Category: News

Microsoft has created a new application with the potential to reduce energy use by personal computers by up to 80 percent, according to a report in PC World. According to the report, which cited a Microsoft study of the application titled “Sleepless in Seattle No Longer.”

The study took place over six months and included 50 PC users. Researchers developed a “sleep proxy” which allows the computer to enter sleep mode when not in use, but remain connected to the network. The computer can then be “reawakened” by the user or IT administrator either directly or remotely when its resources are needed. The paper stated that implementation of the sleep proxy by large enterprises could create several millions of dollars worth of savings.

The system Microsoft implemented allowed computers to sleep more than 50 percent of the time. The system is composed of two components, the SleepServer and SleepNotifier programs. According to a second study on the SleepServer component, energy savings from implementing the system could range from 60 to 80 percent. Fifty to 80 percent of electricity use in modern buildings can be attributed to IT use, according to the second study.

Microsoft plans to present the paper at the Usenix conference in Boston. The software company recently won the Uptime Institute’s Audacious Idea Award for its data center efficiency strategy. The company also recently unveiled its Hohm tool for computing home energy use.

Click on the link to read the Microsoft study of the application titled “Sleepless in Seattle No Longer.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to ban the use of the insecticide endosulfan, which is used on vegetables, fruits, and cotton as well as on ornamental shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants. The federal agency says the chemical can pose neurological and reproductive risks to farmworkers and wildlife and can persist in the environment.

The European Union and other countries already ban the use of endosulfan, a chemical cousin of DDT, reports a CNN blog. About 1.4 million pounds of endosulfan are used annually in the United States, according to the EPA.

Prompting the EPA’s move to ban the chemical is new data that indicates workers face greater risks than previously known. The new data, together with scientific peer review, have improved EPA’s assessment of the ecological and worker risks from endosulfan.

Endosulfan is used on a very small percentage of the U.S. food supply and does not present a risk to human health from dietary exposure, according to the EPA.

To view the article, visit Environmental Leader

I know that talking about infrastructure isn’t a sexy blog topic. It’s about as exciting as doing laundry. But here’s the thing: We have to do it.

 According to a recent report from the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young, there is no greater infrastructure challenge facing the country today than water.
We’ve got a triple whammy going on.
First whammy: The U.S. uses the most water per capita in the world — more than 656,000 gallons annually. That’s very close to the amount of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Compare that to China, which uses less than 186,000 gallons per person each year.

To view the article, visit GreenBiz

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program offers low to no-cost energy-efficient cooling tips to beat the heat.  A typical household spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling, and by taking steps this summer to improve energy efficiency, you can save energy, save money and help fight climate change. 

Try these simple tips to start saving today:

 

No-Cost  

• Program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule—set it a few degrees higher (such as 78 degrees) when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save you about $180 a year in energy costs.
• Check your HVAC system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every three months. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder to keep you cool, wasting energy.
• Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
• Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

 

Low-Cost

• Remember to have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it’s running at optimum efficiency for money and energy savings.  
• Swap out incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient lighting choices. Energy Star qualified lighting not only uses less energy, it also produces about 75 percent less heat than incandescent lighting, so cooling bills will be reduced, too.  
• Seal your air ducts. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home’s duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections. Seal duct work using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulate all the ducts that you can access (such as those in attics, crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages).
• Make sure that connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet floors, walls, and ceilings. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork.  

 

Other Tips  

• When buying a room air conditioner, look for one that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. If every room air conditioner in the United States were Energy Star qualified, they would prevent 900 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually—equivalent to the emissions from 80,000 cars.  
• Add insulation to your attic to keep cool air in. If every American household did so, Americans would collectively save more than $1.8 billion in yearly energy costs.  
• Hire a contractor to seal and insulate the interior ductwork in your home (the ducts you can’t reach yourself). For help on choosing the right contractor, go to http://www.energystar.gov/homeimprovement

If your central air conditioning unit is more than 12 years old, replacing it with a model that has earned EPA’s Energy Star could cut your cooling costs by 30 percent. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program offers low to no-cost energy-efficient cooling tips to beat the heat.  A typical household spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling, and by taking steps this summer to improve energy efficiency, you can save energy, save money and help fight climate change. 

Try these simple tips to start saving today:

 

No-Cost

• Program your thermostat to work around your family’s summer schedule—set it a few degrees higher (such as 78 degrees) when no one is home, so your cooling system isn’t cooling an empty house. With proper use, programmable thermostats can save you about $180 a year in energy costs.
• Check your HVAC system’s air filter every month. If the filter looks dirty, change it, but change the filter at least every three months. A dirty filter will slow air flow and make the system work harder to keep you cool, wasting energy.
• Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
• Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

Low-Cost

• Remember to have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it’s running at optimum efficiency for money and energy savings.
• Swap out incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient lighting choices. Energy Star qualified lighting not only uses less energy, it also produces about 75 percent less heat than incandescent lighting, so cooling bills will be reduced, too.
• Seal your air ducts. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home’s duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections. Seal duct work using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulate all the ducts that you can access (such as those in attics, crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages).
• Make sure that connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet floors, walls, and ceilings. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork.

Other Tips

·         When buying a room air conditioner, look for one that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. If every room air conditioner in the United States were Energy Star qualified, they would prevent 900 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually—equivalent to the emissions from 80,000 cars.

·         Add insulation to your attic to keep cool air in. If every American household did so, Americans would collectively save more than $1.8 billion in yearly energy costs.

·         Hire a contractor to seal and insulate the interior ductwork in your home (the ducts you can’t reach yourself). For help on choosing the right contractor, go to http://www.energystar.gov/homeimprovement

If your central air conditioning unit is more than 12 years old, replacing it with a model that has earned EPA’s Energy Star could cut your cooling costs by 30 percent.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is making  audio files and PowerPoint presentations available from the Food Waste Reduction & Management Webinar series at EPA Region 2’s Sustainable Communities web site at http://www.epa.gov/region02/webinars/foodwaste.html.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new standards for sulfur dioxide (SO2) yesterday in a ruling that is likely to raise costs for some utility companies, according to an Associated Press report.

The new guidelines lower the level of SO2 exposure that the EPA considers safe for the first time since the agency began regulating the gas in 1971. According to the EPA, exposure to SO2 can aggravate asthma and cause other respiratory difficulties. People with asthma, children, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the effects of SO2. The EPA estimated the new rules will prevent 2,300 to 5,900 premature deaths and 54,000 asthma attacks a year. The estimated cost in 2020 to fully implement this standard is approximately $1.5 billion.  More:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new permit requirement that would decrease the amount of pesticides discharged to our nation’s waters and protect human health and the environment. This action is in response to an April 9, 2009 court decision that found that pesticide discharges to U.S. waters were pollutants, thus requiring a permit.

The proposed permit, released for public comment and developed in collaboration with states, would require all operators to reduce pesticide discharges by using the lowest effective amount of pesticide, prevent leaks and spills, calibrate equipment and monitor for and report adverse incidents. Additional controls, such as integrated pest management practices, are built into the permit for operators who exceed an annual treatment area threshold.   

“EPA believes this draft permit strikes a balance between using pesticides to control pests and protecting human health and water quality,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water.    

EPA estimates that the pesticide general permit will affect approximately 35,000 pesticide applicators nationally that perform approximately half a million pesticide applications annually. The agency’s draft permit covers the following pesticide uses:  (1) mosquito and other flying insect pest control; (2) aquatic weed and algae control; (3) aquatic nuisance animal control; and (4) forest canopy pest control. It does not cover terrestrial applications to control pests on agricultural crops or forest floors.  EPA is soliciting public comment on whether additional use patterns should be covered by this general permit.

The agency plans to finalize the permit in December 2010.  It will take effect April 9, 2011. Once finalized, the pesticide general permit will be used in states, territories, tribal lands, and federal facilities where EPA is the authorized permitting authority.  In the remaining 44 states, states will issue the pesticide general permits. EPA has been working closely with these states to concurrently develop their permits. 

EPA will hold three public meetings, a public hearing and a webcast on the draft general permit to present the proposed requirements of the permit, the basis for those requirements and to answer questions. EPA will accept written comments on the draft permit for 45 days after publication in the Federal Register.

More information on the draft permit: http://www.epa.gov/npdes