Is that a cheap electric vehicle I see on the horizon? Yet-Ming Chiang, A123 Systems founder and an MIT materials researcher, claims to have come up with a new battery design that will cut the cost of battery packs — currently upwards of $10,000 — by up to 85 percent. The tech will be at […]
Archives for August 2010
In pictures: E-waste defiles Ghana
Until recently, it was easy to turn a blind eye to electronic waste (e-waste). It used to be that once old and broken computers, televisions and all sorts of consumer electronics where shipped overseas, it was out of sight and out of mind. But now, thanks to some high-profile investigative reports and images like these […]
Stuxnet: Prelude to smart grid security threats
Have you heard of Stuxnet? Unless you run industrial or power control systems, the emergence of this nasty little piece of malware probably didn’t even cause the slightest blip on your radar. But that’s no reason to ignore it. Stuxnet targets Siemens Simatic WinCC, a Windows-based suite of software that’s used by industrial plants and […]
SSD bargains spell good news for Green IT
For all of their energy saving and performance-boosting benefits, solid-state drives’ (SSD) lofty per-gigabyte cost make the storage technology it a tough sell when compared to trusty old platter-based hard drives. Put simply, few are going to pay a premium for data storage, especially (sorry to sound cliché) in this economy. Recently, though, there’s been […]
Green startups, time to bone up on net neutrality
To be honest, I have yet to fully wrap my head around the Google and Verizon net neutrality business (I generally leave that to smarter folks). But it looks like I may have to change my attitude. In this intriguing article that sailed across my Twitter stream today, Sustainablog’s Jeff McIntire-Strasburg explores “Why Net Neutrality […]
RFID helps California cut data center energy use
California, much like the U.S. Federal Government, is looking to streamline its data center operations and cut energy use. How? One way the state is accomplishing it, well the latter at least, is by installing RFID-equipped temperature control systems. According to this report in RFID Journal, California’s Department of General Services is installing Federspiel Controls‘ […]
Stat of the day: SAP and renewable energy
50 percent That’s how much of SAP’s energy use is derived from renewable energy sources (solar, wind, etc.) as of this past quarter ending June 30, 2010. Kudos! Additionally, the enterprise software maker — which also markets carbon accounting software — is reporting huge strides in improving data center energy efficiency and cutting CO2 emissions […]
Unintentionally green: ‘Dryer Boxes’ for waterlogged phones
It’s happened to a lot of us. The terrifying splash when a cell phone and puddle meet. For some, it’s an excuse to upgrade, for others it’s an expensive and time-consuming annoyance. But for nearly everyone, it means another junked gadget. That’s why JMC Risk Solutions‘ ‘Dryer Boxes’ are intriguing devices. As the name suggests, […]
Genie Lens: Stick-on solar booster
An Englewood, CO-based startup called Genie Lens Technologies has created a film called Fusion — a sticker, for all intents and purposes — that improves solar panel efficiency by up to 10 percent. The best part is that the sticker improves efficiency best under cloudy conditions, when diffuse light makes it tougher for solar panels […]
Too early to worry about solar panel recycling?
Getting a little ahead of ourselves, are we? Actually, no. While the solar industry is only just now ramping up in earnest — despite there having been solar panels perched on roofs for decades — some in the PV industry are getting a little proactive about handling the waste that a massive U.S. roll-out of […]
