As seen in a recent online issue of The New York Times, soon you will be able to monitor the energy efficiency of your home on your cell phone, wherever you are.
The soon-to-be-released tool, called TREE (Tendril Residential Energy Ecosystem), will allow homeowners to turn appliances, heating, and cooling systems on and off from work, the theatre, or the kids’ soccer practice. Similar to a video game, TREE will integrate with a collection of tools to track energy consumption and broadcast the results to local and distant displays. If your electricity consumption rises above certain levels, a display will start flashing a different color, allowing you to decide which systems you can shut off.
TREE will compare your home’s energy consumption with similar sized homes in your neighborhood, make suggestions on how to reduce your energy, and predict how much lowering the thermostat will lower your bill. How’s that for monitoring your carbon footprint?
TREE is expected to be released…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Special to Enviroblog by Amy Rosenthal, EWG’s Farm & Food Outreach Coordinator.
Fresh fruits and vegetables for the First Family, school kids playing in the dirt at the White House. A reminder to Americans that food actually comes from the Earth - who’s going to object to Michelle Obama planting a garden on the White House lawn?
Oh, that’s right - big, conventional agribusiness. They’re bent out of shape because the First Lady’s garden is *shudder* organic.
That “shudder” is a direct quote from an email written by a Mid America CropLife Association spokesman: “the thought of [the White House garden] being organic made [us] shudder.”
These worried agriculture trade organization officials (who happen to represent companies that produce pesticides) went on to write a letter to Michelle Obama about her garden. In it they make vague (and at some points disingenuous) claims about the importance of technology in farming, but entirely skirt the First Lady’s choice not to use…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Today’s eco-savvy travelers also tend to be the most in-tune with the latest in technology. This week, green geeks everywhere received a handful of treats by way of Cupertino’s favorite tinkertoy, the iPhone.
We have all by now heard of (and perhaps use on a daily basis) the iPhone App Store, where Apple enthusiasts can purchase and download “applications unlike anything you’ve seen on a phone before”. Now, the app store takes another step in a green direction with the release of two cool shopping apps.
First , we have 3rdWhale - a free iPhone app that allows consumers (that’s you) to search for local, green businesses. Looking for an eco-friendly-good-for-the-planet product? 3rdWhale’s got you covered, with over 20,000 business listings in over 30 major cities in North America.
Through 3rdWhale, businesses get listed via directories that certify and accredit green products and other consumer offerings and are then assigned ratings: 1, 2 or 3 “Whales”. Word is that, while…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
(UNEP) - The Business for the Environment Global Summit, now in its third year, is the world’s leading international conference for business-driven action for the environment. As the world struggles with a deep economic recession, the conference will highlight the green solutions that can turn crisis into opportunity.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP, said: “Today’s crises are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient society. Business has a key role to play in this transformational process, and the B4E summit is a crucial opportunity to bring together key decision-makers to sharpen and discuss their role in delivering a Green Economy.”
Participants to B4E will include the Chief Executives of Suzlon, Suntech, Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens France, as well as the seven inspirational laureates of the 2009 UNEP Champions of the Earth awards, who will be announced in an award ceremony on April…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
The Orchard Hotel joins its sister property, the Orchard Garden Hotel in ‘green’ certification, earning LEED-EB® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for an existing building by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). San Francisco’s only hotel to earn this honor, the Orchard Hotel, is the second hotel in California and fourth hotel in the world with this certification. LEED-EB is the USGBC’s leading edge system for operating high performance buildings dedicated to whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and systems upgrades.
The Orchard Hotel, managed by Portfolio Hotels & Resorts, based in Oak Brook, IL, includes 104 guest rooms and is located just two blocks from Union Square on the Powell Street Cable Car Line. Inspiration for meeting the LEED-EB guidelines comes from its 85-year-old owner, Mrs. S.C. Huang. She is passionate about clean environments, after the untimely cancer-related deaths of…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
The tourism industry’s highest accolade, The World Travel Awards, will be held in Dubai this year on May 5, 2009. The event, which has been hailed as the “Oscars of the Travel Industry” by the Wall Street Journal, will celebrate the travel and tourism industry’s best practices by recognizing achievements from over 100 travel and tourism brands from across the Middle East.
This year’s event promises to be the most hotly contested ever as leading players address the global downturn by raising their standards even higher. The World Travel Award recognizes leading airlines, hotel operators, hotel developers, tourism boards, travel media, destination marketing campaigns, MICE businesses, and several other companies that make a difference in the quality of travel and tourism.
The World Travel Awards, established 16 years ago, encourages travel and tourism organizations to set new boundaries for customer service, value, and innovation in their quest to create the ultimate…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
The television broadcast of Planet Forward an innovative media project that advances the discussion on energy and climate change and migrates from the web to television and back, will take place on PBS on April 15, 2009, at 8 p.m. (check local listings).
A virtual public square, “Planet Forward” is fueled by the power of ideas — from students to scientists, entrepreneurs to activists — as they make their case for what they think about the nation’s energy future. Hosted by Frank Sesno, “Planet Forward” features Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Changes, who participates in the discussion and stresses the importance of a national dialogue on these critical issues.
Others featured in the special include Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place; James Connaughton, Former Chairman, Bush White House Council on Environmental Quality, and currently Executive Vice President, Constellation Energy; and L. Hunter Lovins, President and Founder, Natural…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
In celebration of Earth Day, Walmart announced its “Earth Day, Every Day” School Challenge, in which the winning school will receive $20,000 to help further green their school. The purpose of the challenge is to recognize those schools that are taking active strives to create a greener Earth.
How do you apply?
Between April 3-May 1, 2009 entrants can submit a 200-word essay on behalf of the nominated school showcasing the school’s earth-friendly activities at www.earthdayeverydaychallenge.com
All entrants must be at least 18 years of age and be affiliated with the nominated school (e.g. school officials, teachers, parents)
The top 20 finalists will be selected by independent judges and receive a $500 Walmart gift card to assist with earth-friendly activities
All finalists will be invited to compete for the grand prize: a $20,000 grant from Walmart, to be used toward the continuation or implementation of earth-friendly projects and activities
To compete for the…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
My life is pretty simple and relatively boring. That was all about to change when I met a vintage chandelier that needed some TLC. It lead me down a road that most would not have taken. Ominous? Kind of. Friday the 13th? Not so scary. It involved stripping (and not the pole type), Franmar Chemical Soy Gel , an Earth friendly solution, and bring back a sleeping beauty back to life.
My green decorator, Nancy of NLM Designs, knows that I love antiques and used furniture. I like to purchase used furniture because it is a great value, significantly cheaper than new furniture, and it is green. No additional carbon footprint was created to buy something that already exists. (Check out my comfy used office chair article and vintage furniture one and hop upon the used furniture bandwagon.)
Back to Nancy. So she always keeps her eye out for me for a fabulous find. She found this beautiful chandelier at a local antique place which was just right for my second…
(Read the rest of this article at the following article source link for the full story)
Having passed through many restrooms lately, we wondered what is more eco in the bathroom. This site does some does analysis to determine which is more green in the bathroom, paper towels or a warm air hand drier.
“Carried out by Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an independent research organisation, the streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study [...]
Subscribe
