Tag Archives: in focus
In Focus: Off Grid Solar Power Billboard Lighting
The biggest challenge associated with lighting the scores of billboards located along remote stretches of highways and byways throughout the US is the accessibility of AC power. When AC power is not readily available or too costly to access, SEPCO’s ultra reliable grid-free solar power systems—combined with energy efficient, high performance LED flood light fixtures [...]
In Focus: Floating Wind Farms
A couple of the common complaints regarding wind power as an alternative source of energy is that, firstly, they are noisome contraptions disturbing those forced to be in close vicinity, and secondly, that they do not produce enough power because they stop generating when the wind stops blowing. However, those arguments don’t hold much weight [...]
In Focus: Earth Day Greenwashing
Just because you paint an oil rig green does not make it environmentally friendly. Businesses have cashed in on the popularity of Earth Day with an avalanche of what can only be described as greenwashing. However, businesses are increasingly understanding that sustainability is about far more than trying to benefit from media attention one day [...]
In Focus: Honda’s Smart Home
American Honda is building a house that demonstrates zero carbon living using some of its technologies, such as solar-charging for its Fit electric car and Honda’s home energy management system. The first ”Honda Smart Home” was built in Japan last year and this one will be on the campus of University of California, Davis. “This showcase for environmental innovation and renewable energy-enabling [...]
In Focus: GaN-on-Si LEDs
Plessey Semiconductors has announced earlier this month that samples of its LED products using gallium nitride (GaN) films on 6-inch silicon substrates are now commercially available for sampling, which is the first of its kind across the industry. The development of comparable quality LEDs on silicon substrates to current standards is considered a holy grail [...]
In Focus: Green Gadgets for the Home
As the harsh reality of global warming continues to strike fear and suffering on a frighteningly consistent basis in the form of natural disasters, it’s about time we acknowledge our role as the most intelligent species on the planet and play our part more seriously. Fortunately, putting your environmentally conscious intentions and strategies in line [...]
In Focus: Farmscrapers
A French architecture firm has designed six high-rise towers that embody the concept of green living, aptly dubbed “Farmscrapers”. The project was planned specifically for the Chinese city of Shenzhen, which is increasing in population density and urban development, leading to many of the environmental and social problems associated with population growth. Design Details The [...]
In Focus: Solar Art
In the current issue of Artforum there is an article entitled, “Material Differences: Nikoloz Japardize On Georgian Architecture” and by Georgian they mean Eastern European Georgia and not dudes sodomizing other dudes while making them squeal like a pig Deliverance Georgia if you know what I mean. Since nothing exists in a vacuum the article delves [...]
In Focus: Socially Responsible Investing
Out with the traditional notions of investing; investors are changing the industry and world by aligning their standard of high monetary return with their desire to do good. According to US SIF, $3.74 trillion of the $33.3 trillion assets in the 2012 US investment marketplace was under management that used Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) strategies. Social [...]