Author

Sarah Backhouse

Sarah Backhouse is the Founder of Future360.tv -- an online video network featuring the latest sustainable technology and design. A TV host and producer, Sarah has lived in Sydney, London and Los Angeles, where she worked for a diverse array of broadcasters including: CNBC, BBC, PBS, Fine Living, Sci Fi Channel, Discovery Channel and Planet Green. Since 2006, Sarah has focused her attention solely on sustainability coverage.

Transformation of Old Office Space into Sustainable Startup Hub

written by Sarah Backhouse

Take one outdated commercial building in Sunnyvale, California, one crack engineering and architecture team, some top Silicon Valley technologies, and one audacious design challenge. The result? 435 Indio. A building transformed from non descript 70s tilt up to sleek, modern, drool-worthy work space for any Bay Area startup.

Custom designed skylights bring in an abundance of natural light, complimented by Lunera LED lights and Enlighted lighting sensors. View glass automatically adjusts to heat and glare. Indoor air quality is optimized though operable windows and Big Ass fans.

John Picard, President & CEO, John Picard and Associates: “What’s amazing is the technologies all came from this area, are the drivers for the design, and the engineering drivers that are bringing the potential for the productivity.”

Interface carpets made from reclaimed fishing nets, zero waste bathrooms from Dyson, a fabric ceiling for acoustics and polished concrete floors for natural insulation. Last but not least, the net zero energy building is 100% powered by solar.

Gary Dillabough, Managing Partner at the Westly Group: “We designed this to have an exceptional tenant who can do something extraordinary in the world and this becomes the place they do that in.”

Visit 435indio.com for more information.

November 25, 2014 0 comment

Ten Strands Celebrates Environmental Education Night

written by Sarah Backhouse

Future360.tv attended the David Brower Center for Sustainability in Berkeley California to celebrate Ten Strands’ first environmental education night. The event brought together educators and advocates to celebrate the contribution made by non-profit organization, Ten Strands, to the field of environmental education.

Ten Strands was established with the vision of a new and distinct public/private partnership to deliver capacity-building resources to individuals and entities responsible for implementing and improving environmental education in K–12 schools. Ten Strands has cultivated an exceptional range of relationships and professional expertise in order to manifest this vision.

Their vision is a world in which everyone actively understands the interrelatedness of people and place, where all students have access to high-quality education with an environmental component, and where all people have the knowledge, awareness, and ability to make decisions that promote a healthy environment.

September 23, 2014 1 comment

Redefining an Old Commercial Building – 435 Indio

written by Sarah Backhouse

Take one outdated commercial building in Sunnyvale, California, one crack engineering and architecture team, some top Silicon Valley technologies, and one audacious design challenge. The result? 435 Indio. A building transformed from nondescript 70s tilt up to sleek, modern, drool-worthy work space for any Bay Area startup.

Gary Dillabough, Managing Partner at the Westly Group: “We designed this to have an exceptional tenant who can do something extraordinary in the world and this becomes the place they do that in.”

September 15, 2014 0 comment

New York Energy Week 2014 Startup Showcase

written by Sarah Backhouse

Future360 covered the Cleantech Startups Showcase which featured 40+ of the most innovative and exciting cleantech companies developing groundbreaking, carbon-reducing technologies. A handful of the companies competed pitch-style in front of the live audience, for the opportunity to win an Audience Award and Judges Award.

This was a rare opportunity to see many high quality, cutting edge cleantech companies from the Northeast (and some international) all in one place, and meet the founders who are making it all happen. In partnership with the Northeast’s top organizations working in cleantech – including NECEC Institute, NYC ACRE, PowerbridgeNY, and Cleantech Open Northeast – this event was a can’t-miss regional summit for investors and startups alike.

August 11, 2014 0 comment

Smart Meters in Amsterdam

written by Sarah Backhouse

An exciting new smart grid initiative is rolling out in the Netherlands. Project “Sustainable Neighborhood” is a collaboration between residents, businesses and the city of Amsterdam. In an area of the city called New West district, smart meters and energy displays are being installed in 500 houses.

This display enables residents to see how much energy is consumed, raising awareness about their overall electricity usage, and allowing them to improve their behavior and save energy. The smart grid reduces the number and duration of power outages, provides a better opportunity to feed consumer-produced electricity back to the grid and allow consumers to actively participation in a sustainable energy supply.

June 30, 2014 1 comment

Ener-Core Launches Waste to Energy Plant in the Netherlands

written by Sarah Backhouse

Future360 visits the Netherlands to witness the unveiling of an innovative technology from Ener-Core that turns landfill gases into clean, green energy.

Enercore is a company based in CA, that is commercializing a gas emissions space and employing tech to convert these emissions into power.

After almost 10 years of development, Ener-Core celebrates the launch of its first commercially operating unit in partnership with Dutch waste management company Attero.

The technology takes landfill gases and using a turbine, generates electricity. It’s unique in it ability to perform even when the quality of the gases have significantly deteriorated.

There are numerous applications. In addition to landfills, the technology can be used in steel mills, oil and gas refineries, beer distilleries, anywhere gas is flared.

The ability to curb pollution and generate revenue, makes this technology a no brainer for power companies and society alike.

June 24, 2014 0 comment

Linkin Park, Lawrence Bender & Henry Waxman at UCLA Fundraiser

written by Sarah Backhouse

The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) honored musicians Linkin Park, producer Lawrence Bender and U.S. Representative Henry Waxman for each of their environmental accomplishments at their Evening of Excellence fundraiser. The event was held at a private estate owned by Tony and Jeanne Pritzker in Beverly Hills. Visit http://www.environment.ucla.edu/ for more information.

April 17, 2014 0 comment

Future360:tv: Capacity – Downtown Los Angeles

written by Sarah Backhouse

Less than 450,000 people currently live in downtown Los Angeles. But what if the population grew 10 times that to 4.5 million? Is that level of growth sustainable?

CAPACITY is a research study produced by Gensler Los Angeles which analyses the maximum population of Downtown Los Angeles. Capacity synthesizes building information, zoning, energy waste, water, traffic, opens spaces and combines it with a rocking sound track.

As downtown Los Angeles is experiencing a resurgence, it’s timely to understand the relationship between resource consumption and population growth. And allowing fore more intelligent future planning for our cities.

For more information, visit gensler.com

March 22, 2014 0 comment

Future360:tv: CleantechLA Global Showcase

written by Sarah Backhouse

Future360 attended CleantechLA Global Showcase to find out what makes Los Angeles a leader in cleantech innovation. For 2 days, over 400 attendees from over 20 countries descended on Los Angeles, one of the largest cleantech markets in the US.

“Los Angeles has the second largest green economy in the world, the largest utility, the largest port in the Western Hemisphere and top academic institutions which make up all the building blocks needed to create a strong cleantech ecosystem” says CleantechLA’s Ian Harris.

Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, was eager to “provide a green print for where we are headed to show people just how ambitious LA is with the environment” while Chief Sustainability Officer of Los Angeles, Matt Peterson challenged “technology field to deliver the solutions that will benefit citizens and create new economic opportunities”.

In addition to keynote presentations and panel discussions from industry experts, CleantechLA Global Showcase provided a platform for technology companies to present their products to customers, investors and potential partners. Visit http://cleantechla.org for more information.

March 16, 2014 0 comment

Future360.tv: Global Reef Record

written by Sarah Backhouse

The Catlin Global Reef Record is a first-of-its-kind global database and online research tool that uses state of the art technology to capture panoramic images of major coral reef ecosystems.

A research tool, it is aimed at collating and communicating the coral reef science of the Catlin Seaview Survey and combining that information with data from other leading sources of ocean research. This free database will provide scientists across various disciplines of marine studies with a tool for analyzing the current state of the reef ecosystems on a local, regional and global scale and monitoring changes that occur over time.

With coral reefs deteriorating at the rate of 1-2 percent per year, it is imperative that we study and monitor the health of these fragile, yet crucial ecosystems. Many countries do not have the resources required to regularly measure the health of their coral reef ecosystems. As a result, there is often limited baseline data or understanding of the drivers of change across entire regions of the world. Without this information, understanding change and implementing management strategies for arresting the downward trend of coral reefs is extremely difficult.

The Catlin Seaview Survey plans to break this pattern with this high-speed, high-capacity data archive. Its huge photographic records will be at the core of this openly available record, providing an unprecedented source of data for scientists, reef managers and global decision makers. The archive will empower countries worldwide with information and analysis of the coral reef ecosystems at scales never before imagined.

The record is not just for scientists. It is for everyone, from policymakers to the general public. For the first time in history, ocean change will be made plainly visible for all to see – we are working with partners to ensure that the images in the record are revealed to as many people in the world as possible.

It has been designed in partnership with scientists from the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland with additional data and analysis from World Resources Institute, SCRIPPS and NOAA.

The Catlin Global Reef Record helps ensure reefs survive and thrive for future generations. For more information visit:http://globalreefrecord.org/

March 1, 2014 0 comment