Some of the projects involve modernizing old, inefficient transmission lines that just waste too much energy.

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That includes bridges and roads, drinking water and wastewater pipelines, levees, power lines, solid waste systems, and a host of other things.

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Most businesses haven't spruced up billing and accounting to keep pace with the complex services, creating a system riddled with waste--paying bills for inactive lines, ignoring discounts and failing to spot employee fraud and curb excessive dial-up time from workers' homes.

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"People don't have time for long lines, and they don't want to waste half an hour with a part-time employee, " says Burt M.

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Certainly travellers can finish up meals, avoid buffets, enquire about food waste when they check into hotels and choose properties, cruise-lines and tour operators that have programmes in place to reduce or recycle wastage.

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But the deeper lines are trickier: space is so tight that there is nowhere for waste heat to go, which makes traditional air-conditioning impossible.

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