As the Denver Zoo prepares to open its latest addition, a 10 acre exhibit dedicated to the Asian Tropics, they have incorporated a number of eco-conscious features. As part of the new construction, the entire complex is striving for LEED certification, the first large animal exhibit facility in the nation to be certified as such. In [...]
Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category
Denver Zoo Lays Claim to Greenest in Country
May 24th, 2012 
Eric Wilson Itron: A Global Leader in Smart Meters
May 21st, 2012 John Basalla For today’s company spotlight, I wanted to look at smart meters. Smart meters have been in use since 2006 in the United States and have gained wide penetration in some areas and caused backlashes in others. In the near future many utilities will be switching their customers over to this technology. So what exactly are [...]
Five Friday Facts: The New World Trade Center
May 18th, 2012 Justin Manger The following facts come from a pamphlet sent to me by a relative who visited the construction site and memorial pool at the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1 World Trade Center (WTC) building is expected to reach it full height soon, whereupon its 408-foot (124 m) radio antenna will be installed [...]
Maxwell Technologies: Creating the Replacement for the Battery?
May 14th, 2012 John Basalla If you read enough articles about electric or hybrid vehicles, sooner or later you see references to ultra capacitors. Ultra capacitors are currently widely used in many energy saving devices and have a bright future, including potentially replacing the standard battery. Maxwell Technologies (stock symbol: MXWL) is one of several companies at the forefront of [...]
Five Friday Facts: U.S. Navy as Energy Innovator
May 4th, 2012 Justin Manger Here is an interesting time line from a pamphlet from the Esri Federal GIS Conference on the Navy’s evolution with energy, including last year’s large purchase of biofuels. 1774: USS Alfred, Navy’s first battleship, powered by wind and sails. 1955: USS Nautilus, first nuclear submarine 2009: First Navy aircraft engine tested on biofuel blend 2010: [...]
FFF: Green Peace Study on Server Farms
April 20th, 2012 Justin Manger Mobile internet services based in the “cloud” are a part of daily life and continue to proliferate. Given the huge amounts of energy needed to power the data centers that are the backbone of our online life, Greenpeace recently released a “How Green Is Your Cloud” study comparing which internet companies are the most environmentally [...]
CFL Bulb Recycling Around 2 Percent
April 11th, 2012 Chris DeArmond With all the attention compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) get for saving energy, it seems like the importance of recycling them has taken a back seat. A study by the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR) cited in a 2011 Consumer Reports article found that only 2 percent of consumers said they actually recycle their [...]
Posted in Behavior, Clean Technology, Energy Efficiency, Green Products, Recylcing 
Tags: CFL, Chris DeArmond, Energy Conservation, Green Product 
No Comments »Eco-Marathon Challenges Students to Create Ultra Fuel-Efficient Transport
April 9th, 2012 Eric Wilson When energy efficiency and fuel economy come to mind, big oil is not always the first image that pops up. However, Shell Oil has been supporting the Eco-Marathon, a competition for “high school and college student teams from around the world to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles.” The current record is held by [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson Tags: Battery, Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Economy, Oil Consumption, Peak Oil, Photovoltaic, Plug-in Hybrid, Solar Energy No Comments »Apple To Use Bloom Energy Fuel Cells At New Data Center
April 4th, 2012 Justin Manger In a following up to our post in February about the green data center Apple is planning to build in North Carolina, a few more interesting details about the facility have come to light. Aside from being LEED Platinum certified and having the largest end-user solar power array in the U.S., there will also be [...]
Energy Star Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary
March 30th, 2012 Chris DeArmond Since being created by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992, the Energy Star program and its partners have helped save Americans nearly $230 billion through increased energy efficiency of appliances and electronics. More than five billion products from more than 60 different categories have been sold under the voluntary program. According to EPA’s March [...]
