The Simpsons Ride Takes Green to New Heights
Last year, I covered a press conference touting GE’s ecomagination initiative, which detailed the progress that the corporate giant had made in its new lines of business. It was exciting to see “green” applied across the board in so many varied areas, including entertainment division Universal Studios. And though the event had a Hollywood feel (even the Governator was there) I would never have expected Bart Simpson to get into the act.
Well, not Bart exactly, but his theme park counterpart, “The Simpsons Ride” at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. The first of its kind, the new rides use a variety of technological innovations in their design and construction to reduce their environmental impact. Ay, carumba!
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To open in May, the rides feature new techologies:
- Lighting: sporting 2,582 LED lamps - the largest lighting installation of such lights in a theme park ride - will save 2/3 of the energy needed over standard incandescent bulbs.
- Electronic motor drives: new systems that control the power supplied to each ride’s motors will cut power usage by half.
- Hydraulic systems: custom software designed to run the rides’ master control systems will change the way that power is supplied to hydraulics systems, resulting in additional energy savings.
OK, I admit that I don’t know what that last one means, but it shows thesort of holistic thinking that Universal Studios is employing when it comes to their “Green is Universal” initiative. By looking at each piece of an operation, they are finding new ways to save energy, and thus cut costs. Mmmm…money.
The company has also found success in their basic programs, like increasing their recycling rates, switching to alternative fuels, and printing on recycled paper. To all of this, I say, “Woo-hoo!”
