Friday, April 24, 2009

commentary

"you just haven-t signing your name"- STILL cant put 7 words together coherently. Illiteracy is NOT a pretty thing to see. Lets see, watch the Heat do magic on the court? or watch the Council magically disappear our taxes? Thats a no-brainer. Cmon Gym, everyone knows that Mr Clean is YOU- at least have the cojones to sign your name! Mr Clean WAS a baldheaded janitor who cleaned toilets. All our Mr Clean flushes is our tax dollars away. If you guys dont have the cojones to sign your posts, then I will stop signing mine, and you can just guess if its Derrick, Margie, Mac, or one of the other moronic mental midgets who show themselves to be so with each and every post here. No facts, no figures, and no rationale to support anything they say. A complete and total waste of time and energy. For the LAST TIME Dr. Mel P. Johnson

correction AGAIN

I have been away for a few days, but I see I havent missed much, as the same idiots are are posting here without ANY basis in fact. First, it was Pistorino who said the foundation was, and IS, in EXCELLENT SHAPE. NOBODY EVER said the gym only needed a coat of paint- EVER. My insurance company gave me figures that indicated we paid TRIPLE what the bathrooms SHOULD have cost. Do you think these clowns will EVER get it right? No, me neither. Dr. Mel P. Johnson

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Cold fusion is hot again

April 20, 2009 4:02 PM PDT
'60 Minutes' video: Cold fusion is hot again
by CBS Interactive staff

Twenty years ago it appeared, for a moment, that all our energy problems could be solved. It was the announcement of cold fusion--nuclear energy like that which powers the sun--but at room temperature on a table top. It promised to be cheap, limitless, and clean. Cold fusion would end our dependence on the Middle East and stop those greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. It would change everything.

But then, just as quickly as it was announced, it was discredited. So thoroughly, that cold fusion became a catch phrase for junk science. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to oblivion--for many scientists today, cold fusion is hot again.

"We can yield the power of nuclear physics on a tabletop. The potential is unlimited. That is the most powerful energy source known to man," researcher Michael McKubre told "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley.

McKubre says he has seen that energy more than 50 times in cold fusion experiments he's doing at SRI International, a respected California lab that does extensive work for the government.

McKubre is an electrochemist who imagines, in 20 years, the creation of a clean nuclear battery. "For example, a laptop would come precharged with all of the energy that you would ever intend to use. You're now decoupled from your charger and the wall socket," he explained.

The same would go for cars. "The potential is for an energy source that would run your car for three, four years, for example. And you'd take it in for service every four years and they'd give you a new power supply," McKubre told Pelley.

"Power stations?" Pelley asked.

"You can imagine a one for one plug-in replacement for nuclear fuel rods. And the difference only would be that at the end of the lifetime of that fuel rod, you didn't have radioactive waste that needed to be disposed of," McKubre replied.

He showed "60 Minutes" just how simple the experiment looks; there are only three main ingredients. First, there is palladium, a metal in the platinum family. Second, one needs a kind of hydrogen called deuterium which is found in seawater.

"Deuterium is essentially unlimited. There is ten times as much energy in a gallon of sea water, from the deuterium contained within it, than there is in a gallon of gasoline," he explained.

The palladium is placed in water containing deuterium and the third ingredient is an electric current.

The experiment is wrapped in insulation and instruments. They're looking for what they call "excess heat." In other words, is more energy coming out than the electric current puts in?

No one knows exactly how excess heat would be generated, but McKubre showed "60 Minutes" what he thinks is happening.

At the atomic level, palladium looks like a lattice and the electricity drives the deuterium to the palladium. "They sit on the surface and they pop inside the lattice," he explained, using an artist's rendition of the lattice.

McKubre believes there is a nuclear reaction--possibly a fusion process like what happens in the sun, but occurring inside the metal, at a slower rate, and without dangerous radiation.

Scientists today like to call it a nuclear effect rather than cold fusion. At least 20 labs working independently have published reports of excess heat--heat up to 25 times greater than the electricity going in.

"This little piece of palladium metal has about a third as much energy as the battery in your automobile. So very small volumes, very small masses can produce large amounts of energy," he explained, holding a small piece of palladium foil weighing just 0.3 grams.

"I don't have any real need for vindication. I know what I've seen."
--Michael McKubreMcKubre has been working on this since that first discredited claim of cold fusion made headlines 20 years ago.

"To work on this issue is almost to put your scientific credibility at risk and I wonder why you've done it?" Pelley asked.

"My belief is that if there's a 1 percent chance that Fleischmann and Pons were correct, and I now believe that possibility is 99 percent. I have a duty to work on it," he replied.

Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons amazed the world in 1989 with their cold fusion news conference at the University of Utah. Fleischmann in particular was one of the world's leading electrochemists, and the announcement of room temperature fusion set the world on fire.

Immediately, prestigious labs at MIT and Caltech rushed to reproduce the experiment, but didn't get the same results as Fleischmann and Pons.

The careers of Fleischmann and Pons were destroyed as quickly as a nuclear flash--names once linked to a Nobel Prize were forgotten by nearly everyone. And most of the scientific world today is happy to leave it that way.

"I'm still waiting for the water heaters. I'm still waiting for the thing that will produce heat on demand," Richard Garwin, one of the most respected physicists in the world, told Pelley.

In the 1950s, he helped design the most successful fusion experiment of all time: the hydrogen bomb.

"It was unfortunately, a very successful experiment," Garwin told Pelley.

Garwin was a critic of Martin Fleischmann back in 1989. And he has seen reports on the research that's been done since.

He thinks McKubre is mistaken.

Asked why, Garwin said, "I think probably he measures the input power wrong."

It's one of the most common criticisms of cold fusion experiments --that the amount of electricity going in and the heat coming out are simply mismeasured.

"It's possible, it is possible, that I have been mismeasuring energy for 20 years, but I think it extremely unlikely. A very large number of people have been making these measurements and measurements of current, voltage, temperature, resistance they're some of the simplest measurements that a physicist or a physical scientist will measure," McKubre said.

But there's another problem that critics point out: the experiments produce excess heat at best 70 percent of the time; it can take days or weeks for the excess heat to show up. And it's never the same amount of energy twice.

"I require that you be able to make one of these things, replicate it, put it here. It heats up the cup of tea. I'll drink the tea. Then you make me another cup of tea. And I'll drink that too. That's not it," Garwin said.

He told Pelley that for him to become a believer, the process would have to work 100 percent of the time.

But McKubre said, "Our critics often complain that we can't boil water to make tea. We could have, in fact, boiled 64 gallons of water and made 1,000 cups of tea, had we chosen to do so."

No one's sure why the experiments can't be consistently reproduced. McKubre thinks it has something to do with how the palladium is prepared. He's working with an Italian government lab called ENEA where some of the most reliable palladium is made.

Asking the experts
With so many open questions, "60 Minutes" wanted to find out whether cold fusion is more than a tempest in a teapot. So 60 Minutes turned to an independent scientist, Rob Duncan, vice chancellor of research at the University of Missouri and an expert in measuring energy.

"When we first called you and said 'We'd like you to look into cold fusion for '60 Minutes,' what did you think when you hung up the phone?" Pelley asked Duncan.

"I think my first reaction was something like, 'Well, hasn't that been debunked?'" he replied.

We asked Duncan to go with "60 Minutes" to Israel, where a lab called Energetics Technologies has reported some of the biggest energy gains yet.

Duncan spent two days examining cold fusion experiments and investigating whether the measurements were accurate.

Asked what he thought when he left the Israeli lab, Duncan told Pelley, "I thought, 'Wow. They've done something very interesting here.'"

He crunched the numbers himself and searched for an explanation other than a nuclear effect. "I found that the work done was carefully done, and that the excess heat, as I see it now, is quite real," Duncan said.

Asked if he was surprised that he'd hear himself saying that, Duncan told Pelley, "Very much. I never thought I'd say that."

And we've found that the Pentagon is saying it to. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, did its own analysis and 60 Minutes obtained an internal memo that concludes there is "no doubt that anomalous excess heat is produced in these experiments."

Asked if he feels vindicated after all these years, McKubre told Pelley with a smile, "I don't have any real need for vindication. I know what I've seen."

"That was a pretty big smile on your face though," Pelley pointed out.

"It's good. It's not bad. Certainly it's good," McKubre replied.

Now the Pentagon is funding more experiments at the naval research lab in Washington, D.C. and at McKubre's lab in California. "60 Minutes" wondered what Richard Garwin would think of the Defense Department's appraisal.

"The experiments leave 'no doubt that anomalous, excess heat is produced,'" Pelley told Garwin.

"Well, that's a statement," Garwin said. "I am living proof that there's doubt. Now, they can say that there, that excess heat is being produced. But they can't say there's no doubt. All they can say is they don't doubt. But I doubt."

"If you ask me, is this going to have any impact on our energy policy, it's impossible to say, because we don't fundamentally understand the process yet. But to say, because we don't fundamentally understand the process and that's why we're not going to study it, is like saying, 'I'm too sick to go to the doctor,'" Duncan argued.

"You know, I wonder how you feel about going public endorsing this phenomenon on '60 Minutes' when maybe 90 percent, I'm guessing, of your colleagues think that it's crackpot science?" Pelley asked.

"I certainly was among those 90 percent before I looked at the data. And I can see where they'll be very concerned when they see this piece. All I have to say is: read the published results. Talk to the scientists. Never let anyone do your thinking for you," he replied.

There was one more scientist "60 Minutes" wanted to find, a man who left America in disgrace and retired with his wife to the English countryside.

Martin Fleischmann, the man who announced cold fusion to the world, is hindered by years, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and maybe a little bitterness. At home, he pulled out an improved version of his experiment, something that he was working on when he was hounded out of science.

"When you hold that in your hand and you think back on what's happened these last 20 years, what do you think?" Pelley asked.

"A wasted opportunity," Fleischmann replied.

He thinks this way because it was discredited at the time.

He told Pelley he has two regrets: calling the nuclear effect "fusion," a name coined by a competitor, and having that news conference, something he says the University of Utah wanted.

"Now that you know that your experiments have been replicated and, and improved upon in labs all over the world I wonder, do you see a day when homes will be powered by these cells, when cars will be powered by these cells?" Pelley asked.

"I think so. It wouldn't take very long to implement this," Fleischman replied, laughing. "You make me feel that I should take a part in this?"

"I'm getting you interested again?" Pelley asked.

"Yes," Fleischmann replied, laughing. "The potential is exciting."

Social Security Fraud

April 23, 2009
What's Happening with Seniors Benefits
1. Social Security’s Inspector General (IG) finds that the agency was paying $3.1 billion to about 173,000 beneficiaries in fraudulent disability payments.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays disability benefits to eligible individuals under Title II of the Social Security Act. An individual is considered disabled if he or she is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable impairment.

Currently, 7.1 million people are receiving disability payments.

Although disabled beneficiaries are required to report work activity, individuals do not always do so.

In July 2004, the IG found $1.37 billion in overpayments to about 63,000 beneficiaries because their work activity was not identified. This year, the IG conducted another investigation and found the problem had gotten worse.

As a result of the IG’s new findings, SSA recovered about $615 million of the approximately $3.1 billion overpaid due to work activity.

To Breathe Easier, Trim Down the Belly Fat

When that "spare tire" around your belly inflates with abdominal fat, it gets harder to inflate your lungs, scientists found in a recent study. Scientists at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research discovered a strong connection between accumulation of abdominal fat and reduced lung function. The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, speculates that the reduction in lung function is the result of a mechanical effect—that is, excess abdominal fat weighs down the chest and takes up space that the lungs could use to inflate more fully.

How are you supposed to be able to judge whether you're carrying too much body fat? Health care professionals have an easy-to-use system called the Body Mass Index (BMI). Your BMI is a number calculated from your weight and height. Your doctor should be able to provide this number, and charts and automatic calculators like the one provided here are easy to find on the Internet—just conduct a search on the term "Body Mass Index."

What Your BMI Means

• For adults, a BMI of less than 18.5 means you are underweight.
• Adults with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 fall in the healthy weight range.
• If you have a BMI of 25 or greater, talk to your doctor about starting a weight loss program.

Find out if you're at risk for reduced lung function or other chronic conditions

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Seattle To Purchase Up To 500 GM Hybrid-Powered Buses

May 18, 2007
Seattle To Purchase Up To 500 GM Hybrid-Powered Buses
King County, Washington was awarded a contract for the purchase of up to 500 articulated buses, most of which will be powered by General Motors’ 2-mode hybrid system, IndustryWeek reports.

The five-year contract, which could be worth as much as $400 million, is between King County and bus-manufacturer New Flyer Industries. General Motors supplies New Flyer with the hybrid system for the buses.

King County has been operating a fleet of 214 GM hybrid-powered buses since 2004 and with the addition of this contract, King County could have a total of 714 buses, making it the largest fleet of hybrid-articulated buses in history.

A NREL one- year comparative study (PDF) between conventional diesel buses and GM hybrid-powered buses operating on a typical King County drive cycle showed that the GM-hybrid powered buses achieved 30 percent higher fuel economy on average when compared to the conventional diesel buses and total operating costs were lowered by 15 percent

Newer Hybrid Buses Cheaper To Operate

February 7, 2008
Newer Hybrid Buses Cheaper To Operate
A new U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Lab report says New York City’s newer hybrid buses cost 40 percent less to maintain and 24 percent less to operate than previous hybrids. The new buses are the second-generation Orion VII from Daimler Buses North America.

According to the article, more than 1,000 of these buses are in service in cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Toronto, and 1,500 more are on order. The New York City fleet is the largest hybrid bus fleet in the world.

GM recently received orders for over 1,700 of its hybrid buses

11 States to Receive First Hybrid School Buses

November 6, 2006
11 States to Receive First Hybrid School Buses
IC Corporation, the nation’s largest school bus manufacturer, has won a bid to provide up to 19 hybrid school buses to 11 states. New York, California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Iowa and Washington will be the first states in the nation to receive the hybrid school buses. Advanced Energy, a Raleigh, N.C.-based nonprofit corporation, initiated the buyer’s consortium of school districts, state energy agencies and student transportation providers that led to the RFP that IC Corporation won.

The hybrid school bus is expected to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent.

These members of Advanced Energy’s buyers’ consortium are currently scheduled to receive buses:

◦North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2 buses)
◦South Carolina Department of Educations (2 buses)
◦State of New York (2 buses)
◦Florida Department of Education (2 buses)
◦Napa Valley Unified School District, Napa Valley, Calif. (1 bus)
◦Durham School Services, Everett, Wash. (1 bus)
◦Lake Chelan School District, Chelan, Wash. (1 bus)
◦City of Seattle (1 bus)
◦Little Rock, Ark., School District (1 bus)
◦Sigourney Community School District, Sigourney, Iowa (1 bus)
◦Nevada Community Schools, Nevada, Iowa (1 bus)
◦Killeen Independent School District, Texas (1 bus)
◦Austin Independent School District, Texas (1 bus)
◦Fairfax County, Va. (1 bus)
◦Jennings Transportation, Nazareth, Pa. (1 bus)
The hybrid school bus project features Enova’s post-transmission 80-kilowatt Hybrid Drive System. The initial powertrain will couple an International® VT365 V8 diesel engine with the 80-kilowatt hybrid-electric powertrain, incorporating a transmission, batteries and an electric motor. The system is based on a parallel architecture, allowing the system to utilize both diesel and electric power in a highly efficient manner.

Funding to support Advanced Energy’s initiative has come from North Carolina’s electric utilities (Duke Power, Progress Energy, Dominion North Carolina Power and North Carolina electric cooperatives) and the State Energy Office in North Carolina.

Advanced Energy is seeking additional funding at the state and private level to expand this program to more school districts and other states. More information about the program can be found at www.hybridschoolbus.org

Florida School District to Unveil Plug-In Hybrid School Bus

February 20, 2007
Florida School District to Unveil Plug-In Hybrid School Bus
Florida’s Manatee school district will start running two plug-in hybrid school buses from IC Corporation next month, GreenCarCongress reports. The two hybrids are part of a 19-bus order placed by a group of school districts, state energy agencies and private school bus operators in 11 states.

Each hybrid costs $225,000. With volume purchasing, officials expect the price to settle out at around $100,000 apiece.

Build Green School and Save $100,000 Per Year

November 30, 2006
Build Green School & Save $100,000 Per Year
Greening America’s Schools, a report from consulting firm Capital E, finds that building green would save an average school $100,000 each year - enough to hire two new additional full-time teachers. According to the report (pdf), green schools - schools designed to be energy efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly - are extremely cost-effective. Total financial benefits from green schools outweigh the costs 20 to 1. With over $35 billion dollars projected to be spent in 2007 on K-12 construction, the conclusions could have far-reaching implications for future school design

Computer-Sharing Project to Save Brazilian Schools 80% in Power

February 18, 2009
Computer-Sharing Project to Save Brazilian Schools 80% in Power
Using its desktop-sharing software, which allows up to 10 desktops to run from one computer, Userful and ThinNetworks have been selected to supply 356,800 virtualized desktops to schools in all of Brazil’s 5,560 municipalities

As compared to a traditional PC-per-workstation solution, the project will save the Brazilian government about 60 percent in up-front costs, and 80 percent in annual power savings, according to a news release. It also will save in excess of 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, the same as taking 28,000 cars off the road, or planting 41,000 acres of trees, according to the release.

The PC sharing hardware and software will cost less than $50 per seat, according to Userful.

In the United States, the University of Michigan last March started a campus-wide green effort to reduce IT-related electricity emissions by 10 percent, saving the school $500,000 a year.

U-Michigan Hopes Green Computing Will Cut Costs, Emissions

December 2, 2008
U-M Hopes Green Computing Will Cut Costs, Emissions
The University of Michigan kicked off its campus-wide green effort in March in hopes of reducing its IT-related electricity emissions by 10 percent - which would save the school $500,000 each year, Free Press reports.

The university currently spends about $4.8 million annually on electricity for computers and other office equipment, which generate about 65 million pounds of carbon emissions.

In May, spurred by a phone call from Larry Page, Google cofounder and a U-M alumnus, the school began shifting to green computing. Page told the university about the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, started by Google and Intel last year, which seeks to halve the current computer energy consumption by 2010. Meeting this target would cut CO2 emissions by 54 million tons a year.

The university became a founding higher education member in the group, along with MIT and Stanford University. For U-M, one of the biggest payoffs was moving servers to an environmentally controlled data center. The move is expected to save the school $94,000 a year in heating and cooling costs alone.

In addition to green computing, over the last eight years energy conservation measures at U-M have saved more than $10 million.

In October, Christian Science Monitor reported that campuses are missing deadlines on their journey towards becoming carbon-neutral.

In September, the new College Sustainability Report Card 2009 reported that colleges across the U.S. and Canada are boosting sustainability initiatives, with two out of three schools improving their grades from last year.

Campuses such as University of California, San Diego, Fresno State, Arizona State University, have installed solar panels on campus in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly

Spanish City Installs Solar Panels In Cemetery

November 26, 2008
Spanish City Installs Solar Panels In Cemetery
In Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a working-class town outside Barcelona, a sea of solar panels sits atop mausoleums at its cemetery. The 462 solar panels produce enough electricity to power 60 homes annually, and is expected to avoid 62 tons of CO2 emissions a year, AP reports (via the Baltimore Sun).

The cemetery was chosen because flat, open and sun-drenched land is so scarce in the area that the graveyard was just about the only viable spot for the community to move ahead with its solar energy program.

The mostly South-facing panels cost $900,000 to install and cover less than 5 percent of the cemetery’s total surface area

Also provides shade to visitors...

Solar Panels Find Sunny Spot Over Parking Lots

October 15, 2007
Solar Panels Find Sunny Spot Over Parking Lots
Solar panels have found a promising new place in the sun on canopies above parking lots that surround commercial and industrial buildings, Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, writes in a San Francisco Chronicle Open Forum piece.

To increase the use of solar on parking garages, cities can incorporate solar panels into the parking requirements for commercial developments. The legal basis for requiring solar panels atop a parking lot, according to Shoup, is similar to the basis for requiring the parking lot itself - to mitigate an impact. If a development increases the demand for scarce energy during peak hours, the solar requirement for the parking lot will help to meet this peak-hour demand.

Shoup says that California’s Million Solar Roofs program provides generous subsidies for solar panels, and the federal government offers additional tax credits, so developers won’t have to pay the full cost of a city’s solar requirement.

In addition Shoup says solar arrays are highly visible evidence of a company’s commitment to the environment.

Google has installed solar canopies on its parking lots to satisfy 30 percent of its headquarters’ power demand.

Envision Solar is just one of the companies providing such services. See their site for more info on “solar groves” over parking lots

Florida Gulf Coast University is planning the largest solar farm at any university

May 20, 2008
FGCU Plans World’s Largest University Solar Farm
Florida Gulf Coast University is planning the largest solar farm at any university, anywhere, ZDnet reports.

Earlier this year, Contra Costa Community College District completed the first phase of what it touted as the largest solar power installation ever constructed for a college or university in North America.

The university was given $8.5 million by Florida lawmakers this year to install the solar panels on 16 acres of its campus, the Palm Beach Post reports. Florida has said it plans to finance solar installations at some other state colleges as well.

FGCU’s solar field will supply all of the 9,500-student university’s energy needs, generate 2 megawatts per day, and save $22 million over 30 years, according to the Post.

Last year, Chevron completed a large solar installation at Fresno State.

A Web site recently launched that provides environmental compliance assistance and pollution prevention information for colleges and universities

Fresno State Solar Installation To Provide 20% Of Power Needs

November 9, 2007
Fresno State Solar Installation To Provide 20% Of Power Needs
Fresno State has completed a large-scale solar power installation that will supply 20 percent of the university’s annual power needs.

The 1.1-megawatt solar system — installed by Chevron Energy Solutions — is expected to save Fresno State more than $13 million in avoided utility costs over its 30-year lifespan.

The 10 structures, which provide the only shaded parking on the campus, comprise 3,872 photovoltaic panels mounted on top of more than 700 carport stalls constructed in parking lots on the southeast side of campus. The renewable energy system is expected to generate more than 1.5 million kilowatt hours of power each year, offsetting the production of about 950 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions - equivalent to planting more than 24,300 new trees or removing more than 200 cars from the road every year.

The $11.9 million project cost was partially offset by a $2.8 million rebate administered by Pacific Gas & Electric Company under the State of California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program. The project was financed through a Power Purchase Agreement with MMA Renewable Ventures, which owns and operates the PV installation. Under a 20-year contract, Fresno State is purchasing the power generated by the solar installation from MMA Renewable Ventures.

Parking lots are seen as a prime location for solar power installations. Google has installed solar canopies on its parking lots to satisfy 30 percent of its headquarters’ power demand

Google Investing Hundreds Of Millions In Renewable Energy Projects

November 27, 2007
Google Investing Hundreds Of Millions In Renewable Energy Projects
In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy and to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in renewable energy projects.

The goal of the new initiative, dubbed REC, for Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal, ‘is to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. Google will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies. The possibility of a move into renewables was raised earlier this month.

“Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal,” said Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. “We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades. If we meet this goal and large-scale renewable deployments are cheaper than coal, the world will have the option to meet a substantial portion of electricity needs from renewable sources and significantly reduce carbon emissions. We expect this would be a good business for us as well.”

REC is hiring engineers and energy experts to lead its research and development work. “To lead this effort, we’re looking for a world-class team,” Page wrote in a blog post. “We need creative and motivated entrepreneurs and technologists with expertise in a broad range of areas, including materials science, physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, land acquisition and management, power transmission and substations, construction, and regulatory issues.”

Working with REC, Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, will make strategic investments and grants that demonstrate a path toward producing energy at an unsubsidized cost below that of coal-fired power plants. Google will work with a variety of organizations in the renewable energy field, including companies, R&D laboratories, and universities.

“We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers,” said Page. “We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal.”

For example, Google.org is working with two companies that Google says have promising scalable energy technologies:

eSolar Inc., a Pasadena, CA-based company specializing in solar thermal power which replaces the fuel in a traditional power plant with heat produced from solar energy. eSolar’s technology has the potential to produce utility-scale power cheaper than coal, according to Google.

Makani Power Inc., an Alameda, CA-based company developing high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at harnessing wind resources. High-altitude wind energy has the potential to satisfy a significant portion of current global electricity needs.

Last spring the company announced its intention to be carbon neutral for 2007, and it says it is on track to meet that goal.

The company generates electricity for its Mountain View campus from a 1.6 Megawatt corporate solar panel installation and is developing plug-in vehicles through its RechargeIT initiative, including a $10 million request for investment proposals.

In 2007 it helped form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, a consortium that advocates the design and use of more energy-efficient computers and servers

construction and deployment of pre-fabricated power plants.

April 21, 2008
Google, Others Give eSolar $130 Million Boost
eSolar has closed $130 million in funding from Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and other investors for the construction and deployment of pre-fabricated power plants.

It was announced in January that Google’s philanthropy arm, DotOrg, had invested $10 million in eSolar. Last year, Google announced REC, which stands for Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal.

eSolar has secured land rights in the southwest United States to support the production and transmission of over 1 GW of power. The company says it will have a fully operational power plant later this year in southern California

Macy’s Switches To Recycled Paper Bags, Eco-Friendly Packaging

April 21, 2008
Macy’s Switches To Recycled Paper Bags, Eco-Friendly Packaging
Macy’s will begin using recycled paper shopping bags at its Macy’s stores, as well as biodegradable packaging for its online shipments. The changes will phase-in beginning this month.

Last month, Nordstrom announced a similar initiative.

The new bag is made from kraft paper with 30 percent recycled material and is 100 percent recyclable. It replaces a laminated paper bag that is neither made from recycled content nor recyclable. The company uses more than 43 million handled shopping bags each year.

All Macy’s stores will also begin carrying reusable tote bags made from 100 percent natural cotton. On Saturday, April 26, the first 100 to 150 customers at every Macy’s store will receive a free reusable tote bag.

The company’s direct-to-consumer businesses - macys.com, bloomingdales.com and Bloomingdale’s By Mail - will begin using loosefill in-the-box packing material that is 100 percent biodegradable, compostable and recyclable.

Later this month, the FTC is holding a green packaging workshop, the second in its series of public workshops being held as part of the agency’s regulatory review of the Green Guides.

This week, Macy’s is partnering with the National Park Foundation on an Earth Week promo.

By the end of 2008, the company will host solar energy panels on more than 30 of its stores, primarily in California

Macy’s Installs Solar Power In 26 Stores

June 6, 2007
Macy’s Installs Solar Power In 26 Stores
Macy’s says it will install solar power systems and significantly reduce energy consumption in 26 stores throughout California. The company is partnering with SunPower on the deal - its subsidiary PowerLight will install the systems under contracts totaling eight megawatts on Macy’s stores.

By combining solar power with efficiency, SunPower says Macy’s will reduce utility-provided energy by an estimated 40 percent, almost doubling the impact of the solar power alone. The energy efficiency upgrades will include high-efficiency lighting and HVAC systems and energy management systems.

For 15 of the 26 stores, Macy’s will purchase solar-generated electricity under SunPower’s Access program that allows the retailer to purchase just the electricity generated at its stores - not the solar power systems themselves - from a third-party financier. At the end of a 10-year term, Macy’s will have the option to renew the agreement, transfer the equipment to a new site, or buy the system. Macy’s will buy solar power systems for the remaining 11 stores through an outright system purchase.

There have been many announcements recently concerning solar installations at retail companies:

◦Wal-Mart is purchasing as much as 20 million kWh of solar power, from BP Solar, SunEdison LLC, and PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, for 22 combined Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs and a distribution center in Hawaii and California.
◦Kohl’s is converting more than 75 percent of its department stores in California to solar power beginning in May.
◦Target has installed solar panels on the roofs of four of its California stores and plans to install similar systems at 14 more locations later this year.
◦BJ’s Wholesale Club has installed solar power systems on the rooftops of two Connecticut BJ’s Wholesale Clubs.
◦Costco has installed its second solar-powered energy system at its Lake Elsinore, California warehouse.
◦Staples recently unveiled the largest solar power installation in New England at its 300,000-square-foot retail distribution center in Killingly, Connecticut.
◦Tesco, the fourth-largest retail chain in the world, is installing a $13 million solar roof on its five-building, 820,400-square-foot distribution center under construction in Riverside, California.
◦Wal-Mart is already using solar power in its experimental stores

DuPont Cuts Ribbon on Hawaii Solar Panel Project

January 30, 2009
DuPont Cuts Ribbon on Hawaii Solar Panel Project
DuPont has completed its largest solar panel array at a research center in Kauai, Hawaii. The solar array is expected to generate more than 700,000 kilowatt hours annually, or about 85 percent of the center’s energy needs.

The solar installation will help the facility avoid the emissions from about 100 cars per year and save $200,000 annually in electricity costs.

The one-acre array at Pioneer Hi-Bred Waimea Research Center was completed and fully operational in December 2008. Evergreen Solar made the panels and they were installed by REC Solar.

DuPont has already installed photovoltaic solar power systems for its R&D and business facilities in Wilmington, DE and Taoyuan, Taiwan.

DuPont, which has introduced programs to encourage and support its business units to implement energy efficiency goals, came in at No. 10 in Covalence’s latest Ethical Rankings

Intermodal Array

February 4, 2009
AZ Ranch Community Installs Large-Scale Rooftop Solar Array
Rolling Hills Ranch, a developed ranch community in northern Arizona, plans to install a large-scale rooftop photovoltaic array on the immense buildings in its intermodal port.

Called the ‘Intermodal Array,’ it would cover tens of thousands of square meters of warehouse space and generate clean, renewable energy for the community - without taking up valuable land space.

Rolling Hills is comprised of 40-acre-plus lots suitable for home building or ranching and a large commercial development area. NRG Shift, the alternative energy consultant chosen for the project, will seek application information and receive proposals for solar arrays. (The firm is now fielding inquiries and proposals from qualified manufacturers of solar products.)

Last week DuPont reported the completion of its largest solar panel array at its research center in Kauai, Hawaii

Atlantic City Convention Center Plans Largest Rooftop Solar Project

June 19, 2008
AC Convention Center Plans Largest Rooftop Solar Project
The Atlantic City Convention Center is planning the installation of 13,321 solar panels on 290,000 square feet, or about two-third of its rooftop, The AP reports (via Forbes).

Over the 20-year contract with Pepco Energy Services of Arlington, Va., the center says the largest single-building solar energy project in the U.S. will generate 2.36 MW of energy, provide more than a quarter of its daily electrical needs, save the center an estimated $4.4 million in energy costs and reduce its GHG emissions.

Pepco says it will pay an undisclosed amount of money to install the panels and the convention center will buy the electricity from Pepco.

The largest rooftop solar project previously announced was Toyota’s plans to install a 2.28 megawatt solar electric power system on the roof of its Ontario, California Parts Center.

Arizona State University announced one of the largest solar power installations at any U.S. university. The project will include two megawatts of solar electric modules on approximately 135,000-sqare-feet of rooftop space and some parking structures.

Wal-Mart Canada said it plans to build that country’s largest rooftop solar-energy system

Toyota Parts Center Taps Sun for Power

September 25, 2008
Toyota Parts Center Taps Sun for Power
Toyota announced that the solar system it is installing on the roof of its North America Parts Center California will be operational in early October.

The company is touting the 242,000-square foot solar installation as the the largest single-roof solar power installation in North America, which includes about 10,400 solar modules. It is expected to generate 3.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually and provide nearly 60 percent of the total electricity requirements for the 760,000-square foot NAPCC.

The system, which was designed and built by SunPower, will also avoid carbon dioxide emissions of about 6.4 million pounds annually, equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from energy use of 255 homes.

General Motors is adding what it claims is the world’s largest rooftop solar power installation to its car assembly plant in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain.

The company has promised two more hybrid models, which will mark the company’s venture into Lithium-Ion technology.

In June, Toyota announced it has developed a new fuel cell hybrid powered by hydrogen and electricity that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up

Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Goes Twice The Distance

June 6, 2008
Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid Goes Twice The Distance
Toyota has developed a new fuel cell (zero pollution) hybrid powered by hydrogen and electricity that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up, The AP reports.

The maximum cruising range of the FCHV-adv model is 516 miles, compared with 205 miles of the its previous fuel cell model, according to the company.

Unlike Toyota’s Prius, the FCHV-adv has an electric motor and works as a hybrid by switching between that motor and the hydrogen-powered fuel cell. It will be available for leasing in Japan later this year and there are not yet plans to make the car available overseas, the company said.

The marketing piece of a new GM strategy touts Chevy’s “Fuel Solutions,” which include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The brand’s new tagline is “Chevrolet, from gas-friendly to gas-free.” GM also said it plans to offer a green version of virtually every Chevy model.

Part of the Nissan Green Program 2010 includes introducing a fuel cell vehicle into the United States and Japan in the early part of the next decade.

Honda said its hydrogen-powered vehicle will be available for leasing in California within a few months, the Herald Tribune reported.

Sprint Receives $7.3 M DOE Grant for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Deployment

April 20, 2009
Sprint Receives $7.3 M DOE Grant for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Deployment
Sprint has been awarded a $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding earmarked for fuel cell technology. The grant funding will be used to expand Sprint’s hydrogen fuel cell program at cell sites throughout the United States.

The wireless carrier said it is the largest single grant awarded by the DoE for this round of grant funding, which totaled $41.9 million. Sprint uses the hydrogen fuel cells for providing around 15 hours of back-up power before needing to refuel. As part of this grant, Sprint will work with hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers, tank providers and hydrogen suppliers to extend the unassisted run-time to 72 hours.

As part of its sustainability efforts, Sprint has deployed more than 250 hydrogen fuel cells in its network, and has been awarded a total of three Department of Energy grants to deploy new hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The company says hydrogen fuel cells provide a much cleaner alternative to diesel-powered back-up generators, which have been used in the past.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the funding will accelerate the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and will create jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and support services. Click here for a detailed state-by-state list of awards for the $41.9 million funding.

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the DoE also recently released two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for electric-vehicle advanced batteries and related drive components, and up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects.

In addition, Sprint recently announced environmental goals that include reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15 percent and securing 10 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2017.

Sprint isn’t the only wireless carrier deploying hydrogen fuel cells. Verizon, a wireline and wireless communications company, announced last year that it’s call-switching center and office building in Garden City, N.Y., uses seven fuel cells, which it claims as the nation’s largest fuel cell site. Verizon says the system provides as much as 80 percent of the facility’s power load when all seven fuel cells are activated, eliminating 11.1 million pounds of GHG emissions per year.

Verizon just announced that its conservation efforts in 2008 reduced its GHG emissions by more than 303,000 metric tons, which the company estimates is equivalent to taking more than 55,500 cars off the road. The company says its carbon intensity is approximately nine times below the U.S. average, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Verizon’s rate of 64 metric tons of CO2 emissions per million dollars in revenue represents a year-over-year improvement of 3 percent.

Other environmental initiatives launched in 2008 include a pilot project that reduces the energy used by computers and monitors, and a program to limit engine idling, which cut fuel consumption by more than 1 million gallons. The telecommunications company also requires that the network equipment it purchases be 20 percent more energy efficient.

DOE Announces $3.3B in Grants for Smart-Grid Initiatives

April 20, 2009
DOE Announces $3.3B in Grants for Smart-Grid Initiatives
Amidst a backdrop of increasing renewable electricity demand from consumers and questions about the ability of electrical grids to handle the extra power sources, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to distribute more than $3.3 billion in smart-grid technology development grants and an additional $615 million for smart grid storage, monitoring and technology viability, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Vice President Joe Biden, with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, announced the DOE plans on a recent visit to Jefferson City, Mo. The DOE says the grants will help develop a smart and secure electrical grid, which will create new jobs and help deliver reliable power more effectively with less impact on the environment.

The DOE Smart Grid Investment Grant Program will provide grants ranging from $500,000 to $20 million for smart-grid technology deployments, and grants of $100,000 to $5 million for the deployment of grid monitoring devices. This program provides matching grants of up to 50 percent for investments planned by electric utilities and other entities to deploy smart-grid technologies.

In addition, the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs. NREL says under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar.

An industry watchdog told Reuters that the push to add more renewable wind and solar power to the U.S. electric mix will force changes in the way the power grid operates to keep electricity flowing reliably.

A report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) states that many types of renewable power are much different from power plants that burn coal or natural gas, that can be turned off and on as needed to meet power demand, which creates integration issues for operators of the bulk-power network, reported Reuters. The NERC report details initial steps needed for reliable integration of large-scale wind and solar generation systems into the electric grid.

According to the NREL assessment report, more than 850 utilities across the United States now offer green power programs. Green power sales in 2008 increased by about 20 percent over 2007, and they represent more than 5 percent of total electricity sales for some of the most popular programs. Wind is the primary source of electricity generated for green energy programs nationwide.

The NREL report ranks the top 10 utility programs for 2008 by the following categories, total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, the percentage of customer participation, green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales, and the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources. Click here for the rankings

Ericsson Solar Cell Solution Deployed In South America

July 4, 2008
Ericsson Solar Cell Solution Deployed In South America
A solar radio-site system from Ericsson will provide enough clean energy to power Digicel’s network coverage in remote areas of Suriname, the company announced.

The system will help Digicel, the largest mobile telecommunications operator in the Caribbean, lower its energy consumption, reduce operating and maintenance costs and reduce the company’s environmental impact.

Ericsson’s main remote GSM base station RBS 2111, has a smaller environmental footprint than a standard base station, and consumes up to 50 percent less energy, according to the company.

Ericsson will also supply its all-outdoor transmission, solar panels and battery back-up products.

Mobile carriers in general are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency.

Nokia has said that it wants to cut energy consumption at some of its mobile base stations by up to 40 percent by 2010. Vodafone has announced plans to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2020

Industry Needs Energy Star For Servers - Now

July 4, 2008
Industry Needs Energy Star For Servers - Now
Jack Pouchet
director of energy initiatives
Emerson Network Power
The other day while out shopping for Energy Star rated household appliances with my wife, I got to wondering why we still do not have Energy Star rated servers. This really is not as hard as some would have us believe. Even though it is not an exact science - witness the legion of consumers buying appliances on looks and not total energy consumption - it is still the best program we have to ensure energy reductions regardless of use behavior.

It is time for the U.S. EPA and industry to put their differences aside, line up a representative sampling of available servers, say in 2-socket, 4-socket, and 8-socket categories and start testing. Users need real data on industry average power consumption. Talking about memory, disk drive types, and management layers cloud the issue. With accurate data performance, criteria can be established to define Energy Star. From there, new innovations will come forward that will drive total energy consumption down. Over time today’s innovations that reduce energy consumption will become the norm by which future Energy Star ratings are defined. The bottom line is we need to start somewhere.

Let’s stop the debate over server classification, configurations, spec test protocols, etc. and get going building a meaningful database of server power performance. This could be easily patterned after the excellent EPA refrigerator database, where one can sort by size, top/bottom freezer, ice-maker, percent better than standard, etc. Such a database of servers would enable IT professionals to source more efficient (assuming real performance is similar) servers simply by specifying Energy Star. That may not change use patterns, but at least we then know the servers are burning 25 percent less energy than the standard server.

Emerson Network Power’s Energy Logic model demonstrates that every Watt saved at the processor could translate into 2.84 Watts at the building entrance. So switching to Energy Star servers that consume 25 percent less across the board and 50 percent less at “idle” (on but doing no work) could result in huge data center level savings. Assuming 100 W savings at idle and 60 W at nominal loads, the data center savings could be around 200 W per server. A small center with 100 servers would potentially save 20,000 Watts per hour or 175,200,000 WHr a year.

Most of us are already well versed in using EPA tools such as MPG for automobiles and Energy Star for household appliances - including complicated systems such as air conditioners - so let’s get moving on a rating for servers. Contact your suppliers, the EPA, or your Congressmen to demand some action.

We at Emerson certainly are, and we are prepared to help in the process.

Jack Pouchet is director of energy initiatives for Emerson Network Power

Lee Company Installs Solar Power System

July 5, 2008
Lee Company Installs Solar Power System
The Lee Company, a maker of MicroHydraulics, has installed 1,760 photovoltaic panels on the roof of its Westbrook, Connecticut manufacturing facility. The 308-kilowatt solar electric system is one of the largest in New England, according to the company.

Nearly half the size of a football field, the system (you can see live data from the system here) covers 29,000 square feet. It was designed and installed by Gloria Spire Solar of Bedford, Mass., and was made possible, in part, by a $1.2 million grant from Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, which will defray approximately half of the cost of the photovoltaic system. Additionally, the Lee Company will seek to further defray costs with the Federal renewable energy Investment Tax Credit program.

At a time when the Federal ITC program is in jeopardy, Lee says that the solar installation may well be one of the last projects of its kind built in 2008 and perhaps longer.

“Our belief is that our government will renew the tax credit program by the end of this year,” says Gloria Spire CEO Mark Goodreau. “Until then, it’s having a serious impact on the renewable energy industry

Town Says Biodiesel ‘Way Too Expensive,’ Shelves Plan For Green Fleet

Town Says Biodiesel ‘Way Too Expensive,’ Shelves Plan For Green Fleet
High costs have forced the town of Greenwich, Connecticut to abandon plans to run half of its fleet on a soy-based biodiesel fuel, Greenwich Time reports (via CT Environmental Headlines).

The town only received one bid for the biodiesel - Santa Buckley Energy of Bridgeport which wanted $4.45 a gallon or 40 cents a gallon more than the town’s contract for regular diesel fuel.

“Even though everyone was very supportive of biodiesel, it turned out to be way too expensive,” said town Fleet Director Betty Linck. “We want to go green, but the economics aren’t there.”

Linck said that the town didn’t want to use less expensive biodiesel made from palm oil, corn oil, or animal fat, because of fears that the fleet could face performance and mechanical problems.

Postal Service Wants To Green 90% Of Fleet

July 24, 2008
Postal Service Wants To Green 90% Of Fleet
The U.S. Postal Service is participating in Project Driveway to identify new technologies in hopes of replacing almost 90 percent, or 195,000 of its delivery fleet with non-petroleum fueled vehicles. General Motors presented a Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle to the Postal Service for testing in a mail-delivery environment.

The move comes as fuel price are skyrocketing; since a one-cent increase in a gallon of fuel adds $8 million annually to the company’s expenses. Last year, fuel costs were $1.7 billion and are expected to increase by $600 million this year.

An alternative could be hydrogen fuel cells, which are touted as being twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine, emits only water vapor and uses fuel that can be made from traditional and renewable energy sources.

The Postal Service currently has over 43,000 alternative fuel vehicles that can operate on hybrid-electric, compressed natural gas, liquid propane gas, ethanol (E-85), biodiesel and hydrogen fuel cell.

The Postal Service did well in a recent report that looked at the sustainability of shipping companies.

While the Postal Services is taking a look at options to turn its fleet green, the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, recently abandoned plans to run half of its fleet on soy-based biodiesel fuel.

But, for now, it seems the green fleet trend is still strong, with AT&T, UPS and Nike all adding more green vehicles to their fleets.

GE offers a guide for companies uncertain how to turn its fleet green.

Coke To Add 120 Hybrid-Electric Trucks In 2008

November 30, 2007
Coke To Add 120 Hybrid-Electric Trucks In 2008
Coca-Cola Enterprises has added five hybrid-electric trucks to their distribution center in the Bronx. The Bronx sales center has 90 trucks servicing customers in Manhattan and the Bronx.

Over the next year, an additional 120 side load hybrid-electric trucks will join the CCE fleet across the country, according to CCE. According to its latest corporate responsibility report, the company’s total delivery fleet consists of 21,000 vehicles.

The International 4300 truck, with Eaton Hybrid Technology, meets New York City weight restrictions for use in town and on bridges. A motor/generator, working with the transmission and a 340-volt battery, allows the truck to source electrical power instead of gas when traveling at speeds below 30 MPH, eliminating emissions in slow traffic.

The move fits a larger trend of delivery companies beginning to switch to hybrids, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

UPS recently expanded its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles with the deployment of 50 hybrid-electric delivery trucks. It has also placed an order for 167 Compressed Natural Gas delivery trucks and taken delivery of 139 new propane delivery trucks in North America

UPS Adds 300 Alternative Fuel Vehicles

October 8, 2007
UPS Adds 300 Alternative Fuel Vehicles
UPS is adding 306 alternative fuel vehicles to its “green fleet” by placing an order for 167 Compressed Natural Gas delivery trucks while taking delivery of 139 new propane delivery trucks in North America. Additionally, the company has launched an initiative to use biodiesel fuel in its ground support vehicles at the UPS Worldport air hub in Louisville.

The CNG trucks will be deployed early next year in Dallas, Atlanta and four California cities - Los Angeles, Ontario, San Ramon and Fresno. They will join more than 800 such vehicles already in use in the U.S. The propane vehicles are joining nearly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada and Mexico.

UPS’s global alternative-fuel fleet now stands at 1,629 vehicles - the largest such private fleet in the transportation industry, according to the company

Bottled Water Manufacturers Face Uncertain Future

October 8, 2007
Bottled Water Manufacturers Face Uncertain Future
The bottled water backlash is costing beverage makers money, AdAge reports. Beverage Digest reports that retail sales of bottled water (excluding vending machines and Wal-Mart) grew only nine percent this year compared with 16 percent in 2006.
Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, said the bottled-water industry has been unfairly targeted. He claims that bottled water is America’s No. 2 beverage (after soda) but accounts for only a third of one percent of the nation’s waste. “We strongly think any efforts to reduce the environmental impact of packaging must focus on all consumer goods and not just target one industry, like bottled water,” he said.

This was also the gist of September opinion piece written by Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America. Nestle controls nearly $4 billion of the $5 billion grocery market for single-serving bottles.
Get used to hearing it. The IBWA launched a PR and advertising campaign in newspapers such as The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle recently (see ad) to, as the association says, “bring balanced, positive and factual bottled-water information to consumers and community leaders.”

Manufacturers like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle Waters are taking other steps to improve their images. Manufacturers are reducing the materials required for their bottles, which is known as light-weighting.
Earlier this month, Coca-Cola pledged $60 million to build recycling plants in order to make new bottles out of recycled ones.

San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order prohibiting city departments from buying bottled water. Chicago is talking about a bottled water tax.

Meanwhile, Nalgene and Brita are looking to cash in on the backlash against bottled water with a a co-branded campaign encouraging consumers to filter tap water at home.

Nestle Waters’ CEO Counters Bottled Water Criticism

September 5, 2007
Nestle Waters’ CEO Counters Bottled Water Criticism
Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America, has written an opinion piece for Hearst Newspapers countering recent criticism of the bottled water industry.

“Those who propose bans on bottled water don’t acknowledge that bottled water represents less than one percent of the municipal solid waste that ends up in landfills,” Jeffery writes. “Bottled water is only one beverage among hundreds that come in plastic containers.”

“We believe that if you drink a beverage from a container, bottled water is by far the best choice you can make,” writes Jeffery.

Jeffery points to Nestle’s new “ultra light Eco-Shape bottles” which are 30 percent lighter than most other half-liter bottles. “They will save the environment 65 million pounds of plastic in 2008, and they take less energy to make,” jeffery writes. “Because we make all of our own packaging at Nestle Waters, we also save the environmental cost of shipping 160,000 truckloads of empty bottles into our plants annually, saving over 6 million gallons of fuel.”

San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order prohibiting city departments from buying bottled water

Nestle Wants Suppliers To Pursue Sustainability

November 25, 2008
Nestle Wants Suppliers To Pursue Sustainability
Nestle Waters North America’s president and CEO Kim Jeffery told Plastics & Rubber Weekly that the company is expecting its suppliers to pursue sustainability.

“We are going to be pushing more on our suppliers to figure some of this [sustainability] stuff out,” said Jeffery. “By 2013, we plan to reduce carbon intensity by 20 percent across our full value chain — from the production of plastic resin to delivery of products to our customers,” said Jeffery.

This year, the company reduced the size of its half-liter PET water bottles by 15 percent and is planning to reduce it another 20 percent in 2009. The move will cut the PET water bottle’s weight to 9.8 grams, resulting in energy savings and GHG emissions reduction.

The company has also set a goal of producing a bottle with up to 25 percent recycled PET by 2013, and is also aiming to develop and produce bottles made entirely from recycled materials or renewable materials, such as bioplastics, by 2020.

Jeffery questions whether bioplastics are the best solution and says, “the better solution may be getting better at PET recycling, but that is also the harder solution.”

In October, the company threatened to sue Miami-Dade County for a radio ad that touts the county’s tap water as cheaper, purer and safer than bottled water.

Last year, the company’s president and CEO, Kim Jeffery, wrote an opinion piece for Hearst Newspapers countering criticism of the bottled water industry

Nestle To Sue Miami-Dade Over Water Claims

October 16, 2008
Nestle Waters Threatens To Sue Miami-Dade Over Water Ads
Nestle Waters North America is threatening to sue Miami-Dade County for a radio ad that touts the county’s tap water as cheaper, purer and safer than bottled water, Miami Herald reports.

The county considers the legal issues moot and defended its right to tout its tap water. The law suit threat is believed to be a first against the state’s largest utility. Environmentalists say the threat is a warning from an industry worried about slow sales after years of gushing growth.

Nestle’s spokesman Jim McClellan told Miami Herald that the company has never challenged utilities promoting tap water as cheap and safe, but is doing so now because the county has stepped over the line by damaging the reputation of bottled water.

The International Bottled Water Association is considering similar action.

In July, Nestle Waters bottling plant faced carbon scrutiny.

Last year, the company’s president and CEO, Kim Jeffery, wrote an opinion piece for Hearst Newspapers countering criticism of the bottled water industry

Smart Miami

April 21, 2009
FPL, Miami-Dade County Announce $200M Smart Grid Project
Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Miami-Dade County have announced a $200-million Smart Grid Initiative that will install smart meters in one million homes and buildings in the county, with FPL planning to spend an additional $500 million on bringing smart meters to its entire customer base of 4.5 million homes, reported the Energy Examiner.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to distribute more than $3.3 billion in smart-grid technology development grants and an additional $615 million for smart grid storage, monitoring and technology viability, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Miami mayor Manny Diaz proposes to use federal economic stimulus funds to help spur the $200-million investment in “Smart Grid” technology and renewable energy over the next two years.

Key partners in the smart grid project include GE, Cisco and Silver Spring Networks. GE will supply the smart meters, which may extend to advanced applications and smarter control systems. Silver Spring Networks will provide wireless network communications, and Cisco will help design and implement the communications platform within the county’s transmission and distribution grid and provide customers with home energy management information and controls.

The initiative, called “Energy Smart Miami,” has the potential to be the most extensive and holistic smart grid implementation in the country, according to the initiative. It is expected to help Miami-Dade County consumers save money by giving them more choices over how they consume and conserve electrical power. It would also generate near-term demand for green collar jobs to support its implementation.

The backbone of Energy Smart Miami will be the deployment of more than 1 million advanced wireless smart meters to every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County. These meters will give Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) customers more information and control over their electricity usage while also providing FPL with information that will enhance system efficiency and reliability.

Executives at GE and Cisco recently commented on the smart grid initiative underway in Miami. Jeff Immelt, GE chairman & CEO, told CNBC that the project will accelerate renewable energy adoption, drive efficiency, and create jobs. Cisco chairman & CEO John Chambers said that the Miami project will allow the project’s participants to scale it, “then replicate it around the country.”

CNBC also reported that both Immelt and Chambers emphasized the job creation potential of the smart grid initiative, and the need for the U.S. to lead in the green movement.

Green Living

April 16, 2009
Earth Day Helps Drive Green Efforts at Supermarkets
Earth Day is driving green efforts at several supermarkets around the nation, ranging from recycling paper goods and promoting the use of reusable bags to designing energy-efficient stores.

Whole Foods Market claims to be the first national retailer to produce all of its national in-store Earth Month materials using “third generation” closed-loop recycled papers thanks to the help of Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. “Closed-loop” means that Whole Foods Market has recycled and reused its own paper for zero waste.

“Third-generation” refers to using the same fibers to manufacture paper three separate times. Mohawk took the recycled fiber and manufactured it as 100-percent post-consumer waste paper, which was used by Whole Foods Market, then once again recycled and re-manufactured by Mohawk into 100-percent post-consumer waste paper, which is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

The savings are significant according to Mohawk’s Environmental Calculator:

192 trees preserved for future use
554.42 pounds of waterborne waste not created
81,557 gallons of wastewater flow saved
9,024 pounds of solid waste not generated
17,768 pounds of greenhouse gases prevented
136,000,000 BTUs energy not consumed
In addition, Mohawk manufactured the paper with wind-generated electricity for an additional savings: 9,232 pounds of air emissions were not generated.

Several supermarkets are celebrating Earth Day in other ways. For example, Texas-based H-E-B will provide customers with coupons for reusable bags in exchange for five plastic bags, reported the Community Impact Newspaper. The company plans to give away 300,000 reusable bags statewide while recycling 1.5 million plastic bags.

H-E-B customers are also encouraged to bring in other thin plastics to recycle in bins placed in front of the stores. Newspaper sleeves, dry-cleaning bags, six-pack soda-can rings and other thin plastic packaging brought in will be recycled into plastic lumber.

In California, Raley’s grand opening celebration of its green grocery store in the Petaluma Plaza shopping center will take place on Earth Day, reported Petaluma360.com. The grocery store is the second in the nation to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gold-Level Certification through the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership.

The state-of-the-art store will use 40 percent less refrigerant for its cooling systems than typical supermarkets, and also uses a high-efficiency dual-medium condenser, a device that reduces the store’s water usage by 85,000 gallons per month. Other “green” features include ceiling skylights, induction lighting and LED lights in track lighting and freezer cases.

CNET

April 21, 2009 4:00 AM PDT
Green technologies to watch
by Martin LaMonica FRom a technology perspective, things have changed a lot since the first Earth Days of the 1970s.

After barely moving for decades, there's been a surge in innovation in energy the past five years, fueled both by society's growing interest in clean energy and by the technology revolutions in other industries, like IT and biotech. That has expanded the definition of clean energy from solar and wind to many other areas.

"We are in a new era of energy innovation," declared Daniel Yergin last week at a forum on clean-energy policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Yergin is someone who should know. As the author of "The Prize," a book about the history of the oil industry, and co-founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, he advises CEOs of giant oil and gas firms on energy strategy. Like many people in green tech, he's not a typical 1970s-era tree hugger but a hard-boiled business man who sees technology change driven by economic, environmental, and national security reasons.

Innovation "runs across all sectors and it has a very strong climate change focus," Yergin said. "Clearly, one of the areas of major innovation is the nexus of transportation, smart grid, and renewable and alternative" energy.

Which technologies specifically have a good shot at making the biggest impact? As part of our Earth Day 2009 coverage, we try to handicap technologies that bear watching.

The list:
Utility-scale solar. Despite all the press around solar energy, its contribution to national electricity generation is barely a blip. But after a multi-decade hiatus, utility-scale solar power is back on the agenda, led in the U.S. by sun-blessed California's renewable energy mandates.

Over the past five years, several start-ups have designed concentrating solar thermal systems that generate heat by focusing the sun's light to make steam. The steam then turns a traditional turbine to make electricity. Desert areas like the Southwest region of the U.S. are tailor-made for this technology.


Sign of more to come? eSolar's demonstration plant in Lancaster, Calif.

(Credit: eSolar)
After racing forward for the last few years, concentrating solar upstarts have had to hit the brakes or change plans because of the cost and complexity--from environmental permitting, building transmission lines and the like--of these projects.

eSolar and BrightSource Energy stand out for having announced programs to move ahead with their solar tower technologies. Other relevant technologies in utility-scale solar are flat solar panels mounted on racks that follow the sun and concentrating photovoltaics from companies like Cool Earth Solar and SolFocus.

Energy storage. If solar was the technology that venture capitalists loved in 2007, last year and this year it's energy storage. For investors and entrepreneurs who like a tough problem, they picked a good area.

Why are electric vehicles so expensive? The batteries. What will transform wind and solar power from variable to reliable sources? Storage. How do we make our power-hungry electronic gadgets last all day? You get the picture.

There are a dizzying number of technologies to store electrical energy but they just can't seem to be too cheap, light, or environmentally benign.

The breakthrough for electric vehicles has roots in consumer electronics where lithium ion batteries have become the standard. U.S. companies on the forefront of making lithium ion batteries for cars and other portable electronics, like power tools, are Ener1 and A123 Systems, which signed a deal to supply Chrysler earlier this month.


Photos: Getting your green on for Earth Day

View the full gallery

Companies to watch in electric vehicles are, once again, high-profile Tesla Motors, Fisker Automotive, which will release its plug-in electric later this year, and Bright Automotive, a company founded by the former head of General Motors' EV1 program.

Meanwhile, a handful of progressive utilities are quietly dipping their toes into grid storage, installing one or two megawatt banks of batteries the size of tractor trailers or a small building. Although the lithium ion battery makers tend to get most of the attention, this is an area where alternative chemistries, such as zinc, or even stationary fuel cells are creeping in.

Efficiency. Ask nearly any clean-energy expert about the best way to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the most economical way and they'll say efficiency. An investment in efficiency, whether it's your home or your data center, will typically be the quickest payback when it comes to energy.

From a technology perspective, efficiency takes many forms, from Ford's EcoBoost to deliver better mileage on gasoline engines to LED lighting. For the power grid, efficiency means smart-grid technologies that help utilities better match the supply of electricity with demand and give homeowners ways to cut their monthly bills.

Although the grid will get a major upgrade from the stimulus plan, it's still unclear how many utilities can successfully make the financial case for investing in smart-grid technologies or how much consumers are willing to pay for home energy monitoring.


Carbon capture and storage. Even if there were massive uptake of efficiency technologies and renewable energy in the next 10 years, the world's economy would still rely heavily on fossil fuels.

During a speech at last week's MIT forum on clean-energy policy, John Holdren, the director of the president's Office of Science and Technology Policy, said carbon capture and sequestration is a technology that deserves more research as a way to mitigate climate change.

Right now, though, technology for pumping large amounts of carbon dioxide underground is still not commercial. There are some companies, including GreatPoint Energy and Tenaska Energy, devising ways to make cleaner-burning natural gas from coal and to store carbon dioxide from that process underground.

The Department of Energy's budget--which has not yet been passed--calls for $3.4 billion in research for "low-carbon coal technologies" to study whether it can be done safely and economically.

Disappointments and a reality check
Looking back at our coverage of Earth Day 2008, perhaps the biggest disappointment, economically and environmentally, was the biofuels area. Because of fluctuating commodity prices, corn ethanol providers got clobbered last year with at least two declaring bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, cellulosic ethanol made from wood chips or prairie grasses hasn't yet been done at commercial scale as some in the industry had hoped. It's still a goal worth pursuing because cellulosic ethanol has a better environmental profile than corn ethanol, but the economic turmoil has slowed progress.

The great hope--and perhaps the sleeper--for the biofuels industry remains the lowly algae, although even the most optimistic say that it will be three years before it can be produced at large scale.

Another disappointment on my list is roof-mounted small wind turbines for homes. It's not that the technology doesn't work, but two studies in the U.K. and Massachusetts have shown that the available wind on people's homes is typically below manufacturers' minimum requirements.

Finally, water technologies attract very little investment even though awareness of water problems continues to rise, fed by high-profile droughts in California and Australia.

Sum it all up and it's clear there's a flowering of innovation in energy and environmental products, from people's homes to businesses. At the same time, we shouldn't fool ourselves: technology alone won't magically create a low-carbon economy and more sustainable lifestyles.

A healthy green-tech industry requires a healthy financial system and supportive policies. Many people are aiming for technology breakthroughs and, no doubt, there will be surprises along the way. But given the scope of the problem, it's clear the road to a greener economy will be long, expensive, and will need a different set of rules.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Bad Breath?

Of the market’s abundance of choices―breath-freshening, antibacterial, fluoridated, etc.―which is right for you? Here’s how to tell.
by Melanie Haiken

If You Have Bad Breath but Not Significant Gum Disease or Tooth Decay…
Use: Breath-freshening mouthwash, which neutralizes odor. Studies have shown that chlorine and zinc, the primary ingredients in these rinses, defuse foul-smelling sulphur compounds produced by bacteria. Some products, like Scope, also contain a germicide called cetylpyridinium, which has antigingivitis (gum disease-fighting) and antiplaque benefits, says Clifford Whall, Ph.D., the director of the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance program. Plus, breath-freshening mouthwashes are easier on the taste buds than Listerine and have lower alcohol contents. However, they aren't as effective as antibacterial rinses in counteracting plaque and gingivitis.


If You’re Concerned About Bad Breath or Gum Disease…
Use: An antibacterial formula, which fights bad breath, plaque, and gingivitis. Listerine and other products that contain thymol, eucalyptol, methyl salicylate, and menthol are the only over-the-counter antibacterial mouthwashes to earn the ADA Seal of Acceptance for effectively reducing gum disease and plaque. Antibacterial formulas can reduce bacteria counts in the mouth by an average of 75 percent.


If You’re Cavity Prone, Don’t Have Flouridated Water, or Drink Bottled or Filtered Water…
Use: A mouthwash containing fluoride, a mineral naturally found in water and soil, which coats the teeth with a protective film that strengthens tooth enamel, making it more resistant to decay. Fluoride is the only mouthwash ingredient that has been proven to prevent cavities, but it doesn't protect against gum disease. "Unfortunately, antibacterial ingredients are not compatible with fluoride," says John Featherstone, Ph.D., a professor of preventive and restorative dental science at the University of California, San Francisco, "so it's difficult to have an all-in-one mouthwash."

If You Have Gingivitis or Periodontitis…
Use: A prescription mouthwash that fights gingivitis-causing germs. Clinical trials have shown that chlorhexidine, the active ingredient in prescription mouthwashes, has much stronger antibacterial properties than the ingredients in over-the-counter brands. These mouthwashes are the only ones approved for treating gum disease by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Note: Chlorhexidine can stain teeth a dingy brown. Mouthwashes containing chlorhexidine are prescription-only to ensure that a dentist monitors the staining. Most contain alcohol.

Recycling 101, page 2

Wondering about the little numbers on your milk container? They identify what the container is made of―and what it will be in its next life.

1. PET (polyethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles; recycled into pillow fill.

2. HDPE (high-density polyethylene): Plastic milk bottles, detergent bottles; recycled into new detergent bottles.

3. PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Take-out boxes, shampoo; recycled into drainage and irrigation pipes.

4. LDPE (low-density polyethylene): Grocery bags, shrink wrap; recycled into new bags.

5. PP (polypropylene): Yogurt containers, bottle caps; recycled into plastic lumber.

6. PS (polystyrene): Packing peanuts; recycled into plastic lumber, cassette-tape boxes.

7. Other: Includes squeezable ketchup bottles and microwavable dishes; these items can’t be recycled.

Recycling 101

Fact: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. So, yes, it pays off. Here’s how to do it right wherever you live.

Collect newspapers in a paper grocery bag or in tied bundles, depending on your community’s guidelines, and set them out on pickup day. (It takes up to 75,000 trees to produce one Sunday edition of the New York Times.)
Don’t recycle wet cardboard. It can clog sorting machines. Throw it away to keep it from contaminating the rest of the load.
Don’t recycle bottle tops; they’re not made from the same plastic as recyclable bottles. But if you forget, don’t sweat it. They’ll be sorted down the line. (The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle can power a computer for 25 minutes.)
Rinse cans, but crushing isn’t necessary. The aluminum can is the most recycled item in the United States, as well as the most valuable. It can be recycled again and again, and so efficiently that a can is regenerated and back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.
Don’t fret if you can’t get the lime out of the beer bottle or the last of the peanut butter from the jar. The recycler’s machinery will zap all contaminants. But do empty and rinse glass jars and containers.

How Green Are You?

How Green Are You?
Check out Real Simple's carbon facts to see exactly how your (small) actions can make a (big) difference.
by Jennifer Bogo
Action: Follow the Speed Limit
Why it’s worth it: It may be tempting to drive 75 miles an hour, but sticking to the 65-mile-per-hour speed limit improves fuel economy by almost 15 percent. That will reduce your car’s emissions and help you save about $200 at the pump.
Your one-year effect: 1,500 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 28,121,158 cars taken off the road for one year.

Action: Use Power Strips
Why it’s worth it: Is your TV turned off? Think again. A percentage of your home’s electricity goes to devices that are not in use but are plugged in. To kill the current and lower your bill, plug them into a power strip and flip the switch.
Your one-year effect: 1,608 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 15,280,342 cars taken off the road for one year.

Action: Drive a Hybrid Electric Car
Why it’s worth it: The most fuel-efficient midsize hybrid gets a combined mileage of 46 miles a gallon; a typical midsize car gets 25 miles a gallon. By not using as much gas, you’re saving 4 1/2 barrels of oil a year, plus about $560.
Your one-year effect: 3,660 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 68,615,626 cars taken off the road for a year.

Action: Buy Green Power
Why it’s worth it: More than 50 percent of retail customers in the United States have an option of buying a green-power product from their utility. Find out if you have this option at epa.gov/greenpower.
Your one-year effect: 20,508 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 194,881,372 cars taken off the road for one year.

Green facts

Action: Wash Laundry on a Cooler Setting
Why it’s worth it: About 90 percent of the energy used to wash clothes goes to heating the water. Assuming you already wash half your laundry in cold, moving the other half from hot to warm can save a substantial amount of energy.
Your one-year effect: 349 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 3,316,442 cars taken off the road for one year.

Action: Switch Five Lightbulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs
Why it’s worth it: A 25-watt compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) provides the same amount of light as a 75-watt incandescent. CFLs use a third of the energy and last 10 times longer. Switching five bulbs could save about $400 over the CFLs’ lifetime.
Your one-year effect: 500 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 4,751,350 cars taken off the road for a year.

Action: Compost a Fifth of Your Garbage
Why it’s worth it: Putting less trash on the curb reduces the amount of fuel required to haul it away. Plus, composting food scraps, like apple cores, keeps them out of landfills, where they can break down to release a potent greenhouse gas.
Your one-year effect: 832 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 7,906,246 cars taken off the road for one year.

Action: Modify the Temperature on Your Thermostat
Why it’s worth it: There’s no reason to keep the house perfectly heated or cooled when you’re not there to appreciate it. Modifying the temperature just four degrees with a programmable thermostat will save energy ― and about $130 a year.
Your one-year effect: 1,300 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 12,353,510 cars taken off the road for one year.

Thinking GREEN

Your Carbon-Saving Equation
See how your earth-friendly measures make a difference: Simply add up the pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) next to those actions on the chart. For a more tangible sense of what that number means, work out whether you have saved enough to offset the pollution that one car emits in a year by dividing your total by 12,037 (the pounds of CO2 that the average car emits annually).*

Action: Recycle Aluminum and Steel Cans
Why it’s worth it: Recycling aluminum and steel cans directs valuable metal into new products, saving 95 percent of the energy required to manufacture aluminum from scratch and 74 percent of the energy needed to make steel.
Your one-year effect: 414 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 3,934,118 cars taken off the road for one year.

Action: Recycle Newspapers and Magazines
Why it’s worth it: Americans throw away more paper than any other kind of trash. Recycling the pounds of magazines and newspapers the average household accrues in a year not only saves trees but also reduces contributions to air pollution by 95 percent.
Your one-year effect: 581 pounds of CO2 saved.
The effect if everyone in the U.S. did it for one year: Equal to 5,511,566 cars taken off the road for one year.