What happened to that refreshing fuel-efficient zeitgeist that put Honda Civics, Volkswagen Rabbits and Toyota Tercels into millions of American driveways following the fuel crisis of the mid-1970s?

It was the “gas crunch” scare that had us all studying the MPG portion of showroom stickers; and it was a similar, more recent “energy crunch” in California that will, hopefully, usher in a re-awakened awareness of the power we're pumping into our clean manufacturing facilities.

Over the past three months, I've had a series of conference calls with a group from California's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's (LBL) Environmental Energy Technology Division, which is being headed by Dale Sartor and Bill Tschudi.

Over the past four years, Tschudi and Sartor have worked to create what CleanRooms contributing editor Chris Anderson has aptly called “the hub of information for running energy-efficient cleanrooms.” In 1999 and 2000, the group, with financial backing from local utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), was able to jump a few “proprietary” hurdles to procure data from participating clean manufacturers showing real-time energy usage. The data was just a start, allowing the team to publish a cleanroom programming guide that gives owners and architects information that will help them make smart design moves early in a project.

If you're interested in cutting energy costs in your cleanroom or designing smarter facilities, first read Anderson's Special Report, “Good corporate citizens unite” (page 12), and then consider contacting LBL's team about feeding your energy information into the benchmarking process.

If you'd like to learn more about LBL's work, the team will be presenting the session “S-14—Moving Towards Energy Efficient Cleanrooms & Standards,” on Wednesday, March 10, at CleanRooms East 2004/PDA SciTech Summit in Orlando, Fla. Go to www.cleanrooms.com to register.

Take a step forward and share your data. It can only lead to a smarter future.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Since I've accepted another chief editorial role, this will be the last time I share my thoughts to readers concerning cleanroom technology and its fascinating end-user markets.

There isn't enough time or space available for me to say good-bye to all the good friends and contacts I've made over the past four years. So, instead, I bid you all adieu until our paths cross again.

Michael A. Levans
Chief Editor