It always happens when you try to do some good, doesn't it?
You try to help an old lady cross the road, and she looks at you harshly and says, "So I look old to you?" You tell that special someone that you love her, and she tells you that she's actually enjoying the company of your best friend.
Such is the painful, ironic circumstance at the United Kingdom's Met Office. ("Met" is short for "meteorological.")
You see, according to the Daily Mail, the agency's large weather brains decided to invest in an even larger IBM brain in order to accurately predict gaseous happenings of climate change.
I have no reason to believe these miserable wet people are from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
(Credit: CC Stevie-B/Flickr)This metal mastermind can make a quadrillion calculations in the time in takes you to utter a consonant. In the technical world, this is "petaflop" performance. But it might as well have been a Fosbury Flop to some buzz killers.
For along came some bureaucrats from the Department of Communities and Local Government, declaring that the incredibly intelligent hulk is one of the worst polluters in the United Kingdom. For some reason, they were looking at the emissions in all of the nation's public edifices.
All right, so the climate-calculating colossus produces about 75 percent of its own carbon footprint. I fancy that there are several members of Parliament who may do the same. And the supercomputer really can see into the future, whereas some members may not be able to see much beyond lunch.
The beautifully named Barry Grommett from the Met Office told the Mail: "We would be throwing ourselves back into the Dark Ages of weather forecasting, if we withdrew our reliance on supercomputing. It's as simple as that."
Quite. The U.K. bureaucrats have done so much in their attempt to return to the Dark Ages (before climate change?) that the weather men must make a stand.
q&a Commercial buildings consume nearly one fifth of the nation's energy. But that could change dramatically if by 2025 all new office and retail buildings generate as much energy as they use.
That's the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative, announced earlier this month. The Energy Department also is partnering with national labs and companies to advance technologies for office and retail buildings to offset their energy use.
The efforts support the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which calls for spending up to $200 million per year by 2013 to accelerate the development of high-performance green buildings. To start, the Department of Energy is giving $100,000 for green-building prizes to the California Clean Tech Open "start-up in a box" competition.
We chatted about the green-building goals last week by telephone with David Rodgers, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency in the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. That office is in transition as Assistant Secretary Andy Karsner, a green-tech advocate appointed by President Bush, is leaving at the end of August.
Q: What are some highlights of the department's net-zero building program?
David Rodgers: We've been doing research on competitive technologies, such as solid-state lighting and advanced air conditioning. We've been working at a very advanced level to integrate those technologies into commercial building design and to make sure competitive technologies are working at maximum efficiency.
This program allows us to elevate the level of our work but also include multiple partners at national universities, national laboratories, and companies such as United Technologies or Johnson Controls.
... Read more
Companies seeking to install utility-scale solar plants on federal land in the sunny Southwest found one barrier removed on Wednesday.
The federal Bureau of Land Management reversed an earlier decision to turn away new applications for solar energy projects on public lands until May 2010.
The agency is scrutinizing the potential ecological impact of solar farms in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
It had announced that it would stop reviewing new proposals, but would continue to process some 125 plans it had already received. Public rejection to that plan reportedly influenced Wednesday's decision.
"By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections," agency Director James Caswell said in a statement.
Solar plants don't exist on public land. However, even projects designed to be near protected areas, such as a proposed California project from OptiSolar, must comply with government reviews to prevent harm to wildlife.
The bureau manages 258 million surface acres, mostly in western states.
The Department of Energy announced a $30 million effort Thursday with Ford, General Motors, and General Electric to bring to market by 2014 plug-in hybrid electric cars that drive 40 miles on a single charge.
"The projects announced today demonstrate a shared public-private sector commitment to advance clean vehicle technologies and will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil while also confronting the serious challenge of global climate change," Andy Karsner, assistant secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said in a statement. He made the announcement Thursday at a conference on plug-in electric vehicles sponsored by the Brookings Institution and Google.org.
Among the trio of three-year projects, General Motors would seek to improve lithium-Ion battery packs and charging systems, integrating its research by 2011 within a test fleet. On its team are the Electric Power Research Institute, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Ford is charged with speeding up the mass-production of plug-in hybrids, focusing on improving batteries and building prototype vehicles. Also involved with its project are utility Southern California Edison, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Johnson Controls-Saft, which specializes in battery technology for hybrids.
Also part of the government's project, General Electric is partnering with Chrysler to develop a dual-battery system enabling a vehicle to travel 40 miles on an electric charge.
The government and auto makers will split the funding. The Department of Energy's intended half would rely on appropriations by Congress.
Earlier Thursday, General Motors' North American president Troy Clarke pleaded for government help to improve car battery technology. Electric vehicle makers are on the prowl for lighter batteries with better range and improved energy density.
Toyota, meanwhile, aims to sell a plug-in hybrid by 2010.
The Department of Energy also announced that it will add a flex fuel, plug-in hybrid Ford Escape to its fleet for officials to use around Washington, D.C. The car accepts 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
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