As much as I’ve ripped them for their football field-sized receipts, this shows some life within their sustainability efforts. But $1 for every fourth visit? Sigh.

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Yes, it’s a T-Shirt. We don’t own a wind farm yet.

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One of the biggest challenges of the entire 14-month project was finding qualified contractors versed in green-building design and products. Now, she hopes the house will serve as a resource for other homeowners looking to incorporate some of the house’s features, such as using sustainably forested wood materials, water-efficient appliances, and a rainwater harvesting system.

I ran across one of Denuo’s recent projects this morning after the agency followed me on Twitter. It’s launched a program called Betacup, with the goal of eliminating the waste of disposable coffee cups. The way they’ve launched it is a living case study of online community and social activism.

They’ve made it really easy to get involved, stay involved and spread the word about something they’re passionate about. I noticed they’re also using a fund-raising platform called Kickstarter, (below) which is nicely integrated into the Betacup site.

It’s great to see a socially responsible effort that’s not just a campaign, but a narrative of what one agency is really doing to spur change. Bravo.

Betacup from the betacup on Vimeo.

Posted via web from George Dearing dot com

Posted via web from George Dearing dot com

If some of us would just put forth the extra effort, I think we’d all find things like this could spark our personal creativity and — dare I say — be fun.

"One of the main principles of permaculture is that ‘the problem is the solution.’

Ok, so the "Advanced nano-dynamo technology" may be a bit non-commercial at this point, but I love the upside.

 
via wired.com

TreeHugger’s post on Green iPhone apps got me thinking about the upside that exists as mobile content and apps continue to explode. With such clear demand, you’d think it would be easy to find apps.

I like 3rdWhale President Ron Williams’ idea of simply adding a "sustainability" tag to the iTunes store and homepage. And with Apple’s recent Green push, you’d think they’d be all over the opportunity to boost firms with a green gene.

What this also shows is how much opportunity there is for brands and content providers. If I were a media company or brand I’d be looking to cut content and licensing deals that put my company front and center alongside these niche providers. Not to mention iPhone apps are the gateway interface to other brand touches and interactions. And guess what — a lot of those interactions will ultimately be tied to transactions. Think M-Commerce.

via treehugger.com

And I love the Austin Pecan Street Project’s mission.

This year’s theme “Bringing the Smart Grid to Life” directly relates to efforts from the Pecan Street Project. The Pecan Street Project (PSP) is Austin’s city-wide clean energy laboratory, the largest in the nation, and the only place where researchers and entrepreneurs can come to develop, test and implement the smart grid. The mission of the Pecan Street Project is to establish the city of Austin as America’s clean energy laboratory. It is the most aggressive smart grid program in the nation with:

-300 megawatts of distributed generation
-320,000 smart meters
-Unique regulatory flexibility of ERCOT, the Texas Grid
-Utility participation
-Private sector technology expertise in Austin

After less than one month in our home, we found a stack of phone
books waiting outside of our front door. This isn’t the first time
this has happened, and I’m afraid it won’t be the last. As each phone
book wings its way straight into our recycling bin, we contemplate the
trees that perished to make these dinosaurs books possible. Sigh.

Posted via email from Dinosaur Of The Day

My wife’s on a roll today. We’ve been looking at some early 50’s
houses in Austin and she’s been sketching out various sustainability
upgrades that could also add to the curb appeal.This one features
native plantings, a graywater recapture/filtration system under
retaining walls, solar panels and removal of broken concrete walkways
and driveways in favor of rock paths for better drainage.

Helix Wind makes relatively small vertical-axis wind turbines that can generate electricity with winds as low as 10 mph. They’re the sort of small-scale wind turbines that could be ideal for residential and small commercial property owners looking for microgeneration options.