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Topic Page: Efficiency
Can you really “do more with less?” Sure thing. PF Members tell you how here. Have an idea in Efficiency? Tell us
Related Categories : | Business | Clean Tech | Electric Cars | Engineering | Science |
Webisodes
Monitor Power Usage With Smart Meters
Did you know that the cost of using electricity changes throughout the day? A business in New York shows us how smart meters can help us save money and energy.
Beer as a Model for Sustainable Business
THIS WEEK: Holy cow! This week Planet Forward got up close and personal with some Virginia livestock. DC Brau, the first local brewery in D.C. feeds their organic waste to livestock in the Virginia area. Take a look!
How does YouTube Consumption Affect the Environment?
THIS WEEK: Have you ever wondered ‘What’s something I do everyday that impacts the environment and I don’t even know it?’ #Thinkfwd student Charles Pulliam-Moore sheds light on an idea you might never have thought of: how green is YouTube?
Solar Decathlon – Tennessee’s on Top
Viewers voted and TENNESSEE is on top in the race for the Solar Decathlon! Check out the Tennessee team’s use of solar energy, insulated windows and a remote control iPad. Ask expert Bill Worthen what HIS thoughts are on the Tennessee team’s Living Light House.
WATCH!
Energy Pimp Your SUV – Make it More Cost-Effective than a Prius
In this week’s webisode, we take a look at a video submitted to us by Sewanee’s Eco-Auto Club. The students set out to take a 1998 Ford Explorer with 231,000 miles and transform it into a more energy efficient “Eco Explorer” vehicle. Would you do this to YOUR car? WATCH!
Energy Secretary Bill Nye?
Planet Forward met up with Bill Nye at the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards last week. See the first item on his #EnergyToDo list. Tell us yours on twitter. (@Planet_Forward)
Energy Freedom Fries: Is this Cooking Oil Powered Speed Car the Missing Ingredient in the Energy Mix?
Planet Forward member Dan Gray shares an innovation that goes from the fryer to the racetrack. Do you think this idea can be supersized? Watch>>
Top Online Vote Getters – Who Did YOU Choose?
Your viability ratings helped up select 22 nominees, then your votes determined the top three online vote getters. These three pieces made the cut and will be on our April PBS prime time special. Check them out…
Can Bacteria be our Energy Solution?
Students at Arizona State University are researching how to harness the power of the sun to create energy. Their solution goes back to the basics. Do you think it will shape our energy future?
The Phantom of the Outlet
Students at the University of Nebraska are developing technology to combat vampire energy and we want to know if you think it’s a good idea. What are your thoughts on these smart houses?
Rolling out the Red Carpet: First Up, Solar Leasing
Planet Forward is gearing up for the April 2011 PBS special. Take a look at one nominee and find out how you can weigh in on the idea and have your comment appear on national television
New Technology Updates Public Transportation
Erin Parsons and Lexi Combs, Planet Forward members and students at Ole Miss, share an innovation that is making bussing around Mississippi the hot new trend
TV Segments
Demand Response: Enernoc Applies Social Media Tech to the Power Grid
Social networks have the power to link cultures across continents. See how energy demand response companies, such as Enernoc, wired their networks to fend off this summer’s heat waves, which scorched communities from New York to Texas.
Home Energy Saving Device
Can researchers find an easy button that will get Americans to save energy? Some experts say we waste 40% of our energy in our homes. Could this be the gigantic energy reserve, hidden right under our doorsteps, that we need?
Planet Forward on Nightly Business Report: Innovation at one of New York’s Iconic Structures
How many windows are in the Empire State Building? Watch our Nightly Business Report segment to find out and learn about the building’s innovation retrofit.
Leasing the Sun: An Innovative Business Model from Sungevity
Last month we test drove Nissan’s Leaf…this month, we show you one way you may be able to afford solar panels with zero upfront costs. Check out our piece on PBS’s Nightly Business Report and let us know what you think of Planet Forward member Danny Kennedy’s business model.
Behind the Scenes: Planet Forward’s New NBR Segment
This Thursday, Planet Forward member Danny Kennedy, will show you his idea on PBS’s Nightly Business Report. Check out this behind the scenes reel from our NBR shoots and don’t forget to set your DVRs to record Nightly Business Report this Thursday.
Articles From the Blog Related to Efficiency
Aloha Alternative Energy
In the past week I was lucky enough to be asked to travel to Hawaii with a good friend of mine over spring break. It was my first trip to Hawaii and I was unsure of what was to come—I knew there would be beaches, surf and sun but what surprised me most when I …Read More…
One Small Button for Man, One Giant Leap for Data Access
15 million Americans to start getting easy access to their energy data. What does this mean for green building? USGBC explains.
Help this New England Church Become More Efficient
Recently, a Planet Forward member emailed me to ask how her church should become more energy efficient, especially considering their tight budget. I’m opening up the question to you, our community of experts.
Energy Management is a Global Issue
By Sayre Evan Swarztrauber There are many lessons that we have and haven’t learned from the economic calamities wrought by the 2008 collapse of the housing market. But one truth about the 21st century was made clear: we, as people of the world, are interconnected. Economies depend on one another more than ever as nations …Read More…
On Houses and Homes: Top 5 Stories Behind Solar Decathlon Entries
We build houses, but it’s the living in a house that makes it a home. Every home — even your home — has a history that represents who lived there and how they lived. The same goes for the houses in Solar Decathlon. While they’re lauded for their innovation, they also use their region’s rich …Read More…
A Window Into Efficiency
Every year, I spend countless hours putting those plastic sheets over my windows for insulation. The bigger the window, the bigger the pane in the glass, the more time I spend and the more energy I lose to the winter. We often neglect insulation when it comes to energy expenditures because it only lowers heating …Read More…
What’s Next in Green Building?
Do you have an idea for the next big innovation in green building? If you submit a video that tells your story in one minute or less, you could find it on display at the world’s largest green building expo. In 1891, Clarence Kemp, a Baltimore-based entrepreneur that sold home heating equipment, came up with …Read More…
Race for the Green Flag: 5 Auto Innovations to Sustain Our Planet
5. Is Nissan’s Leaf Too Sexy for Your Pocketbook? Tradition is sacred in the sport of auto racing. In the field of innovation, it’s a practical joke. Wireless refueling, EPA approval, and no tailpipe. These features separated the Nissan Leaf from its predecessors in the electric car business, and prompted 16,000 reservations of the vehicle …Read More…
5 Ideas for When You Turn Out the Lights
The clock ran out in Congress last week on a bill to repeal energy-efficient light bulb standards. Cue the giant, energy-devouring, glass ball above Time Square. It’s time to celebrate! We’re counting down five of Planet Forward’s best ideas about efficiency. Discover which innovations will brighten our energy future, then tell us about the radiant …Read More…
President Obama calls for Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy in his State of the Union Address
During his State of the Union address, President Obama set a new goal: by 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.
Watch
Energy Innovations at a Big Apple Icon
Planet Forward and PBS explore how the Empire State Building is greening its giant footprint.
“Green is so 2008…”
Serious Materials CEO Kevin Surace says, “Green is so 2008.” After interviewing him, along with an energy expert, a green tech consultant, and a BBC producer, I’m beginning to think that’s right. Green for green’s sake may be history. Do you remember 2008? Global Warming was so hot back then. Now in 2010 over 41% …Read More…
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