In order to prevent spikes in demand over night in energy usage from
re-charging electric cars and plug-in hybrids, the Department of
Energy's Pacific Northwest National Lab
has created a device called the Smart Charger Controller. The
Controller will automatically choose the time when the price and demand
for energy is the lowest, preventing utilities from having to build
more power plants to meet the demand.
In order to reduce the amount of CO2 currently being released into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning cars, the State of California Air Resources Board has recommended that green house gas emissions to be reduced by 16 million metric tons, or 10 percent by 2020. The regulation uses "carbon intensity" to take in account the amount of carbon used to produce and transport the fuel. Alternative fuels, such as biofuels, electricity, and fuel cells would get a market boost as well as alternative fuel testing equipment.
Frito Lay, the maker of Sun Chips, (one of the Sun Chip manufacturing plants is solar powered) has taken sustainability another step further. They have created compostable packaging made from plant based materials, that under the right conditions, could decompose completely in fourteen days. It is expected that by April 2010 all North American Sun Chip bags will be compostable.
If you have a good green idea, submit it to greeneffect
(a partnership between Sun Chips and National Geographic). Five
winners will be chosen and each will receive $20,000 to implement their
idea.
it's refreshing to hear that large corporations like sun chips are putting their wallet where their mouths are.
Posted by: career education | May 05, 2009 at 03:21 PM