Archive for the ‘technology’ Category
| Newer Entries »This week’s good ideas in campus sustainability: 11/9/09
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Let’s take a look at five innovative and exciting ideas from Stanford University, City College of New York, Western Michigan University, UC-Davis, and the University of Arizona…
Posted in campus sustainability, environmental literacy, environmental science, higher education, sustainability, sustainable development, technology, transportation, urban | 1 Comment »
Energy savings by peer pressure
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
Several interesting articles describe a new approach to saving energy—let people know how much they use relative to their neighbors:
- Keeping Up With The Joneses to Save Energy
- Utilities Turn Their Customers Green, With Envy
- Put Your Money Where Your B-Tush Is
- Nothing Like Some Friendly Neighborly Competition
When people see they are consuming way more energy than everyone else, there’s motivation to reduce.
Google’s PowerMeter (website, review, image below) is a great idea for helping visualize daily energy use so that folks who want to reduce electricity consumption have a better idea where to start. See also The Energy Detective for devices that work with Google’s PowerMeter.
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photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanjacksonville/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Posted in behavior, sustainability, technology | No Comments »
Why don’t people engage climate change? Problem 4: Political-economic context
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Prerequisite posts:
- Why don’t people engage climate change? Overview
- Why don’t people engage climate change? Problem 1: Environmental Literacy
- Why don’t people engage climate change? Problem 2: Communication
- Why don’t people engage climate change? Problem 3: Personal perceptions, values, and behaviors.
People often disengage from environmental issues because of a sense of disenfranchisement: “What kind of difference can I make? Not much, so why bother? We need big changes and soon. The power to do this is controlled by politicians, who are influenced (financially and otherwise) by Big Business often intent on blocking change.”
In a series of provocative articles in Energy Policy1, Gregory Unruh posed two questions to help us unravel forces at the root of this problem:
- If [renewable energy] technologies exist, are cost effective, and help minimize climate-forcing emissions, why aren’t they diffusing more rapidly?
- Furthermore, why aren’t government policies to promote them, about which there is substantial scientific and social consensus, more aggressive or effective?
The answer he suggests is carbon lock in. What is it? How has it become major inertia to change by reinforcing power structures in society, business, and politics?
Tags: carbon lock in
Posted in behavior, climate economics, policy, social science, technology, transportation | 5 Comments »
“Can Biotech Food Cure World Hunger?”
Friday, October 30th, 2009
A full-throated debate at the NY Times today.
As I’ve alluded to before, my main criticism is that the technology advocates need to get out of their bubble and consider the social implications of these technologies as well as social forces that cause famines in the first place—namely, poverty and poor food distribution. You can increase yields as much as you want, but if people can’t afford or gain access to food, they will starve.
Related post: Food and population defy simplistic portrayals
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarniebill/ / CC BY 2.0
Posted in food and agriculture, technology | No Comments »
News roundup: Electric cars
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Lots in the news recently about the development of electric cars and charging stations:
- France to spend $2.2 billion on electric car charging stations
- Discord Over Regulation of Car Charging
- GM Nears Moment of Truth for Chevy Volt as Green Halo
- The fight to control California’s EV infrastructure
- How electric cars will drive solar power
Tags: electric car, green car
Posted in technology, transportation | No Comments »
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