I’m a sucker for well designed products and for energy efficiency technologies. Combine the two, and you’ve definitely got my attention. Yesterday, former Apple employee and iPod designer Tony Fadell revealed what his start-up has been working on for the last couple of years. It is, of all things, a home thermostat. Called the Nest, […]
More and more, I’m beginning to think that our success as a nation – and as a species on this planet – depends on us looking back to our ancestors for wisdom and insight for survival. And, I think that will lead us to one overarching theme: Decentralization. As the human race became more modern […]
This may put me in a very small minority of Americans, but I think that opening up off-shore oil drilling (including ANWR) is one of the dumbest mistakes we could make as a country. Why? Opening up currently restricted off-shore areas wouldn’t have an effect until about 2017. If we started drilling in ANWR today, […]
I heard about a very promising new(ish) product called the Climate Energy Freewatt system a couple of weeks ago while listening to an episode of IEEE Spectrum Radio on the IT Conversations podcast channel. The Freewatt is a high efficiency heating furnace combined with a Honda power generator and a solid-state inverter, that uses your […]
For awhile now, I’ve been wondering when we’d see our first commercial diesel hybrid vehicle. The combination just makes perfect sense. Modern diesel engines are extremely efficient and clean burning, getting very good mileage on their own. Put one in the center of a hybrid system, and we’re talking miles per gallon currently unheard of […]
I’ve been slowly making my way through a backlog of podcasts since getting my new iPod for Christmas, and recently listened to a fascinating series of lectures on energy efficiency by world renowned expert, Amory Lovins. These lectures are being made available for free from the Social Innovation Conversations channel of the Conversation Network. In […]
Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to have an Xcel Energy employee come out to our house and perform a home energy audit. This program, subsidized by the company, gives you a very clear picture of types of things that could be improved to use less energy and ultimately save you money. Because our home […]