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<title>Use Half</title><link>http://www.usehalf.com/index.php</link><description>Conservation Without Compromise</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2006-8 usehalf</dc:rights><dc:date>2010-01-16T11:35:55-08:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:19:31 -0800</lastBuildDate><item><title>Mr. Obama:  It&#x27;s Time To Secure The Internet</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2010-01-16T11:35:55-08:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/fixourinternet.php#unique-entry-id-84</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/fixourinternet.php#unique-entry-id-84</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Or every street address in the world could be mixed up so mail & packages would not know where to go?    These things are illegal in every country in the world - but you can do it all on the internet without breaking a single law.


Welcome to today&rsquo;s internet where the pipes and switches we depend on to send email or use the web have little security - enabling attacks that send people somewhere else when they try to go to www.whitehouse.gov or block web sites and steal data.  


Today&rsquo;s internet is running out of addresses so most computers attached to the internet (almost certainly including the one you are reading this on) must use a &ldquo;fake&rdquo; (aka translated) address making it easy for bad guys to hide right under our noses.     This makes spam and &ldquo;botnet&rdquo; attacks easy to perpetrate because no one knows where the spammers and &ldquo;zombie computers&rdquo; really are in order to cut them off.  ...  These attacks may have originated in tiny North Korea - no one is really sure - just as Google &ldquo;cannot be sure&rdquo; the recent attacks came from China.


The technologies to fix these gaping security holes are already built into almost all internet servers, routers and PCs, including the one you are reading this on.  

...The first fix is to secure the Domain Name System - that&rsquo;s the system that routes your browser (or email) to the piggybank.com (or whatever) server.  ...  The good news is that ICANN (the body that authorizes &ldquo;Top Level Domains&rdquo; like .com, .net., .cn) and VeriSign are rolling out DNSSEC for .com, .net and .edu  and numerous other countries are doing so as well.  ...  These domains are expected to be secure by 2011 but there is no guarantee, and not all elements of DNSSEC (such as reverse DNSSEC) will be implemented.


...To patch this shortage, we now depend on workarounds like Network Address Translation (NAT) to allow multiple computers (or bad guys) to use (or hide behind) one address.  

...An indication of how crucial IPv6 is to security was China running the 2008 Olympics on IPv6 to mitigate potential for denial of service and other kinds of attacks.  

...Attacks happen every day, they slow down the internet and cost as much as a trillion $ annually in stolen data and constant fixes to computer systems. 


How vulnerable would we feel if China upgraded its internet infrastructure this way while the US, which is far more dependent upon the internet, remained a soft target?  

...Standards bodies have made attempts - and leaders such as Google, Microsoft, banks and eCommerce companies are eager for improvement but nothing has had much impact.


...As it once did when mandating Y2K upgrades, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should act to mandate that every US internet carrier and ISP must operate solely on DNSSEC and IPv6 by 2012, and that internet traffic passing through US networks must be compliant, or be forced to route around the US.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fixing China&#x27;s Flawed New Mileage Standard</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-30T08:50:29-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/ChinaMPG1.php#unique-entry-id-82</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/ChinaMPG1.php#unique-entry-id-82</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[For a start, China&rsquo;s standards apply only to domestically produced vehicles - imports are exempt.    China&rsquo;s import tariff on cars is 25%, in line with WTO standards.    As the article points out, imports made up only 1.9% of volume in recent recessionary months, however this percentage will go up as manufacturers trade off subsidizing tariffs vs. not meeting their quota of high mpg vehicles.    In addition, as China&rsquo;s population grows wealthier, it will tilt towards paying more for imported vehicles.    Double jeopardy.


Second, the standards apply to 16 different classes of automobiles, not manufacturer &ldquo;fleet&rdquo; averages (as in the U.S.) which incents car companies to produce only larger vehicles.    Unless China somehow forces companies to make small cars, this alone could make China&rsquo;s rule fail entirely.


Lumping auto makers output into &ldquo;fleets&rdquo; as is done in the U.S.   CAFE standards and including imports in the standard could make the new standard easier to enforce and make China&rsquo;s industry stronger.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Obama Gives Detroit Its Best Day In Decades</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-19T12:21:10-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/NewVehicleRegulation.php#unique-entry-id-81</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/NewVehicleRegulation.php#unique-entry-id-81</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Detroit, Europe and Asian car companies can and will meet these standards.    For the past decades,  America&rsquo;s low fuel taxes (and therefore low fuel prices) meant Americans did not buy the same kinds of cars the rest of the world bought.    Detroit got out of sync. with the world market and could not afford to invest in the efficient technologies that the rest of the world demanded.


This new regulation (and its greenhouse gas caps) means that Americans will now buy cars with worldwide sales potential - returning the U.S. to leading the world&rsquo;s automotive trends.     This opportunity gives Detroit the chance to become the Silicon Valley of automobiles by selling to the world&rsquo;s most demanding and sophisticated market.    American companies are at their best when striving for excellence.


The competition is tough to be sure.    Yesterday, Toyota introduced its $22,000 third generation Prius which gets 50 mpg.       A month ago, Honda introduced its $20,000 40mpg Insight.    Lexus will launch its hs250 luxury hybrid expected to get over 40mpg and Audi will serve up new 45mpg diesels this fall.


But the U.S. is looking to leapfrog Japan&rsquo;s technology and this R&D investment will be redoubled by Detroit&rsquo;s assurance that Americans will now buy these cars.    Today, Daimler (Mercedes Benz) invested in a partnership with Tesla, the Silicon Valley electric car leader with its demon-fast 150mpg Roadster & forthcoming model S.    (We just put a deposit on a Model S.)    Chevy&rsquo;s electric hybrid Volt is still on track for 2010.     And Fiat will bring its mileage leading diesel and the new MultiAir super-efficient gasoline engines to Chrysler.     In a few years, there will be no excuse not to Buy American.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>PCs&#x2c; TVs &#x26; phones mean 200 more powerplants</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-13T21:25:03-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/gadgetpower.php#unique-entry-id-80</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/gadgetpower.php#unique-entry-id-80</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[1.    Turn OFF your TV, DVR, stereo, PC printers AND monitors, overnight.    Easy eh?


2.    Ensure your PC really snoozes while you&rsquo;re at lunch with this free application.


3.    Use a smart surge protector that protects your PC and automagically turns off your monitor, printer and other &ldquo;peripherals&rdquo; when your PC is not in use.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Venture Capital Finally Gets Smart??</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-11T22:45:02-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/VCefficiency.php#unique-entry-id-79</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/VCefficiency.php#unique-entry-id-79</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[(null)]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>LED lights heading home (part 2)</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-11T16:48:30-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/ledsheadinghome.php#unique-entry-id-78</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/ledsheadinghome.php#unique-entry-id-78</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[(null)]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Betting The Farm On The Right Curve</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-04T17:41:19-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/energycurves.php#unique-entry-id-77</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/energycurves.php#unique-entry-id-77</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It is obvious that one energy cost is rising while the other two are falling - this, in itself, is probably reason enough to choose #2 and #3.  


...Energy source #1 was an export industry for decades but the US now imports more than 50% of this energy source because U.S. resources are depleted.     The US led in production the other two sources ten years ago but now lags Europe and Asia by a factor of 10.  

...Energy source #1 is subject to extreme price swings and shortages due to the unstable parts of the world where most of this energy is produced.    The other two are not subject to these risks because this energy is produced in the U.S.


...Energy source #1 continues to be subsidized by the US while Europe has switched and bet on the other two.


If you guessed that oil was the first chart, Solar (Photovoltaic to be specific) is #2 and wind is #3 you were correct.


For decades the US has subsidized oil with around 20 BILLION DOLLARS of tax credits annually.    Tax breaks for drilling, accelerated depletion allowances, preferential expensing for refining and drilling equipment, accelerated depreciation for dry holes, no limits on passive losses, etc., etc.


Yet the U.S. has never (until now) provided even one billion of tax credits per year for wind and solar until  late last year.    The breakthrough energy policy reduced  90 years of subsidies to the petroleum industry and increased subsidies (at least for the next 8 years) to wind and solar power.


...Second our competitor nations ARE making bets by subsidizing one energy form and taxing others) as we do today.  


The U.S. has led he world for a century by commercializing technologies by subsidizing leading edge technologies:  in the 1850s the U.S. gave railroad companies all the land for a MILE on each side of the tracks as an incentive to build and operate new routes - thus developing a nationwide road service.    Granting monopoly rights to regional telephone companies in exchange for ensuring that every home in the U.S. (incluiding distant ranches) would be wired for telephone service at the same cheap rates in the &ldquo;Universal Service&rdquo; guarantee.    Granting lucrative &ldquo;mail contracts&rdquo; encouraging  budding airlines to use bigger planes to build  out the world&rsquo;s first airline network.  

...President, will you consistently support domestic renewable energy sources whose price is declining and help the U.S. build the leading export economy for these companies?
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>If You Read Just One Book This Year...</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-09T06:50:17-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/HotFlatCrowded.php#unique-entry-id-76</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/HotFlatCrowded.php#unique-entry-id-76</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[(null)]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Hale Zero:  The Zero Energy Home</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-05-21T21:23:06-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/halezero1.php#unique-entry-id-74</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/halezero1.php#unique-entry-id-74</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Ironically they turned to the Walter Gropius, the German founder of the iconic Bauhaus School of design, to build factories that would not need expensive electric light during the day.     Gropius used new high-strength building materials like steel reinforced concrete and big panes of glass made to create big, bright open spaces never possible with brick & wood.   

...Gropius brilliantly designed the buildings to be oriented so the windows in each semi-arch face north, providing bright but indirect light all day but avoiding the &ldquo;greenhouse effect&rdquo; when windows get direct sun.  

...These concepts can be recycled and enhanced to make beautiful, affordable LEED (leadership in energy and environment design) qualified homes, shops, offices - and dare we say, factories...


...It is well-suited to recycled concrete (eliminates the enormous amount of energy used in producing cement) which can be colored and polished for attractive floor surfaces.  

...In extremely hot or cold climates such as deserts, or high latitudes, the design will minimize need for active heating and cooling.  


Roof:   The roof should be painted using reflective and insulative paint that minimizes heat absorption on hot days, and minimizes heat emission on cold days and at night.


...For warm regions that never receive snow, a light weight &ldquo;awning roof&rdquo; of Sunbrella or similar outdoor fabric can be suspended a few inches over the solid roof to shade the &ldquo;real&rdquo; roof and create an air gap that and reduces solar heat load by up to 65%.   

...The main heating & cooling mechanism is via manual or thermostatically-controlledvent windows at the top of the arch and low to the ground and  window treatments (e.g. blinds, curtains).    Cooling is accomplished by closing south facing blinds and opening the upper & lower windows and creating a convection draft through the space even if no wind is present.  

...The semi-arched roof should face south to efficiently orient solar water heating & electric for the building&rsquo;s latitude and time of day.    In the mornings and evenings (and in winter), the panels slide down tracks to face the low sun, while during mid-day they move up to face more vertically.  ...  The roof itself can painted using special insulative paint that minimizes heat absorption on hot days, and minimizes heat emission on cold days and at night.


...Lighting is by high-efficiency LEDs operating on a 12 volt DC wiring circuit that eliminates losses when turning DC from solar panels into AC house wiring and then back to DC to power LEDs.  

...Solar heated hot water is stored in an insulated tank for domestic use and space heating via radiators or in-floor pipes.    Rainwater is captured in cisterns for filtering into drinking water and / or or gardening as we used to do at my grandmother&rsquo;s home in London.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Kindle 2 &#x26; DX:  Our Earthday Award Winner</title><dc:creator>Tim Dick</dc:creator><category>None</category><dc:date>2009-04-22T12:06:26-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/kindle2.php#unique-entry-id-73</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.usehalf.com/blog/files/kindle2.php#unique-entry-id-73</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[First, the &ldquo;just the right size&rdquo; Kindle 2 has a no-glare, sunlight readable eInk display that shows grayscale graphics with great resolution for most true reading activities.    The display&rsquo;s ultra-low power allows Kindle to run for two weeks without charging. 


Second, the bookstore is inside the book and it&rsquo;s instant.    Amazon has over 260,000 Kindle books, newspapers, periodicals and blogs.    You can browse for, find and download a book directly on your Kindle instantly anywhere there is (Sprint) cellular reception.   

...Third: Most books cost less than half what their print equivalents cost on Amazon because there is nothing physical to make or distribute.     Kindle can also view around 20,000 free books from the Gutenberg Project&rsquo;s public domain library from ManyBooks that can be downloaded directly to the Kindle using its built-in browser.  

...Fourth:  by installing a cheap SD memory card, Kindle becomes not only a collection of up to 200 books, but your entire library of up to 1,500 books.


...It&rsquo;s not color and it can get books wirelessly only in the United States (elsewhere you must download books to your PC or Mac and sync. them to your Kindle.)  

...Goodbye lugging heavy books around, hello having your entire library in your bag.  

...But why haven&rsquo;t any efficiency or green blogs picked up on Kindle&rsquo;s enormous potential positive impact?     I can only speculate that we tend to love paper for its tangibility and connection with history.     Perhaps we love books and paper more than ever because of the pervasive but oddly ephemeral nature of electronics.    Reading paper is our only chance to get away from &ldquo;the screen.&rdquo;


But I equally suspect that as eBooks become better (most importantly color display such as the eagerly awaited PixelQi), an &ldquo;iPod of eBooks&rdquo; will emerge and, as with CDs and DVDs, we&rsquo;ll no longer &ldquo;miss our real books.&rdquo;    Who knows, will Apple introduce a candidate for our 2010 Earthday Award winner? 
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