Greener Searching

Blog Week of Sept. 4, 2011

What Google’s Energy Transparency Can Teach Us

Google, in response to recent criticisms, compiled data to reveal its energy use, greenhouse gas production, and put its environmentally friendly initiatives on display.  This all started from a claim by The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, stating “Googling” something uses the same amount of energy as boiling a teapot (British people love their tea, and so did I when I visited, with cream even).  This bold claim put Google on defense and spurred an investigation into how much energy its ever-growing data centers use.  The Sunday Times accepted Google’s response that most searches use 35 times less energy than The Sunday Times suggested, however Google wanted to be sure.

Google’s concern is valid; it is regularly seen as one of the best places to work in the United States and the perks its employees enjoy are subject to jealous comments by other office workers across the country.  Google’s statistics could be considered high, using 2.3 billion kWh of electricity last year, enough for a medium sized city (207,000 homes according to Edison Electric Institute). However, that is about half of the biggest power users, mostly oil companies, automobile manufacturers, and steel mills.

In defense, Google has decided it will now publish numbers regularly to track progress in reducing its carbon footprint.  Google has also pointed out that searching for something for a research project is more efficient than going to a library and looking in books for the information.  In addition, Google, is pushing customers to use their centralized data centers to store and process data, called cloud computing.  Cloud computing is more efficient and cheaper for a company than that company using its own information technology department (Google states an in-house email server uses 75 times more energy than using Google’s Gmail).

Google’s own in-house green initiatives have also spread beyond the company itself.  Google has invested nearly $1 billion in renewable energy projects across the United States.  Wind farms in North Dakota, California, and Oregon, and solar projects in California and Germany all have received investment from Google to help reduce the reliance on fossil fuels for our everyday electricity.  In addition, a transmission system, one of the key hindrances to many renewable energy projects, has been started with the help of Google to help jump start offshore wind farms on the Atlantic Coast.

Google’s transparency should be an example for companies across the United States.  For Google to sit down and plot out its carbon footprint was no easy task, and the results opened even their eyes to how much they use.  Companies like One Stop Green can help companies and households help identify changes that can be made to improve their own carbon footprint in order to help make the world a greener place.

One Stop Green is looking towards a ‘greener’ future, sharing the latest and greatest ideas in green living and green technology with you through our staff written blogs. Going 'green' is no longer a choice, it's our responsibility, that's why it's so important to try and do the small things that can help change the outlook of the planet - and this is essentially the purpose of One Stop Green. We believe even the little things like recycling or using less water helps the environment out in a big way, and that's why our various solutions seek to nurture and edify your home or business in an eco-friendly manner. 

Visit our website at www.onestopgreen.com or download the mobile app at http://fwd4.me/01gP

Can Passing Trains Generate Electricity?

Week of May 22, 2011

Wind from passing trains can power your lights!
 

Trains are considered some of the greenest forms of mass transit, and in many cities, subways shuttle people from the suburbs to the city center.  Now, the creators of the “T-Box” have the ability to make trains even greener.  The T-Box is designed to harness the gust of wind accompanying passing trains and the electricity can be used to produce power for remote areas near the railroad tracks or railroad facilities along the line.

The T-Box fits between the railroad ties and is partially buried so that it’s out of the way of the train.  The creators, Qian Jiang and Alessandro Leonetti Luparini say that a train passing at 125 miles per hour produces a wind speed 50 ft/sec over the box.  A 700-foot train would produce 3500 watts of power over half a mile of track.  If the train is running near 200 miles per hour, the T-Box would produce almost 3 kilowatts of power.

For those who have ridden subways, the concept could possibly be used on the walls and ceilings of the subway tube.  While speeds would be lower in a subway, the confined space between the subway cars and the walls would increase the speed of the wind because the air is compressed and this electricity generated could also go towards powering the subway as well.

The United States just approved over $8 billion for high speed rail funding and soon the State of Texas will vote on legislation that would create a statewide rail system. The T-Box is yet another reason to promote cleaner forms of mass transportation as it could help offset the cost of its construction through the electricity it produces.  If you live somewhere like New York or Washington D.C. with a subway, something like this could be used to a great benefit to riders.  The cost savings generated by the electricity could also be used to lower fares for customers. Furthermore, the T-Box only represents the tipping point, in highway-heavy states like Texas, modifications to the T-Box is something that could be integrated into highway systems to power street or traffic lights.

The T-Box is a great way to make a green mode of transportation even greener.  The underlying premise of sustainability implies that we use the resources available to us, so it is with that spirit that the T-Box uses otherwise wasted wind energy and harnesses it to work its way back into powering our society.

One Stop Green is looking towards a ‘greener’ future, sharing the latest and greatest ideas in green living and green technology with you through our staff written blogs. Going 'green' is no longer a choice, it's our responsibility, that's why it's so important to try and do the small things that can help change the outlook of the planet - and this is essentially the purpose of One Stop Green. We believe even the little things like recycling or using less water helps the environment out in a big way, and that's why our various solutions seek to nurture and edify your home or business in an eco-friendly manner.

Visit our website at www.onestopgreen.com or download the mobile app at http://fwd4.me/01gP