Author: Fraser Birt

Spare a few computing cycles?

- Fraser Birt

ThingsAreGood is proud to announce a new team on the World Community Grid!

The world community grid helps you make use of your computer’s unused processing time. Let your computer crunch numbers for social good when you’re not surfing the web, playing games, or hard at work.

From the www.worldcommunitygrid.com website:

World Community Grid’s mission is to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity. Our work is built on the belief that technological innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can change our world for the better. Our success depends on individuals – like you – collectively contributing their unused computer time to this not-for-profit endeavor.

To join the ThingsAreGood team, simply create an account at www.worldcommunitygrid.com.

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California to cut greenhouse emissions

- Fraser Birt

The Governator may not be all bad. California is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration and state Democrats believes that the cuts are necessary if California is to be taken seriously as an environmental leader.

Good Clean Public Shame

- Fraser Birt

When is public shaming a good thing?

When Greenpeace UK launches ad spots like this.

A little bit of public shame can be a relatively benevolent way to bring about social change.

Toronto Offers Incentive to Save Power

- Fraser Birt

Summers in Toronto can be kind of, well, hot. With lights, machinery, and air conditioning at their yearly peak, the strain on the city’s power-system can be enormous.

To reduce the summer strain on the city’s electrical system, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. is offering consumers a financial incentive to conserve power.

If Toronto power consumers can reduce their summer power consumption by 10% from the previous summer’s bill, Toronto Hydro-Electric will knock 10% off of autumn’s electricity bill. Using fans instead of air conditioning, even for part of the day, can put a 10% reduction well within reach of most consumers. A financial incentive to conserve is hard to ignore.

Green Roofs in Toronto

- Fraser Birt

In a step towards building sustainable urban infrastructure, Toronto is set to become a North American leader in the development of Green Roofs. Green Roofs help to insulate buildings from the elements, provide a natural animal habitat in the middle of urban development and help reduce a city’s environmental footprint. The City of Toronto has approved “Making Green Roofs Happen,” an initiative to put pockets of nature on top of existing public buildings. Just in case lower heating bills and cleaner air aren’t enough of an incentive, the plan also recommends financial incentives for private Green Roofs.

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