With Obama's train initiative on the rope, why don't they take the money and build Internet Infrastructure instead of rail lines

MSNBC.com has an article on the dire straights of Obama's high speed rail line.

Is Obama's rail initiative a 'train to nowhere'?

High-speed train plan draws little enthusiasm as California costs soar

President Barack Obama's high-speed rail initiative is in danger of turning into the Big Engine That Couldn't.

As part of the economic stimulus plan of 2009, Obama pushed through more than $8 billion in initial funding to extend high-speed intercity rail service to 10 major U.S. rail corridors by 2034. The idea is to create superfast rail service — like Japan's futuristic bullet trains — that would be available to 80 percent of the U.S. population.

Image: Railroad mapFederal Railroad Administration

Red lines in this map show planned high-speed rail corridors across the U.S.

Now you know there a bunch of lobbyists somewhere - construction, rail, manufacturers who have said the high speed railway is the future of the country.  I don't know about you, but I would much prefer ways to eliminate travel than an alternative to driving or flying.

That 2020 ribbon-cutting? It's now projected to be no earlier than 2033 — at least 13 years late. That $33 billion price tag? It's been recalculated at $98.5 billion — nearly three times the original estimate.

The news came from the state's High Speed Rail Authority, which issued an updated "business plan" (.pdf) last week at the direction of California Gov. Jerry Brown. The good news, said Tom Umberg, chairman of the authority, is that "we understand the project better." The bad news is that "as time goes by, things get more expensive."

Google selected Kansas City for its broadband project, and people are asking where this goes.

Kansas City’s Google superhighway has unclear destinations

By SCOTT CANON

The Kansas City Star

OK, Kansas City. You’ve been promised special Google goodies.

Now, whatcha gonna do when the search engine company finally hooks you up to an oh-so-fast Internet?

Short answer: Nobody knows.

Last week, Kansas City may have gotten a hint that Google will bundle its plan to include a cablelike television package with the Internet service. That might get more homes to sign up for the search giant’s offerings, but it doesn’t say how the ultrafast Internet might change other aspects of our lives.

What would happen if Obama funded a gigabit Internet in the US?  The lobbyists behind the high speed rail project would through a fit, but don't you think the future is better with gigabit ethernet than 200 mph trains?

Navy's Green Data Center opens

The Navy had a ribbon cutting ceremony for its latest data center to support consolidation of 100 data centers.

The Department of the Navy's Chief Information Officer Terry Halvorsen and Dave Weddel, assistant deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance, were keynote speakers at the ribbon-cutting event.

"This data center will be part of the Navy's data center consolidation effort. Not only is this data center efficient, it's green. That is another big piece of what we want to do. We need to protect the environment and the resources that we have. This data center will help us do that," said Halvorsen, who is the Navy's senior official on matters related to information management, information technology/cyberspace and information resources management. He is also the Department of the Navy's lead for IT/cyberspace efficiency.

Green data center is mentioned as part of the speech by Navy Officers.  Who would have thought that a Navy CIO would make points on how green his data center is?

Even thought LEED is mentioned most likely the largest green contribution is shutting down the 100 other data centers.

Construction began on the 20,220-square-foot facility on Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station Oct. 15, 2010 and was recently completed. The $9.498 million data center was designed to the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design silver rating standard.

The Navy's data center consolidation initiative will provide cost-savings due to reductions in physical locations, power and data center management contracts.

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06:30 GMT, October 10, 2011 CHARLESTON, S.C. | SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic unveiled a new data center that will play a key role in consolidating more than 100 Navy data centers to increase effectiveness and efficiency and to reduce costs while still meeting the Navy's security and operational requirements, Oct. 7.

Google announces Dublin Green Data Center Project, uses proven perfected air-cooling technology

The media has been covering Google's New Dublin Green Data Center project.  A Google News search is here.  But I wanted to know the facts Google released, so below is the full press release.

Particular parts that I like and has the potential to set a new benchmark for PUE.  How low can Google's PUE go?

Once complete, the facility will rank amongst the most energy-efficient data centres in the world. Google will use advanced air-cooling technology that has been tested and perfected at Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin. This technology takes advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate and uses outside air to cool computers instead of costly and energy-hungry air-conditioning units.

Here are a few pictures from the Google Data Centre Summit 2011 where the existing Dublin Data Center is mentioned.

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Here is information about Google's existing Dublin deployment.

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Most likely you have not seen this video as it only has 265 views.

The following is the complete local press announcement Google made on its new Dublin Data Center project.

Minister Bruton announces new €75m investment by Google in energy-efficient, air-cooled data centre in Dublin

New project to provide more than 200 jobs for local and national construction firms, and up to 30 full-time and contractor jobs once operational.

Dublin – Mr Richard Bruton, TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, today announced that Google has acquired 11 acres of land and an existing building on Dublin’s Profile Park and will soon begin construction work on a highly energy-efficient data centre.  A data centre is a specialised building full of computers that run online services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps.

Once complete, the facility will rank amongst the most energy-efficient data centres in the world. Google will use advanced air-cooling technology that has been tested and perfected at Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin. This technology takes advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate and uses outside air to cool computers instead of costly and energy-hungry air-conditioning units.


Google will invest up to 75 million Euros in the acquisition, build and fit out of its new facility, and will provide work for over 200 people from local and national firms at the peak of the construction phase. The contractors have already been selected after taking part in a competitive bid process.


Once operational, the centre will employ up to 30 people in a variety of full-time and contractor roles, including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, and catering and security staff. The new data centre will be in addition to Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin, which will continue to operate. Google already employs over 2,000 people in Dublin, and last year also bought three major office buildings in central Dublin, including Dublin’s tallest commercial office building, Montevetro.


Minister Bruton said: “As I have said repeatedly, the global cloud computing industry offers Ireland a massive opportunity for jobs and economic growth. I am determined that government will act decisively to seize that opportunity, and that is why I have established a cross-government implementation group to ensure that prompt action occurs.”

He continued: “The decision by Google, one of the most important multinational companies in Ireland, to locate a state-of-the-art data centre in Dublin is an endorsement of our policies in this area, and a sign of what is possible if we continue our focus”.

“We’re very happy to continue investing in Ireland and to build out our presence here even further,” said John Herlihy, head of Google Ireland. “The new data centre will be one of the most energy-efficient in Google’s global fleet. This investment further strengthens our presence here, and I’d like to thank IDA Ireland for the assistance they gave us in selecting this site.”

Vantage picks Quincy for Green Data Center site

Here is a press release describing Vantage's purchase of 63 acres in Quincy, WA.

Vantage Data Centers Launches Washington State Data Center Campus Project with Fortune 50 Anchor Customer

Quincy, WA Campus Offers Clean and Cheap Power with Room to Scale


 

 

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sep 27, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Vantage Data Centers, an innovative wholesale data center owner, developer and operator, announced today that it is under contract to purchase 63 acres of land for the development of enterprise class data centers in Quincy, Washington. A Fortune 50 leading manufacturing and technology company has signed a lease to be the first customer at the Washington campus.

Part of the move to Quincy is motivated to develop a Green Data Center.

Vantage selected Quincy because of the area's low-cost/low carbon/ultra-green hydro power served by the Columbia River Basin, an unequaled source of renewable power in North America. The Quincy project will mark Vantage's second campus designed for LEED(R) Platinum certification and further validates its commitment to sustainable design and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Clean hydro power, combined with Vantage design and collaboration expertise, will help Vantage customers minimize operating expenses while supporting clean energy initiatives. The project also includes the construction of a dedicated 41 MW 2N (fully redundant) dual fed substation with expansion capability and high efficiency distribution electrical systems.