By Tomas Roman
KGO-San Francisco

The recent storms haven’t done enough to replenish the water supply in Santa Clara County, so the county is asking for more voluntary conservation. Now some businesses are taking the extra step of installing new technology to save water.

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By Kelly Rondeau
Green Right Now
It’s the holiday season, and along with the many joys that are associated with this fun time of year - cooking, baking, parties with friends and family - comes a lurking environmental problem: Toxic chemicals in everyday plastics. Plastics that seem to be everywhere in our holiday midst — in [...]

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By Amy Hollyfield
KGO-San Francisco

A new product turns to technology to help your plants thrive. Your plants sit there - silently begging for your attention. And many of us stare back and wonder what to do.

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By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now

Harvesting daylight is an ancient trick – as old as the first man-made structure, as old as life on our planet, actually. Using the sunlight provided by nature is the most basic and simple way to illuminate one’s world. But when it comes to modern, sustainable architecture, the idea is relatively young.

Only in recent times has “daylighting,” as it’s sometimes called, made a blip on the broader green movement’s radar, with industry experts speculating that fewer than 1 percent of all U.S. buildings use natural light in a substantive manner (going beyond windows). The 21st century approach is waaaay more technologically involved than, say, a prehistoric clan setting up its fire pit next to the cave entrance.

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From KVUE-Austin

At the end of the year a little-known Texas law goes into effect, which could have a big impact on your yard. It means changes for sprinkler systems that will likely mean higher prices.

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From KVUE-Austin

You can save money and the earth in the current economy. KVUE’s Jill Cordes explains in our project green report.

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By Paula Minahan
Green Right Now

Dumpster diving as the perfect solution to a sustainable lifestyle?

It could be, according to a report from The Daily Show. Seems forest-living, oil-spurning electrical engineer Tod Kershaw has perfected the art. “My favorite dumpster is Trader Joe’s. It’s just so wonderful; it’s the nirvana of dumpsters. There’s great food, a lot of it is organic and very rarely do you find maggots in there.”

If you say so, Tod.

But kidding aside - and Kershaw isn’t - the fact he can feed his family on discarded grocery items is telling. Telling us that food waste in America is out of control.

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By John DeFore

Everyone knows that shade from the sun keeps you cooler, but a new study has quantified the benefit in a way homeowners might want to note. The right kind of shade, it turns out, can easily shave ten percent off your summertime electric bill.

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By Barbara Kessler
Our refrigerators, which can be the biggest electricity hogs of all household appliances, have been getting the once-over from the Energy Star program for several years now, with those bright yellow tags alerting us to what sort of electrical consumption we can expect. Washers and dryers, ditto.
Now our dishwashers, which have been [...]

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By Lynette Holloway

Jamie Swise, a Chicago-based weatherization expert, said President-elect Barack Obama made his job a whole lot easier when during a recent debate he urged Americans “to weatherize” their homes to save energy.

Obama made the appeal at a presidential debate last month before his election in response to a question about sacrifices his administration would ask Americans to make during these tumultuous economic times.

“Here you have the soon-to-be president of the United States stressing the importance of weatherization,” Swise said after the election. “He’s got a lot of people thinking about how weatherizing their homes can help save energy. You can’t beat that.”

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By John DeFore

As more and more individuals and groups set out to re-introduce gardens to urban areas — often citing WWII’s “Victory Gardens” as proof that a large percentage of our food can come from our back yards and vacant lots — the Detroit-headquartered Urban Farming wants to push edible plants into new spaces — like walls.

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By John DeFore

Public awareness of “phantom power” usage — the way electronic devices use energy even when they’re turned off — may be growing, but it’s likely that awareness isn’t having a huge effect on consumer behavior. After all, most people plug their computer and home entertainment equipment into power strips tucked under desks and behind cabinetry, where accessing it to unplug devices is inconvenient.

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