IBM dives into water tech

IBM plans to sell technology and services to better manage fresh water, often referred to as the “oil of the 21st century”, states Cnet.

The company said it has technology, now being tested at the SmartBay project in Galway, Ireland, to gather and analyse data to improve water conservation. It also announced a membrane for purifying saltwater that was developed by IBM in collaboration with other researchers.

The water strategy, part of IBM's Big Green Innovations project started two years ago, is set to be officially announced at the World Water Forum, being held this week in Istanbul, Turkey. IBM expects that water conservation can be improved by using sensors to gather data and analysing the data on high-end computers.

Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) has saved over $5.55 million since embarking on its Green IT initiative, reports Future Gov.

One of the first government agencies in the island state to launch a green IT initiative, LTA had been successful in its earlier pursuit of going paperless with its e-services and online transactions for motorists and industry partners, which helped the agency gain more than $5 million in productivity improvements and $3 million in cost savings.

It has also signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with IBM to collaborate and implement an energy efficient programme for its IT environment, which aimed at promoting responsible and more effective use of energy further within the agency.

UC Santa Cruz, Foothill-De Anza Community College and NASA Ames Research Centre will partner to build a green research campus in Silicon Valley, says The Mercury News.

UCSC and Foothill-De Anza plan to conduct research on energy efficiency, green technology, and supercomputing, among other fields.

Officials expect to break ground on construction sometime between 2012 and 2014, depending on the state of the economy. "We're all about putting the best minds out there together to solve a problem," says NASA Ames deputy director Lewis Braxton.