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A SoCal woman says the energy efficient window installed in a neighbor’s condominium is melting the plastic components on cars parked in her carport. Heather Patron of Studio City was dealing with a mystery regarding her Toyota Prius. “The side view mirrors were melting,” says Patron. “Anything that was plastic on the car was melting.” {snip} Patron is not alone. Reports across the country have alleged damages brought on by concentrated sunlight reflected off of energy efficient windows.

By staff reporter Yu Dawei 11.26.2010 15:28 Save Energy, Lose Lives How fast-track scheduling and low-cost, low energy consumption building materials contributed to a tragic apartment building fire (Shanghai) - The Shanghai apartment tower gutted by a deadly fire in November was just one of many high-rises in the city and across China targeted for energy-saving renovations this year. The well-intentioned goal was resource conservation. But two aspects of the execution – a government push for speedy results and a contractor's choice of a low-budget, flammable building material called PU foam – contributed to the tragedy. The building was being...

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-obama-and-president-medvedev-russia-us-russia-business-summit Home • Briefing Room • Speeches & Remarks The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 24, 2010 Remarks by President Obama and President Medvedev of Russia at the U.S.-Russia Business Summit U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 3:08 P.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, good afternoon, everybody. It is a pleasure to be here with my friend and partner, President Medvedev, and I want to thank him again for his leadership, especially his vision for an innovative Russia that’s modernizing its economy, including deeper economic ties between our...

Energy efficiency is one of the themes most discussed by those who are interested in issues regarding energy and the environment. The key question is how effective these proposed solutions will be. Will these technological solutions labeled as ‘energy efficiency’ (i.e. an increase in power plants generation efficiency, cogeneration, home insulation, more efficient electric motors, cars, light bulbs, etc.) really lead to a decrease in the global demand for energy? First of all, we should distinguish between two different economic spheres: production and consumption. With respect to production, the proposed solutions (increases in power plants efficiency, changes to EFF1 electric...

Energy-efficiency investments Tangible gains still ahead for $25 billion initiative In Baltimore, the 300 block of East 23 1/2 Street is getting patched up in time for winter. One economic stimulus program is paying to insulate 11 rental rowhouses, another is paying for furnaces and a third is covering the cost for reflective roofs to be installed by prison inmates in a job-training program. The block is part of one of the biggest initiatives ever undertaken by the federal government, a nationwide push to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. But as the national unemployment rate crosses into the double...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2009 – Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq officials are working to boost energy efficiency in the Iraqi infrastructure to help the environment and boost cost savings, command officials said. Energy efficiency affects the environment by reducing air pollution and the economy by reducing fuel costs. “Since energy impacts the environment and the economy, it makes sense to ensure that the construction of the Iraqi security infrastructure is done in the most energy-efficient manner. This will properly set the conditions needed to encourage cost savings and employ sound environmental practices," Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas N. Williams Jr.,...

Researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland have created nanocapacitors capable of both high power concentrations and large storage capacities. Traditionally, capacitors offer high levels of power discharge and batteries offer large amounts of storage but this is the first time scientists have managed to combine both properties in the same device, albeit one too small to be practical.   Arrays of capacitors shown in an electron micrograph overlaid onto a diagram outlining their design (Credit: A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland) The new battery system, developed by Gary Rubloff and his team...

President Obama announced tougher energy efficiency requirements for certain types of fluorescent and incandescent lighting on Monday, the latest step in the administration’s push to cut the country’s energy use. The new rule , scheduled to take effect in 2012, will cut the amount of electricity used by affected lamps by 15 to 25 percent and save $1 billion to $4 billion a year for consumers, the White House said. “Now I know light bulbs may not seem sexy,” Mr. Obama said, “but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is...

Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday assured the U.S. Department of Energy that South Carolina will consider improving efficiency-related building codes and utility policies, in a letter that opened the door to $50.5 million in energy-related stimulus funds for the state. In order to receive a share of State Energy Program stimulus money, governors were required to provide written assurances by Monday that they would consider such policies. In South Carolina, a House bill already has been introduced to bring the state's energy-related building codes, which date to the 1990s, up to the modern standards used in North Carolina and Georgia....

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer on Tuesday proposed a $5 billion bond measure to combat global warming by getting California's largest building owner - the state government - to improve its energy efficiency. Lockyer said he wants the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign off on a November 2008 ballot measure to retrofit the state's massive building inventory with solar panels and other clean energy technologies. In a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau, Lockyer said the state needs to move "as rapidly as possible" to "green our buildings" if it is serious about its commitment to cut California's greenhouse...

When it comes to their role in causing global warming, Californians can feel slightly less guilty than most Americans. The average Californian generates fewer carbon dioxide emissions - the main heat-trapping gas blamed for warming the planet - than residents in all other states but Idaho, Vermont and Rhode Island, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy. California ranks second in total carbon emissions, trailing only Texas. But the country's most populous state is one of the lowest carbon emitters on a per-person basis. Each person in California is responsible for about 24,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per...

TOKYO, Jan. 5 — In many countries, higher oil prices have hurt pocketbooks and led to worries about economic slowdowns. But here in Japan, Kiminobu Kimura, an architect, says he has not felt the pinch. In fact, his monthly energy bill is lower than a year ago. A reason is his new home fuel cell, a machine as large and quiet as a filing cabinet that sits in front of his house and turns hydrogen into electricity and cold water into hot — at a fraction of regular utility costs. But even with the futuristic device, which is available for...

During rush hour recently in Shanghai, China, I traveled 19 miles in 7½ minutes. I wasn't flying, exactly. I was aboard a high-speed magnetic-levitation transportation system. Now I can't help but ponder more efficient ways of moving people into, between, within and around our cities -- especially when I'm stuck in traffic. Let's face it: American transportation problems result from our love of private automobile ownership and the government policies that enable our oil addiction. Driving cars in cities is like using a pair of pliers to bang a nail into a wall -- the wrong tool for the job....