The White House announced that it is seeking LEED status, providing both a boost to the sexiness of energy efficiency and a reality check (you think your house has historical significance you shouldn't mess with? It's all do-able).
The US Green Building Council announced that it is seeking to have an accessible, meaningful label for all buildings, similar to the nutritional status bar on foods. We bemoaned the limited usefulness of smart meters for consumers, yet again; and urged our readers to brace for the start of winter by whipping those heating appliances in the basement into shape.
The Department of Energy announced a new $450 million "Retrofit Ramp-Up" program designed to implement energy efficiency measures in thousands of homes and businesses nationwide. Experts estimate that the program will lead to savings of $100 million annually once implemented.
And California became the first state in the nation to pass energy efficiency regulations for televisions - one of the largest consumers of energy in the American household.
But the biggest news of all last week was that our founder and CEO Peter Troast was featured prominently in the New York Times on Sunday. That's right. New York Times. Sunday. Front Page. Above the fold.
Okay, we're proud. There. We said it. The story talked at length about our collective dependence upon household electronics, gadgets that have multiplied in our houses from a scant 3 in 1980 to 25 (twenty five) gadgets per house today. Energy Circle's energy monitoring project was featured in the story, which is part of the paper's By Degrees series. The Troast household (including Theo, who was mentioned by breed but not name) was singled out for its ability to reduce household usage through monitoring, a model that other households are advised to follow, given the likelihood that stringent efficiency regulations for gadgets may be a long time coming.
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