"the energy internet" | utne.com | sept-oct-2008 /p41 "toorrowland" by E.B.Boyd, from Conscious Choice
"
energy intelligence... refers to a system that manages power generation and use in a more efficient, responsive manner - 'the energy equivalent of the Internet," as Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn describe it in Earth: The Sequel (Norton, 2008). This web would draw electricity from where it is abundant and send it to where it is needed, reducing the demand for new power plants and offering more flexibility for incorporating renewable sources like wind and sun.
"... more than $434 million into energy intelligence in 2007... Virginia-based GridPoint, has developed a device - a refri[d]gerator/sic -sized 'smart battery' that utilities can install in customers' basement... stores and releases energy based on various factors, including cost and demand, which saves the user money by avoiding the power peaks that can tax the power grid.
"Other innovations give consumers information about how much power they're using at any given time... according to California (jan-feb 2008), people who had this information at their fingertips cut their energy use by a whopping 40 percent.
"Most important of all, concludes Mother Jones (May-June 2008), is the notion of decentralized power generation. Unlike coal and nuclear power, next-generation energy sources don't require any massive central investment. You can have your own power plant in a solar panel or flat-profile wind turbine on your roof. Linking illions of these power sources into regional networks will make our energy cleaner, safer, and steadier."

in related news...
"scientists iat the Atomic Energy Commission in France... reports Plenty... Piezoelectricity... thought that the pressure[of squeezing certain substances that let out a tiny burst electricity] of just 5000 large raindrops could produce enough power to fire up a 60-watt lightbulb."

- - -

utne magazine , july-august 2009 / p19
"Who you pay is what you get"
"Pepperine University researchers... find 'Firms exhibit higher profitability when heir top executives make smart decisions. One of the smart decisions those executives have consistently made at successful Fortune 500 firms is to include women in the executive suite - so that regardless of gender, the best brains are available to continue making smart, profitable, decisions."