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 [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Alternative Energy’
DOE’s SunShot Initiative Announces Funding Opportunity for “Plug and Play” Photovoltaic Systems
May 4th, 2012
Chris DeArmond The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot Initiative is an ambitious program that aims to dramatically reduce the cost of solar energy. By the end of the decade, one of SunShot’s official goals is to cut the cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems by 75 percent, or to about 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Besides making the cost [...]
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 [...]
An Unusual Two For One: Controlling Weeds While Generating Energy
April 16th, 2012
Justin Manger Working with Coretec Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in energy-saving machinery and systems, Fuji Electric announced last December that they had come up with a weed-control mat that is now getting attention as a possible new application for photovoltaic power. Municipalities in Japan occasionally use weed-control mats over soil to keep unused or sloped areas [...]
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 [...]
Number Of Green Jobs In U.S. Measured For First Time
April 2nd, 2012
Justin Manger The numbers have been crunched by the Labor Department and the results are in: green jobs accounted for an eye-poppingly low 2.4% of the United States’ total employment in 2010. However, this was the first ever survey of green goods and services jobs, so we don’t yet have something with which to compare the results. [...]
Geothermal Air-Conditioning Systems for Japanese “Combini”
March 19th, 2012
Justin Manger Seven-Eleven is the largest of the combini (convenience store) chains that can be found on nearly every block in large cities around Japan. Selling everything from juice and rice balls to beer and fish, underwear and band-aids, niku-man (meat stuffed steamed dumplings) and adult magazines, the combini is a uniquely Japanese experience. They are also [...]
Army Not Messing Around with $7 Billion in Energy Projects
March 5th, 2012
Justin Manger Over the next 30 years, the U.S. army is aiming to buy solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and other alternative fuels to the tune of $7 billion dollars. Here is the draft proposal in which they are looking for 99 large-scale renewable projects. This is all part of a plan to have renewable energy at or [...]
Creative Localization of Solar Power at Japanese Oyster Farms
March 2nd, 2012
Justin Manger Big companies that operate worldwide use product localization to cater to the tastes and preferences of the various countries in which they conduct business. At the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta you can taste soda from around the world and discover how some variations are much sweeter than others. In Japan, there is no Diet Coke, [...]
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