Self-Driving Trucks & Automated Transportation

What if trucks could drive themselves? As automation technology proves to be reliable, the adoption of self-driving vehicles will continue to occur. The impacts on the economy could be massive. The UK may begin testing self-driving trucks in 2015. According to The Sunday Times, UK ministers recently visited Sweden to witness the technology in action and are making plans to bring it to the UK.  Advocates say the technology could increase fuel efficiency and make better use of human time.

Some proposed systems, such as Volvo's SARTRE road train system, would have vehicles driving tightly together in a caravan using Wi-Fi, infrared cameras, and laser sensors to keep vehicles at a safe distance from each other.  Each vehicle would have a driver in it, though only the front driver would be steering. The other "drivers" could be working on administrative tasks - or eating lunch. While governments and companies are starting out slowly, the eventual result could very well be fully driverless vehicles. This could also be useful for America's economy, as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) estimates that the U.S. is short 30,000 truck drivers. 

In the United States, Google has been the most outspoken proponent of self-driving technology. Their prototype (built from the ground up) goes further and foregoes the steering wheel, mirrors, and pedals found in most of today's vehicles. Their project is focused on human transport, ostensibly so people that used to spend time driving can spend more time using Google's internet services. Uber's $17 billion valuation shows that applied innovation in human transport can be quite profitable for entrepreneurs and their investors. Now imagine automating the most expensive aspect of Uber's business model: the drivers. While some people fear the safety of such auto-mobiles, advocates of self-driving vehicles point to the current rate of human driver error (~40,000 vehicle related deaths in the US each year) and want to push for dramatic safety improvements through well-designed automation.

While the ride-sharing & taxi industry will be attractive, the real prize could be in supply chain logistics.  Global shipping is worth trillions of dollars, and margins could be improved with this new technology. The last couple decades have seen container ships greatly increase in size in order to achieve better economies of scale. The BBC talked with Matt Collette, who teaches ship design at the University of Michigan. He says, “There are two primary drivers for automation,” says Collette. “One is that human beings are not very good at long repetitive tasks. That’s when you see lapses in concentration that lead to the ship getting into a collision or running aground,” he explains.

“Automation could reduce those types of accidents significantly, because the computers have no problem paying attention for a two-month voyage.”

In the 20th century, Malcolm McLean helped adopt the standard size and shape of shipping containers. Although a simple invention, containerization drastically lowered the costs of shipping around the world. Some economists find evidence that the shipping container has done more for global trade than every trade agreement signed in the past 50 years. Now, with automated transportation, the economics of international trade may be revolutionized yet again in the 21st century. 

Dealing with the Patent Trolls

Start-ups face a lot of adversity in their quest to become profitable companies and, in fact, most don't make it.  One large factor in preventing start-ups from moving forward is the intervention of the dreaded "patent troll."   Patent troll is a derogatory term for a business that produces no products or services, yet obtains patents and uses them to launch a plethora of law-suits against other companies.  A patent troll uses the threat of a lawsuit against businesses in order to extort settlement money without having to go to trial.  What set these trolls apart from companies that legitimately license out thier patented ideas, is that the trolls have no interest in developing the idea, only using it for threat purposes.  They don't want to lease the idea out, and they don't care about the benefits of the final product. Patent trolls are a pain in the butt for not just start-ups but many other businesses as well.  Adam Corolla, a comedian and owner of Lotzi Digital Inc, a podcasting company, is being sued by a company called Personal Audio, a company that claims to own the rights to the idea of a podcast.  When it realized that there wasn't much money to be made in suing podcasters, Personal Audio moved to dismiss the suit, a dismissal that Carolla refused.  Carolla wants to see the suit through to the end, in the hopes of getting Personal Audio's patent revoked, a move which would free other podcasters from the fear of an absurd suit showing up on their front doorstep.  This trend, the trend of taking the fight to the trolls, seems to finally be making some headway and others have started to follow suit.

In 2011 patent trolls were estimated to have cost businesses over $29 billion in legal fees and settlements costs, and creating legislation to curb their suits is hard to create.  Any move to abolish software patents would work, but this would also harm legitimate research companies, companies like Toyota which has software patents on the device that controls the hybrid engine in their Prius.  So what can be done?

In June of 2014 the Supreme Court gave those fighting the trolls a great new weapon for their arsenal.  The case of Alice Corp. v CLS Bank made huge waves when the supreme court ruled that “merely requiring generic computer implementation fails to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.”  This means when dealing with computer software, simply having the idea for something is no longer patentable, and only becomes patentable when implemented.  Even then, only your particular version of the implementation is patentable, and not the idea as a whole.  For trolls, who rely on not implementing to protect them from similarly absurd suits, this is a striking blow.  Fresh on the heels of this Supreme Court decision, another trend is making the trolls take notice.

Patent Trolls make a large portion of their money from settlements outside of lawsuits.  The cost of fighting a lawsuit is high, and rather than pay giant legal fees, many companies choose to pay what amounts to blackmail, often having to close down the company to do so.  When one NYC startup was faced with a similar decision, they reached out to Brooklyn Law students for help.  The students quickly realized that this was an opportunity for the best real-world practice that they could find, and put the troll on notice.  With an unlimited number of hours of legal representation by third-year law students available to the defendant, the patent troll had no option but to tuck his tail and run.  This free legal support drastically changes the game against the trolls, and could seriously impact many companies who make their money this way.

Innovations for the Disabled

On July 4, 2008, I broke both feet in a freak accident that confined me in a wheelchair for six weeks. To say that was a humbling experience is an understatement. I got to experience first hand what millions of physically disabled (like my brother) contend with on a daily basis which included dealing with inconsiderate people who steal handicapped parking spaces, being stared at as I struggled, or just being treated less than human due to my “difference”. Losing a bit of my independence was also increasingly frustrating. I could go on and on but I digress. I actually want to focus on my mode of transportation, the wheelchair. While my rental wheelchair was relatively lightweight and the appropriate size for me, it still had its limits, which would soon test mine. Bald, non-inflatable tires made it nearly impossible to traverse smooth slopes without slipping. Although it was lightweight, it still required upper body strength to propel myself anywhere which was quite exhausting. I can’t complain too much, after all it was a rental. Thankfully new technology and design innovations are continuing to improve the quality of life for the disabled. Here are just some of those creations in place today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eADvDOwWGbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDS0pevZn54

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7otewMk9pc

I’m particularly interested in these modified Segways. They appear to be able to traverse a variety of terrain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSBaHV7gGo

Carbon County Wind Farm Moves Ahead

Carbon County, Wyoming, is the proposed site for the largest-to-date onshore wind farm in the United States.  Power Company of Wyoming  proposes to build up to 1,000 turbines in Carbon County, a proposal which has been approved by the Industrial Siting Council 7-0.  Known as the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre project, the proposed $5 billion plan could produce up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity, or 10 million megawatt hours annually. The ruling by the Industrial Siting Council moves the plan one step closer to becoming a reality, and it seems to be proceeding without much opposition.  During the two day hearing, council members noted that no one spoke in opposition to the project.  According to Richard O'Gara, a Cheyenne Democrat, "It was probably the most professional presentation I've ever seen. There was virtually no opposition."  This sentiment seems to be the same across party lines.  Siting council chairman Shawn Warner, a Powell Republican admits to entering the presentation a little apprehensive about such a large project.  It seems his fears were assuaged though, as he says "They did a first-class job in submitting what was required, they literally left no stone unturned."

The project's final aim is to sell electricity to Arizona, California and Nevada, three states that have renewable-energy standards requiring them to utilize renewables to bolster their supply of generated power.  The plan predicts an 8-year construction once the approval process is finalized.

Read more about the project here.

Adobe Expands 3D Printing in Photoshop

3D printing is exciting technology; however, to become really compelling and world-changing, designers must start creating amazing things.  So far this capability has been available to a small number of people willing to learn a whole new, multi-step process. Now, Adobe is expanding its popular photoshop software to include more options to design and print real-life 3D objects. Adobe describes the upgrades in a new blog post - full version here

The latest update – Photoshop CC (2014.1)

This latest release of 3D printing features and enhancements expands support for new 3D printers and 3D print services, broadens the range of file formats that can be read and written, and offers updates that add efficiency to your workflow. New features include:

• Support for the MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation desktop printer and DMM.com (Japan) 3D print service
• Support for additional 3D file formats including VRML, U3D, PLY, and IGES
• Streamlined 3D painting experience
• Ability to easily combine multiple print jobs into a single print bed
• 3D printing workflow improvements

As the fundamental cost of quality 3D printing goes down, this technology will become more accessible and ultimately more useful. Add in an army of creative photoshop designers and things will be getting even more interesting.

“The 3D printing features in Adobe Photoshop CC unifies what used to take us roughly 15 steps in several different programs into one easy-to-use program—condensing our workflow significantly,” said Bradley Rothenberg, co-founder, Bradley Rothenberg, a studio focused on 3D printed textiles, jewelry, and accessories. “Our experience with using Photoshop in 2D is something we can easily leverage now with 3D models, which is incredibly helpful, and these latest features and enhancements will make it even better. I can’t wait to see what Adobe does next.” – Photo by ThreeASFOUR

Children in the Hot Seat

We've all heard the tragic stories of a child being left in a hot car, and the horrifying results. On average in the United States, 40 children die each year, left in hot cars. Due to the combination of hot summer temperatures, and the notorious lack of shade in most parking lots - the temperature inside a car can heat up from a safe temperature to 94.3 in just two minutes. After an hour, the inside of a car could be 123 degrees, on just an 80 degree day. Albuquerque, New Mexico high school student Alissa Chavez (17), has invented a device to alert parents if their baby is left in the car. Heartbroken over news of children left to die in their car seats, Alissa set out to create an effective warning system. Her design includes a pad that slips into the seat of an infant or child car seat, which detects both the weight of a child and increased heat levels. If the seat starts to get hot, an alarm goes off on a key fob, on your cell phone via a related app, and in your car to alert passersby.

The project started as an eighth grade science fair project that took her to regional and state level competitions. Since then she's been working with engineers to perfect the design, and now a prototype for the product she calls the "Hot Seat".

Funds for development are being raised with crowdfunding source, Indigogo, which as of this writing, has well-exceeded the $5,000 goal with a total of nearly $14,000. Alissa hopes to launch the prototype by the end of this summer.

Watch a brief video of Alissa's presentation here.

For some, it's hard to believe that a parent or caregiver could forget about their child inside a car, but something as simple as a change in one's daily routine can throw off simple memory cues, like dropping of your child at day care. Until the Hot Seat is available nation wide, it's recommended to put something you need, like the left shoe you're wearing, or purse or cell phone in the back seat with the baby so you'll always be reminded.

Tesla and Panasonic are Changing the Auto World

Panasonic agrees to partner with Tesla on the new Gigafactory.  Tesla Motors has a bold vision of mass-producing electric vehicles. According to this week's press release, the Gigafactory is being created to enable a continuous reduction in the cost of long range battery packs in parallel with manufacturing at the volumes required to enable Tesla to meet its goal of advancing mass market electric vehicles. Even though customers are still lining up to get a Model S (which costs between $70,000 - $100,000), the company is now focusing on reducing costs in order to make the SUV Model X and the company's third production vehicle, which is being aimed at a wider audience.  At around $35,000, the Model III can compete with the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans. With both companies looking for innovative ways to mass-produce Lithium-Ion batteries, this joint venture combines complementary expertise and resources. Tesla will provide the location and facilities and Panasonic will install the manufacturing equipment, machinery, and tools in the new U.S.-based factory. Though Panasonic's exact financial contribution has yet to be determined, Tesla has estimated the factory will cost up to $5 billion by 2020.

“We will reach a plan that is profitable,” Panasonic Chief Financial Officer Hideaki Kawai said at a news conference in Tokyo. “We will do step-by-step investment to meet the gradually growing needs.”

The Economist writes that the Model III is expected to almost match the nearly 300-mile range of the bigger Model S, without taking as long to charge up. To do that and hold the selling price down won’t be easy. Industry analysts believe that the 85 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery now used in the Model S costs Tesla almost as much as the $35,000 at which it plans to sell its smaller sedan.

 JB Straubel, Chief Technical Officer and Co-founder of Tesla Motors says, "the Gigafactory represents a fundamental change in the way large scale battery production can be realized. Not only does the Gigafactory enable capacity needed for the Model 3 but it sets the path for a dramatic reduction in the cost of energy storage across a broad range of applications."

Bloomberg reports Panasonic shares rose 0.6 percent to 1,257.50 yen in Tokyo. Tesla slid 0.8 percent to $227.13 at 10:37 a.m. in New York, and had surged 52 percent this year through yesterday.

Read the Full Press Release Here:  http://www.teslamotors.com/about/press/releases/panasonic-and-tesla-sign-agreement-gigafactory

Stephen Colbert Interviews Elon Musk

"Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition." -Isaac Asimov

Lowering the cost of spaceflight is imperative to expanding the exploration of space. Elon Musk's SpaceX has been developing exciting ways to reduce this cost.  For an entertaining dose of science & technology, check out Stephen Colbert's interview from last night's show.

The Colbert Report Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

The Colbert Report Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

Vestas Hires Workers as Wind Sales Increase

While fracking is dominating the political conversation, the wind power industry is quietly on the rise. Vestas, the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, is seeing a growing surge in orders and is hiring more workers to meet the demand.  The company is announcing 800 new hires in Colorado of a planned 1,500 new jobs this year.  Vestas has four factories in Colorado and will employ 2,800 people in the state by the end of the year. According to the Vestas website, the total year-to-date announced order intake was 2,704 megawatts.

“We have received U.S. orders of 740 MW in the last month alone, so our North American factories are very busy, as are factories overseas,” Vestas spokesman Adam Serchuk told ThinkProgress. “As far as I can see this will be the case at least through the end of 2015.”

Wind power, in addition to adding jobs to the economy, also has many other benefits. According to the Interwest Energy Alliance, Colorado farmers, ranchers and other landowners receive upwards of $7.5 million by hosting wind projects on their land while communities also gain benefits from a broader tax base. Wind farms pay out millions a year in taxes which pays for roads, schools, and other critical public projects.

Despite being on the rise, the industry has suffered setbacks in recent years. Investment in domestic wind energy projects was low the last couple years, as Congress has failed to consistently renew the 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit (PTC). In early 2013, Vestas was forced to lay off hundreds of workers in Colorado due to this inconsistency, and the company continues to monitor developments closely as details for future incentives are being hashed out. Spokesman Adam Serchuk said they are optimistic everything with the PTC will be sorted out.

“As every company must remain adaptable, we may adjust if the market environment significantly changes, but the recent number of large orders in the U.S. and elsewhere is a good indication that demand for our products is robust.”

Convertible Park Benches Aid Homeless

If you live in any major city, or even smaller ones, you've surely seen a homeless person huddled up on a park bench for much needed sleep. Or someone settling in for the night under a shelter of newspapers on a bus bench. It's a sight no one loves to see, because it's an encounter with obvious struggle, and destitution. Some cities are so ashamed of their under-served homeless, that they try to herd the unsightly population out of town for major sporting events or the Olympics. While serving homeless populations certainly isn't easy, it is easy to be compassionate. In Vancouver, one advertising agency pointed out just how ridiculous it is that people have to sleep on park benches to begin with.  Rather than shoo the needy away, they came up with way to provide them the shelter they seek.

The Canadian firm, Spring Advertising, worked with a Vancouver's RainCity Housing and Support Society on an idea to modify bus stops and park benches to convert to shelter.

In 2013, Canadian firm Spring Advertising approached the RainCity Housing and Support Society, a local shelter and advocacy organization in Vancouver, with an idea for modifying bus stops and park benches. Instead of trying to discourage the homeless from sleeping on them, they’d welcome them to stay. The new design, allows the benches to fold out, providing a roof for the person sleeping on the bench.

The benches are printed with information about where to go for assistance. While it's not an encompassing solution for homelessness, it does address the immediate need, and direct them to additional resources.

Source:

Oculus Starts Using Facebook's Cash

Oculus VR, the crowd-funded virtual reality startup, has started making some big moves since it was picked up by Facebook. First off, the company said it would be acquiring Carbon Design Group - the Seattle based firm that helped Microsoft design Xbox's controller and the Xbox Kinect.  Today they're announcing the second acquisition: Raknet, a software-development engine for connecting games across an online network. The technology, which Oculus is now making available to developers open source, enables studios to quickly add voice chat, network patching, and secure connections to their product. While the original news of Facebook's acquisition was shocking to many including myself, it looks like the partnership is genuinely accelerating the development of virtual reality.

The company also just announced their first developer event. "Oculus Connect, a developer conference that brings together engineers, designers, and creatives from around the world to share and collaborate in the interest of creating the best virtual reality experiences possible."

In the last two years, we’ve seen more virtual reality content built than in the last two decades, and that’s a direct result of incredible work by the community. With virtual reality’s momentum at an all-time high, this is a unique moment for the developer community to come together to take the virtual reality to the next level.

Oculus Connect 2014 takes place Sept 19 – 20 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. Attendee applications will be available on the Oculus Connect website, www.oculusvr.com/connect, starting on July 10th and attendance confirmations will go out the following week. We’ve reserved a block of discounted rooms at the Loews for registered guests.

Attendees will be the first to learn about upcoming Oculus technology, with sessions and workshops led by Oculus engineers and industry pioneers. Developers at the event will also have opportunities to receive design and engineering feedback directly from the Oculus team in hands-on labs.

Oculus Connect will also feature keynotes from Brendan Iribe (CEO), Palmer Luckey (Founder), John Carmack (CTO) and Michael Abrash (Chief Scientist) on Oculus, virtual reality, and the future of the medium. The full session list will be announced as we draw closer to the show.

You can get the full details on the official Oculus Connect website, www.oculusvr.com/connect. While the conference is open to the public, be aware this is a developer-centric event. Attendance is limited, but we’ll be livestreaming the keynotes for developers around the world who can’t make it to the show.

If you’re an Oculus developer interested in helping to build the future, we’re looking forward to meeting you in person Sept 19th!

Sources:

http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/announcing-oculus-connect-raknet-open-source-and-e3-2014-awards/

http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/07/with-zuckerbergs-wallet-oculus-vr-acquires-game-networking-engine-raknet-makes-it-open-source/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/07/oculus-debuts-oculus-connect-developer-conference-acquires-raknet-and-open-sources-its-tech

Starto-The Launch Episode

Today on Starto-- the do's & don'ts of launching your product. Should you launch at SXSW? Chris says "Just launch ugly baby!"  How to find the influencers, all that and lots more....

RESOURCES:

Uber Rally at Galvanize- http://www.icosa.co/2013/03/uber-rally-at-galvanize/

Both Sides of the Table article - http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2013/02/02/how-should-you-best-launch-your-product-at-sxsw/

6 Successful SXSW Launches - http://mashable.com/2011/03/05/sxsw-launches/

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Like us on Facebook StartoTV

Subscribe to us on iTunes Starto-The Show for the Worldwide Entrepreneur

Send us your suggestions for upcoming episodes- [email protected]

Brilliance in Benchmarking

When an industry or work place wants to improve performance – they must look outside of their own institution to do so. Often, we look to other, similar institutions for best practices – they can be great examples. One hospital might look to another hospital for examples of efficiency or great patient care. But then, you can only be as good as the best hospital. What if you want to be better?

When health care professionals want to know just how good they can be – they look beyond other health care systems.

I recently heard about a local hospital comparing their Operating Room turnaround practices to the pit crews at NASCAR. 

Apparently, this comparison is so tried, they consider it cliché in the health care industry, but to me it’s an inspirational example of benchmarking.

Consider it. NASCAR pit crews train to maintain or repair a vehicle in under ten minutes. They do it by isolating duties, and then combine those duties with cooperation. One guy jacks up the car and removes a tire, another worker puts on the replacement tire and lug nuts. Order, attention and speed.

Not dissimilar from workers who clean an operating room between surgeries. It’s a messy job.  Hazardous materials must be disposed of properly, surgical instruments accounted for and cleaned, and the room thoroughly disinfected. In most hospitals, they are aiming for a ten-minute turnaround, just like the pit crew.

As a result, many hospitals bundle the OR supplies, then once the room is cleaned, the bundle is unfurled and the division of duties ensues: the surgical technician drapes the instrument table, a nurse opens sterile supplies while another nurse sets up the prep table then leaves to collect the next patient. (source)

Done with exact precision and preparedness, the time between surgeries is minimal, and each operation can start on time.

Hospitals also employ standards from Ritz Carlton Hotels, and Disneyland – as models of guest service. That’s quite a leap from the mantra of “Thinking Outside the Box” to really stretching one’s concept of learning from the leaders in all industries.

Tell us how your company or start-up benchmarks against other BESTS in the business.

Leader to Leader: Hedrick Smith Discusses Who Stole the American Dream

Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith stopped by the ICOSA Studio to discuss his new book Who Stole the the American Dream, an insightful guide that documents the dismantling of the American Dream over the last four decades, as Gayle Dendinger hosts this episode of Leader to Leader.

This is a book full of surprises and revelations—the accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted America’s engine of shared prosperity, the “virtuous circle” of growth, and how America lost the title of “Land of Opportunity.” Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even before the housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting America’s economic growth.

Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O’Neill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.

This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring America’s great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.

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Guy Kawasaki on his new book Enchantment

Guy Kawasaki is an entreprenurial icon. He has evangelized for powerhouse companies like Apple and written several best sellers about how to get take your business from the garage to the marketplace. His latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, he explains how to influence what people will do while maintaining the highest standards of ethics.

The book explains when and why enchantment is necessary and then the pillars of enchantment: likability, trustworthiness, and a great cause.

The next topics are launching, overcoming resistance, making enchantment endure, and using technology. There are even special chapters dedicated to enchanting your employees and your boss.

Finally, because there are times you may want to resist enchantment, there’s even a chapter about how to do this too.

If you want to change the world — or even part of the world, this book is for you. To interact with the Enchantment community, go to the Enchantment Facebook page.

Check out ICOSA's interview:

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CERAWeek Gives Insight into the Issues Facing Supply and Demand

On the heels of the recent spike in gas prices, energy professionals are descending on Houston for one of the largest energy shows, CERAWeek, hosted by IHS CERA. Oil and gas executives, economists and IHS CERA staff will be speaking to the abundance and diversity of our worldwide and domestic resources, the controversy surrounding current technology and the issues facing supply and demand.

The conference couldn’t be better timed as GOP nominees debate energy policy and the issues surrounding it, in hopes to unseat the incumbent president in November. It doesn’t help that the current nuclear threat coming from Iran has prompted international sanctions, which has raised gas prices in addition to the increasing energy demand in developing nations.

There is no doubt that America is one of the world's largest importers of oil but as demand in these growing nations continues, the conversation surrounding pricing and exploration will be greatly realized. Speakers this week will look at oil and gas exploration and development around the world in unchartered areas and the technology that will be needed to fulfill new production within those areas.

The real message this week will be how the oil and gas industry can forge a critical business path to develop the resources we have domestically but more importantly how they can be extracted from our own “backyards” in an environmentally conscious way.

The recent past has shown that environmental concerns hovering over the industry are very emotionally charged. In states like Pennsylvania and New York, citizens have rallied together supplying thousands of comments in an effort to impose new policies or keep past moratoriums in place over air and water concerns.

“Regulatory agencies are moving forward at an impressive pace,” said Maryam Brown, Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Energy and Power, House Energy and Commerce Committee. This same committee believes that regulatory reform will be central to the United States energy debate in the upcoming election year.

Companies as well are entrenched in the energy debate and the growing concerns for increased environmental performance as well as health and safety that have become part and parcel to doing business.  “It has to be a core competency just as much as 3D seismic,” said Mark Brownstein, Deputy Director, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund.

Evidenced by speakers across all panels was the lack of understanding they believe the public has. The hardest part for the industry will be to educate the public and help them understand the distinct and contrasting differences that development plays across shales and the diversity of various regulations that are being proposed and imposed.

While some shale’s require technologically intensive extraction techniques others are less complicated, less deep and are composed of softer rock elements. “Citizens should know that casing is dependent on geological conditions state-by-state,” said Stanford University Geophysics Professor, Mark Zoback. He stressed that while regulations might be good for one state, it might not be for another. The statement seemed like such an obvious remark to the group, the mere reminder however served to underscore the lack of knowledge the public has on the topic.

The conference is poised to show that there is an obvious effort to move the industry forward in an ever-growing effort to meet demand. There is also an obvious attempt by opposition to halt that momentum. Both domestic and worldwide supply is growing, but the complexity of doing business in the United States could prove to shape the industry either for us or against us.

World demand is growing whether we are on board or not. That same demand will continue to drive the current $125 per barrel pricing and that is if we are producing at home or not. We may want to be less dependent on oil, but the world, especially in growing economies is not. The question this conference will ask is, are we ready to become sustainable with our resources or without them? And if we choose to harness the energy we have, how can the energy industry and the public do so in a way where conservation is king and we let businesses operate within reason.

Salt Lake City Windustrial

 

Salt Lake City Windustrial established in 1968, and today is under the umbrella and guidance of WinWholesale Inc., a leading national supplier of domestic and industrial supplies and materials headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.  WinWholesale is on the Forbes list of America’s largest privately-held companies. Their local wholesale employees receive in the benefits of their partial ownership.

Today Windustrial is in 43 states with more than 450 locally owned and operate Win companies under the following names;  Winnelson, Winair, Winlectric, Windustrial, Wintronic, Winwater and Winsupply.

Windustrial focuses on the local economy providing services to local customers while at the same time having the advantage of international buying power such as sourcing products out of Germany and Switzerland.  The benefit of having local companies is the ability of meet local needs.  The corporate umbrella with local ownership makes Windustrail the supplier of choice.  The Salt Lake City branch has a family atmosphere and profit share program so the harder an employee works, the better they are compensated.  Retaining employees allows the company to keep a personal connection through employee/customer relationships.  Windustrial sees customers as partners with the goal of meeting customer’s need economically, quickly and accurately.  Windustrial pulls together to provide the best service.

Windustrail also recommends problem solving products to customers.  They reach out to both engineers and industry firms to generate projects.  They continually seek new opportunities to provide their services.  To contact Salt Lake City Windustrial, visit their website at; www.saltlakewindustrial.com.

Sustainable Energy in the U.S. Military

The United States military recognizes the need for sustainable energy.  In August the Army established the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force to develop renewable energy projects and improve energy security.  This is a concern because providing energy to remote military locations is dangerous as well as the possibility of the military communications being offline.  In fact one of eight army causalities is a result of protecting fuel convoys.  New energy technology can save lives, money and the environment.  In Iraq from 2003 to 2007, 3,000 people died protecting fuel convoys.  The fuel is used to run generators which provide electricity for communications.  The end cost is $40.00 per gallon which includes all aspects of getting the fuel to remote locations. One reduction to using fuel is providing solar panels that are easily rolled up into an individual’s backpack.  On base solar panels can be mounted on trailers.  The Department of Defense is interested in micro-grids to provide electricity to the military in an energy crisis.  As new energy products are provided and/or developed both by the military and business, most importantly lives will be saved.

For further reading please, visit: http://rmenergyblog.blogspot.com.

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• Are Renewables Vital to Our Nation's Security? (enerdynamics.com)

The Global Forefront of the New Energy Economy

Colorado is at the global forefront of the new energy economy.  Foreign delegates visit the National Renewable Energy Lab and Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory to see cutting edge energy development.  Creating collaborative agreements develops relationships between Colorado organizations and foreign delegates.  Brian Wilson with EECL develops energy solutions for engines, smart grids, smart businesses and biofuels.  Through research to producing products EECL makes impacts on the environment for example developing pipeline technology.  This technology’s impact is the equivalent to 120 million automobiles removed from the highway.  The Envirofit program at EECL has produced 350,000 cook stoves which has improved the lives of two million people.  Business and other organizations can partner with EECL and Envirofit by visiting www.envirofit.org.

Boosting the demand for clean energy through engaging firms in forums to build partnerships is one focus of NREL.  Partnership activities include multilateral and bilateral partnerships, climate and environmental initiatives and energy assessments. Five barriers to clean energy are policy, new energy technology implementation, standardizing, reducing costs and infrastructure.  NREL works with several entities to solve these issues.  To inquire about partnerships contact the tech transfer office, at: www.nrel.gov/international.

ICOSA is transforming collaboration.

Kim DeCoste is vice president and editor-at-large for ICOSA where she manages the media team, and contributed to editorial planning for the magazine and a book on connections + collaboration. A few of her articles are “The Evolution of E-Learning,” “A Win-Win: Kroenke Sports Enterprises Does Great Work for Kids & Education,” “Living the Mission: Private STEM Solutions & Public Education,” “Authentic Leadership is Gender Neutral” and “Closing the Education Gap.”

ICOSA is thought of as organic―focused on developing collaboration and taking it to the next level which is transformation.  The method ICOSA uses can conceptually be adopted to fit into high schools but specifically higher education.  To be a doer one needs to learn to walk with others, and identify goals and meeting those goals in a manageable way.  ICOSA would like to work with higher education in providing students with collaborative methods.

Amazon is an example of a company who has successfully transformed.  Amazon.com launched its marketplace in 2002 selling books, music, videos and DVS’s and now has since developed the Amazon Kindle e-book reader and sells just about any product globally.

The difficult areas of collaboration are blending the different view of what success looks like and keeping people together and focused on the mission.