Anacle Starlight

Finding ‘Triple Happiness’ by Saving Taxpayer Money, Saving Energy and Creating Jobs

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:00:52 +0000

As a recovering Governor I know that states and municipalities are the laboratories of democracy for our nation. The work done in states and local communities to save energy is critical to helping not only ease budget pressures, but also in giving the federal government some great examples of what can work. Similarly, the federal government and our nation can benefit from smarter, greener federal building.

This weekend I was back in Delaware — as I am most weekends — and I was driving home from an appointment. I was making great time. I think the only person who could have made better time is Vice President Biden, and he has about a dozen Secret Service cars that ferry him around Delaware these days.

As I was driving, I got stuck behind one of those Chinatown buses — the large coach buses that go between Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington for about $3 each way. While those buses may excel in affordability, they often fail when it comes to speed.

As I crept forward, trapped behind the bus, there was nothing I could really do except read the back of this huge white bus. And so for about 20 solid minutes I stared at the back of the bus which was emblazoned with the phrase “Double Happiness.” Apparently, that was the name of the bus line. “Double Happiness.”

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A showcase for building green

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:00:58 +0000

Look at the rundown interior of 5 Channel Center, a nearly 100-year-old building in the Fort Point neighborhood, said Nolan Browne; admittedly, it might be hard to see why the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems would relocate there from Cambridge.

The firm, which is a subsidiary of the German research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, helps start-up energy efficiency companies commercialize cutting-edge products and services. But right now, its designated new space looks pretty shabby, with paint peeling off the walls, pipes and wires dangling toward the dust, and office detritus littering the floor.

But picture 5 Channel Center as Browne, the group’s managing director, does: with a first-floor reception area showcasing the latest energy efficiency technologies, and a sixth-floor multiroom facade-research laboratory where siding, insulation, and other building materials can be tested and compared.

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State achieves green target in energy consumption

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:00:10 +0000

Bangalore: Karnataka can take pride on the renewable energy front. Of the total energy consumed by customers of the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) so far, 11% came from renewable energy against the 7% target set by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. For consumers of Electricity Supply Companies, the figure was 10%.

Additional chief secretary of the energy department in the state Shamim Banu announced these achievements while opening a two-day conference on ‘Energy symposium and vendors conclave’ on Friday.

“Discussions on energy management have been going on since the 1970s, but nothing concrete has happened. The reason is the cost and uncertainty factors which need to be addressed,” said Banu.

She hailed the government’s efforts to push for energy-efficient appliances. “While Bescom has already distributed four lakh compact fluorescent lights in Kolar district, it may take two more months to complete distribution of lights in other jurisdictions,” said Banu.

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Reducing Energy Use — Globally

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:00:08 +0000

Scaling back our energy consumption significantly, whether voluntarily or as a result of laws and regulations, would go a long way toward achieving our pollution reduction and air and water quality goals. But Americans—and to a lesser extent those in many other developed nations—have never been very good at using less of anything, let alone the energy that makes everything in our whiz-bang modern world possible. That said, conservation is going to play an increasingly important role in all of our lives as we struggle to reduce our collective carbon footprints in a quickly warming world.

President Obama has repeatedly highlighted the need for greater conservation efforts when it comes to shoring up our existing and future energy reserves and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 set aside upwards of $3 billion to bolster efforts across the country to weatherize existing buildings in order to conserve energy.

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Alien investors to power ‘green’ energy – Angara

admin — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 16:00:19 +0000

Senator Edgardo Angara said on Friday that clean energy will attract foreign investors after support for renewable energy in the Philippines was expressed in a forum recently held by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines — which has more than 700 members.

The forum titled “Latest trends in Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency” was held on Wednesday and featured three international experts who discussed the latest trends in renewable energy and energy efficiency, particularly on waste-heat recovery, biomass, and thermodynamic solar power.

Angara, who chairs the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering, said that clean technology is not limited to energy applications, but also others such as waste and water management.

He said that clean technology investors have traditionally been keen on placing their investments in China and India, but are now looking to expand to other countries in Asia.

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Energy-efficient buildings

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 16:00:51 +0000

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhuanet) — A deficiency of electricity in many provinces this year, even before the peak season, shows the urgent need to reduce the power consumption of public buildings to meet the energy-saving targets of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Housing and Construction jointly released a document prohibiting the construction of power-guzzling buildings and clarifying the State policy of encouraging the renovation of public buildings for more efficient energy use.

The aim is to reduce the power consumption of public buildings by 10 percent per unit area on average by the year 2015, with a 15 percent reduction for the largest buildings.

Statistics show that one-third of public buildings nationwide use glass walls, which, compared to other materials, increase the energy demand for heating in winter and for cooling in summer. On average, power consumption in the country’s public buildings is three times that of developed countries.

What is worrying is the fact that 95 percent of new buildings completed in recent years still guzzle more power than required despite the publication of power-consuming standards by the central government in 2005.

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Europe’s Energy Efficiency Economy, Looking to 2020

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:00:32 +0000

The EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) organized over 700 events across Europe to show, promote, discuss and celebrate energy efficiency and renewable energy. There were a number of events held in Brussels attracting 30,000 attendees, including a 3-day policy conference organized by the European Commission where they announced the next steps to deploy smart grids throughout Europe.

The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) and the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) co-hosted the Energy Efficiency Global 2011 as an official EUSEW side-event. The Energy Efficiency Global Forum (EE Global), now in its fourth year, is a launching pad for ideas that change the energy landscape, bringing together high-level officials from government, business and NGOs.

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15 eco-friendly concept computers for green computing in the future

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:00:31 +0000

Technology advancements are known to make what was new today appear obsolete tomorrow. Developments in the field of Information Technology are today happening so fast that computers come into the market and are soon rendered a piece of junk as well. This has therefore given rise to a new field of computing known as Green Computing (http://dmohankumar.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/green-computing/), which encourages the use of environmentally sustainable computers, and accessories which during usage and disposal cause minimal or no harm to the environment. Also referred to as Green IT, this technology aims to increase energy efficiency and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in hardware designing which in turn when disposed or recycled do not harm the environment.

Latest O Project Dell personal computer concept is really green!

For the start don’t be misled by the name. This PC concept called the O Project (http://www.gadgetlite.com/2008/10/06/latest-project-dell-personal-computer/) and designed by Luis Luna (and not by Dell) has a host of eco-friendly features. Not only is its skin composed of polymers got from bamboo and cornstarch biodegradable, but its other components too can be returned to the manufacturer for recycling when the model gets obsolete.

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Data center key in cutting costs on energy consumption

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:00:30 +0000

Data center is essential in cutting costs on energy consumption, according to 72% of 118 government CIOs and IT managers polled by APC by Schneider’s Electric during a FutureGov event in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, of the 32% of the respondents who said that cost and availability of electricity is a factor on their data centers’ efficiency, 70% came from developing countries, including the Philippines.

The poll highlights the importance of energy management awareness throughout the Asia Pacific. With the continuity of power crisis, APC by Schneider’s Electric points out that stabilizing a dependable data center should be addressed right away to avoid more pressing problems in the future. “It’s important that government decision makers understand that the cost of not solving this problem is significantly higher than the solution,” President, Schneider Electric Philippines President, Philippe Reveilhac said. “All government CIOs and ICT managers now realize that this cost burden is unsustainable for their country — it diminishes the funds available for investment in productivity, expansion of output, and ultimately affects their overall global competitively.

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Does Japan Need Nuclear Power?

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:00:05 +0000

Since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck northeast Japan in March, AC Japan, a non-profit public service announcement organization, has been running a series of spots on Japanese TV involving various celebrities saying, ‘Nihon no chikara wo shinjiteru.’ Roughly translated, it means ‘I believe in Japan’s strength.’ The problem, it seems to me, isn’t a lack of belief in Japan’s strength—it’s that Japan’s strength is nuclear powered.

The image pushed by the nuclear industry and its proponents is that nuclear power occupies an irreplaceable, crucial intersection between energy needs and self-sufficiency here. Certainly, the Japanese archipelago is resource-poor, with few fossil fuel reserves that the nation can comfortably rely on. Without its own reserves of these resources, Japan is at the mercy of other nations, meaning that to maintain any degree of energy independence, nuclear power seemingly becomes an attractive option.

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