Changing the Climate Conversation to Conservation

Changing the Climate Conversation to Conservation

This post makes the argument that changing the conversation about global warming — a conversation that has become politically charged — into a conversation about energy conservation, which will not cause immediate and sometimes hostile reactions that speaking about climate change does, is a more effective strategy to pursue for those concerned about climate change. […]

US Green Roof Sector Grows by 28.5% Survey Shows

US Green Roof Sector Grows by 28.5% Survey Shows

This post reports on a recent survey that indicates that the green roof sector in the US and Canada is enjoying excellent growth in spite of the very difficult economic environment that is prevailing in the building sector in general. The survey reports a growth of 28.5% and provides some background on what types of buildings and what cities are leading the adoption of green roofs.

The MUSH Market: Problems and Opportunities

The MUSH Market: Problems and Opportunities

Has the MUSH market gone cold? This post examines the current and potential market for providing energy management services and building retrofits to municipal (state/local government) facilities, universities, K-12 schools and hospitals. It also looks at some of the ongoing barriers into the MUSH market while highlighting a handful of success stories by sector.

Campus Sustainability Programs: Putting Universities at the Forefront of Green Movement

Campus Sustainability Programs: Putting Universities at the Forefront of Green Movement

There has been an enormous growth in national and state-level voluntary campus sustainability programs in the U.S. in recent years. These programs not only help universities and colleges institutionalize sustainability principles into everyday processes and actions, but also create a common knowledge pool of resources and best practices that enable these institutions to build strong sustainable communities.

The ROI of Going Green: A CEO’s Rationale for Adopting Sustainability

If you think your business is too small or too service-based to benefit from going green, or you’re waiting for the hype about green and sustainability to die down, then you’re missing an opportunity to chart an upward course for your company.

Sierra Magazine Names Top 20 Most Eco-Enlightened Cool Schools

Last week, Sierra Magazine named the nation’s top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop global warming and operate sustainably.     The magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that they believe are making a true impact for the planet, and marks Sierra’s third annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The […]

The Greenest Cities in America

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently announced their list of the greenest cities in the United States and have released their findings on a new web site, called Smarter Cities. The survey includes all cities in the United States with populations larger than 50,000. Smarter Cities is considered to be one of the nation’s most comprehensive and robust database of U.S. urban progress toward sustainability. Seattle ranked number one and San Francisco ranked number 2 among the 67 large cities that were evaluated. Madison, Wisconsin placed firstand Santa Rosa, California came in second among the 176 medium cities that were surveyed. Among the 402 cities that were evaluated, Bellingham, Washington came in first place and Mountain View, California came in second.

Princeton Review Rolls Out List of The Greenest Colleges

The Princeton Review, today released its second annual Green Ratings of colleges. In this measure of how environmentally friendly the institutions are on a scale of 60 to 99, the company tallied its Green Ratings for 697 institutions based on data it collected from the colleges in 2008-09 concerning their environmentally related policies, practices, and academic offerings. The Princeton Review also named 15 colleges to its “2010 Green Rating Honor Roll” – a list that salutes the institutions that received the highest possible score – 99 – in this year’s rating tallies.

Whirlpool Plans Smart Appliances by 2015

In a sign that the Smart Grid is beginning to gain critical traction and momentum in the wider economy Whirlpool, the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances has announced that it plans to have all of its electronically controlled appliances be Smart Grid compatible by 2015.