Green Options

You did your homework and bought an energy-efficient refrigerator.

It has the Energy Star rating, so you’re thinking that you might save some money on the electric bill and help to green your house by purchasing it.

You might be wrong.

In the October issue of Consumer Reports, “Save Energy, Save Money“, an article entitled “Energy Star has lost some luster” has stirred up some controversy. Consumer Reports rated one refrigerator as using 60% more electricity than the Energy Star label stated, and one, the LG LMX25981ST French-door fridge, as using more than double the energy on the label.

It turns out that according to the Department of Energy (DOE) procedures for testing, the refrigerator’s ice machine should be turned off during the test. Turning off the ice maker on some models, like the one tested, also turns off the cooling to the ice-making compartment.

Who buys a refrigerator with an ice-maker and then shuts it off?

The highly anticipated Eee Box from Asus launched last month, giving gadget geeks one more eco-alternative for their computing needs, whether for business or pleasure. Slimmer than a paperback novel, the Eee box mounts onto the back of any VESA LCD display to save space.

Not only is this nifty little set up space saving, but according to the company, it’s time saving as well. They claim that it takes only 7 seconds from booting up to getting online.

Not only is the new Kimpton hotel in Los Angeles exceptionally stylish, but it’s also very eco-chic from the in-room recycling to the locally and organic sourced ingredients at the restaurant.

Immediately upon arriving, I was greeted by lovely hotel staff serving complimentary local organic wines at the Kimpton’s standard happy hour in the very comfortable lobby.

Kimpton hotels recently received the California Environmental Protection Agency’s highest ecological honor, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, which is given to businesses that focus on preserving the state’s resources.

The APC Essential SurgeArrest promises guaranteed protection from power surges and electrical spikes. Their new Master-Controlled outlets are designed to help conserve energy and save money from “ghost drain” when your computer system is plugged in but not in use.

I decided to check it out and see if I could really save or see a difference since I usually forget to turn off my power cord and conserve energy that [...]

Once again boosting their reputation as a country intent on helping the environment, Spain has announced that they intend to put 1 million electric cars on their roads by 2014. This will be part of the Zapatero government’s plan to reduce their use of energy and increase the countries overall energy efficiency.

Spain’s minister of industry, business and tourism Miguel Sebastian said Tuesday that the plan should gain approval from Spain’s Council of Ministers on Friday, and should then be carried out this year and on through to 2011.

In what is just another example in a long stream of such, the US Army is beginning to realize that it is not only good for publicity, but essentially cheaper, to turn their operations green… er. Going green was never solely about making some cheap points on the PR board; it has, from the start, been a cheaper option across the board.

The Army had begun pushing for environmental sustainability in all of their bases, starting with Fort Bragg in North Carolina. And they’re thinking it through as well; not only are they thinking about the current footprint (I’m not going to say it), they’re thinking about the future as well. Since 2001, each village set up within Fort Bragg for training purposes has been made up of shipping containers, reducing the cost from $400,000 to $25,000, and keeping the shipping containers out of the solid waste stream.

But the goal is not solely to save money, but also lives as well.

Following on from Monday’s article from Low Impact Living, “Who’s the Greenest? Obama vs. McCain”, I’ve decided to take a bit more of an in depth look at their policies. But all of this has a little bit of a twist, because unlike most political pundits around here, I’m from Australia, and can’t vote! Sadly, because, not surprisingly, I’d vote Obama all the way peoples!

The American political season is now in full swing, and with Barack Obama finally securing the nomination for Democratic Presidential nominee, the games can really begin to heat up. One of the big topics – alongside or just underneath the economy – will be the environment, and how to best preserve it (or resurrect it after George W. Bush is finished with it).

And, not surprisingly, a lot of the end results being pitched by Senator Obama and Senator John McSame McCain are looking mighty similar. However how they want to get there are bipolar at best.

Lately, I’ve been hearing about a lot of investment going into green companies and technology, which has me wondering: Is “green” the new tech boom? GE is “doubling down” on clean tech investments. According to Cleantech Network, last year’s 4th quarter saw $600 million in venture capital investments. So, if the opportunities are ripe for budding entrepreneurs and you have a great idea, how do you get started? The 2nd annual

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Today, the huge homebuilder Lennar Corporation announced a deal with Sacramento Municipality Utility District (SMUD) to build the largest solar homes development in the United States. According to the deal, Lennar will build 1,254 energy-efficient homes with solar power systems as a standard feature in 11 communities in the Sacramento area. Under SMUD's part of the deal, it will provide a maximum of $10.9 million in incentives and Lennar will receive the

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SolarCity is going from one city to another, helping California residents make the investment in solar power. They've developed a program called the "Collective Power Program," which leverages economies of scale to provide lower prices for solar panels.

Recently, here on GO, we talked about green building in fairly general terms, but more specifically, what are some green building strategies?