Green Options

GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks to Stephanie Thornton of the EPA about their WaterSense program. Much like the EnergyStar program, WaterSense seeks to help Americans to save water and protect the environment by creating product efficiency standards that manufacturers must meet in [...]

Greenbox is working on giving us web-based tools to evaluate our energy usage in the home, and to understand that usage in greater context with those around us, too. Users can also use that information to pinpoint savings opportunities and to understand our footprints on the planet.

Greenbox offers this food for thought:

“If 30% of us reduced our electricity usage by 20%, we would save over $8 billion per year

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Metering, tariffs, efficiency, and technology at center of new plan

Environment Minsters in the United Kingdom want households to cut their water consumption 20 percent by 2030. The announcement comes as the UK Environment Agency prepares to release its study on water resource management, which looks at how the industry should coordinate resources in the face of climate change, rising energy prices, and growing demand.

Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, aims to cut use by 30 liters (8 gal.) a day per person by 2030, according to a report in The Times. Benn says the current daily consumption of 150 liters (40 gal.) is unsustainable and needs to be slashed. As a point of comparison, the USGS estimates that average daily water consumption in the U.S. is somewhere between 80-100 gallons per capita.

>>More on water at EcoWorldly

The “Wash Up” is a conceptual design that overlaps water needs. After clothes are washed, the water is held in a reservoir for use in the toilet, reducing water usage. It also is a space-saver in smaller living conditions.

Source: TechEBlog and GadgetLite