Design & Architecture (less is more)

We don't write positive stories about Ford all that often, so when we read this story about them replacing four old energy-wasting furnaces with two energy-efficient ones at their casting plant in Brook Park, we figured that it was worth noting. Of course, it is a small improvement in the grand scheme of things, but it is also a perfect illustration of the kind of unglamorous eco-tweaking that all corporations need to be doing right now; obviously, it is better to optimize an inefficient process than to just add more capacity (and thus more waste) to it. So Ford workers demolished part of the foundry roof, bumped it up by 50 feet and dug a 35-foot pit to make way for the new furnaces. They expect "huge energy savings" from the $65 million project. "Rather than using air pre-heated by natural gas burners, the new furnaces save by recycling heat from the melting process." Good for them. Now if only they would apply that kind of thinking more aggressively to their vehicles. ::Businesses assaulting energy inefficiency, other Ford stories: ::Ford Kills 19-Foot Gas-Guzzler Excursion, ::New Ford V6 Shows Evolutionary Improvements, ::Get Your Ford Mariner Hybrid Online