ecoINSITE

Infographic: The deafening silence of wind turbines

2011-12-15T18:38:04Z

One of the biggest complaints levied against wind turbines — apart from them “ruining” idyllic views — is that they’re noisy. It’s an understandable fear. Whereas you can turn your back on an eyesore, an incessant drone will drive anyone batty.

Thankfully, this infographic from GE Reports — a site from a company that knows a thing or two about wind turbines — shows us what kind of decibel levels your ears will be subjected to. Yes, wind turbines can get loud. But generally, few are ever erected within earshot.

So, one more old, NIMBY-flavored chestnut put to rest.

Hit the source link below for a full-sized version of the infographic.

Source: GE Reports
[via Reddit]

Stat of the day: $450M in energy savings from LED holiday lights switch

2011-12-15T15:39:40Z

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Americans stand to save $450 million in electricity costs a year if they switched to LEDs.

Of course, not everyone has warmed to the lighting tech. In this Wall Street Journal piece, the author discovers that some traditionalists can’t get past the cold, artificial lighting cast by some LEDs. But that’s not putting a dent in their growing popularity.

Part of the reason is a healthy drop in prices. A starter, 35-light set from Lowe’s can be had for under $4.00. Compare that to 2005, when early models cost about $15. And manufacturers are getting better at mimicking the look of incandescent bulbs so that decorators can achieve the same look minus the hefty electric bill.

And if there’s a time to eke out savings, the holidays are it.

Source: WSJ
Image credit: Flickr user TPorter2006 – CC

Thailand flooding the SSD tipping point?

2011-12-09T20:15:19Z

This year’s devastating floods in Thailand have upended lives. They also illustrate the interconnected nature of the global economy. Take, for instance, Toyota. The Japanese automaker expects parts shortages in the region to clip its profitability and result in “230,000 vehicles in lost production this business year,” according to this Reuters report.

The effect on several technology companies has been similarly profound, if not more so. Hard drive manufacturers are feeling the pinch too. Stockpiles are expected to run out this quarter, which will crimp PC shipments in Q1 2012.

George Crump of InformationWeek predicts that solid-state storage technologies are poised to make huge inroads as tight hard drive production creates openings for SSDs like the SanDisk model pictured above.

As this next decade closes, there will still be large farms of hard drive-based data centers, but these may be limited to specific use cases: cloud storage providers and extremely big data analytics are two good examples. It’s reasonable to assume though, that the typical organizational data center will be predominantly based on solid-state for its storage infrastructure. As we’ve discussed in the past, those data centers are likely to include multiple levels of solid-state technology. Clearly the move is on. The current hard drive shortage is adding fuel to the fire and significantly speeds up this transition.

When the cost of hard drives start rising past near-impulse buy status, you can also expect consumers to get savvy about storage and embrace the cloud variety for backups and the sort. They’ll learn to ‘live’ with the capacity constraints of SSDs versus hard drives.

It’s a trade-off, but one that’s counterbalanced by snappy performance and energy savings. Not a bad compromise.

Source: InformationWeek

Digital Gift Guide 2011

2011-12-15T16:54:35Z

This holiday, why not try giving more with less by dematerializing your gifts?

Essentially, dematerialization is the digitization of items, mostly media like books, music and video games (that’s a hint of what to expect on this list). These works, now freed from physical media — at least on the consumer end since they still ‘reside’ on a server somewhere — can then be transmitted over the Internet.

Let the cloud handle the sending of your gifts to your friends’ and loved ones’ devices, for them to enjoy the near-instant they receive their digital presents. Best of all, e-gifts are available right up to the last minute.

For eco-minded gift-givers, the environmental non-impact is huge.

You’ll be thrilled to take fewer trips to the mall and enjoy savings in gas, time and sanity. On the supplier side, there are fewer books to print and CDs/DVDs to manufacture, press and ship. Sure, big data centers are popping up in their place, but they are centralized and a lot greener than the manufacturing plants and truck fleets that they displace.

And it’s not just wishful green thinking. Recently, artist Erik Kessels gave us a vivid example of what the pictures uploaded to Flickr during a 24-hour period would look like if they were physical prints. And studies have revealed the environmental benefits of ebooks compared to their dead-tree counterparts.

So, hopefully I’ve sold you on some virtual gift giving this year, yay! Here’s what to get the people on your list.

A word of warning first: Some people think that e-gifting is impersonal. If you have someone like that on your list, the first step is to gift with their passions in mind. Secondly, get creative. Most stores let you print out redemption codes. Stuff these in a swank holiday card or a recyclable/recycled gift box.

Now that that’s settled…

For the music lover

I have two recommendations to make here, one for U.S.-based readers and you lucky stiffs in parts of Europe. You’ll see why…

If you’re in the U.S. , Amazon MP3 Gift Cards

Though it lacks the slickness of the iTunes ecosystem, Amazon’s library rivals that of iTunes. Quality-wise, their high-bitrate MP3s sound great. They’re also DRM-free, meaning that they’ll integrate seamlessly with iTunes, album artwork and all, or the music player and/or device of your choice. Better yet Amazon consistently offers tremendous discounts, meaning that the recipient(s) of your gift card can really stretch your holiday dollars.

There are several delivery options available, including via e-mail and Facebook. If you still want to cling to the material world a little, you can buy physical Amazon MP3 gift cards starting at $10 with free, one-day shipping.

Europeans, give Spotify Premium instead

I planned to make this my one and only recommendation in this category, but Spotify’s gift card link greeted me with this wall of fail (viewable in regions lacking gift card support):

Gift cards not available
Spotify gift cards are currently not available in your country.
Looking for Spotify Premium? You can get it here!

I have it already, but thanks!

It’s a pity that Spotify couldn’t get this functionality up and running in the U.S. in time for the holidays, but that’s par for the course with the company. But let’s not dwell..

If you’re in Europe, you’re already well-versed in how Spotify wows with its vast music library, excellent desktop software for Mac and Windows (no Internet browser support, though), and free, feature-packed apps for iOS and Android. And with its new app ecosystem, Spotify is poised to overshadow competing music services by eliminating many of the service’s lingering blind spots like a recommendation engine.

Add some generous offline storage and high-bitrate goodness, and a Spotify subscription is the perfect gift to give music lovers without cluttering up their CD racks or taking up insane amounts of hard drive space.

If you’re feeling really generous, stuff their stockings with a 4th Gen iPod Touch. Why? Because the Spotify iOS app is wonderful.

Next: Gifting for bookworms and PC gamers

Windowfarms: Social, crowdsourced hydroponics bring fresh food home

2011-11-29T19:14:40Z

Got a window? Then you can grow your own food.

A group of driven, DIY-types from around the world are helping to bring hydroponic systems home. In her TED talk “A Garden in My Apartment” (below), Britta Riley of Windowfarms – vertical food gardens, if you will — shows how a socially-driven community of 24,000 hydroponics buffs have refined the concept into a showroom-ready product. (Don’t worry, you can still build your own.)

It used to be that the closest that apartment dwellers (like myself) get to fresh fruits and vegetables is the local farmer’s market. Practically and efficiently growing own tasty, nutritious food was a fantasy — one that best left to our rural friends or neighbors with a patch of land to fulfill. Not anymore.

Thanks to Windowfarm’s active community and open-source philosophy, anyone can enjoy the benefits inherent in crowdsourcing R&D. Among them, according to Riley, is a setup that encourages global collaboration, which in turn results in rapid prototyping. Judging by Waterfarm’s well-funded Kickstarter page, the project is well on its way to becoming a movement that spreads well beyond its maker roots.

In fact, I can almost taste it. Learn more about Waterfarms here.

Image credit: Windowfarms

Up to 70 energy savings for smartphones by proxy

2011-11-26T22:58:30Z

A network proxy, actually.

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have devised a way to cut 3G smartphone power use by up to a staggering 74 percent. How? Rather than forcing phones to maintain a constant Internet connection, which can quickly deplete battery power, the tech uses a “bursty” approach via a specially configured network proxy. Between each of burst, the phone’s modem goes idle.

This is great news for extending battery life. Better yet, it can help bring the Internet to developing areas where ready access to ISPs, let alone reliable grid power is hard to come by.

Aalto professor, Jukka Manner, says, ”At the moment, only a small percent can access the Internet from a wired connection, but 90 percent of the African population lives in areas with mobile phone network coverage. Mobile phone usage is increasing rapidly, however the use of mobile Internet services is hindered by users not having access to the power grid to recharge their phones.”

Even here, I wouldn’t mind having to charge my phone less.

Image credit: Aalto University

[via Engadget, PhysOrg]

Stuxnet fears hit home as Illinois water pump hack unfolds

2011-12-01T16:25:43Z

Update, Dec. 1, 2011: False alarm! Well, at least in the Illinios water pump case. Read this Wired | Threat Level article for the real story. Still, no reason to let your guard down…

This weekend, hackers made news for not only breaking into computer systems, but literally breaking a pump at a water plant in Illinois. Hackers were able to damage a pump at the Curran-Gardner Township Public Water District in Illinois by cycling it on and off remotely. Thanks to redundancies, service was unaffected.

While the FBI and DHS look into the matter, computer security experts are sounding the alarm and stressing the need to harden the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems that operate the nation’s infrastructure.

Stuxnet casts an imposing shadow

One of the more troubling aspects of this attack is how it’s believed to have been carried out. Initially, Stuxnet — or malware like it, such as Duqu — was suspected. Stuxnet is responsible for interfering with Iranian nuclear power sites and fouling things up at utilities in other parts of the world. Since last year, the worry was that this could become a template for crippling critical infrastructure here in the United States. Needless to say, it’s also a huge warning sign as the next generation of IT-rich smart power grids are brought online.

Alas, as scary as Stuxnet is, the attack may have been more ‘basic’ according to pr0f, a hacker that accessed a separate water treatment facility in South Houston.

Countering an underwhelming response to the Illinois incident from the DHS, pr0f details how lax security practices and connecting critical systems to the Internet with weak protections can be the undoing of utility control systems in this Pastebin entry.

…No damage was done to any of the machinery; I don’t really like mindless vandalism. It’s stupid and silly.

On the other hand, so is connecting interfaces to your SCADA machinery to the Internet. I wouldn’t even call this a hack, either, just to say. This required almost no skill and could be reproduced by a two year old with a basic knowledge of Simatic.

As proof, the post contains several SCADA screen captures from a water facilities in South Houston one of which is pictured at the top of this post. Now imagine an image of your desktop posted online by a hacker. Chilling, right?

Thwarting basic hacks with basic security

This is a wake-up call. While malware like Stuxnet and Duqu are scary, it’s more scary to think that utilities and their SCADA providers aren’t subscribing to the same standards that govern computer security in most businesses, government agencies and organizations. And it’s not that they ever get hacked, right?

While it might be eye-rollingly obvious to techies in the trenches of corporate IT, Dave Marcus, Director of Security Research for McAfee Labs, dispenses some great advice for SCADA admins. Stuff like setting up extensive penetration testing and counter-social engineering training.

Again, it’s basic stuff. But given how trivially pr0f penetrated that water plant, the basics are a big improvement at this stage.

Image credit: pr0f

Flickr re-materialized

2011-11-17T23:06:39Z

24 hours worth, actually. Which makes the photo above that much more impressive. (Click through for more views, that picture only scratches the surface.)

What you’re looking at is an installation by Erik Kessels currently at Foam in Amsterdam. It depicts 24 hours of pics uploaded to Flickr but in hard copy. “By printing all the images uploaded in a 24-hour period, I visualise the feeling of drowning in representations of other peoples’ experiences,” says Kessels.

While not explicitly his aim, his art is also a potent reminder of the impact of digitization, the Internet and the advent of cloud services, in particular how they combine to dematerialize a lot of media these days. Like the Yellow Pages, that packet of prints you used to pick up at the drug store is becoming an increasingly rare sight.

As to whether it’s a good thing, I imagine there are plenty of trees breathing a sigh of relief.

Source: Creative Review

[via Flowing Data, Lewis PR | Facebook]

NREL’s green data center saves $88K, improves security

2011-11-16T18:57:22Z

We expect the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to operate efficiently. And indeed, the agency is making good on its mandate to achieve net-zero operations.

According to this Energy.gov post, NREL saved $88,000 in its 2010 fiscal year by, in large part, taking a virtualization-heavy approach to IT. By consolidating servers and shifting to a virtual desktop infrastructure for users at the Golden Field Office in Colorado, the data center now supports 50 virtual servers and 300 virtual desktops. And it’s that last part that adds a nice little twist to this tale.

Green is the color of IT security

Though it was included as a throwaway mention in the post, NREL reports that IT security enjoys a boost. Given the how relentlessly organizations are getting hacked these days, both in government and private industry alike, any and all methods to harden data centers are welcome ones. That enhanced data security is a byproduct of NREL’s IT energy efficiency efforts is a nice little feather in Green IT’s cap.

This is because virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI) allow admins to provide consistent, “locked down” setups for their users. For instance, network intrusions are vastly reduced when users can’t introduce damaging malware by plugging thumb drives or other USB-connected devices into their thin clients – unintentionally or otherwise. Blocking USB devices is one of the many restrictions that VDI setups allow administrators to impose.

Neat!

For more on NREL’s data center, check out this video tour below.

Google App Engine on ARM servers

2011-11-04T20:27:34Z

HP got the industry buzzing this week when it announced plans to build server hardware based on low-power ARM processors. And while it will be a while before Project Moonshot’s tech hits data centers, that’s not stopping folks from dreaming up some big data implications.

Better yet, some enterprising souls are already demonstrating what its ‘cloudy’ future could look like.

Over at CNXSoft, Noritsuna Imamur of the Open Embedded Software Foundation, shows off Google App Engine running on a Pandaboard cloud cluster.

Norisuna had a comparison table that showed the Pandaboard cloud (OMAP4 @ 1GHz – 12 Cores) uses 4x times [less] space and 5x less power (50W vs. 257 W) than a Xeon 1.8GHz Quad Core server with about the same amount of processing power and memory (6GB vs. 8GB).

Neat!

Check out the video below to see it in action. Favorite part: When the camera pans over to the Kill-a-Watt.