Nesmith's Notes

Entries Tagged ‘Energy’

“I tried and I made it.”

Wow! What a powerful story!
William Kamkwamba, a boy in rural city in Malawi, Africa, is forced to drop out of school after the deadly 2001 drought nearly killed him and his family and destroyed the little value they had created farming corn and tobacco.  Without the $80 to pay tuition, William turned to the library, [...]

Starbucks Customers React to Caloric Info

It appears Starbucks customers in New York are able to make intelligent decisions when provided with the information about the calorie content of food on the menu.
A new study by Stanford released Jan. 6 examined consumer behavior before and after calorie counts were posted, and determined that when restaurants post calories on menu boards, there [...]

U.S. Bound by Obama\’s Copenhagen Emissions Pledge — U.N. Official – NYTimes.com

In a move clearly designed to keep up the pressure on the US to take strong action on climate change, UN climate chief Yfo de Boer stated, “Whatever route is taken, the president of the United States committed to a 17 percent emissions reduction in Copenhagen.  The president of the United States committed to more ambitious [...]

Smart-grid spending to hit $200 billion by 2015 | Green Tech – CNET News

The term “smart grid” is shorthand for a number of technologies intended to automate and digitize management of electrical power. By computerizing the 20th century electrical system, utilities and others in the power industryhope to manage and control electrical output more efficiently and reliably. Though smart grid sounds like it’s a single system, it’s more [...]

U.N. climate chiefs apologize for glacier error – CNN.com

The U.N.\'s leading panel on climate change has apologized for misleading data published in a 2007 report that warned Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035.  In a statement released Wednesday, U.N. climate chiefs apologize for glacier error – CNN.com the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said estimates relating to the rate of recession of the [...]

Leeds School of Business’ Annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook is Dec 7th

 

The 45th Annual Event Sponsored by the Business Research Division in the Leeds School of Business and BBVA Compass The annual forecast of the state’s economy includes snapshots from specific counties and regions around the state, as well as updates on international trade, population, labor force and personal income growth, and [...]

Q3 VC Funding update from VentureDeal

During the third quarter of 2009, a total of 35 energy and environmental companies received $421 million in new venture capital financing, representing an 8% decrease in the number of companies being funded and an 8% decrease in the total amount funded to the four sectors of Alternative Energy, Clean Tech, Energy and Environmental.
Alternative Energy [...]

DOE Grants $338M to Geothermal Projects across 39 States

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $338 million in funding for the exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies.
These grants are directed toward identifying and developing new geothermal fields and reducing the upfront risk associated with geothermal development through exploration and drilling projects and [...]

Obama Heads to Copenhagen with a 17 Percent Reduction Offer

President Obama set to be in Copenhagen on Dec. 9th with an offer to cut US GHG emissions in the range of 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. 

100 Year-old Boulder Canyon Turbines Replaced

The DOE is investing up to $1.18 million for a project in Boulder, Colo. to upgrade the 100-year-old Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Project by replacing two older turbines with a single unit. The new turbine is expected to operate at a wider range of flows and higher efficiency ranges, resulting in an increase in annual generation [...]

Green Energy Projects Discover “not in my backyard” Means Them, Too

In Massachusetts, a proposed wind farm called Cape Wind was dealt a blow last Friday that will delay what would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed with local Indian tribes who claim that the location for the wind farm should be considered for listing in the National [...]

Keeping the Clunker and Looking to Save Cash

Head over to the EPA’s Fuel Economy website and learn ways to get the last few miles out of every drop.  You’ll learn how to drive more efficiently, like taking the golf clubs out of the trunk when snow’s on the ground and slowing down just a bit.  And ways to not only make the [...]

Ole Miss and SmartSynch Report Electricity Usage with…Twitter

The University of Mississippi is using data from SmartSynch’s smart meters and passing it to dashboards for campus operations personnel to monitor, analyze and act via RSS and social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook.  As a part of the university’s Red, Blue and Green initiative, students and faculty can register with the school’s Green [...]

NIST Fasttracks SmartGrid Standards

NIST released a draft report on the SmartGrid interoperability standards yesterday.  The roughly 80 initial standards and 14 priority action plans are available for public review and comment for 30 days.  Following this comment period the first phase of NIST’s 3 phase approach will be completed with the final release of the NIST Framework and [...]

Power of Influence Reduces use of Power – Electric Power, that is

It appears that people don’t only wish to keep up with their neighbors with bigger homes and wider if flatter TVs.   This seems to be true with energy efficiency as well. 
From hotels to neighborhoods, the power of influence work by Dr. Robert Cialdini is being put to the test with positive results.  Looks like [...]


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