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Archive for the ‘evironment’ Category
Solar start-up squeezes more juice from silicon cells
September 14th, 2009 | 
Author: 1366 Technologies, a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says it can produce a very efficient solar cell from silicon which will be in the market in two years.
The Lexington, Mass.-based company on Monday plans to disclose the details of its Self-Aligned Cell (SAC) architecture, a set of technologies it has developed to convert 18 percent of sunlight to electricity with polysilicon, the most common solar cell material. Engineers forecast that they will be able to hit 19 percent efficiency in the next nine months without adding significant cost to existing processes, said Ely Sachs, chief technology officer.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10350957-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
New school year brings ‘Green IT’ college degree
Making data centers more energy efficient has been elevated to a college degree.
IBM on Wednesday said it has developed a two-year associates degree in “green data center management” in collaboration with the Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb.
Existing technologies like virtualization can improve data center efficiently significantly. Emerging technologies such as this wireless sensor promise better control over equipment and facilities.
(Credit: Arch Rock)
Starting in December, students will learn how to design and manage data centers to run efficiently in what IBM says is the first college degree in the subject. Classes will be offered online to remote students as well.
The Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 estimated that data centers alone use about 1.5 percent of all electricity in the U.S. and are on a pace to double consumption in the coming years. With existing technologies, energy use could be cut by 25 percent, representing up to $4 billion in savings, the EPA found.
Because of financial and environmental concerns, more data center operators are taking steps to cut energy use, such as consolidating server workloads and upgrading cooling systems. Companies such as IBM, HP, and IT consulting companies have practices in designing facilities to be more efficient.
The green IT degree from IBM and Metropolitan Community College covers technologies for consolidating computing work loads, including virtualization, as well as security and disaster recovery. The course work also addresses the nuts and bolts of building and managing a facility, such as cabling and monitoring.
The data center where the class will be taught, which will be stocked with IBM servers, was funded by a $1.8 million Department of Labor grant.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10331256-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in education, evironment, Green, IBM | 
Tags: college degree, education, Green IT, IBM, Metropolitan Community College | 
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Major earthquake strikes Indonesia, kills 6
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Six people were killed in Indonesia after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday, officials said.
The quake was initially categorized as magnitude 7.4 before being downgraded to 7.0 by geological officials.
No details were immediately available about the deaths. At least 18 other people were injured around the capital, Jakarta, said Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry spokesman.
A tsunami watch went into effect and quickly expired, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
It struck about 2:55 p.m. (3:55 a.m. ET) and was centered 242 km (150 miles) from Jakarta, according the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 60 km (37.3 miles) deep.
In Tasikmalaya, a city in the Indonesian island of Java, some older buildings were damaged and people panicked in the streets because there was no electricity, according to a witness named Maya.
Tasikmalaya is about 142 km (88 miles) from the epicenter. Several homes in that city were destroyed and a building collapsed, the health ministry spokesman said.
John Aglionby, a journalist with the Financial Times, was in Jakarta during the quake.
“The whole building started to sway. People got very serious,” Aglionby told CNN. “People left the building. But there was no sign of damage here.”
About three weeks ago, a series of earthquakes — ranging in magnitude from 4.7 to 6.7 — struck off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.
At least seven people were injured and one building collapsed in Padang City in West Sumatra, officials said.
– CNN’s Andy Saputra contributed to this report.
Source :
http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/02/major-earthquake-strikes-indonesia/
Posted in diaster, earthquake, evironment, News, World News |
Tags: deaths, earthquake, Indonesia, Jakarta, tradegy, West Sumatra |
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LA fire likely to pass across Mount Wilson
The wildfire ravaging Northern Los Angeles County is expected to pass across Mount Wilson, home to TV and radio towers and the famed Wilson Observatory.
Mount Wilson Observatory Director Hal McAlister said Monday in an ongoing blog that the U.S. Forest Service informed him that passage of the fire across Mount Wilson was imminent. The USFS also said firefighters would battle the blaze from the air rather than on the ground.
Firefighers have already been pulled from Red Box, a major staging area about five miles from the observatory.
In his blog late Monday, McAlister reported:
Monday, 31 Aug 09, 2:46 pm PDT – I just spoke with Sherry Roman, Public Affairs Officer of the Angeles National Forest. She could give no updates as to the status of the fire in the Mount Wilson vicinity except that the USFS still considers that passage of fire across Mount Wilson is imminent and will be fought aerially rather than with ground personnel. Once the fire is through the area, they can assess the damage by air after the event before they can send in ground personnel. She also confirmed that firefighters have been removed from Red Box.This roller coaster has taken a dip downward.
McAlister’s latest blog (which mistakenly lists the day as Monday rather than Tuesday):
Monday, 1 Sep 09, 7:15 am PDT – …I do not at this point have any news – only what we can all deduce from Towercam and other sources. Towercam scenes continue to show thick smoke on the mountain with a concentration on the right side of the image implying activity on the mountain’s north side. It clearly has not reached the mountain and, if advancing towards us, it is only doing so slowly.
McAlister also reported that one of the two power lines to the mountain was knocked out by the fire. But the towercam showing the latest images is still online for now, allowing the Mount Wilson staff to monitor the flames.
The latest news from CBS in Los Angeles reports that the Station fire is still only 5 percent contained, and officials don’t expect full containment for another two weeks. At this point, the fire has destroyed 121,000 acres and 53 homes.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10323008-94.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in diaster, evironment, Health, weather |
Tags: diaster, environment, Health, L.A. Wildfire, Mount Wilson |
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Control4 displays to monitor energy in smart-grid project
Control4 Energy Systems, one of a growing number of home energy display providers, said on Tuesday it will supply energy monitors in a planned smart-grid project in rural Texas.
The home energy monitor–a five-inch-wide monitor that resembles a car GPS unit–will display electricity usage in real time and provide consumers the ability to program a thermostat, according to Will Holford, the public affairs manager at Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
The system works by using Zigbee wireless networking within the home to connect the monitor to the thermostat, which communicates with the utility via a smart meter. Other providers in the project, which the utility hopes to begin work on in the second quarter next year, include smart meter provider eMeter and Silver Spring Networks which provides a networking card for the meter.
Control4, which is perhaps better known for its home media management systems, raised $17.3 million in July to expand into the energy monitoring business.
Control4′s display for managing home energy along with home media.
(Credit: Control4.)
Home energy monitors, or in-home displays, are a key piece of the more advanced smart-grid programs being pursued by utilities. By providing more data and ways to program appliances, utilities hope that consumers will be able to find ways to shave back on consumption.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10322885-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in evironment, Green, software, Tech |
Tags: Control4 Energy Systems, energy monitor, Green |
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Photos: Turning food waste into energy
Food waste is one of the least recycled materials in municipal solid waste systems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But at least one organization in the San Francisco Bay Area is trying to change that.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District is experimenting with innovative techniques to convert raw food waste into usable energy, taking some of the massive amounts of food waste generated by local restaurants and using it to power its operations in Oakland, Calif.
In 2007, EBMUD was awarded a $50,000 grant from the EPA as part of the Resource Recovery Program to explore new ways of digesting food waste to produce methane gas.
Today, the facility is home to a million-dollar facility that is generating usable methane and producing nearly 100 percent of the power needed to operate the regional wastewater treatment operation.
Full Story :
http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001426.html?tag=rsspr.6250028&part=rss&subj=news
Posted in evironment, Green, recycle |
Tags: energy, food waste, Green, recycled materials, wastewater |
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