Promoting energy efficiency seems to be getting easier. After all, more and more people see the economic as well as environmental benefits of saving energy in their homes and businesses. But obstacles surely remain: And they can seem daunting. In a Boston Globe article predating President Obama’s trip to the Copenhagen climate change summit,...
We’re going to be hearing a lot about climate change this week—and a lot about the big issue being discussed in Copenhagen: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. From this, we’ll likely start hearing more about the big solutions to achieve our environmental goals, like alternative energy and more fuel-efficient cars. Unfortunately, solar panels and hybrid/electric...
We here at GreenTech Advocates want to make green technology and energy efficiency something everyone is interested in. And if you’re reading this, you should too. But in many cases the contagious spread of a new idea is tricky, writes Malcolm Gladwell in his bestselling book, The Tipping Point. Gladwell’s book examines how innovations...
OK, let’s all calm down a minute. So the California Energy Commission (CEC) voted to impose energy efficiency standards for TVs sold in that state. It’s not the end of the world. We’ll still have TVs, and plenty of good, high-performance TVs that also happen to be energy-efficient. And whether you think the regulations...
I have to admit, I wasn’t too keen on perusing author Josh Dorfman’s book, The Lazy Environmentalist (2007, Stewart, Tabori & Chang), or his more recent The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget (2009, Stewart, Tabori & Chang). Personally, I get tired of the whole “we can’t ask people to sacrifice to be green” argument....
What do “green” consumers want? They don’t want to save the environment or the planet, says Suzanne Shelton, energy efficiency and sustainability market research firm Shelton Group. Many of them don’t even want to be “green.” They’d also rather have an energy-efficient home than a “green” home, and they don’t know much at all...
Energy efficiency and technology are big topics at this year’s Greenbuild show taking place in Phoenix, Ariz., where the movers and shakers of the growing green movement are urging attendees to go beyond plucking the “low-hanging fruit” of energy savings and take the extra steps toward deep energy savings. “We are in a time...
What are the biggest energy hogs among electronics? Contrary to common “wisdom,” it’s not data centers for the Internet and large, commercial IT operations that are the biggest energy users among electronics today, says Bruce Nordman of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “By my estimates, data centers are perhaps 20 percent of electronics’ energy...
How do you create a green or more sustainable business strategy for your company, when its aspirations seem contradictory to commercial enterprise? Jonathan Estes covers the topic well in his book, Smart Green: How to Implement Sustainable Business Practices in Any Industry—and Make Money (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). First, Estes says, you should...
Want to see how future homes may look and the green technologies they may contain? Check out the virtual tours of homes built for the Solar Decathlon held recently in Washington, D.C. The Solar Decathlon is a biennial competition among college and university students to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and...
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