If you’ve got time and bandwidth to kill, you might want to check out TechTV. In the spirit of OpenCourseWare, MIT hosts videos of various guest lectures and conferences. For instance, Energy forecast for the rest of the century. Although I don’t personally agree with all of the professor’s interpretations—many conflict with the more pragmatic views portrayed in “Sustainable Energy,” which is incidentally available via OCW—it was an interesting presentation, and could probably serve as a good introduction for the uninitiated nevertheless. I also appreciated his putting the scope of human influence in perspective by comparing it with natural flows. It reminded me of prolific environmental author Vaclav Smil’s excellent Cycles of Life : Civilization and the Biosphere.
Category Archives: Technology
Holyoke Green Data Center
In a formal announcement scheduled for today, Holyoke MA will be named the location for a proposed green data center, a project affiliated with UMass Amherst, MIT, BU, EMC Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. According to a recent Mass High Tech article (MHT), the center is still in the initial phases of design and, if successful, will ultimately be a “world-class green research high-performance computing center,” helping to shape the research agenda in Massachusetts.
While it is not clear how “green” such a project would be, the center’s energy claims to be cost effective due to utilizing clean power sources (MHT). The center would also be a resource for various universities involved in biotechnology and climate modeling and would marry private sector R&D with academia, a relatively unfamiliar pairing. Additionally, the project would bring new jobs in research and technology to western Massachusetts, an area of the state that could benefit greatly from new job creation. Holyoke in particular, a post-industrial paper mill city, could use the economic boost and its location alongside the Connecticut River, as well as its proximity to I-91 and high-speed data lines makes it an ideal location for this project.
Interest in Global Warming Heats Up
When you visit the New York times website on Sunday evening, the list of most emailed articles is usually topped by either the big news story of the day, a particularly relevant Frank Rich article or some pithy commentary from Maureen Dowd. This past Sunday it was a 4,000 word article on noted academic Freeman Dyson, who has been comfortably employed as a big brain for over 50 years at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey.
Why the sudden interest in a man now is his mid 80s?
Dyson has always been considered a contrarian. As one of his colleagues observed, “… when consensus is forming like ice hardening on a lake, Dyson will do his best to chip away at the ice.”
While Dysons’s latest idea is not quite as ‘out there’ as his contributions to the shuttered ‘Orion’ project (inter-galatic space travel powered by controlled nuclear bomb blasts) his latest opinion–that we might all be overreacting to global warming–has certainly captured the attention of the scientific community and the media.
Several years ago, Dyson attracted attention with his rather curious statement that global warming could be easily dealt with by developing ‘carbon eating’ trees. This idea was based on Dyson’s observation of carbon levels at various times of the year. In temperate climates–such as Cambridge, MA–the level of carbon particles in the atmosphere are lowest in the fall. Assuming this coincides with the time of the year when trees and other vegetation are in full bloom and more equipped to extract carbon from the air, Dyson saw the possibility of geo-engineering a strain of trees that would perform this task more efficiently.
Recently, Dyson has been given to publicly wondering if global warming is all that bad and accusing Al Gore of being a ‘panic merchant’. The basis of his theory is our development from an agrarian economy to an post-industrial information-based society was powered by carbon-based energy, so how bad could it possibly be?
Warm Home Cool Planet finds it strange that a man of science is taking this position. Our progress as a civilization depends on our ability to develop and adapt new forms of technology that make our lives more convenient, more productive and safer. We discard old ways of doing things when something better comes along. How many people are sticking with a typewriter just because Hemingway wrote on one?
Carbon-based energy has been with us since the invention of the steam train. It is still relatively available and inexpensive–for now. We can already see a point where they will be neither. For the sake of our planet and future generations, it’s time our alternative sources of energy become our major sources of supply.
Will the Stimulus Bill produce a surge in energy efficiency projects?
When President Obama was interviewed on 60 Minutes a couple of months ago, he was asked if the drop in energy prices caused by the recession would cause him to delay many of the renewable energy and energy efficiency project he had talked about during his campaign.
His unequivocal answer to interviewer Steve Kroft: “It’s more important to do it now.”
The President has been good as his word, including close to $100 billion within the recently passed stimulus package. Yesterday’s New York Times details how that money will find its way into local communities and provide a much needed boost to their flagging economies.
Mensa Level Energy IQ Test from National Geographic
Think you know all about energy? What kind of energy we use? How much we use? How much we can save?
This brain-busting quiz from National Geographic will identify the real energy experts. Warm Home Cool Planet took the quiz and the results were… we passed. Barely.
Beware the trick question.
Local company to make energy efficient stereo for Chevy Volt.
Framingham-based Bose Corporation has long been known for it’s innovative and high-quality sound products. The Bose Wave we have at Warm Home Cool Planet HQ is without a doubt the best investment we have made in the last 3 years.
Now, Bose will be part of the revival of an American icon. Right after the first Chevy Volt hits the road in 2010, GM will be releasing a newer version with a Bose Energy Efficient Sound Series that uses 50% less energy than any previous car-based Bose system. This will go a long way towards achieving the Volt’s promised 40 miles operating range on electrical power only. That number is significant as it covers the daily commute of over 70% of the working population of the US.
Recycling Clothes/Recycling Ideas
Warm Home Cool Planet wants it’s readers to be as efficient as possible. That’s why we bring you stories from around the Web that help you live the life you want without increasing your carbon footprint. From our recent travels on the information superhighway, we’re pleased to note many other fine media outlets are also sharing information on keeping it green close to your body.
One of Warm Home Cool Planet’s favorite political sites, The Huffington Post, has figured readers might be all caught up on Barack Obama and ready for some other useful info. If you’re reading this article from the campus of one our fine educational institutions here in Cambridge, you’ll find this article on how to make your own hacky sack a must read.
Beyond the weird, the well intentioned, and all the other advice on recycling your old duds that could make you look a homeless person trying to get through winter, Warm Home Cool Planet has noticed a couple of welcome trends from clothing manufacturers. First, their ability to recycle other materials beyond the soda bottle used in your favorite fleece includes some interesting and inspired ideas.
Second, more clothing companies are taking back old clothing from customers and recycling themselves, including every greenies’ favorite premium label, Patagonia. Check out out this video where one of their sponsored climbers, Tim O’Neill dons a cape and attempts to rescue Japan from mountains of old underwear. Not quite the threat Godzilla represented to our friends in the land of the Rising Sun–but frightening nonetheless.
The death of Books–Part LXVII
Amazon has just released the new version of their book reading device, the Kindle 2. The new hard drive (2GB) holds 1500 books and features a new “Read to Me” feature which allows the…. user to hit a button and let the Kindle read for you. In other words it’s a book that comes with it’s own ‘Books on Tape’ mode. All improvements over the first Kindle, which was essentially a high resolution black & white screen with a hard drive attached.
Many media pundits are using this launch to dust the cobwebs off their Books Will Soon Be Extinct storyline. Many of these people have also speculated that if Amazon can’t make the leap to digitally delivered products, their future looks awfully shaky. An ironic twist given many of these experts are working for media companies who are practically on life support themselves. As an example, the New York Times live blogged the launch event.
Perhaps you’re asking yourself why Warm Home Cool Planet is getting all tangled up in the launch of yet another interactive media product. It’s the same reason we take an interest in all different types of technology. Will they lead to more effective and (energy) efficient ways of doing things?
There is no question human thoughts–and the words we use to express them–will always be an integral part of our society. Think of the book–or the Kindle–as a delivery system for those words and it makes things a little clearer. Do people have a stronger attachment to books than they do for newspapers? Is the long form of the book more conducive to an ‘analog’ reading experience?
We have no doubt someone with more time on their hands than Warm Home Cool Planet is calculating the carbon footprint of getting a book into a reader’s hands versus beaming it their Kindle. We’ll bring you those facts and figures when they become available.
It’s not easy being green
From a recent Reuters Report:
The Obama administration has high hopes that millions of “green” jobs will be created by investing billions of dollars in renewable energy, but a report on Tuesday warned not all those workers would earn good pay.
“Green jobs are not automatically good jobs,” according to the report commissioned by several U.S. labor and environmental groups, which looked at pay practices at renewable energy companies.
One of the things you’ve probably heard floating around with all the talk of ‘stimulus package’ and ‘green jobs’ is they are the answer to bringing high-paying jobs back into our economy. The Reuters article highlights that the manufacture of renewable energy technology will end up being ruled by global economic realities. If the manufacturing capability exists for it to be made in China–it will be– just like the toy you bought at Walmart. Capital continually searches for the cheapest source of labor. With oil prices unlikely to bounce back for a couple of years, transport costs from these labor sites won’t be a barrier for the next few years.
Warm Home Cool Planet sees this as a double edged sword. While the growth of the renewable energy industry is unlikely to lead to a revival of the US industrial base, overseas manufacture of products has made many consumer items affordable for middle class Americans. Remember how expensive HD TVs were before they became a staple in every American living room? If lower cost labor makes renewable technologies more affordable, America will still benefit in many ways. It will lead to lower energy bills, which frees up disposable income for many families. It should also be noted the marketing, distribution and installation of these products is not something that can be outsourced to another country.
One hopes that companies who do manufacture renewable energy products in China and other places insist on environmental standards far stricter than those currently imposed.
Join Al Gore-Repower America
If you’re like Warm Home Cool Planet, you’ve probably seen a lot of ads on TV with the little green ‘we’ logo. This is part of a campaign from an organization called REPOweR AMERICA. It’s all part of a plan to build up grass roots support for developing alternative energy and putting it on the grid. Al Gore wants to send a message to your local congressman. Let them know we need to include the development of alternate energy in the economic stimulus plan being developed by the Obama Administration. You’ve seen what the power of Internet can do for politics. Let’s see what it can do for our country-and our planet.