Monthly Archives: May 2007

Clinton Cities are Green

Former US president, Bill Clinton, has managed to get 5 billion dollars to green some of the world’s largest cities. The money comes in the form of loans and will double the world market for energy saving retrofits within 18 months.

Toronto is one of 16 cities which will be part of the project.

The project, organized by the Clinton Foundation, will involve replacing heating, cooling and lighting systems with energy efficient technology.

It will also involve turning roofs white or reflective to deflect heat from the sun, sealing windows to prevent heat from escaping, replacing windows to allow for more light and setting up sensors that will make lighting and air conditioning more efficient.

Thanks, Arvin!

Playgreen: a Wiki for Being Green

Wikis are dandy things that have been used to make entire encyclopdeias. Well now you can join a group of people that are trying to create a great online resource of how to be green, it’s called Playgreen.

You can learn how to become more environmentally friendly and you can help others learn what you know by writing your own entries or contributing to others.

Their bottom line:

‘We’ are smarter than ‘me’. The central premise of this assumption is that large groups of people (‘We’) can, and should, make a fantastic resource site to foster responsible consumption habits in our daily life, economy, industries.

Save Money, Save the World

MSNBC has a quick and simple list on things that you can do to help you save money and the planet. They have a list of 10 carbon-reducing actions that you can take if you own a house and a car. Those who have neither may not find this list that useful, but there is a bonus tip #11!

From the list:

10. Think about your refrigerator. Don’t locate this particular appliance in direct sunlight or next to the stove or dishwasher. Also, unplug that extra fridge, especially if it’s just keeping a six-pack cold.

Spin-Powered Office Towers

EcoGeek has the lowdown on a high-rise design that supposedly can power itself and up to ten other office buildings. The tower is designed to have spinning floors and will act like a giant windmill, don’t worry all the essentials like elevators are in a central non-rotating concrete core. A neat idea, but one that I do question.

The video shows the spinning in action:

Yahoo Greener than Google?

Internet users often use search engines, but have you ever wondered which of the two giant search engines is the greenest? Well, there is no clear answer but TechCrunch gives us a basic breakdown on greening the search engines:

Google:
They are also installing 1.6 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels at their headquarters in Mountain View. The panels will cover the roofs of the buildings, and Google says it is “the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the U.S.”

Yahoo:
Earlier this year, co-founder David Filo pledged that Yahoo would go carbon neutral, basically by purchasing carbon offsets for their massive electricity usage.