Study: Cloud computing for business uses less energy

A Microsoft-sponsored analysis released today reaffirms what many tech companies have long been saying: computing is more efficient when it's concentrated in the "cloud" at giant data centers.

The range of savings from having hosted, versus an on-premise, IT infrastructure is between 30 percent and 90 percent, according to the study which was done by Accenture and sustainability consulting company WSP Energy & Environment.

Sustainability tour stop: LED lights at the Improvement Centre

ere are some shots from The Sustainability Initiative tour stop on Oct. 25 at Improvement Centre, Bleiswijk, The Netherlands. The facility is involved in testing the use of Philips LED lights in the greenhouse setting. Below is a profile of what the facility is all about, provided to tour participants:


The Improvement Centre is the key practical centre for the most optimal cultivation processes. Research and experiments are conducted related to cultivation processes and techniques.

Republican wants to keep global warming committee

WASHINGTON: A leading House Republican climate skeptic on Monday called for his party to preserve a global warming committee created by Democrats so Republicans can use it to rein in the Obama administration on the issue.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican, said that the economic threat posed by Environmental Protection Agency regulations deserves special attention in the next Congress.

A Novel Tactic in Climate Fight Gains Some Traction

WASHINGTON — With energy legislation shelved in the United States and little hope for a global climate change agreement this year, some policy experts are proposing a novel approach to curbing global warming: including greenhouse gases under an existing and highly successful international treaty ratified more than 20 years ago
The treaty, the Montreal Protocol, was adopted in 1987 to for a completely different purpose, to eliminate aerosols and other chemicals that were blowing a hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

Climate change: Bangladesh's case


AT the advent of the new concept called "anthropogenic accelerated climate change," there have been numerous discussions across the globe regarding highly vulnerable countries and communities, their urgent and immediate needs for response measures (partly adaptation) and institutional as well as financial mechanisms to do so.

There have been many attempts by international media as well as global scientific community to portray Bangladesh as one of the most vulnerable countries. It is claimed that climate change will exacerbate the current contexts of vulnerability that are prevailing in the country and the resulting adverse effects will challenge the development thrust.

GOP leadership cool to hearings into "scientific fraud" underlying global warming

By Greg Sargent

Last week there was widespread speculation that the GOP is planning to hold high profile hearings next year into the "scientific fraud" behind global warming. The news touched off a round of anxious commentary among liberals about the coming rash of GOP investigations and fake scandals.

The only problem is that it may not be true.

A spokesman for the leading Republican on the committee that would undertake such hearings tells me that isn't the plan. And a senior GOP leadership aide says the leadership is cool to the idea.

2012, forecasts and pragmatism

By Emmenay

So, is the world as we know it, coming to an end in 2012? Is the Mayan calendar going to prove that it is absolutely right? Are we ready for the Apocalypse? What about the second coming of Jesus Christ (PBUH)? What about the Gog and the Magog and the anti-Christ? Is all this going to take place and be over within two years from now? Hmm...

The fact is that some of us are very fatalistic at times. Sometimes this becomes too much and beyond reason. On the contrary if we start being serious about everything that is practical and pragmatic and prevent the reality of things from being hushed into the background, only then will our coming

Climate change: Biggest threat to human rights


The global climate has been changing as the world gets warmer largely due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from human activities. This fact is now widely accepted but there are still a few formidable sceptics around, who refuse to accept evidence of human causation of recent observed warnings.

According to latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a dedicated international scientific body to review and assess the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide to understand climate change, and established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20 century due to increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations, and that the warming of the climate system has

Tribes explore energy alternatives

Michigan tribes have a potential for wind energy and wood-based biomass, said Roger Taylor, the principal project manager of the tribal energy program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. The laboratory is the nation's primary research and development institute for renewable energy and energy efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Many tribes have done wind energy feasibility studies because it is the most cost-effective energy source, said John Sarver, former manager of renewable energy at the Bureau of Energy.

Biofuel worse for climate than fossil fuel, new report finds


The impact equates to an area the size of the Republic of Ireland.

As a result, the extra biofuels that Europe will use over the next decade will generate between 81 and 167 percent more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, says the report.

Nine environmental groups reached the conclusion after analyzing official data on the European Union's goal of getting 10 percent of transport fuel from renewable sources by 2020.

But the European Commission's energy team, which originally formulated the goal, countered that the bulk of the land needed would be found by recultivating abandoned farmland in Europe and Asia,

OBAMA TO BYPASS CONGRESS WITH CARBON TAXES?

In his nationally televised press conference last week, President Obama indicated that carbon taxes may be imposed on the U.S. through regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency in a move designed to bypass Congress altogether.

Knowing that the chances of getting cap-and-trade legislation through a Republican-controlled House and a Senate with a larger, more conservative Republican minority will be almost impossible, Obama suggested the backdoor route through the EPA may be a way to accomplish the goal without requiring new legislation.

Dairying world gathers in Auckland


The global dairy industry is gathering in Auckland this week for the biggest event in its calendar.

Jeremy Hill, NZ branch president of the International Dairy Federation, calls the World Dairy Summit the world cup of dairying.


The summit, which runs until Thursday, sets out to stimulate debate and provide the latest information for industry players.

"We do need sector-wide collaboration ... the individual standing committees and action teams meet throughout the year but this is the one time in the year where everybody comes together in the same place," Hill said.

The electric post office: Greening the government


Up to 10 times a day, somebody will stop mail carrier Taran Edge on her route and ask to take her photograph.

While she is flattered by the attention, she knows that it is her vehicle they are really interested in. Ms. Edge's unconventional three-wheeled electric delivery cart has become something of a tourist attraction on the streets of Key West, Fla., but more important, it plays a key role in the endeavors of the US Postal Service to secure a more sustainable future.

In October 2009, President Obama issued an executive order that directs the federal government – the biggest energy consumer in the United States – to make substantial reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. In July, he expanded that mandate to include "indirect sources," such as employee commuting.

A Symbolic Visit That Promises Indonesia Real Benefits

Much of the hype around US President Barack Obama’s visit on Tuesday revolves around his ties with Muslims and his return to his childhood home. But it also carries an understated strategic importance: it is a chance to finally sign the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership.

The bilateral agreement, the product of a meeting between Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Singapore in November last year, outlines the countries’ commitments in a vast range of sectors.

Robin Bush, country representative for the Asia Foundation, saw the new partnership as a switch “from one that, prior to the Obama administration, often focused on Indonesia’s role in the ‘War on Terror,’ to one that is a mature, multifaceted partnership in areas that are priorities for Indonesia

Aquino to attend Yokohama APEC

Manila (8 November) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III will attend his first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Yokohama, Japan from Nov.12 to 15 to push the Philippines' initiative to sustain cooperation in economic and technical cooperation.

In a media briefing in MalacaƱang, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Antonio Rodriguez said the President will lead the country in actively engaging the 21-member APEC economies to enhance the country' advocacy for humanresources development, employment creation and in addressing the social dimensions of globalization, and sustaining economic and technical cooperation.

As APEC chairman in 1996, Rodriguez said the country pushed to sustain economic and technical cooperation so that developing economies such as the Philippines can be globally competitive under the 2020 APEC Bogor Goals

Leading the Way to Green


Blue Star has been proudly processing, packaging and selling pasteurized Blue Crab meat in the United States since 1995. Blue Star’s products are currently sold in The United States, Mexico, Canada, The Caribbean, United Kingdom, France, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Blue Star process crab meat in 12 plants throughout Southeast Asia, employing thousands and producing an annual average of over seven million pounds of high quality crab meat (3.174.000 kilograms approximately).
Blue Star is strongly devoted to sustainability. The company is committed to reducing energy and cutting its carbon footprint in all its processing plants, it has also implemented recycling initiatives and the use of energy efficient light bulbs in an effort to help the environment.