environmental
US consumers could save a France’s worth of greenhouse gases
ALT TITLES: Behavioral changes can drive huge reductions in CO 2 Cheap, available tech can drop US CO 2 emissions For the most part, efforts to improve the energy efficience (and thus the environmental impact) of the US economy have focused on big, transformative technologies, such as renewable power and a smarter grid. But direct energy use by domestic households, either for housing or personal transport, accounts for nearly 40 percent of the US total, which makes it a larger contributor to global CO 2 emissions than any nation other than China. A new study suggests that with modest behavioral changes and consumer adoption of simple and cheap technology, the US could reduce its emissions by an amount equivalent to the entire output of France.
Continue reading »Congressmen want automakers to cough up diagnostic codes
Like everything else these days, cars are getting increasingly computerized, with embedded microprocessors controlling everything from the fuel-air mixture in the engine to the air temperature in the car. That trend will almost certainly accelerate as automakers tune their engines for mileage and increase the use of hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology to meet the new fuel efficiency standards . That increased reliance on technology, however, has brought fragmentation to the repair business, which now requires specialized hardware and software to interface with a typical vehicle.
Continue reading »EPA applies Clean Air Act to greenhouse gas emissions
In a decision that was two years in the making, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it had reached preliminary findings that six greenhouse gasses endangered public welfare and that motor vehicles contribute to the environmental levels of four of these. The decision was required by the Clean Air Act, as determined by the US Supreme Court, but the Agency responded to the Bush-era decision with an extended period of inaction. The EPA is soliciting public feedback for the next 60 days, and will hold two public hearings before finalizing the decision.
Continue reading »Biden launches DOE stimulus program for the smart grid
In a move that surprised no one, Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Energy was looking to direct stimulus money to the development of the smart grid. The DOE has been signaling its intention to do precisely this for several months, so it would be easy to dismiss the announcement as old news. But the trigger for Biden’s speech (and accompanying words by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke) was the release of the first draft of the DOE’s planned grant application, which provides insight into what, precisely, the Department plans to do.
Continue reading »DOJ wants Microsoft antitrust oversight extended into 2011
The US Department of Justice has asked for yet another extension to the judicial oversight of Microsoft’s antitrust compliance in order to give the company more time to update its technical documentation. The original judgment had already been extended once to late 2009, but now the DOJ wants it extended again for another 18 months. The sanctions on Microsoft, which were agreed to in 2002 and originally set to expire in November 2007, are aimed at preventing the company from retaliating against hardware vendors that ship computers with alternatives to Microsoft’s software products.
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