Original Article
By FELICITY BARRINGER
New York Times
Published: September 17, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — The Berkeley City Council late Tuesday unanimously approved a program to give city-backed loans to property owners who install rooftop solar-power systems. The loans, likely to total up to $22,000 apiece, would be paid off over 20 years as part of the owners’ property-tax bills.
Tuesday’s vote gave final approval to the creation of special property-tax districts, which property owners could opt to join. The final piece of the puzzle, however, is still missing: a deal with a lender whose capital the city would use to finance the program.
At first, the city seeks to raise $1.5 million for a pilot program for about 50 homes. If it program is successful, the kitty could eventually contain tens of millions of dollars, and hundreds of property owners could be eligible to participate.
If the early phase of the program lives up to the high expectations of its backers, the city government is likely to expand the field of projects it will fund, giving similar grants to energy-efficiency projects like putting in double-glazed windows or adding to a home’s insulation.
The program, said Daniel M. Kammen, a professor of energy at the University of California at Berkeley and director of the school’s Institute of the Environment, is designed to entice people who might be scared away by the high initial cost of retrofitting homes to incorporate solar power or become more energy efficient.
It allows homeowners “to think about creating clean-energy homes with basically no cost” up front, he added.
Participating homeowners would pay roughly $180 more per month on their property tax bills, though much of that cost could be expected to be recouped in savings on electrical bills.
“We have about 100 names of people who have expressed interest in the program,” said G. Craig Hill, a representative of the firm Northcross, Hill & Ach, which is advising the city council on the financial details. Mr. Hill is also negotiating with two private groups. He said they seem willing, even in the midst of the meltdown of large institutions on Wall Street, to try to resell the city-backed debt obligations in a skittish marketplace.
Christine Daniel, a deputy city manager working with Mr. Hill, said, “I would argue that this is very, very secure debt,” since it is backed by the property tax revenues in a city that collects 98 percent of the money it is owed each year.
The city’s mayor, Tom Bates, said in an interview shortly before the vote, “I think this is probably the most important contribution Berkeley can make toward taking on global warming,” and reducing greenhouse gases.
He added, “I think the idea is going to go like wildfire” through other city governments. Already, he said, nearly two dozen cities, from San Francisco to Annapolis and Seattle to Cambridge, Mass., have called indicating they want to follow suit.
As Ms. Daniel said, “We’re certainly gotten a lot of calls from cities that are interested, but most cities are saying: Let’s wait and see how Berkeley does.”
The overwhelming gloom in the national financial markets might hamper the program’s ability to expand, she said, but added, “If the secondary market is not as robust as we hope it will be, we believe the market will see the wisdom of this eventually.”
Mr. Kammen, the Berkeley professor, was not worried, pointing out that venture capitalists have been pouring billions of dollars into the development of alternative-energy technology and looking for new ways to finance potential breakthroughs. “There’s so much more money there than ideas,” he said.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Saturday, 13 September 2008
sustainable kitchen
KCRW Good Food
Listen
The Sustainable Kitches is 50 minutes into the show and summarized below:
Sustainable Kitchens (11:50A)
Deborah Tull shares tips for creating a sustainable kitchen. She has been engaged in sustainable living and environmental education for 15 years and runs Creative Green Sustainability Coaching.
Tip #1: Consider the types of food you will buy.
Tip #2 - Always store foods in ceramic, glass containers and stainless steel/aluminum containers.
Tip #3 - Pay attention to ways that you can conserve energy in cooking.
Tip #4 - A sustainable kitchen has the potential to create zero waste.
Tip #5 - Grow your own herbs and vegetable.
Tip #6 - Bring awareness and compassion to our relationship with food.
Tip#7 - Prepare yourself to be more sustainably "on the road" by carrying an "urban eco-pack."
Listen
The Sustainable Kitches is 50 minutes into the show and summarized below:
Sustainable Kitchens (11:50A)
Deborah Tull shares tips for creating a sustainable kitchen. She has been engaged in sustainable living and environmental education for 15 years and runs Creative Green Sustainability Coaching.
Tip #1: Consider the types of food you will buy.
Tip #2 - Always store foods in ceramic, glass containers and stainless steel/aluminum containers.
Tip #3 - Pay attention to ways that you can conserve energy in cooking.
Tip #4 - A sustainable kitchen has the potential to create zero waste.
Tip #5 - Grow your own herbs and vegetable.
Tip #6 - Bring awareness and compassion to our relationship with food.
Tip#7 - Prepare yourself to be more sustainably "on the road" by carrying an "urban eco-pack."
Friday, 12 September 2008
Khaleej Times Online >> News >> BUSINESS Autodesk’s Revit Promotes Environment-friendly Designs
Original Article
dubai — US firm Autodesk has launched a new software that helps real-estate developers, among other sectors, incorporate in their projects some architectural and engineering designs supporting sustainable development.
This will in turn help users of Revit solutions increase the energy efficiency of their buildings through an accurate assessment of the projects’ lifecycles, according to Louis Khoury, the industry sales development manager of Autodesk Middle East.
“Autodesk’s solutions such as Revit enable architects and developers to minimise water and electricity usage thereby leading to significant savings for property developers over the long-term and the lessened production of harmful pollutants,” he said on Wednesday.
He noted that the UAE is witnessing a record number of innovative and landmark projects, which have adopted designs in line with the government’s move towards sustainable development.
During the launch of Revit on Tuesday night, Autodesk officials said Dubai and Abu Dhabi alone have at least 70 buildings awaiting green-building certifications.
This means that the real-estate industry is heading towards the total adoption of guidelines on sustainable development.
Christian Rust, the sales development manager for architectural, engineering and construction at Autodesk covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa Emerging, said Revit was launched in Dubai for its strategic location in the region.
He added that the UAE is the region’s biggest construction market.
In a statement, Autodesk said that a UAE building complying with the principles of sustainable development may save energy consumption of up to 50 per cent.
It stressed that 70 per cent of the average 30,000 kilowatt hours of electricity being used up by a building in the UAE is allocated for air-conditioning.
Autodesk is a global leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction and media and entertainment markets
dubai — US firm Autodesk has launched a new software that helps real-estate developers, among other sectors, incorporate in their projects some architectural and engineering designs supporting sustainable development.
This will in turn help users of Revit solutions increase the energy efficiency of their buildings through an accurate assessment of the projects’ lifecycles, according to Louis Khoury, the industry sales development manager of Autodesk Middle East.
“Autodesk’s solutions such as Revit enable architects and developers to minimise water and electricity usage thereby leading to significant savings for property developers over the long-term and the lessened production of harmful pollutants,” he said on Wednesday.
He noted that the UAE is witnessing a record number of innovative and landmark projects, which have adopted designs in line with the government’s move towards sustainable development.
During the launch of Revit on Tuesday night, Autodesk officials said Dubai and Abu Dhabi alone have at least 70 buildings awaiting green-building certifications.
This means that the real-estate industry is heading towards the total adoption of guidelines on sustainable development.
Christian Rust, the sales development manager for architectural, engineering and construction at Autodesk covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa Emerging, said Revit was launched in Dubai for its strategic location in the region.
He added that the UAE is the region’s biggest construction market.
In a statement, Autodesk said that a UAE building complying with the principles of sustainable development may save energy consumption of up to 50 per cent.
It stressed that 70 per cent of the average 30,000 kilowatt hours of electricity being used up by a building in the UAE is allocated for air-conditioning.
Autodesk is a global leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction and media and entertainment markets
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Information Distribution - The Art of Aggregation and Information Archetectures
http://www.inboxrobot.com/
Tech's looming battle against rising energy costs
Driving the concentration of computational and information storage facilities globally. Density allows clouds to form which provide a concentration of information flows as well. Density allows a focus on energy balances, leading to sustainability and support of market dynamics.
The extension of the (computational) cloud to the Residential Living Units (RLUs) as well as to Enterprise Building Units (EBUs) allows the infrastructure to be, controllably, Transparent, Translucent, or Opaque as required.
Bank of America, for example, expects to cut as much as half its energy usage in 3,300 branches using "intelligent" building automation technology.
Telenor, a Norwegian wireless provider, worked with TAC to reduce its electricity usage from 300kWh per square meter to 100kWh. TAC designed a system where roughly 1,100 workplaces are individually controlled, and only areas that are in use and active are heated. Rooms are regulated with 600 multifunctional office nodes with sensors, while 900 valves control heating and ventilation.
Original Article
IT has gotten a bad rap when it comes to energy consumption. Walk into any datacenter, and you can almost feel the carbon emissions leaking into the atmosphere. However, research shows that the datacenter actually accounts for a very small percentage of a company's overall energy usage. And businesses are missing the other significant opportunities where they could cut energy usages -- and costs. Ironically, the same IT department that is reducing energy usage in the datacenter could lead the energy-savings initiatives across the enterprise.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the price of energy will continue to rise over the next 25 years, as global demand is poised to grow by 57 percent while the energy supply dwindles. As a result, businesses will find their profits reduced due to higher operating costs -- unless they do something about that energy usage.
[ Findout how USPS, IBM develop Highway Corridor Analytic Program to optimize mail transportation and to cut costs in the Sustainable IT blog | Read "Why IT should get in the facilities business" ]
Businesses' energy-saving initiatives often aim for the datacenter because it's a visible, easy target. "The datacenter is an absolute factory burning electricity, blowing freezing air, with storage service gear humming away 24/7. Naturally, the first place targeted for energy reduction is the datacenter," says Christopher Mines, a Forrester Research analyst.
Many IT shops have already reduced energy usage by switching to Energy Star-rated products, installing more efficient hardware, and maximizing the efficiency of their cooling system. But these efforts, while important, are just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall reductions that will be necessary to keep your company profitable.
In the coming years, IT could take the lead on saving energy, using its vast knowledge of the company's networks, equipment, work processes, and facilities. IT shops that have embraced the green-tech religion can transform that passion into something that will resonate, and pick up support, where it counts: in the executive boardroom. Energy-smart IT leadership can ensure the company remains in the black for the long term.
IT'sbig opportunity: Lead the energy-savings charge
Focusing on managing the power consumption of the datacenter and IT functions misses the full opportunity, says Glen Hobbs, a technology advisor with PricewaterhouseCoopers. IT has a much bigger role to play in improving business sustainability and identifying cost savings by enabling different ways of doing business, he adds.
"To achieve a commercially realistic advantage, organizations should consider more than just computing device efficiency," Hobbs said. "IT's contribution to an organization's sustainability should not just look inward to the operation of the IT function but outward through the IT supply chain to the operation and use of technology across the whole business."
[More ...]
The extension of the (computational) cloud to the Residential Living Units (RLUs) as well as to Enterprise Building Units (EBUs) allows the infrastructure to be, controllably, Transparent, Translucent, or Opaque as required.
Bank of America, for example, expects to cut as much as half its energy usage in 3,300 branches using "intelligent" building automation technology.
Telenor, a Norwegian wireless provider, worked with TAC to reduce its electricity usage from 300kWh per square meter to 100kWh. TAC designed a system where roughly 1,100 workplaces are individually controlled, and only areas that are in use and active are heated. Rooms are regulated with 600 multifunctional office nodes with sensors, while 900 valves control heating and ventilation.
Original Article
IT has gotten a bad rap when it comes to energy consumption. Walk into any datacenter, and you can almost feel the carbon emissions leaking into the atmosphere. However, research shows that the datacenter actually accounts for a very small percentage of a company's overall energy usage. And businesses are missing the other significant opportunities where they could cut energy usages -- and costs. Ironically, the same IT department that is reducing energy usage in the datacenter could lead the energy-savings initiatives across the enterprise.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the price of energy will continue to rise over the next 25 years, as global demand is poised to grow by 57 percent while the energy supply dwindles. As a result, businesses will find their profits reduced due to higher operating costs -- unless they do something about that energy usage.
[ Findout how USPS, IBM develop Highway Corridor Analytic Program to optimize mail transportation and to cut costs in the Sustainable IT blog | Read "Why IT should get in the facilities business" ]
Businesses' energy-saving initiatives often aim for the datacenter because it's a visible, easy target. "The datacenter is an absolute factory burning electricity, blowing freezing air, with storage service gear humming away 24/7. Naturally, the first place targeted for energy reduction is the datacenter," says Christopher Mines, a Forrester Research analyst.
Many IT shops have already reduced energy usage by switching to Energy Star-rated products, installing more efficient hardware, and maximizing the efficiency of their cooling system. But these efforts, while important, are just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall reductions that will be necessary to keep your company profitable.
In the coming years, IT could take the lead on saving energy, using its vast knowledge of the company's networks, equipment, work processes, and facilities. IT shops that have embraced the green-tech religion can transform that passion into something that will resonate, and pick up support, where it counts: in the executive boardroom. Energy-smart IT leadership can ensure the company remains in the black for the long term.
IT'sbig opportunity: Lead the energy-savings charge
Focusing on managing the power consumption of the datacenter and IT functions misses the full opportunity, says Glen Hobbs, a technology advisor with PricewaterhouseCoopers. IT has a much bigger role to play in improving business sustainability and identifying cost savings by enabling different ways of doing business, he adds.
"To achieve a commercially realistic advantage, organizations should consider more than just computing device efficiency," Hobbs said. "IT's contribution to an organization's sustainability should not just look inward to the operation of the IT function but outward through the IT supply chain to the operation and use of technology across the whole business."
[More ...]
Trends in Communicating with Fringe Devices
The "4th generation" of the net, as exemplified by the current tech trends:
1) at the fringe -
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/10/TechCrunch50-highlights-mobile-text-input-tools_1.html?source=NLC-DAILY&cgd=2008-09-10
along with a total avoidance of real time data acquisition.
(but note that iPhone is saddly missing).
Original Article
Best of TechCrucgh50
Ventures in mobile computing and platform tools highlighted the TechCrunch50 2008 conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, with companies airing products ranging from a cross-platform environment for mobile systems to a next-generation text input technology.
TechCrunch50 has featured startups presenting their wares to the audience and panels of experts drawn from the entrepreneurial and investor realms. Among the panelists Tuesday was Mark Cuban, a technology entrepreneur perhaps best known as the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and a former contestant on the Dancing with the Stars TV show.
[ See the related story, "Startups pitch new tools for business." And for all the news from Demo Fall 2008 and TechCrunch50, check out InfoWorld's special report. ]
Projects detailed included Mytopia, which provides a cross-platform environment for Web and mobile systems. While the demonstration of Mytopia featured an online poker game functioning across multiple devices and a PC desktop, it also can be leveraged for all rich media applications, said Guy Ben-Atzi, CEO of Mytopia.
Using the company's RUGS (Real Time Universal Gaming System) framework, developers can code applications one time and automatically compile native builds for key Smartphone and mobile operating systems, including BlackBerry, Apple iPhone, and PalmOS. "RUGS is a rich content authoring environment and it starts with a developer who uses a customized Eclipse-based IDE. RUGS is going to ensure that content is going to be created in what we call a RUGS-compliant fashion," for cross-platform translation, Ben-Atzi said.
Swype presented its text input technology at the conference. Using either a stylus or a finger, users can quickly input words onto a screen. It is designed to work across devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, and virtual screens. "Swype is the text input [technology] for the 21st century," said CEO Mike McSherry. Users can write 50 words per minute and multiple languages are supported, he said. McSherry asked screen designers and builders to talk to the company if they thought the technology would be applicable.
A cross-section of collaborative apps
Dropbox showed its technology for storing and sharing files in the cloud. Online sync, sharing, and backup are combined into a single interface. Files in the Dropbox folder are synchronized between computers and securely backed up online. Folders can be shared with others. The company announced Linux backing for the product Tuesday.
Devunity touted its cloud-based collaborative coding platform for developers, uniting programmers from around the world. "You don't have to mess with versioning. You can see what everybody's doing in real time," said Alon Carmel, CEO at Devunity.
Other technologies covered on Tuesday were in the collaborative and finance and statistics spaces. Sometimes, panelists offered sharp rebukes, such as Cuban's assessment of ImindI, which proposed a service to help like-minded thinkers connect on the Web. The service features a thought engine and artificial intelligence. The monetization plan involves rich contextual advertising.
"Maybe I'm missing something, but that just sounded like the biggest bunch of bull I've ever heard in my life," Cuban said. "I don’t get what the return is for making the investment in time" to use the application, he said. IMindi CEO Adam Lindemann defended the project as seeking to connect information to thoughts.
Panelists gave a thumbs-up to iCharts, which provides a platform for online charting. "I think it's a very interesting idea, maybe because I spend too many hours slaving over Excel," said panelist Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital. "Anytime you can make something simple and easy, you've got a winner," said panelist Don Dodge, of Microsoft. "ICharts is your YouTube for interactive charts," said Seymour Duncker, CEO of iCharts.
Also presenting Tuesday was Tingz, which offers tools and services to gather Web content and distribute it to digital devices and social networks. Cross-platform, shareable widgets are featured. Applications are enabled such as browsing of movie listings.
Another presenter, Emerginvest, analyzes emerging financial markets with its application. And products for managing e-mail were shown both on Monday and Tuesday.
Proposed cures for e-mail overload
On Monday, the TechCrunch crowd heard from Joshua Baer, CEO of OtherInbox, which provides a service intended as a cure for e-mail overload. The platform offers a free e-mail account that organizes newsletters, social networking updates, coupons, and receipts from online purchases. Users can find the most interesting items and ignore the rest. OtherInbox helps e-commerce vendors send more targeted, relevant e-mails, Baer said.
Tuesday's e-mail technology presentation featured Postbox, a desktop e-mail application geared to help users spend less time managing e-mail. Cataloging everything in e-mail from text to Web links and pictures, Postbox provides a searchable platform and displays messages by topic. Postbox connects to content from any e-mail account, said Sherman Dickman, a founder of Postbox.
1) at the fringe -
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/10/TechCrunch50-highlights-mobile-text-input-tools_1.html?source=NLC-DAILY&cgd=2008-09-10
along with a total avoidance of real time data acquisition.
(but note that iPhone is saddly missing).
Original Article
Best of TechCrucgh50
Ventures in mobile computing and platform tools highlighted the TechCrunch50 2008 conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, with companies airing products ranging from a cross-platform environment for mobile systems to a next-generation text input technology.
TechCrunch50 has featured startups presenting their wares to the audience and panels of experts drawn from the entrepreneurial and investor realms. Among the panelists Tuesday was Mark Cuban, a technology entrepreneur perhaps best known as the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and a former contestant on the Dancing with the Stars TV show.
[ See the related story, "Startups pitch new tools for business." And for all the news from Demo Fall 2008 and TechCrunch50, check out InfoWorld's special report. ]
Projects detailed included Mytopia, which provides a cross-platform environment for Web and mobile systems. While the demonstration of Mytopia featured an online poker game functioning across multiple devices and a PC desktop, it also can be leveraged for all rich media applications, said Guy Ben-Atzi, CEO of Mytopia.
Using the company's RUGS (Real Time Universal Gaming System) framework, developers can code applications one time and automatically compile native builds for key Smartphone and mobile operating systems, including BlackBerry, Apple iPhone, and PalmOS. "RUGS is a rich content authoring environment and it starts with a developer who uses a customized Eclipse-based IDE. RUGS is going to ensure that content is going to be created in what we call a RUGS-compliant fashion," for cross-platform translation, Ben-Atzi said.
Swype presented its text input technology at the conference. Using either a stylus or a finger, users can quickly input words onto a screen. It is designed to work across devices such as phones, tablets, game consoles, and virtual screens. "Swype is the text input [technology] for the 21st century," said CEO Mike McSherry. Users can write 50 words per minute and multiple languages are supported, he said. McSherry asked screen designers and builders to talk to the company if they thought the technology would be applicable.
A cross-section of collaborative apps
Dropbox showed its technology for storing and sharing files in the cloud. Online sync, sharing, and backup are combined into a single interface. Files in the Dropbox folder are synchronized between computers and securely backed up online. Folders can be shared with others. The company announced Linux backing for the product Tuesday.
Devunity touted its cloud-based collaborative coding platform for developers, uniting programmers from around the world. "You don't have to mess with versioning. You can see what everybody's doing in real time," said Alon Carmel, CEO at Devunity.
Other technologies covered on Tuesday were in the collaborative and finance and statistics spaces. Sometimes, panelists offered sharp rebukes, such as Cuban's assessment of ImindI, which proposed a service to help like-minded thinkers connect on the Web. The service features a thought engine and artificial intelligence. The monetization plan involves rich contextual advertising.
"Maybe I'm missing something, but that just sounded like the biggest bunch of bull I've ever heard in my life," Cuban said. "I don’t get what the return is for making the investment in time" to use the application, he said. IMindi CEO Adam Lindemann defended the project as seeking to connect information to thoughts.
Panelists gave a thumbs-up to iCharts, which provides a platform for online charting. "I think it's a very interesting idea, maybe because I spend too many hours slaving over Excel," said panelist Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital. "Anytime you can make something simple and easy, you've got a winner," said panelist Don Dodge, of Microsoft. "ICharts is your YouTube for interactive charts," said Seymour Duncker, CEO of iCharts.
Also presenting Tuesday was Tingz, which offers tools and services to gather Web content and distribute it to digital devices and social networks. Cross-platform, shareable widgets are featured. Applications are enabled such as browsing of movie listings.
Another presenter, Emerginvest, analyzes emerging financial markets with its application. And products for managing e-mail were shown both on Monday and Tuesday.
Proposed cures for e-mail overload
On Monday, the TechCrunch crowd heard from Joshua Baer, CEO of OtherInbox, which provides a service intended as a cure for e-mail overload. The platform offers a free e-mail account that organizes newsletters, social networking updates, coupons, and receipts from online purchases. Users can find the most interesting items and ignore the rest. OtherInbox helps e-commerce vendors send more targeted, relevant e-mails, Baer said.
Tuesday's e-mail technology presentation featured Postbox, a desktop e-mail application geared to help users spend less time managing e-mail. Cataloging everything in e-mail from text to Web links and pictures, Postbox provides a searchable platform and displays messages by topic. Postbox connects to content from any e-mail account, said Sherman Dickman, a founder of Postbox.
Monday, 8 September 2008
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