A new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy shows that energy efficiency is the least costly way to lower consumer electricity bills.
Tags: · ACEEE, electricity conservation, Energy Conservation, energy efficiency, energy efficient building, low cost electricity, report on energy conservation
Just in time for Earth Day, The Princeton Review has released its latest guidebook to the greenest colleges in the U.S.
The Princeton Review’s Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition, created in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council
At Georgia Tech trayless cafeterias are just one of many green steps the university has taken.
Tags: · Energy Conservation, green colleges, greenrightnow.com, higher learning, Local Food, sustainable campuses, top green colleges, top green universities, U.S. campuses ranking for sustainability
It’s cold now. Pretty much everywhere except for those places that converge toward a moderate median in the 70s, like LA, or Miami.
Have you noticed that in the cold, it’s harder to be green?
For example, I have real trouble detaching from my shower after the allotted five minutes. I am cold most of the daytime, but it’s warm in the shower. I want to linger there. You do too, admit it. Once the Lazy Environmentalist was honest with us about that. He said he had good ideas in the shower and he liked to take long ones. (See the article if you don’t believe me.)
During my longer-than-usual shower this morning I didn’t really have any great ideas. I did think a lot about how much I like warm showers in the winter. I strategized extensively on my exit plan for the shower: Grab the towel, retrieve the slippers immediately; get into the wool shirt, even if it sticks to my wet skin, find winter cardigan.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, electricity savings, Energy Conservation, greenrightnow.com, hot water, hot water heater cover, insulation, Water Conservation, water heater, weatherization, winterizing
From Green Right Now Reports
PECO, FirstEnergy and PPL Utilities are working together on an environmental project that will help Pennsylvania residents lower their energy usage — and get rid of clunker appliances.
Tags: · Energy Conservation, energy consumption, energy efficient appliances, FirstEnergy, PECO, Pennsylvania, PPL Utilities
By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now
A sudden cold snap created a spike in consumption. Christmas lights were fun at the time, but they, too, kept that meter running. Kids routinely leave electronics on, even when they’re not in the room.
Advanced Metering System
Sure, you try to do all those little things that, in a perfect world, can help keep cost and environmental impact down. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, and a big number on that electric bill each month can come as a shock to both the system and the budget.
But what if your world was just a little more perfect? What if you could log on to your computer and check consumption down to, say, a 15-minute period? What if you could figure out that your teenager is running the TV, stereo, a game player (or two) and every light in his room — all despite the fact that he’s spending the night at a friend’s house?
Tags: · Advanced Metering System, electricity bills, electricity consumption, Energy Conservation, home energy management, Oncor, Public Utility Commission, smart meters
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
(HONOLULU) – Hawaii has found a new place in the sun. With a local in the White House and clean-energy tech booming, this sunny, windy island state is blossoming into an exotic garden of alternative power innovation with nearly $1 billion in clean energy projects underway. The aggressive new initiatives are driven by history and necessity.
Necessity, because Hawaii gets 90 percent of its energy from imported oil, while its isolation makes it vulnerable to frequent power outages (no neighbors to send in reserves – until wave power is tapped). Not-so-distant history, because native Hawaiian culture is rooted in respect for nature, a vibe that resonates “take no more than is needed and squander nothing that is taken”.
Tags: · Biofuels, Blue Planet Foundation, Energy Conservation, geothermal power, Hawaii, Hawaii test site for renewable energy, Hickam Air Force Base, hydrogen vehicles, Punahou School, solar collectors, Solar Power, Sopogy, sustainable Hawaii, Wind Power
America’s urban centers are becoming ever greener, with the National League of Cities holding its first ever Green Cities Conference last month. While many cities have recently taken up environmental causes, some have been carrying the banner for years.
Seattle, home to such earlier innovations as the 60s Space Needle, Microsoft, and grunge rock, is one such green leader.
In 2008, Seattle was anointed the nation’s leader in LEED-certified buildings by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), culminating an eight-year-old sustainable building policy calling for city-funded projects to be LEED-qualified at the silver level.
Seattle also can boast about its:
Tags: · Carbon footprint, Climate Change, Climate Protection Initiative, Energy Conservation, global warming, Mayor Greg Nickels, National League of Cities, Seattle, trash reduction, Water Conservation
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
Congregations of any faith may benefit from joining the nonprofit Interfaith Power & Light initiative. The non-profit group offers members a way to lessen energy costs and at the same time, promote renewable energy.
The IP&L initiative came into effect in 1998 when a coalition of Episcopal churches formed with the support of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. They joined together to purchase renewable energy. In 2001, the group grew into the California Interfaith Power and Light, helping people of all faiths in California organize to promote environmental change and address global warming. Today, under the umbrella group, The Regeneration Project, there is a movement to establish similar programs in all states. Today, 29 states have Interfaith Power and Light organizations.
Tags: · Churches, Energy Conservation, faith, Interfaith Power & Light, renewable power, The Regeneration Project
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
With unemployment at a 25-year peak, it’s sometimes difficult to find the good news. The silver lining.
You have to look for it. Sometimes you have to pull up a curtain, or crawl behind the scenes, but we believe it’s there: a green jobs revolution.
OK. Maybe the revolution is more of a restless assemblage, a loose gathering on the horizon than a storming of the palace. But we’ll take it. When we started looking into it, we discovered that green jobs are bubbling up in so many sectors. They’re rewarding, forward-looking and surprisingly well-paying.
The people we’ve been talking to about their planet-preserving employment are beyond enthused. Whether they’re in recycling, home building, organic baking, new energy or water conservation, so many green-collar workers in these new (and some old) jobs see a bright future. Just read their stories, which begin today on GreenRightNow in our Business section.
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Energy Conservation, Green jobs, Home/Commercial Building, new energy, Organics, Recycle & Reuse, Water Conservation
Northerners dread opening up those utility bills this time of year. On the flip side, Southerners hate seeing theirs in summer. The local utility company is their arch nemesis. …Or is it?
More and more utility companies are working to help customers save money when it comes to energy — even though it’s counter-intuitive because when customers trim their energy bills, utility companies collect less money.
Setting up a less profit-bound system involves a concept called “decoupling,” in which states step in to help the power companies become agents for change. Typically, the state offers incentives to companies to help customers become more energy efficient. When electricity demand falls, the state might replace profits or extend other financial assistance to the power company, thereby “decoupling” the profits from usage.
Tags: · California Energy Commission, Con-Edison, Department of Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Energy Star appliances, Florida Power Light, FPL, Pacific Gas & Electric, TXU Energy
By John DeFore
The green roof concept — in which some form of plant is grown atop a building — is spreading in multiple directions in the States. Not just the realm of futurists (though we love this idea) or extravagant fashionistas (see some lovely examples here), the field is drawing interest from homeowners and corporations with a range of motivations.
Now a study by the University of Texas at Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has quantified some of the issues motivating folks to put plants on the roof and found that the benefits are substantial, although results can vary widely depending on how the roof is composed and installed.
At the Wildflower Center, a team led by ecologist Dr. Mark Simmons studied roofs made by six different manufacturers with an eye toward helping the fledgling industry make better performing products. “Just having a green roof may not mean anything in terms of preventing water from reaching the street level, for instance,” Simmons has said. “Green roofs have to be done right, and our hope is to help manufacturers understand how to improve their designs.”
Tags: · Energy Conservation, Green Roof, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, runoff, University of Texas
By Bill Sullivan Nancy Riddick leads a visitor to the power meter on the side of her rural home, set on two acres of prairie land in Hunt County, Texas. The mid-April wind is whipping at 30 miles an hour or more, so the timing of this demonstration couldn’t be much better. Nancy points as [...]
Tags: · Energy Conservation, Small Wind Power, Wind Turbines
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift