Looking past the exciting technical, legislative and community advancements made to address climate change over the last few years, lies the reality of whether we as a society will make the necessary changes in energy use, lifestyle choices and investment decisions in time to avoid the most catastrophic global warming scenarios.

In last weekend’s New York Times, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman examined the question that could fatally delay the steps necessary to reduce the impact of climate change. It’s the question that many of the people running our government and global corporations are now pondering, “Is it good for business?”

Even when people accept the reality of climate change, there is some legitimate debate on how fast and how hard the truly negative effects of global warming… [view entry]

From last week’s Wall Street Journal comes news that despite the best of intentions from the local government and residents of Boulder, CO significant energy savings are yet to be realized.

Beyond the usual justifications on the whys and why-nots of any local initiative, the really interesting thing is that energy audits have not been terrifically successful in getting people to move forward on retrofits, despite understanding exactly where savings can be realized.

The obstacles include people being reluctant to change their habits and not practicing what they preach, nor following through on small changes in energy efficiency and behaviors.

The answer? ”Two Techs in a Truck”

As many as 15 energy-efficiency teams go door-to-door throughout Boulder, CO. They’ll ask home and business owners for permission to caulk windows,… [view entry]

Yesterday’s New York Times carried an article about appliance maker Whirlpool, who was the recipient of a $20 million grant from the Federal Government to fund product development in the rapidly developing field of smart appliances.

These devices, once connected to a Smart Grid-enabled electricity supply, will be able to receive information from the grid and cycle down their power demands during times of peak energy use (and higher costs per kWh). At the moment, they are anticipating savings of $40 per year for a standard size dryer.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Next in the Smart Grid appliance pipeline, General Electric Co. will soon roll out its first commercial smart appliance, a hybrid electric heat pump water heater. The company said the pump will save consumers $250 a… [view entry]

For the last six months, IBM has been running  a Smart Grid test in the town of Fayettevile, North Carolina. First results show the average Smart Grid home reduces their energy usage by a surprising 15%.

The reasons offered start with the companies involved (IBM & Consent) who claim; “If it can be measured, it can be managed.” This concept has been around for a number of years, but it needs further detail to understand exactly why they called it the Smart Grid and why it could be the Holy Grail of energy efficiency.

Each house on the Smart Grid gives owners the ability to set daily use profiles, check real-time energy consumption, create monthly bill targets and cycle off appliances during peak load times–all through a standard Internet connection.… [view entry]

If any of our readers have the opportunity to build on a vacant lot, we recommend they visit this page at the Jetson Green website.

This week, they are featuring a story on David Schmit, a Minneapolis photographer who decided he wanted a home in the suburbs with the design features of his downtown rental loft. After some investigation Schmit found a company called Hive Modular that supplies prefab homes. Actually prefab home parts which are then shipped, assembled and fitted out on site.

If you’re thinking trailer home, make sure you scroll down to view some of the interior shots of Schmit’s home after it was finished and furnished.

If you want to read the whole story behind the approval, construction and siting of the house, visit… [view entry]

It seems the recession has started to negatively affect bottled water sales.

Read Derrick Jackson’s op-ed piece from today’s Boston Globe and you’ll agree that it’s about time.

Mortgage Broker and Climate Change Guru?

Following on from an article published on Energy 2.0 a couple of weeks ago on mandatory Energy Audits in Austin, TX, we have noticed a growing movement amongst the real estate industry targeting the ‘Cap and Trade’ bill and any local ordinances that might obligate homeowners into performing an energy audit on their home or making energy improvements in their home before they sell.

Here’s one from Brian Brady ‘America’s No. 1 mortgage broker’:  “Sadly, the theory of carbon dioxide emissions’ effect on climate change is accepted as fact by our politicians without rigorous examination of its merits. It’s easy to turn a blind eye on faulty legislation when it attacks “big business”.  Cap and Trade, however, is much… [view entry]

Last week, Energy 2.0 received a phone call from Dr. Jesse Reich, CEO of Baystate BioFuels, whose company was recently profiled on NECN and on the pages of Energy 2.0. He provided us with some numbers on the use of BioFuels in the home that will be of interest to anyone who heats their home with oil and wants to reduce their use of non-renewable resources and the amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere.

The average home uses approximately 730 gallons of heating oil each year-and each gallon of Number 2 home heating oil releases 22 lbs of CO₂ into the atmosphere. Pure Biodiesel reduces the CO₂ generated by approximately 85%. As mentioned previously, Massachusetts law now mandates each load of home heating oil contains 2% of biodiesel, which… [view entry]

Austin, Texas–which we have always considered to be a little slice of Massachusetts right in the middle of the Lone Star state–has become the first town to pass and ratify a law that makes an energy audit mandatory when you sell a home within the city limits.

Almost 400 audits have been performed under the new ordinance which was passed in November 2008 and went into effect June 1 this year. After a furious lobbying effort by the Austin Board of Realtors, homeowners are not required to make all improvements, but the results will likely be used as a bargaining chip in most purchases.

One homeowner found that over 80% of his air-conditioning was leaking through his uninsulated attic and decided to make the repair to improve the prospects… [view entry]

It’s a little known fact that this winter will be the first in which Massachusetts requires home heating oil to include at least 2% biofuels, rising 1 percentage point each year until it reaches 5% in 2012. In 2009, that creates a 24 million gallon demand, and Baystate Biofuels is here to fill it.

The company has taken over the disused tanks at an old Western Telecom building in North Andover and it plans to utilize solar power Osgood Landing had previously installed on the site, and Baystate Biofuels will tap into excess steam from a nearby waste-to-energy incinerator to heat the tanks to lower the viscosity of the pure biodiesel.

Energy 2.0 is checking on whether Baystate will be delivering to Cambridge this winter. In the meantime, check out… [view entry]