Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page 37)

green architecture. He said Wal-Mart already took the lead on green architecture. “We just made preliminary approval for the first Super Wal-Mart that’s going to have more than 100 skylights in it,” Nelson said. “I have two pages on what Wal-Mart is doing to make their building more green and sustainable. This is something Wal-Mart’s top leadership Data centers are typically a decided two or three years ago. massive power drain for gov“They were going to change ernments, making green data the way they did business. They centers critical power savers. realized they could save a ton Waukesha deployed a more of money.” energy-efficient cooling system in California now He said the city’s planning its data center, which, at roughly requires “daylight commission is still establishing 680 square feet, is larger than the harvesting” devices the types of green architecture facilities in most nearby cities, — which attach to it would mandate, but it had said Bret Mantey, IT director ﬂuorescent lights to gauge existing natural already mandated some conof Waukesha. light and adjust how struction features. “It compares to the county much artiﬁcial light the “We have a 55-acre infill data center closely, but not as bulbs emit — in all new development that’s going to large as, say, Milwaukee. All government buildings, have a Target store as its other cities in the county are a said Kip Hirschbach, broom closet in comparison,” CEO of Axis Technologies. anchor. Part of the approval for their preliminary plan was to Mantey said. The city uses blade servers and server virtu- have a connection to a bike and hiking trail alization software to reduce the number of with a little park area in the upper northwest corner of the development,” Nelson said. servers it powers in the data center. The city also implemented new water “We’re having more green space and trees usage efficiency measures, such as low- than the normal amount of parking — where flush toilets. The change produced a 77 you’d have massive parking and very little percent drop in Waukesha City Hall’s green space.” energy bill alone, Jelacic said. City Hall’s water bill averaged $1,650 before Waukesha’s green initiative, and now it averages about $300. In addition, City Hall used Local governments, Hirschbach said, 323,000 gallons of water per month before are far ahead of state governments at the initiative and now uses 74,000 gallons. going green. Heating ventilation and air conditioning “A lot of cities, especially in California, are offered another conservation opportunity: embracing green technology to solve their Waukesha switched to energy-efficient energy woes,” he said. boilers in four buildings. And bottom lines in government and the private sector are what finally mobilized green technology beyond fringe users, Nelson said. “It’s not like 10 years ago when people Green technology is one of the rare areas where some governments try to influence were saying these environmental measures the private sector to adopt a technology, would hurt business and economic developrather than the opposite. Some local govern- ment. The opposite is the case. There is recogment officials implement major solar panel nition that these green sustainable practices deployments in part to raise the solar energy’s are good for business, local governments, market profile. Nelson is planning a market- homeowners and taxpayers,” Nelson said. “I ing campaign to prospective Waukesha think we’re at the cutting edge of what’s going businesses encouraging them to embrace on here.” two years for traditional bulbs. This enabled the city to drastically reduce traffic light maintenance, which clogs busy streets. Jelacic said the LED conversion would cut the cost of running a single intersection from $1,200 to $450 per year. Q&A: Larry Nelson In early November 2007, more than 100 mayors gathered in Seattle for the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Summit, featuring former Vice President Al Gore. The event marked Waukesha, Wis., Mayor Larry Nelson’s second visit to the conference. He said he noticed a major increase in green motivation among his fellow mayors, compared to the 2006 event. Q: Did you encounter any obstacles to your green initiative? A: The energy efﬁciency contract was very noncontroversial, because it was a win-win where it satisﬁed saving taxpayers money and also doing things that will help to the environment. Q: Is the green issue trendy due to increased environmental concern, or because of the ﬁnancial convenience? A: Though it’s true businesses might not be doing it for altruistic reasons, it’s good business. It’s ﬁnancially making sense. I think it’s very signiﬁcant because 10 years ago, there was the argument that if you did environmental practices, that was bad for business. That argument seems out the window. Q: Why are local governments ahead of states and the federal government on this issue? A: One great thing about being a mayor is that you only have to convince a majority of your common council to get something done. That’s much easier than getting a whole state legislature or a majority of Congress to get things done. Unfortunately at the state and national levels, there has been a lot of animosity and ﬁnger-pointing instead of looking for solutions. Q: Do you see a change in mayors’ attitudes compared to the 2006 conference? A: I think so. We’re at the end of 2007. It has gone from 100 mayors to more than 700 mayors signing on [to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement]. There is momentum and enthusiasm building. We just heard a satellite speech from former Vice President Gore. I think his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is very signiﬁcant because for most people that’s recognized not as a political award, but one for doing something good for humankind. Other Efficiencies Green and Trendy Beyond Government 37 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - January 2008

Government Technology - January 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene CIO Sightings Four Questions for... Spectrum Location, Location, Location Digital Governor Back to the Drawing Board Waukesha Goes Green Collaring Dangerous Dogs Public Sector Goes Web 2.0 Bounce Back SACWIS Rollout Simple Strategy Products Personal Computing How It Works signal:noise

Government Technology - January 2008

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