Posts Tagged ‘Environment’

A lot of people that using alternative sources of fuel is just fulfilling your environmental duties. Others use such fuel sources to assuage their own conscience. While using alternative fuel sources can definitely fulfil the above two roles, it is just plain good sense and planning to not depend on the rapidly depleting and environmentally degrading fossil fuels that form the backbone of our economy, and our transport system.

You can start off your use of alternative fuels in your daily commute. If you use your feet to commute, either through walking or cycling, you are at a great disadvantage with the rest of the American populace. Not only will you be healthier and fitter, you will also save thousands of dollars on ever increasing fuel costs, while cutting down on your carbon footprint.

Of course, you cannot depend on walking or cycles to take you everywhere. You will require a motorized mode of transport sooner or later. If you can afford one, a hybrid car would be a great investment. Not only are hybrid cars more economical, they are also low polluting. You will also be at a distinct advantage with the rest of the population as fuel prices keep on increasing, and as the country makes the inevitable switch to cars powered by alternative sources of fuel.

Try to use public means of transport as much as you can, especially the local metro which runs on electric power, and thus, gives off zero emissions. Not only is public transport a cost effective means of travel, it is also a great way to do your little bit for the environment and keep at least one car off the already congested roads and highways.

It makes sense to switch over the alternative fuel sources sooner than later. We will all have to switch to greener energy sources one day, so why not today rather than tomorrow?

About the Author

John has been writing online for several years. His late blog is about picture scanners, and how you should go about buying a picture scanner

Plug-in leases coming soon

Toyota is on track to lease 500 plug-in Prius hybrids before the end of this year. According to Toyota, these plug-in hybrids will offer an electric range of 12 miles, afterwhich the Prius functions pretty much like a standard 3rd generation Prius.

Thus far, Toyota has claimed that its lithium battery production has proven reliable and that its manufacturing process appears sound. Hopefully that trend holds true as production scales upward.

Nonetheless, Toyota is not in a race to bring such technology to the mass market.

“Although we like to be first to market with these technologies, it’s more important that we are best to market,” says Irv Miller, Toyota’s environmental and public affairs group vice president in the U.S.

Unfortunately, no real word on costs just yet, although the plug-in Prius should be a good bit cheaper than the Chevy Volt thanks to its shorter EV range and smaller battery pack. And costs, according to recent polls, will be critical to successful PHEV adoption.

Still, does Toyota’s plug-in Prius really mean much until Toyota can replace the NiMH batteries in the the current Prius with lithium? Isn’t that the best path to economies of scale for lithium production and, eventually, plug-in vehicles?

[McKinsey & Co] Over the past three years, McKinsey has tracked the rising adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, as well as the ways organizations are using them. This year, we sought to get a clear idea of whether companies are deriving measurable business benefits from their investments in the Web. Our findings indicate that they are.

Nearly 1,700 executives from around the world, across a range of industries and functional areas, responded to this year’s survey.1 We asked them about the value they have realized from their Web 2.0 deployments in three main areas: within their organizations; externally, in their relations with customers; and in their dealings with suppliers, partners, and outside experts.

Web 2.0 technologies improve interactions with employees, customers, and suppliers at some companies more than at others. An outside study titled “Power Law of Enterprise 2.0” analyzed data from earlier McKinsey Web 2.0 surveys to gain a better understanding of the factors that contribute most significantly to the successful use of these technologies.

The findings demonstrate that success follows a “power curve distribution”—in other words, a small group of users accounts for the largest portion of the gains. According to our research, the 20 percent of users reporting the greatest satisfaction received 80 percent of the benefits. Drilling a bit deeper, we found that this 20 percent included 68 percent of the companies reporting the highest adoption rates for a range of Web 2.0 tools, 58 percent of the companies where use by employees was most widespread, and 82 percent of the respondents who claimed the highest levels of satisfaction from Web 2.0 use at their companies.

To improve our understanding of some underlying factors leading to these companies’ success, we first created an index of Web 2.0 performance, combining the previously mentioned variables: adoption, breadth of employee use, and satisfaction. A score of 100 percent represents the highest performance level possible across the three components. We then analyzed how these scores correlated with three company characteristics: the competitive environment (using industry type as a proxy), company features (the size and location of operations), and the extent to which the company actively managed Web 2.0. These three factors explained two-thirds of the companies’ scores.

Furthermore, while all of the factors are slightly correlated with one another—for example, there are more high-tech companies in the United States than in South America—each factor by itself explains much of why companies achieved their performance scores. Management capabilities ranked highest at 54 percent, meaning that good management is more than half of the battle in ensuring satisfaction with Web 2.0, a high rate of adoption, and widespread use of the tools. The competitive environment explained 28 percent, size and location 17 percent. Parsing these results even further, we found that three aspects of management were particularly critical to superior performance: a lack of internal barriers to Web 2.0, a culture favoring open collaboration (a factor confirmed in the 2009 survey), and early adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. The high-tech and telecom industries had higher scores than manufacturing, while companies with sales of less than $1 billion or those located in the United States were more likely to have relatively high performance scores than larger companies located elsewhere.

While the evidence suggests that focused management improves Web 2.0 performance, there’s still a way to go before users become as satisfied with these technologies as they are with others. The top 20 percent of companies reached a performance score of only 35 percent (the score increased to 44 percent in the 2009 survey). When the same score methodology is applied to technologies that corporations had previously adopted, Web 2.0’s score is below the 57 percent for traditional corporate IT services, such as e-mail, and the 80 percent for mobile-communications services.

Their responses suggest why Web 2.0 remains of high interest: 69 percent of respondents report that their companies have gained measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business, and higher revenues. Companies that made greater use of the technologies, the results show, report even greater benefits. We also looked closely at the factors driving these improvements—for example, the types of technologies companies are using, management practices that produce benefits, and any organizational and cultural characteristics that may contribute to the gains. We found that successful companies not only tightly integrate Web 2.0 technologies with the work flows of their employees but also create a “networked company,” linking themselves with customers and suppliers through the use of Web 2.0 tools. Despite the current recession, respondents overwhelmingly say that they will continue to invest in Web 2.0.

How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results

Is the Camry hybrid the ultimate barometer?

Toyota is now ramping up its lobbying efforts in Japan hoping to extend tax credits for environmentally-friendly cars, particularly hybrid cars, for another two years. Thus far these credits have pushed the Toyota Prius to the top of the sales list in Japan. Yet, what would Prius sales be without these tax credits?

Likewise, despite the fact the Prius was a top ten cash for clunker seller, the Prius still did not crack the 10 best selling vehicles list for August.

Until Camry hybrid sales outperform conventional Camry sales, for instance, aren’t hybrid cars and the Toyota Prius basically irrelevant?

Gardens are usually the first place visitors look when they enter your gate or drive by your home. A large majority of the population invests large amounts of precious time and energy making sure their garden is in tip top shape. The problem is though that unless the garden is well lit nobody can fully appreciate it when it is nighttime. Most homeowners do not realize that their gardens could be best displayed and appreciated during the night. The solution to this problem is simple. Install solar powered garden lights so you can see your garden both day and night.

Sensors

One of the biggest benefits of solar lighting today is sensors. Most outdoor solar garden lights on the market today have sensors to detect the dusk and the dawn. The sensors turn the lights off during the daytime and turn on automatically in the night. Solar Lights once installed are self efficient. Even in the midst of a power outage the lights will continue to work.
Security Another benefit of solar power garden lights is the security they provide. By illuminating your property it will not only look better but deter criminal activity. Low lit areas have proven time and again to be hotspots for criminals to conceal themselves from sight. Foundation plantings, shrubs, and densely wooded areas of your yard are frequent hiding spots for would-be burglars. Crime statistics show that if burglars are at risk of being seen in a bright light, they are not likely to hide anywhere in the area.

Installation

Installation no longer requires an expert technician, and there are no more high electrical bills with lights burning all night. A normally wired light fixture would need someone to come set it up, run the wires and then ground them properly. With solar lighting, all that is required to set it up is to place the light fixtures where you need them. These will be either mounted on a pole or wall or they could be simply staked into the ground. The video I have added below shows you just how easy it is to install solar garden lights.

Prevent Theft

One question I get asked frequently is how to prevent solar garden lights from getting stolen. I have heard many different ways from pouring cement to installing security cameras. The cheapest and best advice that I have received is to do as follows. Drill a hole through the base of each light. You want the hole to be just below ground level. Next string a plastic jacketed steel cable though all of them. Lastly, dig a shallow trench between the lights to place the cable. I have never had or heard of any lights being stolen with this method.

LED Technology

One of the main concerns that I hear is that solar lights are dimmer than regular lights. This may have been the case years ago but new LED (Led Emmiting Diodes) technology has changed this belief. Depending on the model some solar lights are just as bright as conventional lights. Another thing to consider is that LED’s lasts longer than conventional lights because there is no filament in them and they do not waste energy by giving off heat. Most of these lights have multiple LED’s and have a reflector inside to give off maximum light that is distributed evenly.LED solar lights are powerful enough to provide great lighting for your garden.

Shopping for Solar Garden Lights

In one way or another, we all want to save some money. Why not start with the solar garden lights? They will save money on the energy consumption, are environmentally friendly, and will not require expensive installation or a technician to work on maintenance fees. There are a wide variety of solar lights to choose from depending on what you are looking for. Some of these factors include the layout of your garden, its size and the effect that you want created. With so many options here are a few sites that have the best options for you. For more information on solar lights visit www.mysolarlightssite.com

Top Sellers

www.solarlightstoday.com
www.mysolarshop.com
www.solarlightstore.com

About the Author
I am a 23 old college graduate of the University of Texas at Austin who added solar lighting to my yard two years ago and belief everybody should reap the benefits.