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Green Engineering Your Guide to Going Green Google, Harvard's Wissner-Gross debate CO2 from Web Search on January 22, 2009 Harvard graduate student Alex Wissner-Gross created quite a stir with his claim that every web search creates between 5-10 grams of CO2 from the power required to keep those massive server farms going. Google officials apparently thought he was singling it out, but he later said he was speaking about generally about web searches and had no axe to grind with Google.But who does not equate web searc ...... Read More Gasoline's Dismal Future I’ve been wondering about the long and short term prospects for gasoline. We’ve seen prices plunge and if the Detroit Auto Show is any indication, one might think we’ll all be driving hybrids and pure electrics within 5-10 years. What’s more, a green-friendly president moves into the White House next Tuesday to work with a Congressional majority which feels the same way ...... Read More LG Chem's Win over A123 Raises Questions GM’s selection of LG Chem to supply battery cells for the Chevy Volt and other electric vehicles has all the intrigue of a spy thriller. GM enlisted two teams to vie for potentially lucrative contract to supply battery technology for the Chevy Volt. One was a partnership between A123 Systems of Watertown, Mass. and German concern Continental Automotive while the other was LG Chem an ...... Read More Natural Gas Emits Ultra-Fine Particulate: Study A new study promises to debunk the belief that natural gas is a completely clean-burning hydrocarbon. The study, published in the Environmental Engineering Science journal, contends natural gas used in home appliances such as cook top burners emits ultra-fine particulate that damage the lungs and brain. The study bolsters the notion that there is ALWAYS a cost to producing energy or heat. Wind ene ...... Read More Shadow Flicker and Wind Turbine Noise Wars Two posts ago, I mentioned a dispute between abutters and a wind energy project where shadow flicker and noise were cited as potential problem. The tower started going up this week. So I wondered what shadow flicker is (I chose a link to a power company site with a seemingly credible technical explanation) and how loud wind turbines can be.Look no further than Youtube to appreciate the impact of w ...... Read More Automobile Love Affair is Over Carmakers across the board reported rotten December sales so I wondered: Have Americans fallen out of love with the automobile? Have they become more of a necessary evil as opposed to a status symbol or prized possession? Are consumers in increasing numbers viewing the gas-powered automobile as an expensive and environmental pariah instead of a technological marvel? Have we reached an automotive t ...... Read More Wind Turbines Not in my Back Yard Everyone loves wind energy until someone wants to put a large turbine in their backyard. Just such a battle is playing out in next to my hometown. Mark Richey, owner of a large woodworking business located in former plastic bottle plant where I once worked summers during college, has said he will begin erecting a 600- kilowatt 292-foot high turbine this week, weather permitting. That’s desp ...... Read More Top Ten Green Engineering Trends, Stories for 2008 No doubt, 2008 was a tumultuous year. GM and Chrysler nearly went under. Banks and brokerage house screwed everyone, but we bailed them out anyway. And we saw our 401ks get sawed nearly in half. But it was great year for green engineering which has become a household term if not a common practice in design circles. Here’s a review of the year’s top 10 year green engineering even ...... Read More Renewable Energy Kits Instructional If you’re interested in renewable energy, but are a neophyte on the topic, check out Thames & Kosmos, LLC’s web page in renewable energy kits. These enable you to conduct anywhere from 20-70 experiments across the four kits, two on fuel cells and one each on wind power and sustainable buildings. They’re not cheap: $50 for the wind power kit to $150 for each o ...... Read More Wave and Wind Hybrid Projects Taking Root While still largely experimental, wave energy is gathering momentum with this morning’s Boston Globe reporting that a large wave and wind project a dozen miles south off Massachusetts’ well-heeled Nantucket Island. Wind and wave hybrids deploy a combination of wind and wave turbines on fixed platforms similar to oil rigs. Projected output is 100 megawatts, the company sai ...... Read More Wave Energy Enjoys Breeze at its Back Wave energy holds enormous potential, but is far less further along in its development than other renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. But some projects are emerging that tackle many of the daunting challenges engineers face such as wave variability, corrosiveness of seawater and environmental concerns. The potential is huge: in wave rich areas, 100-200 megawatts ...... Read More HP Enlists Boston Power’s Green Notebook Batteries What makes a computer battery green? According to Boston Power, green means developing a battery which consistently delivers power after every recharge for at least three years. The green reasoning is the user would be less inclined to replace the old one whose power time dwindles after repeated charges. “With most batteries, you get four hours. A few months later, it’s two ...... Read More
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