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Weekly Energy Newsbriefs

Articles for June 15, 2009


ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field. To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the publication of a new issue, go to Energy Newsbriefs archives at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.


Please be aware that although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to change. Further, servers sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.



EMISSIONS

From Workplace to Anyplace is a 78-page report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), funded by Microsoft Corporation, on the value of telework and virtual meeting in reducing transportation-based emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). The savings in fuel results in a dramatic savings in released GHG. See this report at http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2009/WWFBinaryitem11939.pdf .

SMART 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age is a report by The Climate Group on behalf of the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI), 2008. A press release with the same title describes the report and includes a link to the page where, with free registration, one can download the entire report at no cost. See the press release on the GeSI website at http://www.gesi.org/index.php?article_id=210


SUSTAINABLE and GREEN BUILDINGS

A three-part series, by Michael Nicklas, FAIA, on sustainability strategies has been carried in High Performance Buildings:

  1. "Daylighting Strategies: Strategies That Maximize Benefits," Part 1 of the 3-part series, has informative sections on site maximization, integrated designs, roof-monitors and light shelves. Illustrations are used extensively, and the valuable sidebar, "Energy Ramifications," and table, "Glazing for Different Applications," are included. See Part 1 in the Spring 2008 issue at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/Daylighting%20Strategies%20That%20Maximize%20Benefits.pdf .

  2. "Rainwater: The Untapped Resource" (Part 2 of the 3-part series) emphasizes the connection between water and energy when the author states, "Energy costs make up 80% of the typical water bill." He shows the enormous drain on water resources by irrigation and power plants. The water drain from power plants can be ameliorated by reducing the energy demand to which those plants respond. He also suggests a number of ways to conserve water, which, in turn, saves energy. See Part 2 in the Summer 2008 issue at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/Rainwater.pdf .

  3. "Green on a Budget" (Part 3 of the 3-part series) offers green design and construction approaches that cost less, the same, or just marginally more than traditional non-green practices. Four new schools, noteworthy in their sustainability, are cited as being substantially under budget. See Part 3 in the Fall 2008 issue at http://www.hpbmagazine.org/images/stories/articles/Nicklas2.pdf .


SOLAR

"Myth Busters and Solar Power" was written by Vicky Boyd, Contributing Editor, enerG: Alternative Sources Magazine. The author interviewed John Murphy, president of the Pacific Habilitation Center Northwest (PHC) in Portland for this article. Two points are emphasized here. First, there is enough solar in the Pacific Northwest to power an entire building including the manufacturing plant highlighted in this story. Second, solar is feasible, financially, when government policy is geared towards that goal. View this article in enerG: Alternative Sources Magazine, January/February 2009, at http://www.altenerg.com/back_issues/index.php?content_id=109 .

"Startup Sells Solar Panels Online" was written by Deborah Gage, Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle. This is an interesting way to cut the cost of solar installations - ordering solar panels over the Internet. The owner of this new business explains how the roof measurements are taken and other aspects of this approach. See this article in the San Francisco Chronicle, May 18, 2009, at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/17/BUDD17LDEH.DTL&feed=rss.news .


THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

The following two articles appeared in the May 2009 issue of Industrial Heating:

  1. "Microwave Sintering of Ferrous and Nonferrous Alloys" was written by Anish Upadhyaya, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. The author shows that the microwave sintering reduces process time by 70% to 90% compared with traditional sintering. This reduction of process time improves the mechanical properties of both ferrous and nonferrous alloys. View this article at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000582632 .

  2. "Thermocouples - Nearly 200 Years Old, Still Getting Better" was co-authored by Don Lieske and Don Way, both of Cleveland Electric Labs. This is an interesting article tracing the advances in thermocouples over time and showing the advantages of these advances in various areas. See this article at http://www.industrialheating.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000582450 .

Past issues of Energy Newsbriefs are available at http://www.energy.wsu.edu/library/newsbriefs.cfm.

Generally, subscription information for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web sites.

© 2009 Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted, provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, and that each is referenced by title with credit to the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise, for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State University Extension Energy Program.