Fortnightly Magazine - May 2009

The Wind Watcher

The search for the ultimate wind forecasting model got a boost at the end of 2008 when DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory began collaborating with a Portuguese research institute, INESC Porto, to develop a new platform for making such predictions.

PV's Promise

Chris O’Brien is no starry-eyed idealist. An engineer with an MBA, he began his career developing fossil-fired power plants for the AES Corp. But in the 1990s his career took a different turn, when he launched the Energy Star program for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After that, he went into the solar energy business, and never has looked back.

Green Progression

Before L.E. Modesitt, Jr. wrote best-selling sci-fi and fantasy novels, he worked on Capitol Hill. Specifically he was the director of EPA’s office of legislation and congressional affairs during the Reagan administration. And not surprisingly, Modesitt’s novels focus on the politics of environmental issues. From his early novel, The Green Progression, to his Ecolitan series, Modesitt’s plots frequently involve biological warfare and environmental disasters.

People (May 2009)

AGL Resources created a new office of technology and environmental sustainability, to be headed by Ira Pearl as v.p. Jay Sutton is promoted to v.p., engineering and supply chain services at AGL’s Florida City Gas and coastal Georgia subsidiaries. Melvin Williams is promoted to general manager, Florida City Gas and coastal Georgia. And others...

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