A new kind of tree is growing in Santa Clara County (CA) parking lots. The 12-foot tall silver saplings are topped with photovoltaic cells that produce electricity for county facilities and reduce emissions. The so-called solar trees also create shady parking spaces, which is a popular side benefit. “Most people think it’s covered parking, andRead… Read more »
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Kentucky $500,000 in grants to fund rural renewable energy projects throughout the state. The grants will go to 43 farm families and rural small businesses to cover the cost of implementing new renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations. The grants are part of theRead… Read more »
I recently sat through a meeting with a vendor who represented a Fortune 500 company. During this meeting I witnessed behavior which spurred me to compose this article. The vendor I met with had a bad habit of deflecting questions, providing vague details, and speaking with a general lack of confidence. The vendor greatly underrepresentedRead… Read more »
I’ll be honest. There was a time when I thought design didn’t matter. To my credit, it was a long time ago… but I used to think, if the tool was good enough, the design won’t matter, people will use it cause it is helpful. (This may or may not have influenced some fashion choicesRead… Read more »
Since 2003, the number of hydrogen fuel-cell buses in the German city of Hamburg has grown from a single prototype to three dozen. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro fuel-cell buses have logged more than 2 million kilometers over the past eight years and data from the buses has allowed the manufacturer to improve the fuel-efficiency of theRead… Read more »
I find this stuff so that you don’t have to. Clay Shirky Says Good Collaboration is Structured Fighting – “Large collaborative projects aren’t, in fact, large collaborative projects according to Shirky. They’re small collaborative projects with tight groups, that integrate very large amounts of small participatory effort.” Clay Shirky Says Good Collaboration is Structured FightingRead… Read more »
IMPORTANT: This information should not be downloaded using government equipment, read during duty time or sent to others using government equipment, because it suggests action to be taken in support of and/or against legislation. Do not list your government email or government address in filling out this message, and do not use a government providedRead… Read more »
More than a week after Bay Area Rapid Transit (CA) shut down cell phone service to quell a threatened protest, the controversy over the agency’s actions continues. As officials brace for more planned protests today, the board has scheduled a meeting this week to consider developing a policy that defines when (if ever) the agencyRead… Read more »
Creative Commons via tvtropes.org Recently, I have been reflecting a lot on my motivations for engaging in certain areas of my life. The basic question comes down to this: Why do we do the things that we do? Sometimes we start certain projects, initiatives or relationships because we are passionate about the goal, outcome orRead… Read more »
With the ubiquity of Big Data, Apache Hadoop has become a vital platform for cost-effective, reliable, scalable distributed computing to store and analyze hundreds of gigabytes of complex information. Since the Hadoop ecosystem is open source, it is supported with a growing community of professionals. However, it is a platform in growing demand which meansRead… Read more »