Photos from Earth Hour 2009

So Earth Hour 2009 took place over the weekend, in which cities from all over the world participated in turning the lights off to raise awareness about energy conservation. Over 1000 cities jumped into this event, where the lights of homes, businesses and even world famous landmarks were shut off for an hour on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 pm local time.

If you were curious how this looked all over the globe, Boston.com has posted a series of breathtaking pictures from major cities like Beijing, Hong Kong, Athens and Paris, just to name a few. The coolest part? When you click on the pictures, the lights fade from "on" to "off" in stunning before/after style. Really great to see all these people buying into the idea of Earth Hour.

To see the pictures, visit Boston.com. So, how many of you took part in Earth Hour?

Inefficient HDTVs Could get the California Ban-Hammer

I love my HDTV like crazy. It's maybe one of the best purchases that I've ever made. Since I bought it though, I've watched prices fall to ridiculously low levels, and more and more people are starting to turn up with these works of beauty. With everyone getting their hands on these television sets, it makes you wonder how much energy they consume...

The California Energy Commission has proposed that all energy inefficient HDTVs should be banned from being sold in stores starting in 2011, citing a lack of proper regulation for current HDTV models. While many TV manufacturers do adhere to Energy Star standards, the CEC argues that those are not as rigorous as they should be, and allow a fairly generous watt usage.

Currently, the only real restrictions on these TVs is when they are in standby mode, which is only about 3.0 watts. Unfortunately, "energy used in standby mode only represents about 5 percent of all TV energy consumption." Right now there are many energy-hogging HDTVs in the market, specifically plasma TVs, which use quite a bit more power than LCD's do.

Hopefully this proposal leads to more "green" TVs being produced in all different formats. As the growth of HDTV continues, it becomes more crucial to lower the energy consumption from each unit. To read more, check out the article at Wired.

Disney Joining Hulu?

Apparently the gentle giant that is the Walt Disney Company is in preliminary talks with online video site Hulu to offer ABC programming. Of course the nuts and bolts involve Disney having equity stake in Hulu, which makes sense considering how protective Disney is over it's brand and product.

No details yet regarding the breadth of content that will be available, but according to CNET it's possible that the list may include ESPN.

For the full background on the pending deal, check out PaidContent

Saving 101: Cutting Out the Non-Essentials

The key to a healthy monthly budget is cutting out the relatively inane and nonessential items that claw away at your bank account. Now of course defining nonessential may mean something quite different to you, your wife, your friends, your weird neighbors and so on, but suffice to say it's determining similar trends in your spending habits that fall under the category of luxuries or wants versus needs. So here's a little experiment you can undertake to see how much you're truly spending on a day-to-day basis, and how much is actually spent on necessity.

• Take a notepad and pen with you for two weeks. For every purchase you make, jot it down on the notepad.
• Keep all receipts as a backup.
• Don't pick and choose what you track, literally write down every purchase, even if it's a stop at the vending machine to grab a late afternoon snack.
• Crunch the numbers at the end of the two weeks and compare to your monthly budget for bills.

Now, If you're like me, you'll probably throw up in your mouth a little bit when you realize that you're blowing more than $100 each month on eating out in addition to the grocery bill. Food for thought?

OnLive: The Future of Online Gaming?

This week at the 2009 Game Developer's Conference (GDC), Warner Bros. unveiled a new gaming system that... does away with the need for gaming systems? OnLive is the new "micro-console", but doesn't work the way the XBox 360, the PS3, or the Wii does, in that the hardware itself isn't in your home.

Rather, the hardware is miles away, running the games you play on cloud servers, and then sending a video signal of the game you're playing in HD or SD to a small box in your home. This box can be plugged into your PC, Mac or your TV set. While this is a new and seemingly unusual way to play video games, the positive is that it eliminates the need to update to a new console or PC hardware every few years. Instead, all you need is the small OnLive box and a display. Think of it as YouTube but for your video games.

There are many questions about how this subscription-based service is going to perform, given that it requires a strong broadband connection to even play the games you'd like to play, as it streams them over the Internet. It's definitely something to keep an eye on in the future, as several big name video game publishers have already signed on to lend it their support. 

To read more about OnLive and how it functions, head over to IGN.

10 Green Buildings

There's a new trend in architecture of designing eco-helpful green buildings. No, I don't mean the old lady's house down the street with the nuclear paint job, I'm talking about structures that are sustainable in that they are both energy and water efficient, and even made out of environmentally friendly materials.

Fortunately, this idea is really catching on, leading to some definitely unique and thought-provoking designs in terms of being long lasting and sustainable. HowStuffWorks has put together a list of 10 Sustainable Buildings showcasing some of the more inspiring green designs from around the country. And seriously, some of them are pretty cool.

They sport everything from cisterns that collect rainwater to irrigate the landscape to PV panels that collect solar energy to supply up to 60 or 70 percent of a building's energy consumption. In addition, there are even buildings like the Factor 10 House in Chicago, which sports a wall of recycled water bottles as well as other materials made from recycled goods.

To see the full list of green buildings, be sure to read more at HowStuffWorks. Exciting stuff for the future, for sure.

Living on Less

Economy got you pinching your pennies? Well you're not alone. I'm the first one to admit that I never paid attention to prices. I use to get my daily 3 pm non-fat cafe mocha pick me up, until one day I sat down and added up my coffee trips for a month. I was spending over $50 a month on coffee. I didn't even dare add up how much I was spending on eating out for lunch. I'm sure that figure would have made me cry. Since then, I have been evaluating my spending habits and coming up with ways to cut costs yet still have fun.

I've listed a few of my ideas below. I hope they help you too!

• Cut Out the Coffee - Try brewing your own and bringing it to work. Otherwise cut down on your trips to the coffee house to at least two times a week. You'll be amaze at how much you save.
• Brown Bag It - Bring your lunch from home as often as you can. Those $5-$10 lunches can sure add up.
• Eat In - Make dinner instead of going out or ordering in. This is also a chance to bring the family closer as each person can help prepare the meal.
• Nix the Movie Theaters - Your couch is way more comfortable than a theater seat and homemade snack and a rented video is much cheaper.
• Family Game Night - Bust out the boardgames or play charades. That's a cheap way to entertain the kiddos.
• Homemade Crafts - Puppet theater is a good way to keeps the children entertain at home. Make inexpensive puppets out of brown paper lunch bags, old shirts and socks and felt.

Every little bit you do goes a long way. Leave me a comment if you have more suggestions on how to save money.

Austin, TX Building Largest Solar Plant in The U.S.

Plans to build a 30 megawatt solar power facility in Austin, TX has been approved, with local energy provider Austin Energy paying $10 million annually for the renewable power and Gemini Solar Development building and operating the plant starting in 2010. The plant met some resistance due to the added cost in tough economic times, but Austin is working diligently towards its goal of producing 30% of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

The plant will reside on 300 acres chock full of solar photovoltaic cells provided by Suntech, and will sit approximately 20 miles from downtown Austin. Check out Austin Puts No Limits On Solar at Forbes.com for more details on the pending solar project.

Half Price Books Chooses Green Mountain Energy

For me, there's nothing better than spending exorbitantly on a stack of books, and Half Price Books stands as the great enabler of this particular addiction of mine. Try as I might to curb it, I often find myself browsing their hallowed halls for book deals galore.

What a pleasure it was, then, to see that Half Price Books has actually become one of Texas' largest retail green power purchasers, and is now going exclusively with green power in over 30 of their locations. How is this possible, you ask? Well, Half Price Books is going with "Texas wind power from Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas’ only electricity provider dedicated to cleaner energy".

It's certainly nice to have a company standing up and making a big step towards renewable energy. Hopefully, we'll see more and more retailers jump in as well. To read more about Half Price Books and Green Mountain Energy's announcement, check out the press release.

Eco-Friendly Lawn Care Tips

This past year I made the decision to be more eco-conscience. It's been a gradual step and so far, I've been recycling at work and at home, unplugged unused appliances, put in energy efficient light bulbs throughout the house and bought an Energy Star rated refrigerator.

This year, to be even more environmentally friendly, I've decided to take care of my lawn in the greenest way I can. This should be interesting since I don't have a green thumb and thus have had lawn service for the past 2 years.

Anyway, I thought I'd pass along the eco-friendly lawn care tips I come across. See tips below.

• Lawn Mower Blades - Keep lawn mower blades sharp because dull blades will make your lawn mower work twice as hard and use more fuel. Also, dull blades tear your grass, making it look brown and vulnerable to disease.
• FREE Mulch - Leave grass clippings on your lawn, it makes for great mulch and it won't cost you a cent. Not to mention less work, no racking or bagging!
• Tall Grass - Raiser your mower's blades 3-4 inches. Taller grass needs less water, competes better with weeds and prevents soil from washing away.
• Aerating the Lawn - I had no idea you had to do this but you do and apparently there is a green way to do it. Instead of using a machine, get yourself some spiked sandals and take a walk around the yard. I'm going to try it but I know my neighbors will look at me funny.
• Lawn Mower - Use the old fashioned push mower. Not only will you be green but you'll save money on gas and it is less dangerous around children. AND you can mow early in the morning and not wake the neighbors!
• FREE Water - Invest in a rain barrel, or make one yourself, to collect rain water from your gutters. This will give you an inexpensive way to water your plants.
• Lawn Moister Meter - Buy a lawn moister meter to make sure you're not over watering you lawn. You'll not only conserve water, but you'll cut down on your water bill in the summer.
• Leaf Blower - You'll get more exercise and use less gas if you use an old fashion rake. But I understand if racking is too much work, I have a huge lawn. So in that case, invest in an electrical leaf blower.
• Chemicals - Go for fertilizers and pest control products that are non-toxic. They decrease the amount of toxins that run-off into our waterways and tend to be safer to use around your pets and children.