The big news of the week came from Google, which announced that it has made strides in the development of Power Meter and developed partnerships both with utilities and device makers. As strong proponents of putting tools to measure and control energy use in the hands of consumers, we were thrilled by this development. We eagerly await details, and in the interim will have to settle for the few interesting tidbits available. One thing is clear. Google is taking Power Meter global from the start. For one, Google is clearly going global. Two of the first eight partners announced are international - Toronto Hydro-Electric (Canada) and Reliance Energy (India), and they are two of the three largest customers bases to be impacted by Power Meter. We were a little chagrined to learn that Toronto Hydro customer service knew nothing of the partnership, or even Power Meter, but presumably that will come. (Energy Collective, see comments).
News continues to trickle in from all over the country about how Stimulus money dedicated to weatherization and energy efficiency will be spent. Hope continues to bubble up for energy-efficiency related job growth and prospects for renewed stability from a bright forward-looking spot in the economy. That said, the stimulus package has several municipalities scrambling for ways to maintain accountability and public trust, a problem Oakland, California is addressing with online transparency (an approach we endorse). Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is avoiding the issue altogether, by continuing to refuse energy-efficiency related stimulus money. A proposed stimulus package in New Zealand modeled after ours and focusing on weatherizing homes has augmented support for Greens, and earned a fitting moniker, from a skeptic: "Affirmative Pragmatism."
There was plenty of news on the creative front last week. As Greener By Design 2009: "Designing for Energy Efficiency" wrapped up, comments from the final panel caught our attention. Microsoft's Environmental Technology Strategy Director, Mark Aggarat declared that Microsoft has an obligation to build efficiency into its products. Ted Howes of IDEO made clear why integrating efficiency into quality high performance products (rather than attempting to sell products based upon their efficiency) is so important:
In the real world, people don't want energy efficiency; they don't think about ROI [return on investment]," said Ted Howes, the global business lead for sustainability at design firm IDEO. "People say, 'that doesn't motivate me.' You have to build on what people care about and piggyback on top of that some energy efficiency." He added that finding that other hook -- whether it's community, aesthetics, family or something else -- is what is going to motivate people to embrace energy efficiency.
This comment, while not new to us, nevertheless set us off wondering what really does motivate us to become more efficient, which got us thinking about gardens. And speaking of gardens, here's something you might not have known you needed in yours: a Powerloo. For those who want just the right place to put dog doo scooped on a walk, Greendog LLC has invented a flushable outdoor toilet just for dog poop. We're laughing, but some inventiveness is due. San Francisco is on the cusp of banning plastic bags -an urban dog-walking staple that Toronto grocers started to charge for months ago - (And which plastic bag makers are not taking well). No doubt an efficient and environmentally sound alternative is due. Here's the thing. Sometimes the bathroom gets busy, and someone... you know it's going to happen... is going to head outside.
What if it's my mother?
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