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On this Earth Day, it's time to move beyond debating climate change and get to work rolling up our sleeves and tapping the best and brightest minds so we can tackle this challenge. For too long, taking action on climate change has been the can kicked down the road because some feared solving this problem could hinder economic growth. However, for the past two years, carbon emissions have fallen, while [...]
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This week marks another important step in what has been a busy year in policy developments for autonomous and connected vehicles. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold its first hearing exclusively focused on self-driving cars. This comes on the heels of several recent, noteworthy actions in this space: The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it will update its 2013 guidance [...]
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The world is abuzz with curiosity about what the future will be like as we connect cars, appliances, even entire cities with the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology evolution will usher in new opportunities to improve the quality of our lives and create new avenues for economic growth. But it also means policies developed before IoT, like energy efficiency standards, need to evolve so they continue [...]
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Last week, ITI led a group of tech associations in sending a letter to India Prime Minister Modi supporting a change in policy to allow importing of valuable spare parts and equipment. Prime Minister Modi is one of the most influential world leaders on social media and is an avid user of technology, so we will also tweet the letter and hope the Prime Minister will notice it during his busy schedule. [...]
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As world leaders, business executives, the scientific community, and others meet in Paris for the COP-21 summit it is clear that the question is no longer whether our climate is changing, but how do we meet the environmental, economic, and societal challenges a changing climate will pose to humanity. Rather than accept an imperiled future, technology companies know that we can innovate and help create [...]
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At yesterday’s White House Summit on “Climate & the Road to Paris: Business & Science Coming Together administration officials announced that 81 companies have now made public commitments to the “American Business Act on Climate Pledge.” The Summit was chocked full of ITI member company representatives. Small wonder. Of the 81 companies that have pledged their support and committed to take action on [...]
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All over the world, smart technologies are revolutionizing urban life. They are making cities more livable (safer, healthier, more convenient, and more vibrant), more workable (more mobile, competitive, and innovative), and more sustainable (more energy efficient, resilient, and renewable). Ultimately, cities will become horizontal "Internet of Things” (IoT) platforms where individual applications [...]
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is an amazing new revolution in technology that connects everyday objects that are not traditionally connected to the internet. This week, ITI’s Dean Garfield emceed a great @Microsoft conversation entitled “Powering 21st Century Cities with the Internet of Things.” The panel discussed how IoT presents an immense opportunity to transform the ability of cities to offer new [...]
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Earlier today, ITI testified at the House Energy and Power Subcommittee Hearing on “Strategic Petroleum Reserve Discussion Draft and Title IV Energy Efficiency.” Rona Newmark of EMC Corp served as our expert witness. ITI’s testimony focused on urging rapid enactment of the “Energy Efficient Government Technology Act" (EEGTA). EEGTA would increase productive federal government use of energy-efficient [...]
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I’m in San Francisco for the first ACEEE Intelligent Efficiency Conference, “Mainstreaming Intelligent Efficiency.” After attending last night’s opening reception, I can tell this is going to be a great mashup of the energy efficiency and the information and communications technology (ICT) communities. These groups are traditionally unaccustomed to meeting together but will be coming together more [...]
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