and used to make our Eco-Choice™ product line."
" ... pushing industry boundaries by utilizing more environmentally friendly materials across
more categories than ever before. From recycled and organic products to bamboo and
PVC–free materials, ... As a company, we are committed to bringing you even more products that
are good for business and even better for the environment. "
Via: GEMLINE Link
Check out GEMLINE's living green brochure (PDF format) for more information about Green Items, their answer to the popular supermarket question "paper or plastic? and a short glossary of commonly used "eco" terms.
http://www.gemline.com/gemline.web/living-green/gemline_living_green.pdf
Via: GEMLINE LINK
January 15, 2009
Green Roof Research
Canadian university will conduct research in its green building, as sensors will monitor its LEED performance and improve our understanding of materials and efficiency strategies. ...
... "One of the main areas of the building to be studied will be the green roof. A green roof is typically partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. " ...Via University of Western Ontario: Green building living, breathing classroom
Bio-Fueled Flying Car
"British adventurer and pilot Neil Laughton poses in his Parajet Skycar ... on Wednesday kicking off a 3,600-mile journey from London to Timbuktu ... essentially a dune buggy with a fan motor and paragliding wing attached. Creators call it the "world's first bio-fuelled flying car.""
" ... travel by land and air through France, Spain, Morocco, the Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, returning home via Senegal. Joining Laughton for part of the trip will be engineer Gilo Cardozo, the brain behind the Parajet Skycar. The pair has participated in past flying expeditions to the Himalayas, Alps, and Venezuela."
Via: ZDNet.com Link
January 13, 2009
AMD Austin Campus is LEED Gold
AMD's Lone Star campus in Austin, TX achieves LEED gold certification through renewably-sourced electricity, rainwater reuse, recycled construction materials, and native landscape plantings. ...
... "The Lone Star campus, which is home to AMD’s business operations and the Austin design engineering center, was designed and constructed by a diverse team of internationally recognized architects, engineers, ecologists and sustainability experts. The site development plan for the 58-acre, 870,000 square foot campus was based on three key tenets: limit site impact, protect water quality, and use innovative sustainable design. " ...Via AMD: Campus Receives LEED Gold Certification
Luxims Plasma Lightbulb
Luxim, Sunnyvale California, has announced PLASMA lighting. Check out this video ... showing the brightness available from a small source using very little energy ...
< Via: ZDNet Link
January 12, 2009
Stanford Energy Institute Launched
Stanford creates an energy research institute through one hundred million dollars of funding from donors. The investment will support new faculty and grad students. ...
... "The new Precourt Institute for Energy will draw on deep scientific expertise from across the campus and around the world. From the minuscule - materials scientists prying loose more electricity from sunshine through more efficient photovoltaic cells - to the national effort to develop sustainable energy and the global search for ways to reduce atmospheric levels of carbon, the new institute will be at the forefront. " ...Via Stanford University: Stanford launches $100 million initiative to tackle energy issues
January 11, 2009
HHO Fuel Cell Demo
Third party HHO fuel cells are available. ... Punch HHO offers Ultra High Output HHO Cells: "Using a supplemental hydrogen system helps the environment twice by decreasing fuel dependency while also reducing pollutants."
January 10, 2009
Marriott Recycles Building Materials .... 300 Tons!
When Marriott built their new Courtyard and Residence Inn properties in Miami they recycled 300 tons of demolition debris from a Fairfield Inn ...
Read on for more >>> 
" ... Marriott recycled more than 90 percent of the building materials from the demolition, totaling approximately 6,800 cubic yards. Steel, concrete, copper, and other materials were recycled ... The crushed concrete alone will be the sub-base to construct the foundation on the new Marriott site.
" ... By recycling ... Marriott saved hundreds of tons of materials from littering our nation's landfills."
" ... hotel recycles all paper and cardboard products, installed compact fluorescent light bulbs... and has in effect a successful linen reuse program. ... provides preferential parking spaces for guests driving hybrid automobiles.
Via: Marriott Link
January 09, 2009
Volvo Cars - 85 Percent Recyclable!
Volvo is designing its cars with an eye to using recycled / non petroleum derived parts and making them easier to recycle when their useful life is over ...
" ... Volvo cars with 'hard' components such as dashboards and ceilings made of flax and cellulose rather than petroleum-based polymers, ... seats using natural fiber and soya-based foam fillings," ..."
" ... bio-fibers also reduce both the weight of a car and the cost of materials,"... Replacing glass fiber with lower density natural fiber can slash the weight of material used in a car by up to 30 percent of the material replaced ..."
" ... 85 percent by weight of a Volvo car is recyclable, with 26 percent comprising plastics and other non-metallic materials. ... uses renewable materials in close to 100 vegetable-based components, mostly sound absorption blocks or mats made of cotton fibers ..."
Via: Volvo LINK
Hitachi Automotive Products - Contributes to Hybrids
Watch this video to see how Hitachi Automotive Products is working with Eaton Group to make commercial hybrid trucks for companies like FedEx. FedEx currently has the largest hybrid truck fleet in North America ... Via: Hitachi - True Stories LINK
January 08, 2009
Colorado State Spinoff Recognized as Solar Success
Business Week recognizes AVA Solar, a Colorado State University spinoff, as a successful startup for 2008. ...
... "Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally generated electricity. The company's initial market will be large power users. The company is in the process of retrofitting an existing building in Longmont into a 200-megawatt factory that will make 2-foot by 4-foot panels capable of powering large-scale utility solar power plants. " ...Via Colorado State University: AVA SOLAR ONE OF 2008’S MOST SUCCESSFUL STARTUPS
Eco-nomics Forum
" ... uniquely interactive format and high caliber of participants, ECO:nomics debuted last year as the premier forum for CEOs and entrepreneurs driving growth at the intersection of business and the environment...."
Snippets of the Program ... "... Green People - What do consumers want, and what will they pay for it? ... Power Play - What will keep the lights on: nuclear energy or "clean coal"? ... Fresh Juice - Can wind and solar grow big enough to matter? ... The Future of Coal ... The Future of Biofuels ... The Future of Solar ..."
Via: eco-nomics LINK
January 07, 2009
Motorola W233 - First Carbon Neutral Cell Phone
Motorola's W233 Renew is " ... made from plastics that contain recycled water bottles and is the first certified Carbonfree® cell phone on the market. ... offset the en
ergy to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone by investing in renewable energy sources and reforestation. ... 100% of the Motorola W233 Renew's phone housing is recyclable. ..."
" ... packaging, ... reduce its size by 22 percent and the box and all of the materials inside are printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. ... a postage-paid recycling envelope in box makes it easy to return your previous mobile phone for recycling at no cost."
Via: Motorola LINK
January 06, 2009
Toshiba Enters Solar Photovoltaic Market with New Line of Business
Toshiba organizes unit to pursure solar business, leveraging its strengths in batteries, power systems, and grid integration. ...
... "Toshiba will secure orders for large solar power generation systems by drawing on its competitive advantages. In components, the company's expertise includes high-efficiency power conditioning systems and the SCiB - the Super Charge ion Battery - Toshiba's breakthrough rechargeable battery that offers excellent safety, long life and rapid charging. In system integration, Toshiba can point to world-class capabilities in system integration, particularly in connecting generation systems to distribution systems; in microgrids that connect and manage dispersed small-scale power generation sources, including renewable energy sources; and in large plant system engineering capabilities. " ...Via Toshiba: Full-scale Entry into Solar Photovoltaic System
January 05, 2009
EcoHomeGear - Green Products for Living
Looking for home products that were made that are made with a GREEN approach? Eco Home
"Eco Home Gear, LLC strongly believes that environmental education is the key component for consumers to make the right purchasing decisions. ... our products may have one or more of the following characteristics, ... "
Recycled or Reclaimed Materials ... using ... recycled plastic or paper (pre- and post-consumer waste) or reclaimed wood (i.e. from a manufacturing process). ...Energy and Natural Resource Saving ... products that, when used ... conserve energy and natural resources. ...Responsibly-Grown Natural Materials ... materials that are grown with a minimal environmental impact ... Environmentally-Responsible Manufacturing Process ... manufacturing process that reduces waste, natural resource consumption and/or polluting emissions.
Via: ecohomegear Link
January 04, 2009
Washington DC Bus Fleet Running on Compressed Natural Gas
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is converting its bus fleet from diesel to compressed natural gas. While on a short vacation in the Georgetown area of DC during the holidays, we snapped this picture of the CNG-powered bus. ...
Reference: Emission Reduction Benefits of WMATA Natural Gas Buses (PDF)
Sims Green Building
Low-Power Flat Panel Technology
Pixtronix offers flat panel display technology that enables ultra-low power consumption and exceptional image quality. Pixtronix's technology, called PerfectLight, delivers a 75% power reduction over traditional LCD displays, while improving color viewing performance. ...
... "Exceptional Image Quality - Full speed video with 24-bit color depth, 105% NTSC color gamut, high contrast ratio, and wide view angles; Ultra-Low Power Consumption - 75% power reduction of LCD displays; Programmability - Simultaneously optimized image quality and power consumption enabling additional power savings for any application on any device ... " ...Via Pixtronix: Ultra-Low Power Consumption Flat Panel Displays
January 03, 2009
China Solar Plant in Qaidam Desert
China Technology Development Group Corporation and Qinghai New Energy Group will build a 30MW solar power station in the Qaidam Basin of northwestern China. ...
... "Under the agreement, CTDC and QNE will design, construct and manage the solar power station. The local government of Haixi Region will provide strong support to CTDC and QNE, such as helping them obtain various local and central government backed incentives and providing land. The installed power-generating capacity of the first phase of Qaidam solar power station come to 30 MW and the total long-term objective of the project up to 1GW. The Qaidam solar power station, the first of kind in China to integrate crystalline silicon and thin-film solar modules, will be the largest on-grid solar power station in China after fully completion. CTDC and QNE will begin construction of the project in 2009 with initial investment of US$ 150 million. " ...Via China Technology Development Group Corporation: 30MW On-Grid Solar Power Station
PECO's First Green Building - West Chester, PA.
As part of their 2020 Low Carbon Roadmap .... PECO opened their first "green" building in West Chester (Chester County) Pa.
" ... $2 million, 8-month project to open PECO's first 'green building' at the company's service site in West Chester, Chester County. ... expected to use about 20 percent less energy and 40 percent less water. ... the use of reflective roofing materials; low flow water devices; recycled construction materials, ... energy efficient lighting, ... and more .."
Via: PECO LINK
January 02, 2009
Liposuctioned Fat used for BioFuel
Here is an idea that is slightly out of the ordinary ... and a bit "unique". A Beverly Hills surgeon is suspected of using the lipoosuctioned fat from patients to make biofuel to power his car. Since being investigated the practice has closed ..
Read on for more ...
" ... Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator ... Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. ... Bittner's lipodiesel Web site is no longer online."
" ... it's definitely illegal in California to use human medical waste to power vehicles, and Bittner is being investigated by the state's public health department."
Via: Forbes.Com LINK
Molam e-cycling Electronic Waste
Molam International, based near Atlanta, Georgia, uses modern technology to safely recycle e-waste. They are a partner with Sony and Waste Management in their take back recycling program.
"Using leading edge technology to recycle trailing edge ... items are dismantled for recycling into reusable commodities (plastics, metals, glass, etc.), or refurbished ... in full compliance with Environmental Protection Agency's requirements ... "
"To date under a nationwide contract with the U.S. EPA, ... recycled over 25,000,000 lbs of electronics scrap. ..."
Via: Molam International LINK
January 01, 2009
New Solar Panel Technology Concentrated PhotoVoltaics (CPV)
... using innovative optics ... SolFocus systems dramatically reduce the amount of expensive and often supply-constrained solar material used in the system."
"SolFocus CPV solar panels are the only CPV technology listed by the California Energy Commission as qualified for California Solar Initiative (CSI) incentives. ... panels are constructed primarily of readily available and cost-effective materials such as aluminum and glass resulting in systems which are over 95-percent recyclable. ...has a very low carbon footprint in manufacturing and short energy payback period. "
Via: SolFocus Link