Technology Archives - Page 10 of 18

EPA’s 2013 Battle Of The Buildings Draws Over 3,000 Entries

Is your commercial building on an energy-efficient diet? If you've cut back the consumption, you may just be qualified for a one-of-a-kind contest sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. Here's the scoop from Beth Buczynski for Earthtechling. In a world of reality show competitions, it’s no surprise that the EPA has chosen to turn energy efficiency into a survival of the fittest contest. The 2013 “Battle of the Buildings” will pit commercial buildings against each other to save energy and fight climate change. All buildings and tenants that submit complete energy use data for calendar year 2013 (January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013) using EPA’s custom report are invited to compete. This year, around 3,200 buildings qualified by monitoring and reporting monthly energy consumption using EPA’s online energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. Image via EPA In order to do well in the competition, property owners must get creative. Technologies that cut energy waste…

Why Americans Aren’t Buying more EVs

Are we worried we'll be stalled on the side of the rode with a juiceless ride? Do we balk at the sound of a quiet car? Maybe we're afraid we'll miss the smell of burned petrol. Here's a new study that shows why more Americans are not plugging in and jumping on the EV bandwagon. Nino Marchetti for Earthtechling Are we as Americans so addicted to our gas guzzling vehicles that we are unwilling to consider the benefits of more environmentally friendly forms of transportation, such as electric cars, unless it can be proven to us in a dollars and sense kind of way? That’s one take away to be considered from a recent global survey of electric vehicle opinions by research firm GfK. In its study, GfK found only 36 percent of Americans think highly of electric vehicles, which ranks us a little above China only amongst six national markets looked at. Those who outrank us in terms of “very or mainly favorable opinion” were Japan (82%), Russia (72%), Spain (65%) and France (61%). …

Driverless Electric Shuttle debuts in Singapore (VIDEO)

My dream of one day being a shuttle driver in Singapore may now be in the gutter…but this video does show that all is not lost–especially if you’re on this 100% electric, 100% driverless shuttle.

by Jo Borrás for CleanTechnica.

One of my favorite things about St. Augustine are the tourist trolleys that shuttle people around the historic sites and let you learn the history of that old city without worrying too much about the traffic, pedestrians, drunken pub-crawlers, etc. Despite cutting down on the number of rental cars, the trolleys aren’t nearly as clean as they can be. The ones I experienced were Ford V8-powered machines, or else not-so-clean diesels with train bodies. So, how do we get the benefits of a downtown trolley without so much combustion? Singapore has the answer: an electric shuttle that drives itself called the Navia.

Here’s a quick video, from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, that …

Copenhagen Bike-Sharing Service peddles The Most High-Tech Program Yet

Where I grew up, a bike sharing meant the bike you were riding probably belonged to another kid on the street. Sometimes the bikes were even given back. I love bikes and gadgets, and I found the following article "spoke" to me. Originally published on Bikocity. For the next generation of bike-sharing innovations, take a look at Copenhagen and smile. Trains and a bike-sharing program working as one travel option now offer a GPS built into the bike. Not only do you know where to pick up your next connection – you have a schedule of all local train times between your front bars. The Europeans and Copenhageners (again) increase a bike lover’s convenience in transit with this new innovation. With an Android tablet offering a built-in GPS, real-time train departures and ticket integration, and real-time info on available bikes and docks in the area, one glides easily from destination to destination. Paul DeMaio writes: For the Blog’s U.S. readers, can you imagine Amtrak g…

Geothermal, Solar Put Oregon Tech On All-Renewables Course

Pete Danko for Earthtechling Oregon Tech thinks it’s back on track with its ambitious goal of becoming the first university in North America to generate all of the electrical power it requires – from renewable sources, no less. The university, in Klamath Falls on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains in southern Oregon, is in a great spot for renewable energy. Klamath Falls boasts that it gets nearly 300 days of sunshine a year, and the Klamath Basin sits atop a geothermal reservoir. Geothermal already serves campus heating needs and there’s a 280-kilowatt geothermal combined heat and power plant on campus. Geothermal also provides process heat to the local wastewater treatment plant and keeps dozens of city buildings, schools, swimming pools and more warm. Two-megawatt solar array going in at Oregon Tech (image via Oregon Institute of Technology) What the 3,900-student university has been aiming to do for some years now is add a 1.75 megawatt geothermal power …

White House To Finally Get Solar Panels

How many years ago was it promised that the White House would have solar panels installed on the roof? Three that seemed more like twelve. The disappointments that resulted from the unfulfilled promise were great and not at all necessary. How hard is it to get a small number of them on the roof of the White House? Offers were made to provide the technology and installation for free, and they were ignored. Finally, the installation appears to be happening, according to the Washington Post. It’s hard to tell if this great news or just sort of a buzz kill drawn out over what seemed like a less than magical drought. The premise behind having them installed back in the 1970s by then President Jimmy Carter was simple enough and that was the main appeal. If the number one house in America could be powered by solar, at least partly, then many members of the public might come to see they could use them too. They didn’t last too long though, because the center of American culture was…