Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Blogging for a sustainable energy future.

Get Energy Smart!  NOW! header image 4

Entries from September 2011

A Sunny Penthouse for NYC

September 30th, 2011 · Comments Off on A Sunny Penthouse for NYC

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is nearing its conclusion in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon.  19 University teams from around the globe are competing in 10 (hint, ‘decathlon) arenas to determine the overall winner. Lost amid, perhaps, the fanfare is that every single one of the […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · solar · solar decathlon · Solar Energy

Killing or Creating The Future: Solar’s three act drama on the Mall

September 28th, 2011 · Comments Off on Killing or Creating The Future: Solar’s three act drama on the Mall

A drama is playing out at two ends of the National Mall … with a question mark between them. One act is receiving massive news attention while the intermission and other act rests in obscurity for most Americans. The center piece, almost like an intermission, is uncertain and perhaps cloudy about the finale. One act […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · political symbols · politics · President Barack Obama · solar · solar decathlon · Solar Energy

Cost-Effective Renewable Power Homes

September 27th, 2011 · 2 Comments

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is on in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon. Open to the public for a few more days (through 2 October), the Decathlon brings together 19 university teams from around the globe to compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon”). (A review of […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · solar · solar decathlon · Solar Energy

If Keystone XL were only a solar company …

September 27th, 2011 · 1 Comment

Life is filled with what ifs … What if I won the lottery? What if I fell off the bicycle? What if … In contemplating what has been going on with Solyndra, today’s news (for those who hear it) seems to raise one of those ‘what if’ moments: What if the Keystone XL pipeline project […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy

A Solyndra Showcase in Washington, DC

September 21st, 2011 · Comments Off on A Solyndra Showcase in Washington, DC

While members of Congress are raising h-ll about the Solyndra bankruptcy along with many who are forgetting that they once touted Solyndra as the future, just a little distance away, Solandra technology is powering an absolutely gorgeous home available for public visit for the coming two weeks. This house, the University of Tennessee’s Living Light, […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · solar · solar decathlon · Solar Energy

Pay-To-Play Pothole Mitigation?

September 19th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Audi, in marketing a car that only the top few percent of Americans can afford, has focused on the mediocre situation of the nation’s infrastructure.

[Read more →]

Tags: advertising · automobiles · Energy

Bright Rays of Sunshine Hit DC: A preview of The Solar Decathlon

September 19th, 2011 · 4 Comments

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is about to open in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon.  For two weeks, 19 university teams from around the globe will compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon”) that show the house works (can they get household chores and tasks done, like […]

[Read more →]

Tags: alternative energy · architecture · Energy · renewable energy · solar · solar cooking · solar decathlon · Solar Energy · sustainability

A CHIP shot at a better future?

September 16th, 2011 · 2 Comments

One of the nation’s most important — and sadly too little discussed — intercollegiate competitions is about to open in Washington, DC: the the biennial Solar Decathlon.  For two weeks, twenty university teams from around the globe will compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon”) that show the house works (can they get household chores and […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · solar · solar decathlon · Solar Energy

The real energy scandal: Is the media missing the energy fraud forest for the Solyndra scandal tree?”

September 15th, 2011 · 3 Comments

This guest post is from Steve Horn of DeSmogBlog. Original article. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing yesterday on the ongoing and growing scandal in the wake of the bankruptcy of Solyndra Corporation. Solyndra, a solar panel manufacturer that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after laying off over 1,000 workers, is facing […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · government energy policy · political symbols · politics · renewable energy · republican party

Energy HOME: Common-Sense Solutions to Common Problems

September 15th, 2011 · Comments Off on Energy HOME: Common-Sense Solutions to Common Problems

Every day, I strive to Make Energy CENTS from the Home to the Globe. Whether programming the thermostat to low temperatures overnight to providing comments on national energy policy drafts to opening discussions as to Energy COOL technologies and concepts, my efforts to Energize America to a prosperous, climate friendly future cross a broad spectrum. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Energy · energy cool · energy efficiency · energy home · product review