Researchers from HP Labs recently presented to the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability their paper stating that the manure output of cows and the heat output of data centers can combine to create an economically and environmentally sustainable operation.
The 8-page paper authored by Ratnesh Sharma, Tom Christian, Martin Arlitt, Cullen Bash and Chandrakant Patel describes how a 10,000-cow dairy farm could fulfill the power requirements of a 1-MW data center, with power left over to support other needs on the farm.
"In this process," HP Labs said when making the paper public, "the heat generated by the data center can be used to increase the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion of animal waste. This results in the production of methane, which can be used to generate power for the data center. This symbiotic relationship allows the waste problems faced by dairy farms and the energy demands of the modern data center to be addressed in a sustainable manner."
Patel, director of the Sustainable IT Ecosystem Lab at HP Labs, explains the concept in this YouTube video.
Christian, who is principal research scientist in the Sustainable IT Ecosystem Lab, adds, "The idea of using animal waste to generate energy has been around for centuries, with manure being used every day in remote villages to generate heat for cooking. The new idea that we are presenting in this research is to create a symbiotic relationship between farms and the IT ecosystem that can benefit the farm, the data center and the environment."
Some other notable quotes taken directly from the paper:
-The average dairy cow produces 54.7 kilograms of manure per day, approximately 20 metric tons per year.
-The manure produced by one dairy cow in one day can generate 3.0 kWh of electrical energy.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
FBI points to VoIP as element in online financial scheme
The Federal Burea of Investigation has pointed to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as an eabling tool that has allowed perpetrators to steal money from unsuspecting victims' online accounts. Citing one case in particular, that of a Florida dentist who lost about $400,000 to thieves, the FBI explained the role that VoIP played in the scheme.
"The scheme is known as telephony denial-of-service (TDOS) and according to several telecommunications companies working with the FBI, there has been a recent surge in these attacks in the past few weeks," the FBI said in a statement earlier this month. "The perpetrators are suspected of using automated dialing programs and multiple accounts to overwhelm the land and cell phone lines of their victims with thousands of calls.
"The FBI has determined that these calls serve as a diversionary technique. During these TDOS attacks, online trading and other money management accounts are being accessed by the perpetrators who are transferring funds out of those accounts ... The purpose of the malicious phone calls is to occupy the victim phone numbers on record with the financial institutions managing the accounts so that when the institutions contact the vicim to verify the changes and transactions, the institution is unable to reach the victim. Consequently, the victim has no idea what has really transpired until it's too late."
In the case of the Florida dentist, law enforcement officials uncovered VoIP accounts created by a single user that paired the accounts with automatic dialing tools to dial a large volume of computer-generated calls per minute, all directed toward the business, home and mobile telephone numbers of the dentist.
The VoIP accounts used in the scheme were terminated but the perpetrators were not identified. As the supplier of the VoIP lines, AT&T got the FBI's Cybercrime resources involved.
While that incident in Florida began last November, AT&T's associate director of global fraud management Adam Panaiga said he's more recently seen an increase in the same type of activity targeting potential victims across the country.
Robert Moore, chief information officer at business communications firm PAETEC commented, "With the advent of Voice over IP and the newest technologies in phone service, criminal attacks on businesses using those platforms have become increasingly sophisticated."
Read the full statement the FBI issued on May 11.
"The scheme is known as telephony denial-of-service (TDOS) and according to several telecommunications companies working with the FBI, there has been a recent surge in these attacks in the past few weeks," the FBI said in a statement earlier this month. "The perpetrators are suspected of using automated dialing programs and multiple accounts to overwhelm the land and cell phone lines of their victims with thousands of calls.
"The FBI has determined that these calls serve as a diversionary technique. During these TDOS attacks, online trading and other money management accounts are being accessed by the perpetrators who are transferring funds out of those accounts ... The purpose of the malicious phone calls is to occupy the victim phone numbers on record with the financial institutions managing the accounts so that when the institutions contact the vicim to verify the changes and transactions, the institution is unable to reach the victim. Consequently, the victim has no idea what has really transpired until it's too late."
In the case of the Florida dentist, law enforcement officials uncovered VoIP accounts created by a single user that paired the accounts with automatic dialing tools to dial a large volume of computer-generated calls per minute, all directed toward the business, home and mobile telephone numbers of the dentist.
The VoIP accounts used in the scheme were terminated but the perpetrators were not identified. As the supplier of the VoIP lines, AT&T got the FBI's Cybercrime resources involved.
While that incident in Florida began last November, AT&T's associate director of global fraud management Adam Panaiga said he's more recently seen an increase in the same type of activity targeting potential victims across the country.
Robert Moore, chief information officer at business communications firm PAETEC commented, "With the advent of Voice over IP and the newest technologies in phone service, criminal attacks on businesses using those platforms have become increasingly sophisticated."
Read the full statement the FBI issued on May 11.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Guest Blog: The Road to LEED Green Associate
by Felix Zayas
May 14, 2010
There aren't too many conversations in my industry these days that don't at some point make mention of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), green design, or some other LEED-related topic. I recently completed my LEED Green Associate exam and would like to give you a brief overview of what went into the preparation for it.
First let me give you a little history. The USGBC is a non-profit organization, committed to building a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation. The Green Building Certification Institute manages the professional credentialing programs, including the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP BD+C credentials, which assess one's knowledge of green building design and the LEED rating systems for new construction and building renovations.
The latest version of the LEED AP examination (version 3.0) requires you to pass two exams. The first exam is the LEED Green Associate, followed by a specialty exam. If you are reading this blog post, most likely your specialty exam will be Building Design and Construction. After successfully passing the building design and construction exam you would be considered a LEED AP BD+C.
When studying for the LEED Green Associate, you should go to the GBCI website and download the LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook. This PDF is roughly 30 pages in length and is the perfect tool to help you along the way. The document is updated frequently, so always be sure to download it directly from the website. The handbook covers such things as how to register, what to study and things you should know about the exam. The "preparing for your exam" section includes a list of primary and ancillary references with direct links to study material on the Internet, most of which is free.
In addition to the primary and ancillary references you can study from, many third-party companies have put together comprehensive study packages, ranging in price from $35 to $80. Some offer audio study guides in MP3 format, flash cards and even practice test questions.
It is important to be up on the latest trends in green building and green design. In 2008 BICSI created an alliance called the Green Building Technology Alliance. Members from BICSI, TIA, InfoComm and CABA are part of the alliance. Theya re working toward creating technology-related credits for the next version of LEED.
Felix Zayas is a technology designer for BVH Integrated Services Inc., a multi-disciplined engineering firm based in Blooomfield, CT that provides MEP, civil, structural, sustainable design, commissioning and technology services to clients in the educational, health-care, corporate, governmental and research markets.
With more than seven years of telecommunications engineering experience, Felix has earned the Registered Communications Distribution Designer and Network Transport Systems designations from BICSI. He is a Certified Technology Specialist as designated by InfoComm and is licensed in the State of Connecticut as a Telecommunications Layout Technician. As he indicates in this blog post, he is also a LEED Green Associate as designated by the Green Building Certification Institute. He can be reached at felixz@bvhis.com or 860-286-9171.
May 14, 2010
There aren't too many conversations in my industry these days that don't at some point make mention of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), green design, or some other LEED-related topic. I recently completed my LEED Green Associate exam and would like to give you a brief overview of what went into the preparation for it.
First let me give you a little history. The USGBC is a non-profit organization, committed to building a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation. The Green Building Certification Institute manages the professional credentialing programs, including the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP BD+C credentials, which assess one's knowledge of green building design and the LEED rating systems for new construction and building renovations.
The latest version of the LEED AP examination (version 3.0) requires you to pass two exams. The first exam is the LEED Green Associate, followed by a specialty exam. If you are reading this blog post, most likely your specialty exam will be Building Design and Construction. After successfully passing the building design and construction exam you would be considered a LEED AP BD+C.
When studying for the LEED Green Associate, you should go to the GBCI website and download the LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook. This PDF is roughly 30 pages in length and is the perfect tool to help you along the way. The document is updated frequently, so always be sure to download it directly from the website. The handbook covers such things as how to register, what to study and things you should know about the exam. The "preparing for your exam" section includes a list of primary and ancillary references with direct links to study material on the Internet, most of which is free.
In addition to the primary and ancillary references you can study from, many third-party companies have put together comprehensive study packages, ranging in price from $35 to $80. Some offer audio study guides in MP3 format, flash cards and even practice test questions.
It is important to be up on the latest trends in green building and green design. In 2008 BICSI created an alliance called the Green Building Technology Alliance. Members from BICSI, TIA, InfoComm and CABA are part of the alliance. Theya re working toward creating technology-related credits for the next version of LEED.
Felix Zayas is a technology designer for BVH Integrated Services Inc., a multi-disciplined engineering firm based in Blooomfield, CT that provides MEP, civil, structural, sustainable design, commissioning and technology services to clients in the educational, health-care, corporate, governmental and research markets.
With more than seven years of telecommunications engineering experience, Felix has earned the Registered Communications Distribution Designer and Network Transport Systems designations from BICSI. He is a Certified Technology Specialist as designated by InfoComm and is licensed in the State of Connecticut as a Telecommunications Layout Technician. As he indicates in this blog post, he is also a LEED Green Associate as designated by the Green Building Certification Institute. He can be reached at felixz@bvhis.com or 860-286-9171.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Rather than waiting around for Brett Favre to have ankle surgery ...
... or even watching the next Twins game, cabling design and installation contractors in Minnesota may want to know that their state's Department of Natural Resources has posted a solicitation for the installation of wire, cable and connecting devices.
US Fed News reports that the project is described as "installation and testing for wiring systems to be used as signal pathways for high-speed data transmission for 17 office workstations. Project location is Lake Bemidji State Park Former Residence, Near Bemidji, Beltrami County, MN." Go to this page on the state's Materials Management Division site, and find the solicitation number 2010-69-01 on the page.
Printed copies of the solicitation can be obtained from Paulette Kassa, tel: 218-308-2658; fax: 218-755-4075. Technical information on the project is available from Barry Lyons, tel: 218-308-2657.
Responses to the solicitation are due May 20 and the project completion date is June 20.
US Fed News reports that the project is described as "installation and testing for wiring systems to be used as signal pathways for high-speed data transmission for 17 office workstations. Project location is Lake Bemidji State Park Former Residence, Near Bemidji, Beltrami County, MN." Go to this page on the state's Materials Management Division site, and find the solicitation number 2010-69-01 on the page.
Printed copies of the solicitation can be obtained from Paulette Kassa, tel: 218-308-2658; fax: 218-755-4075. Technical information on the project is available from Barry Lyons, tel: 218-308-2657.
Responses to the solicitation are due May 20 and the project completion date is June 20.
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