Getting into the green groove, whether that means finding out what to do, or bragging about what you are already doing, is getting easier. Here's a roundup of just some of the latest ways the digital age -- and our increasing ability, and desire, to connect -- is offering innovative tools for learning about and changing the way we live.
Suite tweeting
Taking the idea of home-energy monitoring to a new, and more public level, several homes are now offering live-feed updates of their electricity usage. The EnergyCircle house, located in Maine, tweets regular updates of its energy activities at twitter.com/EnergyCircleKW. According to its accompanying website and blog -- www.energycircle.com -- the results have been rather telling.
Since starting the feed, the house has reduced its energy use by roughly 16 per cent. While "Oven preheating -- Popovers -- yea! (7.2kWh today/1.69kW now)" may not be titillating enough to some, the EnergyCircle house has a host of followers (187 to date) interested in learning about and commenting on, its energy ups and downs.
The house is not alone; under a thatched roof on the Isle of Wight in the U.K., a 16th-century cottage owned by IBM "master inventor" Andy Stanford-Clark has been quietly and automatically Twittering, not only its energy use, but also the goings-on of windows, doors and mouse traps. Garnering attention across the world, a recent BBC video of Stanford-Clark's Twitter-connected home demonstrates how nearly every nook and cranny has been rigged with monitoring devices. Is the fountain on? Did I turn off the lights? Pulling out his iPhone and accessing his Twitter stream, Stanford-Clark -- and anyone with permission to follow his feed at twitter.com/andy--house -- can quickly answer that question.
As weird as it may sound to an uninitiated tweeter, in principle, the Twitter stream is simply an exercise in using data from home-automation feeds to make energy usage more transparent and easy to digest. Whether it is the 500 calories in the Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha (no whip) from Starbucks we just slurped down, or the number of kilowatts our newest gadget uses, if we know how much (and in what ways) we are using energy (or any other resource), we can feel more motivated and understand how to reduce our consumption. What about toilet tweets for reducing water usage?
Wood you like to know
Adding to the growing array of applications available to iPhone devotees, U.S.-based Double Dog Studios has come out with I.D. Wood, an e-pocket guide to woods from around the world. Catering to everyone from professional woodworkers and antique dealers to homeowners and DIY enthusiasts, the program comes complete with full-screen samples and detailed information on over 50 different woods, and works with or without an Internet connection.
From basic fir to East African exotics, I.D. Wood offers a virtual guidebook for those out-and-about moments when you're stumped, but really need to know if cherry is the best choice for that fiddle you've been dreaming of making. Of particular interest to the wood-challenged and average homeowner is the application's information on each species' origins, common uses, durability and sustainability. Other handy features include a general wood glossary, lumber information, and conversions (i.e. secret decoder) for dimensional lumber. According to the company's website -- doubledogstudios.com -- users can expect the number of species covered to grow with future updates.
Carbon cutting accounting
Many small businesses would love to reduce their carbon footprint, but often tight bottom lines (particularly of late) and a lack of time leaves them without the resources to hire the consultants or to find the information needed to reduce their greenhouse gas contributions. Enter the maker of QuickBooks, a popular accounting tool for small businesses, which is now offering a simple, actionable solution with its new Green Snapshot program. A free, web-based application, Green Snapshot analyzes the data a company enters into QuickBooks -- everything from equipment purchased to the advertising used -- and suggests different ways to reduce costs and carbon.
Users can see how their emissions are distributed across a variety of categories. They can then get descriptions on specific things they can do, and learn about the potential environmental and cost-savings benefits of taking said actions for one year, and find links to key resources. greensnapshot.homestead.com.
Personality platinum
Your house is tweeting, you know what wood to buy, and your ledger is helping you lighten your carbon load. Now if only you got a certificate of accomplishment for all your efforts. Houses can sport LEED and BuiltGreen Ratings, appliances announce their Energy Star status, and now (in the U.S., at least) there is PineMark certification for individuals.
Created to educate and reward people for adopting more environmentally sustainable practices, PineMark measures an individual's ecological footprint against others in the U.S. and offers exclusive discounts with different green companies to those that are certified. The company also provides tips for greening one's lifestyle and a forum where members can share tips with each other in order to encourage bigger savings and bigger rewards.
While anyone can join PineMark for free, there is a fee for those wanting to be certified and rewarded with premium discounts. People apply for their certification by filling out a form about their daily activities in four different categories: energy, transportation, water and lifestyle. Depending on their responses, individuals receive a score from one (a lot of work to do) to 100 (top-notch efforts). All certified members, regardless of their score, are then rewarded with discounts on everything from organic food to sustainable clothing.
Certified participants also get to sport the PineMark seal on their cars (which, hopefully, they use modestly), Facebook profiles, business cards, briefcases or backpacks.
While not everyone may feel the need to tout their eco-ness, most people do appreciate being rewarded for their efforts. Pinemark-B.C., anyone? www.pinemark.com
-- Canwest News Service
