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RAI's certification process aims to prevent AIs from turning into HALs
The Responsible Artificial Intelligence Institute hopes to offer a more standardized means of certifying that the AIs of tomorrow operate fairly, transparently, and safely.
Apple receives regulatory approval for solar farm in North Carolina
As noticed by AppleInsider, the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved Apple's application to build a 20-megawatt solar farm on land adjacent to its Maiden, North Carolina data center. The proposal was filed on February 15 and publicly announced at the end of March. It received no complaints and was approved by the Commission on May 14. This approval gives Apple the green light to continue work on the solar farm, which will provide a portion of the power required by its data center. The solar array is expected to be completed by November and will start providing power late in December. Apple has said it will be the largest user-owned solar array in the United States. Apple's data center has been the target of several Greenpeace demonstrations around the world. The environmental activist group criticizes Apple for its reliance on coal and says the company could improve its usage of clean power. [Via AppleInsider]
Apple touts solar array at North Carolina Data Center
Apple has updated its Apple and the Environment web page with information about the huge new data center in Maiden, North Carolina. This US$1 billion, 500,000 square foot facility is the home of Siri and part of the backbone of iCloud. Not only has the facility already earned a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, but the company has plans to power the facility primarily with renewable energy. According to Apple, the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council is unique -- "We know of no other data center of comparable size that has achieved this level of LEED certification." As for the renewable energy plans, Apple notes that they have "major projects under way to achieve this." Those projects include building the largest end user-owned solar array and non-utility fuel cell installation in the U.S. Last October, Apple received the OK from Catawba County officials to reshape 171 acres of land adjacent to the data center in preparation for installation of the photovoltaic solar array. The Maiden data center won't be the first Apple facility to use renewable energy: The Apple Facility Report for 2011 notes that company sites in Elk Grove, California, Cork, Ireland, and Austin, Texas use 100 percent renewable energy resources. Apple also added biogas-powered fuel cells at the Cupertino campus in late 2010 to reduce carbon emissions.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Flaming turbines, seven eco-chic gifts and a winter wonderland of LED
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The past week saw several groundbreaking developments in climate news as the Chinese government said that it will control rainfall to generate 10 percent more precipitation by 2015. Stanford researchers developed a new type of concrete that removes CO2 from the atmosphere, and Facebook teamed up with Greenpeace to power future data centers with renewable energy. Japan also announced the cold shutdown of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the US solar industry got a giant boost as it grew more in the third quarter of 2011 than in all of 2009. Wind power in Scotland had a rocky week as a turbine burst into flames during hurricane force winds. In other news, it was an intense week in the world of architecture as renowned firm MVRDV apologized for its "Cloud" skyscrapers, which many people found to resemble the form of the exploding Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks. We also brought you two high-profile architecture interviews - one with Gensler's Chris Chan on the tallest skyscraper in Asia and one with HOK's Bill Odell on the world's largest LEED platinum project. Meanwhile, BIG unveiled a luxury resort topped with a functional ski slope and we saw a winter wonderland of LED topiaries pop up in Atlanta's botanical garden. As the holiday shopping season reached its peak we also highlighted some of our favorite green gadgets - don't miss these 10 great green gizmos and these 7 eco-chic gifts for techies. We also shared an exclusive tutorial on how to make your own pair of texting gloves, and we checked out Pong's iPhone and iPad cases, which reduce exposure to cell phone radiation. Finally, we saw scientists in Japan create the world's first renewable bio-based polyester and we brought you N-product's iPod watchbands, which are made from discarded backpacks and inner tubes.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: sugar-covered lamps, IKEA's solar lamp, and the 30MPH all-wood racing bike
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Several breakthroughs sent shock waves through the field of renewable energy this week as Inhabitat reported on a new type of "invisibility cloak" that could supercharge solar cells and researchers at MIT harnessed viruses to improve the efficiency of dye-solar cells by a full third. We also cast a keen eye on the royal wedding, which is expected to produce 6,765 tons of CO2, and we explored a new wireless charging technology being developed by Toyota and WiTricity. And if futuristic eco cities float your boat, check out this self-sustaining ecotopia designed to produce energy and food in the North Sea. We also showcased several novel electric vehicles, including the crazy Uno 3 transforming scooter which is now available for pre-order. Alternative fuels also took off as a Kentucky man unveiled a car that runs on bourbon and a mobile greenhouse powered by renewable energy hit the streets of New York City. And from the realm of pedal-powered transportation we brought you the SplinterBike - a bicycle made entirely from wood that can hit a record-breaking 30 miles per hour. In other news, energy-efficient lighting advanced by leaps and bounds this week as we flipped the switch on IKEA's new solar-powered Solvinden lamp and we spotted a crystalline "Stardust" LED lamp made from sugar at the Milan Furniture Fair. Finally, we shined a spotlight on Katy Perry's debut on American Idol as a LED-studded Extraterrestrial, and we took an exclusive look inside New York City's first LEED gold skyscraper - the Hearst Tower!
NSA wants $896.5 million to build new supercomputing complex
The federal government may be cutting corners left and right, but that hasn't stopped the NSA from requesting nearly $900 million to help beef up its supercomputing capabilities. According to budget documents released by the Department of Defense yesterday, the NSA is looking to construct a massive new High Performance Computing Center in Maryland, designed to harness plenty of supercomputing muscle within an energy efficient framework. As with many other data centers, the NSA's $896.5 million complex would feature raised floors, chilled water systems and advanced alarm mechanisms, but it would also need about 60 megawatts of power -- the same amount that powers Microsoft's gargantuan, 700,000 square-foot data center in Chicago. According to the DoD, however, the NSA would use that juice judiciously, in the hopes of conserving enough water, energy and building materials to obtain LEED Silver certification. Another chunk of the funding, not surprisingly, would go toward fortifying the facility. The NSA is hoping to pour more than $35 million into building security and perimeter control, which would include a cargo inspection facility, advanced surveillance, and systems designed to detect any radiological, nuclear, or chemical threats. If all goes to plan, construction would wrap up by December 2015.
Apple Stores certified by US Green Building Council...barely
While Apple has made great gains in the environmental friendliness of its products, manufacturing and facilities, the U.S. Green Building Council (GBC), a "non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation," has identified its retail stores as ripe for improvement. Apple earned the group's low "certified" ranking, but it wasn't due to poor design or implementation. The group's tool is the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design, or LEED standard, which measures a building's performance across five aspects of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Unfortunately, Apple's stores failed to qualify for certain points, contributing to its low ranking. For example: Sustainable sites: Apple won points for for site selection and density, but was unable to earn points for protecting habitats since Apple Stores don't include a lawn, yard or other landscaping. Water efficiency: Again, Apple loses out on possible points towards innovative wastewater technology as its stores lack any significant landscaping. Elsewhere in the test, Apple scored well in indoor environmental quality (its most compliant category) and poorly in the materials and resources and innovation and design process categories. You'll find more information on the LEED for retail standard here. Congratulations to Apple for receiving certification; hopefully there will be opportunities to gain a higher ranking next time.
Duo-Gard's IllumaWALL adds LED action to translucent architecture
We've seen plenty of illuminated wall applications, LED-infused or otherwise, but the green-minded folks over at Duo-Gard are integrating that disco-inspired action we all know and love into its translucent paneling, which gives buildings a breath of fresh sunlight throughout the day while cutting down on energy costs and potentially boosting your morale. The company's new IllumaWALL melds the benefits of daylighting panels with the completely unnecessary, but entirely sensational night-brightening action of LEDs, as the polycarbonate structures feature built-in, fully programmable lights that can output a steady ambient glow or put on "a light show of pulsating colors" if you're throwing a party at your pad. As expected, pricing on these panels vary greatly based on your installation needs, but if you're already looking to craft a new domicile or office building, and need to garner a bit of instant notoriety, IllumaWALL could do the trick.[Via Inhabitat]
