Open Forum
Government Plays VC in CleanTech
For Open Forum at Inhabitat: “If we can get three home runs, that’s terrific,” announced Steven Chu, the DOE Secretary at a press conference on Monday, October 26 at Google’s campus in Mountain View, CA. Chu was at Google to deliver 37 energy technology projects funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program (ARPA-E), the DOE’s first effort at funding $151 million in experimental energy technology grants, focused on high-risk, high-payoff Read More
Compost or Pay: The Journey to Zero Waste
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: San Francisco has joined the movement to zero waste, and is now leading the charge by implementing a mandatory composting law. Within six weeks, San Francisco residents and business must compost their food and organic waste scraps, or they will risk being fined up to $1,000. Rather than protest, San Francisco residents are reported to be eagerly awaiting their new curbside composting bins. Over 72 percent of Read More
Google Wants You to Know Your Own Power
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: If you could know the energy usage of all of the appliances and gadgets in your home, right now, on your handheld device, would you look? Would you care? Google’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, believes that you would care, and that you would change your behavior to lower your household environmental impact. Google.org developed a free, Web-based tool that visually shows your personal home power consumption, the Power Read More
When Hard Metrics Inhibit Success
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: OK, so I caught your attention for a moment. In an economic cycle like the one we’re currently experiencing, it’s impossible to make any move or decision that is not tied to hard, cold, clear metrics. Increase sales by X%. Attract Y new customers. But there are times when overemphasizing numeric goals can get in the way of success. Case in point: an enormous pro bono Read More
Entrepreneurs: The Movement
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: Who will save the economy? It is all up to you. The entrepreneur. The Kauffman Foundation recognizes that entrepreneurs are the backbone of this economy, but rarely represent their opinions and ideas in a unified voice. To provide a platform for the entrepreneur’s voice, Build a Stronger America was launched last week. The website, Twitter feed, andFacebook fan page all encourage entrepreneurs to submit their ideas to solve Read More
What’s in a Rubber Duck? Stuff Under Scrutiny
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: The Ecology Center recently launched a provocative website, Healthy Stuff, which lists the environmental toxins contained in over 900 products, anything from cars to children’s toys to women’s handbags. Rather than rely on product ingredient lists or company social responsibility reports, the data comes directly from a machine called an XRF Analyzer, which uses X-ray fluorescence to detect the presence of toxins such as lead, cadmium, mercury, bromine, Read More
Paying for the Experience of Making: The Bamboo Bike Studio
At Open Forum for Inhabitat: It’s not enough to just buy green. The greenest consumers want to do more than just vote with their wallet. They may just want to roll up their sleeves and help you teach them how to make the very thing that you’re selling. Take the example of the Bamboo Bike Studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Studio, opened in June of this year, offers a two day, Read More