May 14th, 2010

Blu Homes, Inc. today announced it has raised $7 million from private investors. The company said the funds will be used primarily to support new product development, R&D and sales and marketing. Blu homes employ green features designed to create a healthy living environment with a reduced carbon footprint. The company uses low or no-VOC paints and finishes, recycled and recyclable materials, low-flow fixtures, energy star appliances, high efficiency heating systems and architectural characteristics that maximize passive heating and cooling.

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April 20th, 2010

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

The world’s water supply needs protection on all sides. Industrial pollution and human waste contaminate water supplies across the globe, while chemical- and pharmaceutical-laden runoff compromised the water re-supplying our streams and aquifers.

Deforestation and development have drained wetlands, half of which disappeared in the last century.

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April 19th, 2010

Sitting in a heap atop the list of climate offenders is coal. Coal-burning power plants are the single biggest source of carbon emissions worldwide and their smokestacks spew sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, as well, contributing to the stew of greenhouse gases that are heating the Earth’s atmosphere.

Despite the growth of renewable energy sources, coal remains the single largest provider of energy for America, at 45 percent. And its toxic footprint doesn’t end with air pollution. The industry’s waste, leftover ash, is laced with metal oxides.

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February 9th, 2009

By Harriet Blake

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.

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