Greg Galitzine : Green Blog
Greg Galitzine
| Helping environmentally-conscientious business leaders choose environmentally-friendly solutions.

August 2007

You are browsing the archive for August 2007.

Verdiem Looks to Cut Deals With Utilities

August 30, 2007

Writing for the UK’s IT Week, James Sherman says that PC power management firm Verdiem is in negotiations with several utility companies regarding the creation of rebates for businesses that adopt technologies designed to reduce energy consumption.   The question is, would a utility company be excited by the prospect of offering enterprises a financial break for using less energy to begin with?   Sherman points to California as an example of a scenario where firms are indeed being offered incentives to reduce their energy usage.   And while some energy suppliers might be interested in exploring any and all options, not everyone is chomping at the bit at the prospect of offering customers a rebate for using less of their services.   Sherman quotes a skeptical spokesman for NPower in his piece.   For more check out the full article here.

Al Gore’s Green Tips

August 27, 2007

Following up on a recent blog post on my other blog regarding green technology, here are the top five ways you can become green from none other than Al Gore.   1)      Florescent light bulbs: These bulbs are getting better and better. Many people complained about the first generation of these bulbs as they had poor lighting characteristics. Nowadays you will get better looking lights which save money and last longer than incandescents. 2)      Outdoor Solar Lighting: Boy these things really stink but still they are better than nothing and will save money and reduce carbon emissions. My experience with these lights is in New England.

Sharp to Fund Green Course

August 27, 2007

JCN Network is reporting that Sharp Corp. announced an agreement with Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering to collaborate in running a research lecture course on next-generation clean production technologies.   According to the news item:   The course, which runs until March 2009, will focus on energy-efficient technologies for thin-film formation, as well as technologies for environment-friendly washing process.   Sharp will reportedly donate 100 million yen to finance the course.   Also, it is being reported that half of the dozen planned lecturers for the course will be Sharp researchers.

Sun Committed to Green Technology

August 22, 2007

  Save Power. Save Space. Save Money. Save the Planet.   With that tagline, Sun Microsystems has kicked off a new green program, the Eco Innovation Initiative.   For more on this program, and how Sun plans to help increase energy efficiency in the datacenter check out this article.   To learn more about the state of Green Technology, be sure to make plans to attend the Green Technology World Conferenceat the Los Angeles Convention Center, September 10–12.

TANDBERG

August 21, 2007

Rick Snyder, president of TANDBERG Americas, recently took the time to answer questions about the telecommunications industries role in the green movement, his company’s efforts to stay ahead of the pack and the upcoming Green Technology World Conference this September in Los Angeles.   TANDBERG, a global provider of visual communications, has a stated mission of developing products that reduce CO2 emissions, traffic congestion and unnecessary business travel, while maintaining or improving productivity.   For more background on TANDBERG Americas, please read earlier TMCnet coverage of the company here.   How is the green movement changing the way your company operates?   We’d been using videoconferencing to reduce the need for business travel and improve productivity since 1989. As we grow exponentially, it becomes even more essential that we address our carbon footprint. Recently, with the introduction of Tandberg Movi, all employees with a webcam can join the enterprise video network.

Polycom

August 20, 2007

I recently had the opportunity to ask Jessica Kersey, senior director of corporate communications with Polycom, about the green movement and how Polycom is helping companies transition into a new era.   Polycom delivers end-to-end, rich media collaborative applications for voice, video, data and the Web from desktop and mobile personal systems to the network core.   For more background on Polycom, please read earlier TMCnet coverage of the company here.   How is the green movement changing the way your company operates?   Polycom’s voice and video communications and collaboration solutions are the ultimate green technology as they enable dispersed workgroups in today’s global enterprises to meet and collaborate virtually, which reduces the need for travel. As the market leader in collaborative communications, we use Polycom technology more extensively than virtually any other company. This substantially reduces our need for travel and our carbon footprint as a company.

BMW Hydrogen 7

August 19, 2007

Does Will Ferrell have a place in a green blog? Of course he does as BMW has seen it fit to give him the keys to the first BMW Hydrogen 7 for everyday use. This is all part of the Hydrogen 7 Pioneer Program which basically means giving Hydrogen cars to high profile people.   Some interesting facts… The car emits nothing but water vapor and is not for sale. Some argue that using hydrogen as a fuel is silly because it actually consumes more energy than it produces but the opposite argument is that over time this should change.   Certainly cars become much cleaner vehicles when using hydrogen for propulsion.   For more information on celebrities such as Angelina Jolie who have driven this car be sure to check out autoblogGreen for more.

Retailers Push Green for "Back to School" Crowd

August 17, 2007

Jenn Abelson, writing in today’s Boston Globe, tells us that retailers are looking to the back-to-school crowd with the hope that their shopping lists will include a new item: saving the planet.   According to Abelson,   Merchants are trying to capitalize on the growing eco-conscious movement by promoting green products this season, from $70 solar backpacks that power iPods and cellphones to pens made of recycled materials...   The article goes on to discuss a series of back to school themed green initiatives from retailers such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Staples.

Green Technology Conference

August 16, 2007

Please accept my invitation to be part of TMC’s newest event. Here is a recent invitation we sent out. In case you missed it, here it is. Hope to see you at this show.

50 Ways To Curb Your Carbon

August 16, 2007

Diane Solomon, writing for MetroActive, a Silicon Valley weekly newspaper serving San Jose, Palo Alto, Los Gatos and other nearby towns, has put together a wonderful list of 50 Ways to reduce your carbon footprint, based on some rather straightforward advice: Simplify!   For the full article and 50 tips for reducing your carbon footprint please click here.

Drink The Green Kool-Aid? Consumers Not Convinced

August 15, 2007

Despite overwhelming media attention, it seems many consumers are not buying in to the thinking that we are in environmental crisis mode. In fact, Yankelovich recently published research showing that only 34% (of a sample survey of 2,763 consumers) feel more concern about the environment than they did a year ago. Perhaps more troubling, a scant 22% of those surveyed feel they can make a difference when it comes to the environment.   For more, check out this article.

Morgan Stanely to Offer Carbon Offset Service

August 15, 2007

If you though the green movment was a passing fancy, think again. All you need to do is heed the age-old adage: Follow the Money. In a follow-on to last year’s proclamation from Morgan Stanley that the firm would invest upwards of $3 billion in environmental markets, including carbon credit trading, Morgan Stanley announced it will partner with consultants Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an independent risk management  foundation in a bid to advise companies that want to go carbon neutral.   DNV is also considered a leading international provider of emissions data certification. Morgan Stanley is not alone. The margins to be made selling carbon credits have attracted the attention of competing investment banks including Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch.   According the Morgan Stanley, the system will work as follows:   Under the new service, clients will compile their emissions inventory and calculate their carbon footprint by applying the monitoring standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, which has provided the accounting framework for many mandatory greenhouse gas programs across the world, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

China’s Green Olympics

August 8, 2007

Although air quality problems plague the world’s fastest-growing economy, China is doing what it can to have a true green Olympics. The city of Beijing plans 80 percent of buses and 70 percent of taxis will be fueled via clean energy by 2008.   As part of the efforts, 14 electric buses have been running on one bus route for two years in Beijing as a pilot project while 1,300 buses fueled by compressed gas have been put into operation.   Of the two million square meters of buildings used for the Olympics, 26.9 percent will be powered by clean energy like solar, wind and geothermal power, the ministry said.   The seven main stadiums in Beijing will be equipped with solar generators with a total capacity of 480 KW while 90 percent of the lighting outside the stadiums and hot water supply in the Olympics Village will be powered by solar energy.   Beijing will have its first wind power plant by the end of this year with a capacity of 50,000 KW, which will supply main stadiums.   While it will take a while to clean the air in China, the Olympics seem like a great catalyst to get the country moving in the green direction.

CO2Sink

August 7, 2007

We often read of reducing carbon emissions but another way to minimize carbon emissions is to bury them underground. Here is a fascinating article on an experiment to bury carbon in Ketzin, Germany. How is it done you wonder? In this case, an 800 meter-deep hole is filled with porous rock.

Automotive X Prize

August 2, 2007

Is a 100-mpg car in reach? We will soon find out. Thirty-one teams have signed up to see if they can win the $10 million prize being offered by the X Prize Foundation. All you have to do to win is develop a marketable 100-mpg car. As they say at Staples, “that was easy.”   Here are the details from MSNBC.
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