Datensklaven

A classic Sherm Moment with Wayne Lynch, Kelly and MP. Photo: Steve Sherman

While on the west coast for the Volkswagen press tour, I had the chance to drive the company’s new electric Golf. The eGolf is scheduled to be available as part of the 2014 Volkswagen line. At present, there is a pilot fleet of about 20 of these cars that are being driven by VW employees as part of a study examining things such as usage and vehicle charging before teh vehicle is ready for general release. The test fleet, including the vehicle that I drove, was built using the 6th generation Golf body, but the production version will use the 7th generation Golf as vehicle platform.

My test drive of the eGolf was only a couple of miles, since there were a couple dozen journalists who wanted to have a chance for a drive, so it needed to be constrained, but I still got a taste of driving this car similar to many of the other EVs I’ve driven. I’ve had the opportunity to drive a number of electric vehicles, though many of those experiences have been on the small, indoor driving track that has been available at the NAIAS in Detroit, and I’ve been a passenger in a few other demonstration EVs that weren’t available for general driving.

The eGolf has an interesting regenerative braking system that is more interactive – and more like driving a car with a manual transmission – than usual with other EVs I’ve encountered, which tend to behave like a car with an automatic transmission. When coasting, the eGolf will begin to regeneratively recharge the batteries. However, the driver can use a pair of paddle switches on the steering wheel to increase the level of regenerative braking the car provides, recapturing progressively more energy back to the batteries and slowing the car more quickly with each step. This would take some getting used to before one became proficient with it, but it brings back a level of engagement to the driving experience that most EVs don’t have.

The eGolf has a 26.5 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery and an estimated range of 93 miles. For the test fleet, VW is also providing an iPhone with special app to enable the owner to “check the battery’s charging status, regulate the car’s internal temperature, gauge how much charging time is left, or even remotely start the charging procedure.”

More about the sound made by the eGolf will be coming shortly.

[Ed. Note: Volkswagen paid for the travel and lodging for my trip to SF where I gathered some of the information for this story.]

image credits: EcoGeek

One of the biggest problems with typical horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT – pinwheel-type turbines) is that they are not very efficient at low wind speeds. This is usually dealt with by surveying sites and finding locations where wind speeds tend to be higher, so that the turbines will be more effective once they are built, but these locations are often in remote locations, far from where the power is needed.

Wind turbines that use ducts to direct the wind for greater efficiency are not an entirely new idea, but the developers of the Winga have a new approach that could make this a useful configuration for new wind turbines.

By using wings to shroud both the inlet and the outlet to the turbine, it is possible for the turbine to generate power with lower wind speeds. The Winga turbine could be located closer to the ground, so that it would be less visually obtrusive, and also makes maintenance easier to carry out. The Winga can also be configured so that it could be lowered to the ground in the event of excessive winds that had the potential to cause damage.

The Winga has a cut-in speed (where the turbine first begins to generate power) of just 2 meters per second (about 4.5 mph) wind speed and reaches full power at a wind speed of 4 meters per second (about 9 mph). A typical HAWT has a cut-in speed of 4 meters per second, and doesn’t reach full power until the winds reach 10 meters per second (about 22 mph).

The compact configuration of this turbine also allows it to use an annular rotor instead of the more conventional central-axis blades, which concentrates the blade area at the edges, where the greatest amount of torque is developed. The Winga has a tower height of 35 meters (about 115 feet), and measures 36.5 meters (120 feet) in length, with a scoop opening measuring 9 meters by 12 meters (30 feet by 40 feet). All of the moving parts are contained within the enclosure, so it would not have the dynamic, moving appearance that some find bothersome with conventional turbines.

The lower height of the Winga could be a disadvantage in some respects, since faster, more consistent winds are found at higher elevations above the ground. But the ability to produce power at a lower wind speed, and the likelihood that it can produce power more consistently, could overcome that disadvantage. Steering the large scoop into the wind when the winds are swirling and less steadily coming from a single direction might also be difficult and could also lead to inefficiencies. But the possibilities offered by the Winga are interesting, and further development could be worth watching.

link: Winga E-Generator

HatTip to: @johnrobb

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a press information and driving event held by Volkswagen in California, near their Electronics Research Laboratory in Belmont. As noted with many other manufacturers at this year’s NAIAS, the connected car is something that Volkswagen is also deeply involved in, and their decision to locate this facility in Silicon Valley is deliberately intended to support that aspect of their business.

At present, Volkswagen has several vehicles of particular interest. Among the vehicles I drove were the Touareg Hybrid, the Jetta Sportwagen TDI, and the eGolf. (I’ll have more coverage of the eGolf in another article.) The Touareg is a 5-seat SUV with a parallel hybrid drivetrain (one electric motor with compact disengagement clutch mounted between V6 engine and transmission: 47 hp electric motor and 3.0 liter V6) with permanent all-wheel drive. It carries 174 pounds of nickel/metal hydride batteries, but this is a mild hybrid that mostly uses the electric motor to assist the conventional engine. The Touareg Hybrid gets mileage of 20 MPG city/24 MPG highway (as compared to 16 MPG city/23 MPG highway for the 3.6 liter conventional gas engine). That puts it in the middle of the pack among hybrid SUVs.

If cargo capacity were the reason to buy an SUV, you’d actually do beter with the Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Nearly 2,000 pounds lighter than the Touareg, the Sportwagen also seats five, but it has 2.9 more cubic feet of storage space with the rear seats down (66.9 cubic feet for Sportwagen versus 64 cubic feet for Touareg). The diesel Sportwagen gets almost double the mileage of the Touareg, as well, with 29 MPG city/39 MPG highway for the automatic transmission version (and as compared to the 24 MPG city/31 MPG highway for the 2.5 liter gasoline engine version). Manual transmissions are available for both models of Sportwagen.

As noted earlier, over 20% of Volkswagens sold in the US are diesels. Volkswagen officials indicated that smaller 1.8 liter and 1.4 liter diesel engines are forthcoming for more fuel-efficient vehicles in upcoming model years. Diesels also provide a 20% reduction in carbon emissions as compared to gasoline engines.

Volkswagen doesn’t typically have the highest numbers compared with its competitors in terms of fuel efficiency, which may be why we don’t find ourselves talking about them as often as we do with some other automakers. But the comapny has a corporate-wide commitment to reducing the environmental impacts of their business with their “Think Blue” strategy (choosing blue – as with the entire planet seen from space – rather than green to represent their breadth of vision). This includes long-term goals such as a 40% reduction in greenhouse gasses from production plants by 2020 and a fleet CO2 emissions target of below 120 grams per kilometer. The company also recently completed construction of the only LEED Platinum Certified automotive factory in the country with their new manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

[Ed. Note: Volkswagen paid for the travel and lodging for my trip to SF where I gathered some of the information for this story.]

image credit: EcoGeek (pictured: L: Touareg, R: Jetta Sportwagen)

The US Environmental Protection Agency has released its Clean Air Act standard for carbon emission from new power plants. Under the proposed EPA rule, any new fossil-fuel-fired power plants (whether fueled by coal or natural gas or any other fossil fuel) would have to meet an “output-based standard of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour (lb CO2/MWh gross).” (EPA Fact Sheet PDF) EPA believes that over 95% of existing gas-fired plants would meet this standard, but that coal-fired plants would need to incorporate carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology in order to meet the limit.

The proposed rule does not apply to existing plants or to plants currently under construction. Nor does it ban new coal power plants from being built (although others have remarked that this marks the beginning of the end of electricit from coal). But new coal plants will have to meet standard with additional equipment that is still costly to install and to operate. This makes it increasingly likely that new power plants will utilize fuels other than coal.

According to the EPA statement, “The proposed standard, which only applies to power plants built in the future, is flexible and would help minimize carbon pollution through the deployment of the same types of modern technologies and steps that power companies are already taking to build the next generation of power plants. EPA’s proposal is in line with these investments and will ensure that this progress toward a cleaner, safer and more modern power sector continues.” If ‘Clean Coal’ is as viable as its lobby would like us to believe, there shoud be no problems with this.

image: CC BY 3.0 by Davidshay1

link: EPA News Release

While the headline may sound dire, it’s not an indication that the US Army is giving up on green building. Instead, the Army has announced it will use a new construction code of its own which is based on the ASHRAE 189.1 standard for new buildings and renovations, rather than continue to use LEED or the High Perfromance Sustainable Buildings standards. This new standard will “govern all new construction, major renovations and leased space acquisition.” The Army had already adopted ASHRAE 189.1 late in 2010.

Some of the impetus for this change is political. In 2011, Congress acted to prevent any Department of Defense project from achieving LEED gold or platinum certification as part of that year’s Defense Reauthorization bill.

Moreover, LEED is fundamentally a marketing program that recognizes buildings built to a particular high standard of performance. At its core, the Army is more concerned about having better buildings that it can operate more efficiently. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Dr. Dorothy Robyn stated that, “With more than 300,000 buildings and 2.2 billion square feet of building space, DoD has a footprint three times that of Wal-Mart and six times that of GSA. Our corresponding energy bill is $4 billion annually.” The Defense Department recognizes the importance of green buildings for its overall operational effectiveness.

The armed forces have been one of the biggest early adopters of LEED, and if all of the services are going to move away from using LEED as their standard for improved performance, that is likely to have a strong effect on USGBC, GBCI, and the LEED program as a whole. “The repercussions of this announcement will be widespread,” notes Green Building Law Update. “For federal contractors, this is a game changer. The LEED AP credential will be less valuable. Past performance highlighting LEED certification will be less valuable, if not totally irrelevant.”

ASHRAE 189.1 is not some lesser standard. It was develeoped by ASHRAE (the professional organization of mechanical engineers), US Green Building Council, and IESNA (the professional organization of lighting engineers), as well as the International Code Council. Moreover, the Army’s action is not unprecedented. The International Code Council has also developed the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) which incorporates the ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 as a “jurisdictional compliance option.” Increasingly, building codes are going to directly incorporate green measures instead of relying on third-party standards that are merely optional.

Ultimately, this may push LEED in new directions. LEED was meant to push the envelope and to transform the marketplace. In that respect, it has accomplished much of that initial goal. As the industry has moved to embrace LEED, perhaps in the coming years, LEED will again push for even greater improvements in building technology and again make LEED an indication of a truly elite building.

via: Green Building Law Update

The employees and customers of Apple might be pleased with the groundbreaking steps Foxconn and Cupertino have undertaken to guarantee the health, safety and mental well-being of their workers today… but Apple’s competition are probably not.

Apple’s move to help improve working conditions in its factories by putting its weight behind an independent Fair Labor Association audit of Foxconn’s facilities could indirectly raise costs (and lower margins) of products from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Amazon, Motorola, Nokia, Sony and more.

According to Paul Martyn, vice president of Supply Strategy at BravoSolution, speaking to The Chicago Tribune, Apple’s move today could cause labor-intensive manufacturers all over Asia to spend more on wages and accept lower products.

In other words, workers at other factories might soon expect to be treated as well as at Foxconn. And that could cause lower margins across the whole tech industry.

That’s not to say that the price of iPads and iPhones are going to shoot up. Labor costs are actually a very small percentage of the overall cost of most gadgets. For example, labor costs are estimated to only make up about 5% of the cost of an iPhone.

But in the high pressure, high stakes world of tech manufacturing, every penny counts. And while Apple might be in a position to accept slightly smaller margins to ensure the well-being of its supply chain workers, more beleagured companies might not.

There’s reason to believe, though, that whatever happens, the price of your next iPhone or iPad will roughly say the same.

“Wages in China have been increasing significantly for years and that hasn’t had any effect on retail prices,” said Brad Gastwirth, co-founder of ABR Investment Strategy, an independent research firm.

Good news for everyone… except Apple’s competitors.

The first reactions by human rights groups to the Fair Labor Association’s independent audit of Foxconn factory working conditions are in, and there is cautious optimism that the widescale abuse of Chinese factory workers may be on the cusp of coming to an end. But that’s only if the rest of the tech industry follows Apple’s lead.

One group pleased with the new report is Human Rights First, an independent advocacy organization that aims to make Americans live up to the founding father’s ideals when it comes to freedom.

Describing the FLA’s report as groundbreaking, Human Right’s Meg Roggensack said: “[This agreement] will safeguard the health and welfare of the comapny’s employees by bringing their work conditions into compliance with basic human rights standards.”

But only if it’s followed.

“The key to the report’s success, however, will be implementation of this agreement,” cautioned Roggensack. “Talk is cheap. The steps needed to protect workers in Apple’s supply chain may not be.”

Furthermore, it’s not just Apple’s supply chain. Every major company in tech — including Dell, Amazon, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and more — uses parts, components and manufacturing from Foxconn. If they don’t also look out for the people working in their supply chain, nothing will change.

“All companies that do business with Foxconn, the largest employer in China, should take immediate steps to follow Apple’s lead and insist that working conditions in every one of the company’s factories meet this new industry standard,” Roggensack concluded. “Companies have a responsibility to face the grim reality of current production practices and must commit to reversing them, so that their products are – not just in technical, but in human terms – ‘insanely’ great.”

We’ve read through the Fair Labor Association’s report on Foxconn’s facilities, and while the picture it paints of conditions is bleak, they’re not insurmountably awful, or even particularly Dickensian. Rather, these are issues that can be fixed… many through simple communication.

Here’s all the bad in the FLA’s report, and what Foxconn can do to fix things.

Problem: Average weekly work hours are over the legal limits pretty much everywhere in Foxconn, and employees are constantly working shifts exceeding 7 days straight, despite the fact that Chinese law requires one 24 hour break for every week long shift.

Solution: Foxconn has promised to go on a hiring spree, and by July 1, 2013, no worker will work over 49 hours a week. They will still be guaranteed the same pay, though.

Problem: Workers don’t feel safe, especially when employees are blowing up in aluminum dust explosions or falling prey to n-hexane poisoning. Workers don’t feel that safety committees at Foxconn actually do anything.

Solution: Greater accountability. Foxconn is going to report and record every single employee injury, so that they can track injury trends over time, as well as be audited by outside agencies.

Problem: Foxconn’s unions aren’t representative of the wishes of employees. Instead, representative committees tend to be populated by puppets whom bow and scrape to the managers. The workers don’t feel that they have any say in things.

Solution: Democracy! Foxconn’s going to introduce an election process, as well as offer information about unions to new hires.

Problem: There’s no child slavery at Foxconn, but interns are another story. Interns are often put to work for shifts longer than 8 hours straight and for more than five days a week. In fact, Foxconn often puts them on night shifts and overtime.

Solution: Foxconn’s promising to stop this practice, and the aforementioned new hires should help.

Problem: Overtime scamming happens. 14% of workers only get paid unscheduled overtime by the half hour, so if a manager knocks them off at 29 minute increments, they don’t get paid.

Solution: Foxconn’s switching that to 15 minute intervals.

Problem: Insurance. A whopping 99% of all Foxconn employees are migrants, but in China, insurance is only allotted to people working within the province. In other words, in a migrant worker goes home, they’re suddenly uninsured.

Solution: Foxconn promises that they will soon be offering privatized insurance.

While there are some real problems here, it’s worth nothing that a full third of all Foxconn employees interviewed by the Fair Labor Association wanted to work more, not less, and barely 18% felt they were being overworked. You’d get a worse response here at Cult of Mac.

True, Foxconn so far has only offered up promises, and they’ve promised us changes before. That said, the biggest positive change Foxconn can make is open accountability. Not only have they done that with Apple’s independent audit by the Fair Labor Association, they’re promising to keep more thorough records so it can happen again. We need to keep the pressure on them, but by all accounts, it looks like Foxconn is a company that at least wants to be one with nothing to hide?

Tim Cook has been in office as Apple’s official CEO for over 200 days now, so how’s he doing? Is he still living in Jobs’ shadow, or has he been busy leaving his own mark on Cupertino. And what about those crazy new rumors about the iPhone we’ve been hearing? Is there any truth to them? The latest episode of The CultCast seeks to answer those questions and more including brief special appearance from Ars Technica’s Chris Foresman.

Episode 6 of The CultCast is now ready for your listening pleasure.

Subscribe now on iTunes!

Once you’ve heard our take on things, comeback and leave a comment telling us your opinion and we just might read your thoughts on the next CultCast episode.

Workers at Foxconn assembling Apple products.

After being invited by Apple to perform an audit at Foxconn, the Fair Labor Association released its findings today in a report. The findings were a bit mixed, saying they found wide scale issues primarily around amount of overtime worked, compensation, and safety. Apple and Foxconn agreed to improve on the FLA’s findings by 2013.

Labor group Human Rights First has reacted this evening, saying that Apple and Foxconn’s changes will help reform supply chains as a whole and will be a turning point for the industry. But primarily, the changes will be “life-changing” for the workers.

So what kind of changes will Apple and Foxconn be making? Workers at both the Foxconn Shenzhen and Chengdu plants will be limited to working 49 hours a week and monitored to keep paying consistent with current take-home rates. FLA inspectors will also be present in these facilities, monitoring the improvements.

Not only do workers face long hours, but they also face many hazardous conditions. There have been many reports of injuries, not only at Foxconn plants but other Apple parts suppliers, that have left employees seriously injured. Apple’s steps, if taken, will work to reduce the amount of injuries on the supply lines.

Foxconn not only produces devices for Apple, but also Dell, Amazon, HP, and more. Apple won’t be the only one striving to make working conditions better, but other companies will also have to join in too.

Apple should lead by example and work to make the necessary changes at its supply chains. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has been seen touring the supply lines at Foxconn, showing Apple has a vested interest in making things better. FLA employees will continue to monitor the situation, up until 2013.

Radhicka S Saxena:

Soon those unheard of spaces in the galaxy will not be a mystery anymore. Till now, manned satellites were bound to their limits as satellite navigation systems were unable to operate in outer space. Thus, satellites only orbited the earth and were incapable of hovering in interplanatary zones. However, this cosmic impediment will soon be a thing of the past. Scientists have embarked upon a breakthrough that will help satellites cross their barriers and cruise into deep space. To help satellites navigate through the stars, scientists will formulate a guidance system using pulsars as beacons.

sat nav

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Jaspreet Kaur Walia:

TRADIM or The Technology Research Association for Advanced Display Materials has developed an LCD panel that can be flexibly twisted in a convex as well as a concave way. The curved LCD Display has been crafted by making good use of a R2R or roll to roll method on a film substrate. It is thin and light in weight, with a 30 cm curvature radius. Bending of the LCD panel will not play foul with the display performance in any sense, which is commendable.

Flexible LCD Display

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Sahil Khurana:

If your cute little pooch is all fluffed up, then it’s probably not because of the excessive love he is used to, but the amount of food he’s being fed. Watching your dog doodle around may be a very cute sight to check out sometimes, but not always. Rolling dogs may not be a very fancy thing to view, especially for the dog’s master. The extra flab will take ages to vanish from your best friend’s waistline. So basing the idea around this concept, the world’s first dog stairlift has been devised. Given the predictions that half of the nation’s dogs will be overweight by the next decade or so, it’s best to make things happier for the little furry cuties.

World’s first dog stairlift

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Asmita Prasad:

Bacteria present in uncooked or undercooked meat is one of the major cases of food poisoning and most cases of food related health emergencies are caused due to Campylobacter and Salmonella that are left behind when the meat is improperly cooked or undercooked. However, a very simple way to ensure that home cooked meals do not pose such risks is to use a meat thermometer every time. Since most meat thermometers currently available in the market are not as easy to use for the average home cook, health risks due to these bacteria can never be ruled out. However, the Gauge Meat Thermometer makes meat cooking at home very simple and intuitive even for the most inexperienced cook.

Gauge Meat Thermometer

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