Sustainable Practices
Innovations, Technologies, and Products
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| Issue Number, Issue Date, Article Title |
| * Links are shown as listed in the original article and may not be current. |
| 416 2009-11-27 Vancouver’s MarketCargo Offers Free Bicycle Home Delivery Service. |
| In Vancouver, British Columbia, MarketCargo has emerged as a free bicycle home delivery and bike tune-up service. Local Farmers’ Market customers can take their groceries to the MarketCargo stall, put them in a cooler, write their name and address and have it delivered to their door a short while later. The project’s aim is to support farmers, local markets and market patrons by using and promoting bicycle use. In addition to effective grocery delivery service, MarketCargo’s skilled bike mechanics perform tune-ups for cyclists at the market. One market patron used to take the bus when she carried a large load and now she can make the trip on foot, thanks to MarketCargo. |
| Reference(s): (MomentumPlanet, July 29, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.momentumplanet.ca/news/pedal-powered-produce |
| 416 2009-11-27 California, World’s 8th Largest Economy, Issues Draft “Cap and Trade” Rules. |
| The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released a draft rule establishing a cap-and-trade program that sets a declining ceiling on emissions of greenhouse gases and allows companies to buy and sell permits to meet it. California, with the world’s 8th largest economy, has a goal of reducing greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020. Its draft trading system would begin in 2012 and would apply to 600 major sources of global warming gases, including power plants, refineries and concrete factories. The California proposal also includes reductions in emissions from industrial and transportation fuels beginning in 2015. CARB has scheduled months of hearings and public comment on the rule before it is to be finalized next October. |
| Reference(s): (New York Times, November 25, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/science/earth/25climate.html?_r=1 |
| 416 2009-11-27 iPhone App Scans Product Bar Codes for Environmental Ratings. |
| GoodGuide has just released an updated iPhone app that scans barcodes and gives the user environmental information about the product. Users simply scan the barcode of the product and immediately see detailed ratings for health, environment and social responsibility for more than 50,000 products and companies. GoodGuide provides this information about personal care, household chemical, toy and food products for free on your iPhone / iPod Touch and is adding thousands of products every month. GoodGuide’s product rating algorithm takes into account health performance (cancer risks, reproductive hazards, skin and eye irritation), environmental performance (emissions, natural resource impacts), and social performance (diversity, compensation, working conditions). |
| Reference(s): (Fast Company, November 19, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/goodguide-iphone-app-scans-bar-codes-environmental-info?partner=rss |
| 415 2009-11-20 Tendril App Lets Users Control Appliance Energy Demand From Their iPhones. |
| A mobile application from Tendril, a startup in Boulder, CO, will make it possible to control appliances and heating and cooling systems from an iPhone. The app is designed to work with Tendril’s smart outlets, which monitor and control individual appliances and lighting and smart thermostats which allow fine-grained control of furnaces and air conditioners. These devices communicate wirelessly to an Internet-connected household hub, through which they can be controlled via the iPhone or any other means of Web access. They also enable utilities to tweak electricity loads with customers’ permission. In addition, Tendril’s technology would let a home-owner or renter use a mobile platform to track things such as energy costs over a certain time period or energy pricing changes, according to Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck. A homeowner could actually take action on a power event when he or she was out and about, such as turning down the air-conditioning in response to peak demand pricing. Other types of applications it would allow people to use on handhelds would include a historical view of billing information, the ability to set up and manage alerts, or a function that lets consumers opt-in or opt-out of demand response events. It could also pull together carbon footprint info. |
| Reference(s): (ZDNet, March 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=3112 |
| 415 2009-11-20 Turning Backyard Hives Into Honey and Body Care Products Success. |
| Sweet Beginnings is a new line of urban honey and body care products based in Chicago. The enterprise began with 25 hives on a quarter acre site on the City’s west side. Using a $140,000 job-training grant from the Illinois Department of Corrections, Sweet Beginnings LLC has already recorded $200,000 in annual sales. Its products go to 11 area Whole Foods stores and 21 other local shops and boutique stores. The LLC designation is helpful as Sweet Beginnings expands as it opens it up to new sources of financing, including aid from theSmall Business Administration and angel investors, that are not available to non-profits. |
| Reference(s): (Sweet Beginnings, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.beelinestore.com/ |
| 415 2009-11-20 Homebuilder Announces PV on All New Homes Plus a Zero Carbon Option. |
| Homebuilder G. J. Gardner Colorado has entered into an agreement with Vibrant Solar Inc. to offer photovoltaic systems on all new homes, as well as a complete Zero Carbon System. The average Zero Carbon System, trademarked by Vibrant this year, has 5 kW of solar photovoltaic for electricity, a geothermal system for heating and cooling, a solar thermal system for hot water, and energy controllers to reduce energy consumption. Utility company rebates and federal tax credits help offset the cost of the system. |
| Reference(s): (The Denver Post, October 23, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.denverpost.com/greenbusiness/ci_13182880 |
| 414 2009-11-06 “Agriburbia” Combines Home and Harvest on Colorado’s Front Range. |
| Six hundred and eighteen-acre Platte River Village north of Denver will have 944 homes surrounded by 108 acres of backyard farms and 152 acres of drip-irrigated community farms. The plan is for the farms to feed local residents and supply restaurants while paying for community upkeep. Thirteen other Front Range projects are mulling the “agriburbia” concept. Designer Matt Redmond envisions a future where the nation’s 31 million acres of lawn are converted to food production. Redmond works at three scales, creating “edible landscapes” on small home parcels, “steward lots” for local restaurants on property waiting for better conditions to build, and farm-cultured communities like Platte River Village. |
| Reference(s): (The Denver Post, October 24, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13631048 |
| 414 2009-11-06 ”RecycleBank’s” Reward System Incentivizes Recycling Gains in 21 States. |
| RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle, using a proprietary three-step process of Recycle, Record, and Reward. It involves the quick and easy measurement of the amount of material each home recycles in specialized bins fitted with RFID tags. Collection truck diagnostics then convert amounts into RecycleBank Points that can be used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners. RecycleBank has most recently been adopted in Houston, Texas where families can earn up to $540 worth in reward value each year through household recycling. New York-based RecycleBank is a success in 21 States and the United Kingdom. It was honored as a 2009 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. |
| Reference(s): (RecycleBank Press Release, October 20, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://corporate.recyclebank.com/press/press-releases/276-houston-expands-single-stream-recycling-program-to-reward-residents-for-recycling-with-recyc |
| 414 2009-11-06 Down Low Glow From Rock the Bike. |
| Rock the Bike now offers the Down Low Glow bike light that envelopes bikers in a halo of neon light, providing maximum visibility at night. Utilizing “GSR Technology” (Gimme Some Room), the Down Low Glow attaches to the frame and projects light ten feet in all directions around the bicycle, making the bike appear to take up more room on the road than it actually does. Available in six colors, the Down Low Glow weighs one pound and is designed to fit bikes of all sizes, including recumbent trikes. It uses a rechargeable battery and comes with an easy, no-tools mounting kit. |
| Reference(s): (Rock the Bike. 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://rockthebike.com/lights/downlowglow |
| 413 2009-10-30 Radical Water Conservation Built Into New Colorado Development. |
| Adjacent to Highlands Ranch, a suburban Denver development heralded a decade ago as “a symbol of suburban sprawl done wrong” is the new community of Sterling Ranch which intends to reduce radically the amount of outside lawns permissible in the development. It is part of an overall water efficiency strategy that includes slightly sunken yards for water catchments, plus an array of in-home water efficiency technologies and devices. “We’ll use grass as a throw rug instead of a carpet,” says a principal on the development team. The rest of the yards will be planted in drought tolerant trees and shrubs. All athletic fields will be artificial turf. “You abuse exterior water use, we’ll warn you, fine you, and then we’ll shut your water off,” said Jack Hoagland, another development partner. |
| Reference(s): (Wall Street Journal, October 13, 2009 ) Link(s)*: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125538486262481183.html |
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Sustainable Practices 2007 is a weekly information service, which has been highlighting innovations in technology, social, and governance models, and sustainable best practices since 2000. It is compiled from publicly available sources and provided by David Schaller, 520-665-1767, daschaller@mac.com
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