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1st Federal Lab Receives LEED Platinum Certification

A research facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory has received the top LEED designation for green building. The 71,000-sq. ft., $22.7-million, state-of-the-art Science & Technology Facility (S&TF) in Golden, Colorado is the first federal laboratory building to receive a platinum rating. Only 28 other buildings in the world have achieved the LEED platinum designation. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It recognizes and measures building performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. “Our built environment uses 40% of the nation’s energy. As the country’s largest energy consumer, it is incumbent upon the federal government to lead by example and use energy as efficiently as possible,” Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner said.” The multi-story building was designed to fit into the gently sloping side of a mesa, where care was taken to minimize disturbing the natural terrain and conserve and manage water resources. Architectural features such as daylighting, evaporative cooling and efficient motors, fans, windows and lighting reduce the building’s energy requirements, saving […]

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Ford Licenses Color Kinetics' Patents For Automotive Lighting

Color Kinetics Inc. (Nasdaq: CLRK) has signed a global licensing agreement with Ford Global Technologies, LLC, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, that allows the dynamic personalization of automotive interiors and exteriors through intelligent LED lighting. Ford will have access to Color Kinetics’ complete patent portfolio to incorporate color-controllable lighting in any of its branded or affiliate vehicles. “Ford’s license of Color Kinetics’ patents marks a very exciting milestone — both for the accumulating strength of our licensing program and the penetration of LED technology into bigger, broader markets,” said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Color Kinetics. We believe that the ability to personalize spaces, whether homes, workstations or even cars, has widespread market appeal, and the opportunity to put this advanced control in vehicle owners’ hands is very exciting.” While single color LED sources have been applied in automotive lighting for a number of years, Ford was one of the first to capitalize on the digitally controllable nature of LEDs when it introduced the MyColor color- changing instrument panel in its Ford Mustangs. The global license will cover all sales of the Mustang MyColor instrument panel as well as other intelligent color-controllable systems that Ford may introduce in the […]

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Spring is Here, So are Pesticides

by Guy DaunceyIt’s spring. Tree frogs are frogging, birds are singing, and the leaves of a billion flowers, trees, shrubs and trees are unfolding. Meanwhile, across our cities and rural acreages, farmers, landscapers, golf-course managers, apartment caretakers and home owners are reaching for their pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, ready to attack nature in their quest for The Perfect Lawn.Item: In North America and Europe, childhood cancer is rising by 1% a year. About a third of these cancers are leukemia.Item: In France, a 2006 study by the National Institute for Medical Research found that children who were exposed to garden insecticides and fungicides were more than twice as likely to develop acute leukemia. A similar level of risk was present among the children of mothers who had used insecticides in the home while pregnant and/or long after the birth, and with the use of insecticidal shampoos for head lice. Parkinsonys disease has also been linked to the use of pesticides. Change of frame. Young couples (plus the not so young) are also doing the birds and the bees thing y some hoping to make a baby. But why is it so difficult? In the US, women under 25 are the […]

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