Friday, January 30. 2009We're Working Longer Than Ever to Pay for Fossil FuelsHot off the presses: these popular charts are now updated to include final energy price data for 2008. Americans are falling behind -- most of us anyway. We're working longer than ever before to maintain a standard of living that once we took for granted. With respect to gas prices, average Americans are much worse off than they were in 1970. The working poor, in particular, are getting absolutely crushed. Their economic standing has deteriorated even faster than the middle class. At average prices in 2008, a full day's work at the federal minimum wage would scarcely pay for a single tank of gas. In a car-dependent nation, that means that even basic transportation is quickly getting out of reach for low-income families. Interestingly, the pain is being felt way up the income ladder. In fact, you'd see the same kind of trends for virtually every income strata if I had plotted their purchasing power here (though the effect is less pronounced the higher you go). But there is one big exception to the falling behind story: the super-rich. Nowadays, I suppose they should probably be known as the super-ultra-uber-rich. But whatever you call them, they're doing great! So that's a relief. The kind of figures that are kicked around in the income stratosphere are so mind-boggling that they're almost beyond the comprehension of us ordinary schmoes. Forty years ago a CEO might make 60 times the minimum wage -- a huge gulf that's comparable to the spread in other wealthy nations -- but nowadays a CEO might pull down 800 or 1,000 times the minimum wage. So despite skyrocketing prices for fuel and other basic commodities, the very rich are increasingly insulated from the real economy. But what can we do about it? First, we need to understand the cause. The explanation for Americans working harder than ever to pay for fuel is twofold. First, energy prices went through the roof in 2008 -- we all saw the headlines last year, and the rise in prices at the pump compared to a few years back. But second, because middle class incomes have stagnated to an alarming degree. That second factor, however, almost never makes the headlines. That's a shame because middle class Gen-Xers are watching the lifestyle they grew up with -- the average Baby Boomer purchasing power -- recede over the horizon. For median income-earners -- the middle class, by definition -- things have been getting pretty gloomy lately. In fact, if gas prices are any indication, we're worse now than we were even during the worst days of the energy crisis. See this chart: In light of the recent economic meltdown, it's pretty clear that we need some serious changes to the economy -- and in particular we need aid for low- and median-income folks. After all, we have some control of our incomes and income equality. On the other side of the equation there's our energy spending. We have very little control over highly volatile oil prices, which are determined by world markets and (sometimes) by speculators. But we do have control over how much oil we use. To date, we've organized our economy so that we use a lot -- and oil has paid us back by repeatedly whiplashing our economy when prices spike. So it would seem to make economic sense then that we begin unhitching our economy from oil. That means more drilling isn't just futile, it's actively counterproductive. It's like trying to cure an addiction by looking for one last fix. In the long run, limiting our use of fossil fuels -- as with a legal cap on climate-warming emissions -- isn't just a climate strategy to protect polar bears. It's a bread-and-butter economic strategy to help the middle class. It's hard to know where things will go from here. On the upside, oil prices have dropped on fears of big demand reductions owing to an economic meltdown. On the downside, well, er, economic meltdown. It will be cold comfort to middle class workers facing unemployment that they won't need to commute, and they won't be able to afford even a road-trip vacation. Notes: Gasoline price data from the US Energy Information Administration, here; gas prices include taxes. Minimum wages from US Department of Labor, here. Average income from the US Census Bureau, here. Average income refers to the median annual earnings for fulltime year-round workers. I combined earnings for men and women by using a weighted average for each year. Median earnings in 2008 are estimated at 100 percent of 2007 income. Annual wages are converted to hourly wages by dividing annual earnings into 2080 hours of work, a standard definition of fulltime work. Average CEO pay in 1970 is estimated at 62 times the pay of a minimum wage worker based on this analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. Average CEO pay in 2008 is conservatively estimated at 821 times the pay of a minimum wage worker based on the same EPI source but using the 2005 ratio. A big thanks to Laurie Kellogg who designed these charts. This piece originally appeared on the Sightline Institute's blog, The Daily Blog. ----- Via Worldchanging Thursday, January 29. 2009Solar cells - Scientists grow PV crystals with record efficiencyMUNICH, Germany — Researchers from Fraunhofer have managed to squeezed an efficiency of 41 percent out of photovoltaic cells. The Freiburg, Germany, based institute claims this is world record. According to a release from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) The basis for the high efficiency is a specific technique to grow the semiconductor material for the solar cells. The cells are made of III-V-material on GaAs or Ge substrates. The technique of 'amorphous multiple cells' developed by the institute avoids the formation of impurity traps which normally emerge where in the transition zone of materials with different lattice constants. The Fraunhofer experts say they succeeded in concentrating these defects within an electrically inactive area of the solar cell. The active areas however remain largely defect-free which in turn is a condition to achieve high efficiencies. "This is a good example how the control over crystal defects within semiconducting materials can cause a technological breakthrough", said institute manager Eicke Weber. The efficiency of 41.4 percent was achieved in an experiment in which the light was concentrated by a factor of 454 and directed to what the scientists called a multiple solar cell which covered an area of 5 square millimeters. Besides the 'amorphous multiple cell' technique the scientists chose a material composition that created a spectral sensitivity distribution very similar to the spectral distribution of sunlight. This was another criterion for the high efficiency. In order to bring the technique to market as fast as possible and to improve its competiveness against conventional generators, Fraunhofer ISE collaborates with Azur Space (Heilbronn, Germany) and Concentrix Solar GmbH (Freiburg). Andreas Bett, department director at Fraunhofer ISE, pointed to the connection between solar cell efficiency and power costs. "The high efficiency of our solar cells is the most effective way to reduce the energy costs for this type of photovoltaic systems," he said. "Our aim is to achieve competiveness of photovoltaics against conventional ways to generate electrical energy." Related Links:
Posted by Christian Babski
in Science & technology, Sustainability
at
10:21
Defined tags for this entry: science & technology, sustainability
Wednesday, January 28. 2009Vegetable Factories Integrate Solar Cells, LEDsOur goal is to provide vegetable factories enabling cultivation in all conditions, whether in a desert, frigid clime or the middle of the city," said Tokitaro Hoshijima, project director, Project PV at Mitsubishi Chemical Corp of Japan. The company plans to launch its vegetable factory business, including a combination of solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LED), at around the end of 2009. The firm's vegetable factory will shut out the outside world and totally control the interior environment, including temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration, nutrients and illumination. Running costs will be minimized through a combination of solar cells and LEDs. Mitsubishi Chemical has entered the vegetable cultivation field through a tie-up with Fairy Angel Inc of Japan, already experienced in commercial vegetable factories, to cooperatively develop a new type of vegetable factory integrating solar cells and LEDs. An experimental plant will be constructed in part of Fairy Angel's newest plant, scheduled to come online in August 2008, and used from this fall to optimize vegetable growth parameters for the solar cell/LED design. Zero Electricity CostsVegetable factories are hot these days: consumer interest in food safety is surging, and vegetables cultivated in cleanroom factories are becoming increasingly popular. For producers, foodstuff-related firms and other parties in the field, vegetable factories mean planned production, unaffected by changes in the season, weather, or other factors. These vegetable factories face a major problem, though, in the high cost of electricity for lighting, air conditioning and other uses, which accounts for about 30% of total running cost. Mitsubishi Chemical hopes to cut electricity cost for vegetable plants to zero. According to a source at Mitsubishi Chemical, switching from florescent lights to LEDs will cut power consumption far enough to make it possible to use solar cells to supply the load. Engineers use red and blue LEDs, which cover the absorption peaks of chlorophyll, to achieve more efficient illumination than that available from red-deficient florescent tubes. The intermittent illumination that LEDs excel at is ample for photosynthesis, and the end result is a major reduction in power consumption. Engineers believe that illumination on a 200us cycle is sufficient for cultivation. Using solar cells also means a higher initial cost, though. Mitsubishi Chemical hopes to resolve this problem by using organic solar cells, costing a fraction of what Si-based solar cells cost. The firm plans to resolve fundamental obstacles to volume production by 2015, stating that organic solar cells would cut cumulative costs (power source and lighting-related expense) to the same level as florescent lamps running off the commercial grid in about seven years, and end up about 30% lower in a decade (Fig 1). Si-based solar cells will be used to construct a factory with zero CO2 emissions in operation, and once organic solar cells enter volume production they will be used to construct a vegetable factory. by Satoshi Okubo Related Links:Personal comment:
L'agriculture technologique: en rapport à l'"urban farming" et en pensant au moment où nous mangerons des salades Mitsubishi cultivées dans la pièce d'à côté...
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Science & technology, Sustainability
at
10:41
Defined tags for this entry: artificial reality, conditioning, interferences, science & technology, sustainability
Mobile phones as pervasive traffic sensors(via Wired’s Gadget Lab) Nokia is experimenting with using GPS-enabled mobile phones to collect traffic information collaboratively, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion:
----- Via Smart Mobs Related Links:Personal comment:
Ou quand les millions des téléphones portables se transformeront en autant de senseurs pour capter l'environnement, mais aussi les mouvements des personnes, etc. Tuesday, January 27. 2009Les centres de données, de plus en plus gourmands en énergie
La chasse au "gaspi" dans les centres de données est ouverte. Ces immenses salles, appelées aussi "data centers", composées de multiples serveurs informatiques qui stockent les informations nécessaires aux activités des entreprises, sont devenues de véritables gouffres énergétiques. Selon une étude menée par des chercheurs européens dans le cadre du programme de l'Union européenne "Energie intelligente - Europe", les 7 millions de centres de données recensés dans les pays de l'Union européenne consommeraient, chaque année, 40 milliards de kilowattheures, soit l'équivalent de l'énergie utilisée annuellement par une grande agglomération française pour son éclairage public. Si rien n'est fait, cette consommation électrique pourrait, d'ici à 2011, augmenter de 110 % par rapport à 2006, estime l'enquête qui sera complétée au printemps par des études de cas en entreprises. "Dans les prochaines années, la croissance des nouveaux data centers sera faramineuse. Si on ne prend pas des mesures maintenant, on va dans le mur !" s'alarme Alain Anglade, chercheur au sein de l'Agence de l'environnement et de la maîtrise de l'énergie (Ademe) et membre de l'équipe de chercheurs. Encore modeste à l'échelle de l'Hexagone, l'énergie utilisée par les centres de données (4 à 6 milliards de kilowattheures) représente 1 % de la consommation d'électricité du pays. Un pourcentage appelé à croître rapidement en raison de la diffusion rapide des nouvelles technologies informatiques. Les banques, par exemple, soumises à des réglementations croissantes en termes de stockage et traitements de leurs données informatiques, sont déjà contraintes d'agrandir leurs centres de données. Le gouvernement français a saisi l'occasion du plan France numérique 2012, lancé en octobre 2008, par le secrétariat d'Etat au développement de l'économie numérique pour créer un observatoire des centres de données. A horizon de dix-huit mois environ, il permettra aux entreprises de se comparer entre elles et de les aider à prendre des mesures pour qu'elles diminuent la consommation énergétique de leurs machines, explique en substance Alain Anglade, un des responsables du projet pour qui "les entreprises sont déjà sensibilisées car ce gaspillage commence à leur coûter beaucoup d'argent". Cette mise en commun devrait également permettre aux entreprises d'anticiper sur la création de nouvelles normes environnementales plus contraignantes au niveau européen. Parallèlement, le ministère de l'économie et des finances vient de lancer un groupe de réflexion. Baptisé "Green ITW" et dirigé par Michel Petit, membre de l'Académie des sciences, il doit proposer, d'ici à mai, des solutions pour une "utilisation éco-responsable" des centres de données. En clair, comment faire des économies d'énergie sans pénaliser les entreprises dans l'utilisation de leurs outils informatiques. Selon l'étude européenne déjà citée, près de 12 milliards d'euros pourraient être économisés grâce à de nouveaux équipements moins gourmands en électricité et des techniques plus efficaces de ventilation des salles. L'Allemagne a, de son côté, déjà entrepris de lutter contre le gaspillage énergétique des "data centers". Depuis l'été dernier, un guide est à disposition des entreprises pour leur faire prendre conscience du problème et les pousser à investir dans des équipements plus efficaces. Bien décidé à montrer l'exemple, le ministère fédéral de l'environnement a annoncé en novembre 2008 avoir baissé la consommation d'électricité de ses propres serveurs de 60 %, soit une économie de CO2 de 44 tonnes. Particulièrement concernés, les géants de l'informatique cherchent eux aussi déjà à réduire la facture énergétique de leurs data centers devenus gigantesques pour stocker e-mails, vidéos et autres documents disponibles en un seul clic. Récemment, Google, Yahoo ! ou encore Microsoft ont installé certains de leurs sites informatiques sur les bords de grands cours d'eau américains. Ils souhaitent pouvoir refroidir plus facilement leurs machines et utiliser les centrales hydrauliques proches pouvant leur fournir de l'électricité moins chère. Jouant la carte du développement durable, Google affirme avoir investi 45 millions de dollars dans les énergies renouvelables. Le mastodonte américain a même déposé un brevet pour pouvoir installer des centres informatiques alimentés par l'énergie des vagues et refroidis par l'eau de mer sur des plates-formes flottantes.
Lilian Alemagna
En Grande-Bretagne, facture chargée pour super-ordinateur 14 400 tonnes par an. C'est la quantité de CO2 produite par le futur super-ordinateur de l'office météorologique britannique (Met Office) censé aider à lutter contre le réchauffement climatique. Achetée 33 millions de livres (36,3 millions d'euros), cette machine produira autant de CO2 que 2 400 personnes en une année. "Nos super-ordinateurs actuels produisent déjà 10 000 tonnes de CO2 chaque année, mais cela n'est qu'une partie des émissions de carbone économisées grâce à notre travail", s'est défendu Alan Dickinson, un des responsables du Met Office, au quotidien britannique The Times. Le nouvel équipement doit permettre d'améliorer les prévisions météorologiques. Les données permettront ensuite de mieux connaître l'impact des gaz à effet de serre sur l'environnement. ----- Via Le Monde Related Links:Personal comment:
Le débat soulevé ici par le super-ordinateur de l'office météorologique britannique (Met Office) et destiné à lutter contre le réchauffement climatique est intéressant: il produit une quantité non négligeable de CO2, mais combien permet-il d'en économiser?
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Science & technology, Sustainability
at
17:48
Defined tags for this entry: climate, data, energy, function, globalization, science & technology, sustainability
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fabric | rblgThis blog is the survey website of fabric | ch - studio for architecture, interaction and research. We curate and reblog articles, researches, writings, exhibitions and projects that we notice and find interesting during our everyday practice and readings. Most articles concern the intertwined fields of architecture, territory, art, interaction design, thinking and science. From time to time, we also publish documentation about our own work and research, immersed among these related resources and inspirations. This website is used by fabric | ch as archive, references and resources. It is shared with all those interested in the same topics as we are, in the hope that they will also find valuable references and content in it.
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