[via Climate Progress]

Most people don’t know how much electricity their appliances use, where in the house they are wasting electricity, or how much the bill might go up during different seasons. But in a world where everyone had a detailed understanding of their home energy use, we could find all sorts of ways to save energy and lower electricity bills. In fact,studies show that access to home energy information results in savings between 5-15% on monthly electricity bills.

Very cool. I hope it will be available here.

According to the Porter Hypothesis strict environmental regulations can induce efficiency and encourage innovations that help improve commercial competitiveness. The hypothesis was formulated by the economist Michael Porter.

According to this hypothesis, strict environmental regulation triggers the discovery and introduction of cleaner technologies and environmental improvements, the innovation effect, making production processes and products more efficient. The cost savings that can be achieved are sufficient to overcompensate for both the compliance costs directly attributed to new regulations and the innovation costs.

This is exactly why I am thrilled when the price of gas goes up. The sooner, and higher, the better.

The First Law of Petropolitics posits the following: The price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions in oil-rich petrolist states. According to the First Law of Petropolitics, the higher the average global crude oil price rises, the more free speech, free press, free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, the rule of law, and independent political parties are eroded. And these negative trends are reinforced by the fact that the higher the price goes, the less petrolist leaders are sensitive to what the world thinks or says about them. Conversely, according to the First Law of Petropolitics, the lower the price of oil, the more petrolist countries are forced to move toward a political system and a society that is more transparent, more sensitive to opposition voices, and more focused on building the legal and educational structures that will maximize their people’s ability, both men’s and women’s, to compete, start new companies, and attract investments from abroad. The lower the price of crude oil falls, the more petrolist leaders are sensitive to what outside forces think of them.

Apartment Therapy Re-Nest takes you through the installation of a tankless water heater asking if it was worth the extra work.

With the tankless’ “nearly 100% efficiency rating (whereas gas fueled tanks are closer to .65)” I think it is absolutely worth the effort.

Part of Green is not consuming when you don’t need to. I’m not upgrading today, but when our water heater goes – this is going to be top of my research-in-detail list! The price certainly seems reasonable.

note: a video should appear above. If you don’t see it, try between 8am and 10am when the firewall at work will let video through.

You might also be interested to know that the NY Times reports “2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.”