Sustainability

I want an Energy Orb to tell me when I should be conserving energy. What a great little device, simple and informative.

From a colleague of mine at the CUNY Sustainable Building Initiative (Susan Robinson), some research on how to Green Power your apartment when you are renting in New York City:

Ok, I finally got around to investigating green power options for my apartment and thought I'd share my research. Fortunately, you can easily switch over and pay little to nothing more for greener energy sources. Here's the deal--

Global Insight has an interesting perspective on energy use and efficiency in production and industry (particularly energy production). Interestingly:

It is important to note, though, that in generating $691 billion worth of energy output, the [United States] energy sector itself used $495 billion worth of energy inputs, resulting in a value-added contribution of only $196 billion (28.4% of total). Thus, energy use as an intermediate input is nearly eight times as large as its use in final consumption.

The US Department Of Transportation finally announced fuel economy standards for light trucks and SUVs. Of course, they certainly didn't try to outdo themselves and set the bar pretty low, but at least there is finally a bar.

NY1 reports that the first hybrid cabs are out on the streets of New York City. Let's hope that we see a lot more of them - and that they prove themselves as worthy for the job.

Oil and gasoline are going to be with us a little bit longer, so here is a bit of visual data on why this country, and the world really, needs more fuel efficient vehicles.

Apartment Therapy and its readers take on eco-friendly cleaning products.

The president mentioned conservation twice in his press conference the other night. It was even the first item in his list of four priorities for reducing dependence on foreign oil sources. Now, will he translate those words into policies?