GSA Ready to Throw Their Green at the Green

The GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) says they can help get the money flowing.

How are they going to make buildings greener?

• Adding thicker insulation than required by the newest energy codes
• Converting lighting to LED
  
• updating/replacing less-efficient windows
• more water efficient toilets
• installing variable frequency drives to reduce energy and extend the life of mechanical equipment
  

The GSA will also be launching a new web-site to report progress on the reinvestment funding.

Remember also that the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and other laws require GSA to:

• Reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2015
• Reduce fossil fuel-generated energy consumption in new buildings in many steps from 55% in 2010 to 100% in 2030.

OLEDs - The Lighting on the Wall

Scientists at many leading companies and start-ups are developing "Organic Light Emitting Diodes." (Everyone has heard about LEDs by now and that they are the next big thing in lighting, and if you haven't, be sure to google it). To put it simply, an OLED is a thin sheet of material that will illuminate when an electrical charge is applied to it. It's like wallpaper that lights up, and it's not going to be hitting shelves any time soon. It will probably have more use in display screens of all kinds than it will on your wall--unless you live in a dance club? (Hey, I'm not judging.)

OLEDS:

*Don't require a backlight to function (displays can be thinner even than LCD)
*Draw less power from a battery (think cell phone displays)
*Degradation of OLED materials is still a problem

Quite a few companies are working to develop them now. It's an area where the little fish will start being gobbled up by the big players eager to gain an advantage on their competitors in a few years.

Everybody's Looking for a Good Green Job

-In early February, D.C. hosted more than 2,500 environmental, labor, and business leaders for the Good Green Jobs Conference. Not only does this organization seek to educate lawmakers about the "new, green economy" but their Green Jobs Expo actually goes the extra mile to display new green technology from various businesses and academic institutions. A list of the organizations present are listed on the goodgreenjobsconference.org website.

More on some of the companies featured later...

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