The most recent column on “groundbreaking innovation” Co-Exist from Fast Company was titled “If Your Neighbor Gets a Solar Panel, You’re Going to Want One Too: Whether your neighbor has a solar installation is more likely to influence your decision than politics or income Read more…
Riddle: What’s as big as the amount of energy used by the European Union…and getting even bigger? The answer is the amount of energy we’re not using. Or more specifically, it is the energy saved in 2011 by the US Read more…
According to Chris Winter of the Conservation Council of Ontario, the trend of having a home office is good from an environmental perspective as it eases gridlock and brings balance and common sense back into our lives. However, many of Read more…
It’s never a bad thing to have the leader of the free world in your corner. And President Barrack Obama made clear again last week that he’s with energy efficiency. At a Walmart in Silicon Valley, Obama laid out his Read more…
The rapid changes to the electricity system being wrought by distributed solar have utilities crying out, and they’ve poured much of their distributed solar angst into a chart being shared throughout the energy nerdocracy – the duck. The Duck Chart, Showing Read more…
The world needs to make a transition to renewable energy as part of a global sustainability project, but until solar, wind and other renewables become the norm, there’s one solution that is available now: energy efficiency. More energy efficient buildings Read more…
Boasting a savings of 12% whole house energy consumption savings it is tempting to immediately order new highly insulated windows for the whole house. But before you do, consider the payback. Sure, you will be snug as a bug inside Read more…
Like a good financial portfolio, it appears that diversification is a successful strategy for America’s Energy Productivity according to the environmental action group, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). But, the NRDC notes that while the energy portfolio clearly should include Read more…
Here’s a Business Week article whose point is that the relevance of our power utilities is disappearing. Not true. Unless there is a breakthrough in energy of unprecedented proportion, along the lines of cold fusion or something else that appears Read more…
According to International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) which was released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), world energy consumption is projected to increase by 56 percent over the next three decades! This projected increase is mainly due Read more…
Companies commonly base executive compensation on performance, but a growing number of businesses have started associating top leaders’ pay rates and bonuses to achieving corporate environmental goals. In essence, initiatives such as reducing energy use can lead to higher compensation Read more…
A pretty big wad of money – $40 billion – is hiding somewhere inside the lights, AC, thermostats, furnaces and fans of our offices, stores, hospitals and schools. That’s the amount of money the federal government estimates we can save Read more…
The cell phone is quickly becoming a handy tool for tracking home energy use and even switching appliances on and off from afar. It also turns out to be a good way for consumers to view the inner workings of Read more…
Whether they’re building a new house or improving a well-loved home, energy-conscious homeowners everywhere are trying to lower energy use and costs. Even with the best of intentions, however, consumers are overwhelmed by too much information, which causes many of Read more…