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By Dennis Posadas While I appreciate the enthusiasm that groups like Greenpeace and WWF about enabling as much clean/renewable energy as we can put into the system, given that we have a new renewable energy law, there are also a few mindset changes we need to put into place. I am all for renewable energy; however, as a trained engineer, I also realize that there are some hurdles that need to be overcome. First is, some renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, while abundant, are also intermittent. The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. On the other hand, cogeneration and biomass plants, which are clean sources, can be stable if enough heat or biomass material is forecast and planned. For solar and wind, if we want to use it for 24x7 use, we need to make sure that there is an energy storage mechanism of some type. The most common energy storage device is of course a battery. For bigger solar and wind systems, running in the megawatt range, batteries would have to be connected together, so it probably won’t be practical. Concentrated Solar Plants (CSPs) that employ banks of mirrors in the desert use some type of liquid like molten salt. Another possibility is to use pumped storage, like in Lake Caliraya. When power is available, it is used to pump water up an elevated lake. During nighttime, the lake water can be released to drive a generating turbine. Other schemes involve compressed air (in the US), or as in the case of some wind systems, natural gas turbines. But for many systems, the storage technique they employ is to simply connect the renewable energy system to the grid. Now as we increase the percentage of renewable energy systems that connect directly to the grid, we have to remember again that these are intermittent. You can’t exactly tell the sun to shine exactly at 6:00am, or the wind to start blowing at 9:00pm. So there has to be a way to prevent blowups of circuit breakers or fuses, a way to plan when each energy source will come on stream. There is a role for software and intelligent grid systems that work with meteorological information to determine that there is a high/low likelihood that the wind/sun will be available at a certain time. The grid itself, and components will have to be redesigned to take into account the higher occurrence of intermittent turn-on and turn-off of power sources, many of them being renewable. Appliances may need to have chips in them, telling them that the power at a given hour is mostly coming from renewable sources, or not. Meralco’s plan, for example, to offer Internet over broadband lines, is indicative of this. The common perception is that they plan to mainly utilize this to offer broadband services to the public through their power lines. Actually, it is not as simple as that. The Internet over power lines can also be used to command and control equipment, such as chillers in malls, to turn on or to idle at a certain time. The grid needs to be intelligent, to handle the intermittent nature of clean/renewable energy systems. There will be a lot of new capabilities, already being experienced in places like California and Europe, that we will soon have here. Our electric meters (“kontadors”) for example, will run backwards and forwards. So if we decide to install solar panels or wind turbines on our roofs, not only can we be consumers, we can also be mini power producers supplying to Meralco. The amount we sold, is then subtracted from the amount we consumed. The more citizens and private industry, as well as government, invest in these mini and private renewable energy systems, the less need there will be for big, and often carbon emitting power plants. In other words, power generation will be decentralized to many small renewable power producers, as opposed to a few large ones. Now who will pay for that? Some cities in the US consider solar panels as part of the house (roof) and allow citizens to simply add a little extra to their real estate tax, and amortize the solar panels over 25 years. The payment can actually be taken from the savings generated by the panels, so in effect a no-cash out scheme is feasible. Are we ready for that? We all want reduced carbon emissions. But we don’t get there by simply joining token Earth Hour or Earth Day celebrations. We also need to do some work, and take the time to educate ourselves. ___________________________________________________________ Dennis Posadas is the editor of Cleantech Asia Online, and the author of Jump Start: A Technopreneurship Fable (Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009)

by Dennis Posadas Coal is cheap and plentiful. Unlike oil, majority of which is controlled by OPEC states, coal can be found in many areas of the world, including the Philippines. As such, it has formed a significant portion of electric power generated worldwide, despite recent inroads by nuclear and renewable energy. Majority of those coal plants belch CO2 into the atmosphere, which is why NASA chief climate scientist Jim Hansen and many other experts say publicly that there should be a moratorium on the building of coal plants worldwide. Last April, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that six greenhouse gases were a threat to human health and welfare. Chief among the six greenhouse gases was carbon dioxide (CO2). One of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world is the electric power industry, particularly those that operate coal plants. The US alone emits around a billion-and-a-half tons of CO2 annually from electric power generation through coal. Try telling that to fast growing China and India, or the US. Or even to developing economies around the world like the Philippines. This needs to be discussed widely, because frankly, while clean energy is a great topic for discussion, there are still technical and economic issues in getting from where we are now to the point where we can replace coal totally. Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, one of the largest electric utilities in the US, said in an interview in an episode of 60 Minutes (a popular U.S. television show) earlier this year, that Hansen’s proposal to stop the building of new coal plants cannot be done. While Rogers was one of the first electric utility CEOs who used coal plants to acknowledge the problem of global warming from coal, he says that the industry will arrive at a solution, but not at the pace that Hansen is recommending. When asked if his company had already made the investments towards so called clean coal technology, he said that they are in the process of studying the alternatives. In reality, clean coal technology is really a way to capture the CO2 and store it underground. The technical term for the technology is called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). One way to implement CCS is to pass the CO2 emission through a group of compounds called amines. This mixture is then pumped about one kilometer deep underground, into rock formations which have a lot of cracks that can absorb the mixture. The intense pressure underground causes the CO2 to liquefy, where it is hoped that the CO2 will stay underground forever. The solid form of CO2 is dry ice, which most of us have seen. But the long-term effectiveness of CCS is still unknown. If despite the expense to implement, it will still leak CO2 into the atmosphere, then the exercise will be a gargantuan waste of resources. There are a limited number of sites around the world that have built CCS facilities but a study on the long term effectiveness of CCS has yet to be conducted. A coal expert who I spoke to, but declined to be identified surmised that one possible scenario is a leak caused by an earthquake in the vicinity, although he said that it was a hypothesis. Aside from this, the scale of CCS is mindboggling. Unlike the nuclear power industry which can take nuclear wastes and store it in distant centralized repositories like Yucca Mountain in the US, each coal plant will need to have access to a CCS facility nearby. The US alone emits more than a billion- and-a-half tons of CO2 a year, not counting China and India, which gives an idea of the undertaking. In the end, it could all boil down to costs. In 2004, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released a study called "The Future of Coal" which discussed the outlook for CCS technology. It estimated that to make CCS competitive, carbon emissions will have to be charged at around $30/ton. Recently, the US House of Representatives, through the Democrat sponsored Waxman-Markey bill, looks like it has arrived at a compromise, but will this be enough to justify CCS in new coal plants? Even if the US signs a treaty in Copenhagen later this year, it will be very hard to get private industry to support CCS if the economics doesn’t make sense. At this point theoretically CCS looks like a way to make coal a potentially non-environmentally threatening energy source. However, unless the technology and economics is brought up to speed and more research is done, it will remain simply a public relations tool brought up by the coal industry to fend off attacks against it for the moment.  _____ Dennis Posadas is the Editor of Cleantech Asia Online, a newly launched site devoted to opinions and insights about the Asia cleantech economy. He is also the author of Jump Start: A Technopreneurship Fable (Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009)

By Anna Valmero Environmental group Greenpeace Philippines brought and lit a solar-powered lantern at the Senate of the Philippines in celebration of the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill. Senator Miguel Zubiri received the six-foot tall (six-meter in diameter) lantern from Greenpeace members. “This is a parol that is totally off-the-grid as it spearheads the use of renewable energy for it to be lit,” said Zubiri, as he lauded the effort of Greenpeace to design and bring the lantern to their office. He said the lantern shows people can have power coming from green energy sources. Zubiri said the lantern would be placed outside the canopy side of the Senate building until end of December. The lantern is made of rattan and is adorned with over 60 meters of yellow and green light emitting diodes (LEDS). Amalie Obusan, climate campaigner of Greenpeace Philippines, said they used LEDS because they are more power-efficient light sources than ordinary Christmas light bulbs. Two solar panels are used to run the LEDs installed in the lantern. The panels are attached to four batteries, which stores a total of 100 amperes of electricity. The batteries are then attached to a 1,000 -watt inverter which converts the stored energy to 12V of power, which lights the lantern. “The lantern is a reminder to our senators that renewable energy is the clear answer, the true hope, for a secure future free from severe impacts of climate change,” Obusan said. She said the passage of the renewable energy bill is laudable but stressed the need for the government to commit to climate change mitigation efforts. This activity is part of the official Global Day of Action for the Climate celebration slated on December 6. This year, the celebration coincides with the United Nations climate meeting in Poland.

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net Can used oil be recycled as fuel for vehicles? “Yes,” according to Teodorico Badua, the inventor of a so-called “fuel energy saving device.” This device, he says, transforms used oil and other combustible liquid waste into flammable gas that can be added to the engine fuel, which can translate to fuel savings of up to 30 percent. This La Union-based inventor says the device harnesses the energy from used oil by heating the combustible liquid waste into a gas generator. This process then generates fuel vapor that can be used for gasoline-based engines. The device has been tested to work with used cooking oil, engine oil and washing fuel, the Filipino inventor says. “The device promotes safe disposal of combustible liquid waste into the combustion chamber of the engine, which burns it as fuel,” says Badua. The device is vying for the Tuklas (Most Outstanding Invention) category along with other novel inventions. It will be on display at the National Inventors’ Week exhibit at the Philippine Trade and Training Center until November 21. Badua has been working with vehicle engines since 1962. Seeing the load of used oil disposed as waste and hearing stories about waste disposal problems and the irreversible environmental impact of used oil, Badua says he started exploring how waste products, especially used oil, can be disposed in an eco-friendly manner and if possible, harness it further as fuel. The idea for the invention came while he was working in a power plant years ago. A co-worker added gasoline into the engine but some of the oil was converted into vapor because of an engine malfunction they discovered later. Despite this malfunction, he notices that the machine run faster. “I was inspired to develop a machine that can do this for used engine oil,” says Badua. It took Badua two years to develop the device. It became a project he did after work or during weekends. He already has invested about P100,000 for the development of the device. He tested his invention on a 1994 vehicle and was able to see increased engine power, torque and speed, which allows for longer mileage in every liter of fuel consumed. The lubricity of the gas oil reduces friction and heat between pistons and cylinders that also pronged engine life, he adds. Benefits for the environment include reduction of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide exhaust emission in the atmosphere, as well as promotion of oil recycling to protect water resources from contamination, he says. “From processing a liter of used oil, you get several grams of sediments, which is a big help in reducing unnecessary disposal of waste oil,” he adds. With his invention, Badua says Filipinos should also learn how to extract from their experiences valuable lessons that can be developed into solutions to problems. For Badua who finished a vocational course in diesel mechanics, inventing the fuel energy saving device shows that every Filipino can be an inventor.

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net ORTIGAS City, Philippines -- Anticipating the growth in local demand for biofuel, Seaoil Philippines Inc. said it will increase its total number of filling stations from 114 to 500 units by 2011, an executive said. Biofuel is an alternative fuel that blends natural substances like ethanol from sugar cane and coco methyl ester (CME) from coconut to regular gasoline and diesel. Seaoil Philippines expects to grow their number of stations by 300 percent because of the anticipated increasing local demand following the signing of the Biofuels Act in 2006, which will become effective in February 2007, said Art Cruz, marketing director of Seaoil Philippines. “The consumers are more mature than before in exploring alternatives available to them. The youth, which are more open-minded in trying the biofuel, is creating the growing demand for it,” he said. The Biofuels Act mandates that 5 percent of the annual volume of gasoline fuel sold and distributed by each gasoline company in the country will comprise bioethanol. This will be required two years after the effectivity of the law or starting February 2009. By February 2011, the Department of Energy will mandate the increase in blend to at least 10 percent bioethanol (E10). A blend of 1 percent coco methyl ester (CME) extracted has taken effect in 2007 for biodiesel and will increase to 2 percent within the next two years. This year, Seaoil Philippines has conducted repiping of its biofuel distribution systems to eliminate localized corrosion from pipes, pumps and tanks, said Bernadette Raymundo, vice president of supply and QCPD. The company has invested P15 million for the project, excluding the costs for the depot sites. The company replaced underground G1 pipes of filling stations with flexy pipes of fluoropolymer base material (Polyvinylidene fluoride-PVDF) to prevent problems in chemical compatibility with the biofuel, said Raymundo. Tanks especially for CME were not coated because coated tanks tend to peel as CME or ethanol penetrates the undercoat adhesion, she added. “The repiping was done to prevent leaks in nearby water pipes to enter the biofuel storage,” said Raymundo. She said any water in the biofuel tank can contaminate the solution. This can cause phase separation of water and ethanol from gasoline. Moisture in gas can emulsify, resulting to a product with hazy appearance. In September, Raymundo presented Seaoil’s biofuel program at the 2008 Ethanol and Biofuels Asia Conference in Singapore. The program, which includes practices in transport, handling, blending, storage and other operational concerns, was recognized as model for adoption in Southeast Asia. “We are the only country in the Southeast Asia with a law on biofuels. This bodes well for the Philippines as it gives us three years advantage in refining the technology and its implementation. With further efforts for development, this creates opportunities for sustainable energy production and thus, achievement of national energy security,” said Cruz. Biofuels bring other benefits aside from cheaper cost, greater engine efficiency from cleaner burn and less air pollution. “Adoption of biofuels will also create market opportunities for the local coconut and sugar cane industries,” said Cruz. The upcoming Asian free trade will create surplus of global products in the local market, which can kill local industries if regulation of imported goods is not well implemented, said Cruz. By tapping the sugarcane and coconut for the production of ethanol and CME, respectively, Cruz said they are creating alternative markets for and support sustainability of the two local industries. In September 2007, the Department of Agriculture validated a total of 60,250 hectares of new sugarcane areas that can produce a combined 274 million liters of bioethanol, Raymundo said. This volume, she said, can meet the requirement under the Biofuels Act on the blending of crop-based alternative fuels with gasoline by 2009. She cited the Sugar Regulatory Administration identified the 60,250 hectares are on top of the existing 388,003 hectares of sugarcane farms that can meet the country's sugar requirements Seaoil has introduced biofuel, specifically the ethanol blended (E10) gasoline, through its 50 local filling stations in August 2005. Raymundo said marketing E10 a year earlier before the Act was signed was difficult. They launched a massive campaign to address the resistance of motorists especially those with carbureted and older model vehicles. “Our efforts to advocate the use of biofuels are gradually paying off,” said Raymundo. “Right now, countries are turning their attention to the Philippines as global biofuel supplier. Countries in Southeast Asia eye the Philippines as a model for starting and implementing a biofuel program.” Seaoil Philippines has teamed up with national Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Agency of International Development, Sustainable Energy Development Program and Chemrez Technologies in promoting biofuels. To build motorists’ confidence in biofuels, Seaoil inked an alliance with the Automobile Association of the Philippines in 2006. Up to this day, all cars racing in the Philippine Touring Car Championship run on Seaoil E10 fuels and drivers are impressed by the cleaner burn they get from E10. “Biofuels are preparing the world for the inevitable depletion of petroleum resources,” said Cruz. “And the Philippines is in a good position to reap the benefits of this growing market.

MAURICE Malanes of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Northern Luzon Bureau talks to Victor Ayco, a Filipino chemical engineer and inventor, who is not worried about the current oil crisis. In fact, he sees this as an opportunity to explore alternative sources of fuel with the help of science. Malanes finds out that Ayco has found vital clues to creating a gas-saving product, thanks to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Excerpt:

A scientist and inventor, Ayco sees the crisis as an opportunity for the country to tap the inexhaustible potentials that science can offer in finding alternatives to fossil fuel. “Many seem to anticipate a bleak future because of the prospect that one day the world’s fossil fuel deposits will finally run dry,” says Ayco, 70. “But fossil fuel is not the only source of energy that can run engines of cars and other machines. There are other inexhaustible alternatives [to fossil fuel].” He based his radical optimism on what he regards as a vital clue from one of the geniuses of the 20th century -- Albert Einstein. That clue is the theory of relativity, or E=mc², where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the velocity of light. The Mandaluyong-based chemical engineer says Einstein’s theory helped him perfect his gas-saving product, which he demonstrated recently before Baguio City motorists. Essentially, Einstein’s relativity theory, says Ayco, states that “from matter we can produce energy.” His invention called “aero-nitro power injector” took 15 years of research and experiment. Patented on Dec. 11, 1985, the device has been marketed only recently through Energy Philippines Inc., a private firm, which Ayco co-owns with other partners. The inventor says his device “converts ordinary nitrogen (a noncombustible substance) in the atmosphere into combustible nitro-gas, and serves as gasoline and diesel additive in gaseous form for efficient engine combustion.” With efficient engine combustion, a vehicle can run more kilometers with less fuel and emits almost zero toxic pollutants.

WITH the recent oil price shock, where we saw the price of oil going up to around $140 a barrel, the question is whether that is enough political impetus for us to go into renewable energy in a big way. By a big way, we mean that we make the investments now in “renewables.” The problem is that renewable energy, technology-wise, is still being perfected, so that means it is not yet cheap. But if nobody invests, it will never become cheap because industry holds back on R&D, because there is no demand. So it becomes a chicken and egg situation. Given that the so-called carbon credits from developed countries can pay for up to 10 percent of the cost of the project upfront, it is still not attractive for some. Enter the Philippine Renewable Energy bill. When passed, it will actually give a lot of incentives to investors to go into renewable energy (RE). Aside from the fact that RE is a good way to contribute to the climate change effort, if the RE bill is passed, it may actually make good financial sense to go into RE. Because right now, the climate change advocates root for the use of renewables but when you talk to the financial folks, they'll tell you now is not yet the time. But what is the right time? After the oil crunch of the 70s, we should have gone big time with renewables. But naysayers said at that time, "Now is not the time." So now the world is slowly realizing that, now is the time. Because if not now, when? When the oil runs out? That will be too late. If you look at the new version of the RE bill, aside from the typical tax breaks and tax credits, particularly for those who go into the manufacture and installation of RE systems, there will also be new incentives. This includes the lowering of royalties, and even the elimination of charges related to the use of the grid distribution system (also known as wheeling charges). One of those being contemplated as a new feature of the RE bill is the concept of a Feed-In-Tariff (F-I-T). Feed-In-Tariff was developed in Europe, and was adopted in California, which caused massive amounts of investments in RE. F-I-T works by requiring the utilities by law to source part (or a percentage) of their power requirements from RE sources. Now if that is implemented, that will not be enough to offset the current higher cost of RE compared with coal, for example. So what F-I-T does is require the utility to pay the RE source at a slightly higher price than what the fossil fuel based power sources sell. This will then improve the net present value financial calculations for RE investors. You need to give all these incentives, because frankly, renewables are not yet attractive financially as compared to, say, coal or other fossil fuel sources. The utility is then (typically) allowed to pass on the added cost to consumers. Since there are many consumers, it turns out that the public is helping subsidize RE investments. Now people can argue that this shouldn't be passed on to the public. But that was the only way they were able to justify RE investments in Europe and the US. Without it, nobody made the investments. So one can argue that we either move into RE or not. Think of it as investing for our children's future. After all, when massive investments pour into RE, eventually the prices will drop and future RE plants will be cheaper to build and install. Arguing that government should foot the bill might work for a certain amount but eventually we should ask where will we get the money? Another way to look at this issue is now we are paying a foreign currency adjustment fee for oil. If we don't move into RE now, we will keep paying that foreign currency adjustment. So why not move into a spread out public subsidy for RE, which eventually will mean cheaper power for everyone. We can take part of that oil price adjustment factored into our electricity bills and turn it into a subsidy for RE investments. What do you think? Should the Philippines still live with the status quo or go into renewable energy in a big way? (This article was written by the office of the Deputy Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering).

By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines -- After months of delays, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has finally opened the country's first vehicle research and testing laboratory equipped with a chassis dynamometer and emission analyzer used to assess viability of different alternative fuels. The facility is located at the Melchor Hall of the University of the Philippines, where the DOST's academic partner institution, the UP Department of Mechanical Engineering is located. DOST is also represented by its sub-agency the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD). The facility is created under the requirements of Republic Act 9637 or the Biofuels Act to provide infrastructure support for assessment, validation, and performance testing of biofuels . The facility will also develop test protocols, standards and regulations including the use fuel-saving emission and control devices. In an interview, PCIERD Deputy Director Raul Sabularse said the vehicle research and testing laboratory's chassis dynamometer system can do performance testing of commercially available alternative vehicular fuel sources and their effects on vehicles. It can monitor power, torque, speed, fuel economy and emissions for each of the different alternative fuel sources. The goal of the facility is also to inform the public about different sources and resulting usage of alternative fuels, particularly on the right formulation. Among the available fuel sources are coco-methyl ester, bio-ethanol, compressed natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas. Sabularse said the facility already cost P150 million, with P50 million spent on the chassis dynamometer. The cost of the entire facility is shouldered by the DOST, the University of the Philippines, the Department of Energy and the Philippine National Oil Company. Sabularse said the DOST will be adding new equipment, such as more accurate emission analyzer that can see particulate matters. "This one should be more accurate because it can check for unburned fuel and materials not shown by just an ordinary emission analyzer,” he said.

By Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is urging car manufacturers to bring in more hybrid models into the country while calling on the adoption of fuel-efficiency and renewable energy measures. "We await the arrival of the hybrid models that can shift from gas to electricity," Arroyo said in her opening address at the Philipine International Motor Show, organized by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI). The President took note of the presence of 15 major car manufacturers in this year's show. But a significant portion of her speech was spent calling on "clean and green measures." She called on the Senate to pass a renewable energy bill, which was already approved by House of Representatives. "We need the will of the people and the help of private sector groups like CAMPI to push lawmakers to adopt clean and green measures," she said. Arroyo also noted that local government units have been mandated to cut fuel consumption by at least 10 percent. "I've also asked municipal governments to convert their vehicles to LPG (liquified petroleum gas)," she added. "I am also calling on businesses to provide transportation for their workers until fuel prices somehow go back down," she said. CAMPI reported an estimated P90 billion of total investments in the local automotive industry, generating around 74,000 jobs in the country. It also reported nearly $2.8 billion in industry revenues since 2003 from locally-sourced parts and materials. CAMPI also noted the vehicle sales have been growing more than 14 percent annually due to remittances from the overseas Filipinoworkers and more entrepreneurs in the country.

By Alexander Villafania

INQUIRER.net

The effect of the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries can be likened to the effect of the information technology revolution today. It created new industries and new skills that changed the way people lived. Yet, both periods in history also had their share of negative impact: pollution.

The industrial revolution saw an increase in use of petroleum products and chemical compounds that seeped into the ground, polluting water and soil. IT industries, with the constant replacement of old equipment for better ones, is also causing a new generation of garbage and it could get worse as the demand for IT products continues growing.

Some companies have already taken steps to alleviate the problem of electronic waste. At the recently held IBM Service Management Summit in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Big Blue showcased one aspect where the company could help reduce problems caused by the IT industry. Although it was not widely promoted, the company released its "green strategy" paper aimed at its clients that are building their IT infrastructure. The paper is about 15 pages long and suggested several implementation strategies that clients and partners can take to tackle potential environmental solutions. The paper, ostensibly entitled "IBM Software: A Green Strategy for Your Entire Organization," was created in June 2008 as part of the company's campaign for its Tivoli software.

Some of the solutions provided are simple, manpower-related environmental austerity measures, which includes reducing commuting through increased online collaboration (IBM once preached about the effectiveness of having mobile workers), turning off lights when not in use, and reduction of paper consumption by using electronic forms instead. Other practices on an infrastructure scale that IBM is suggesting include optimization of hardware power consumption, shifting workloads from over-utilized servers to underutilized ones, proper cooling systems depending on the machine (some equipment fail when they come to their overheating points), and even properly managing digital data to enable quick access and reducing heat.

IBM also stressed in the paper several reasons why it is important for companies, from the smallest mom-and-pop shop to the largest conglomerates, to have a steady and focused environmental strategy. One particular issue of note is increased power consumption by IT equipment, and with the realization that prices of oil will continue to go higher, IBM stressed that their customers must take measures to reduce power consumption while running at full operational capacity.

John Frech, director for IBM Tivoli Worldwide sales strategy, said that having an environmental strategy to follow will have a positive impact not just on the environment but also on the company's operational capacity. He said their software products have been tested to allow for some energy-efficient operations, as well as maximizing the life of their equipment. He added that by giving office administrators all the tools they need to ensure full operational capacity, the company is saving on energy consumption and thus, the environment.

IBM also dedicated a website specifically for their IT strategy. Other companies also have similar projects, among which includes Microsoft's Environmental Solutions, HP's Eco Solutions and Intel. This already shows how IT companies are taking responsibility for the potential impact of the IT industry on the environment and how companies like them can become leaders in saving the environment.