Go Energy Star – In An Office Building?

After years of seeing the Energy Star label on various products, I was – at first – surprised to see it on the side of an office building. It makes a lot of sense, of course. Energy Star – a joint program of two US government agencies – is all about saving energy and also protecting the environment. It is not surprising, then, that the two government agencies which sponsor Energy Star are the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

If you are stuck in the "Energy Star is for Appliances" mindset, as I apparently was, that is fine. You just need to think of office buildings as great big appliances. If you conjure up street after street of your local downtown lined with massive, multi-story refrigerators and toasters, it is quite comical. Humor aside, however, it is not such a bad notion. What are office buildings, after all, other than huge appliances? That people happen to be able to walk in and out of them doesn't change the fact that they are built for a utilitarian purpose, and have "standard" sets of features which make them easy to use. Elevators, hallways, offices, copiers, and computer systems are just elements of the larger system – the larger appliance – namely, the office building.

I work in an Energy Star building located in downtown Seattle. According to the sign out front, this building uses 41% less energy than an average office building. This is one of those situations, I suppose, where being "below average" is a good thing.

And it is, of course. This building uses less energy, which means less waste, less pollution, and greater efficiency. I am glad to work in such a green building. Here's hoping that all of your office buildings are similarly below-average as well.

A surge of green products

It's all about saving the Earth.

So how to respond when we see a surge of green products? Complain because someone is "jumping on the bandwagon"? Do we make a fuss because someone is "taking advantage"?

Some might. I have. It all depends on whether the product (or service) works as advertised. If so, then great! I say -- thank you!

What brought these ideas to mind are a new product from an old company. I have several iGo chargers (which I enjoy a lot!). I was looking up something on their website when I saw a notice about a new, green product that was "Coming Soon....". Not wanting to wait, I dug around on their website. What did I find?

I found something I'd been looking for! It is called their "Power Smart Tower" and it lets you cut down on "Vampire Power Loss". This term refers, of course, to the way that many (most?) electronic products use electricity when they are supposedly "off."

It is like when you were a kid and your parents said "go to sleep." You'd go to your room and then pretend to sleep. No worries when you were a kid, because eventually all that pretending worked and you did fall asleep.

With electronic devices, once a vampire always a vampire. (Another popular term is "phantom power loads", for those who don't like vampires.) Among the solutions for power vampires are (a) unplug when not in use (so inconvenient), (b) put on a switch box and turn off (less inconvenient, but you have to be diligent), and now you have (c) automatic devices that sense when devices are not on and eliminate the vampire power usage. I like it.

Here is the link to the iGo Power Smart Tower: http://www.igo.com/Other-Power/Power-Smart-Tower/invt/pm000110004. The website says it is on pre-order, and that it is due to ship... TODAY! October 30, 2009. I should order mine now...

The Life Box

A lot of people want to improve their environment. I just heard about the "Life Box" from "The Life Box Company" (link: http://www.lifeboxcompany.com/index.html). They are working on packing material that is impregnated with seeds. When you are done with it, you break it apart; scatter it anywhere, and – voila! – an instant garden. As of this writing, the Life Box is still under development. What a great idea!

[Note: In the interest of full-disclosure, the author is related to the inventor of the Life Box by marriage.]

I plan to buy and use this shipping material in my business. My business, Enovative Energy Solutions, is a Green-IT firm that is focused on exploring ways that computer technology can have a positive impact on the environment. We are soon launching a product line and mail-order business to provide resources to like-minded individuals. This Life-Box fits into that picture very well. If nothing else, it will alleviate the "eco-guilt" that I otherwise may feel from the packing material used in sending (or receiving) products by mail.

Some Thoughts on Refuse

If you think about environmental issues and packing material, then you have probably thought about other issues related to refuse. That term, of course, means anything that gets thrown away. And what kinds of refuse are there? It includes everything from landfill fodder to recyclables and, of course, compostable items. This is the reverse order of desirability, in case you hadn't noticed.

The "Life Box" is interesting because it represents a whole new category of refuse. While it is, in fact, compostable, it also has the benefit of being infused with seeds (and fungi mycelium, which helps the seeds get their start). What would be a good name for this new category? Here are some ideas:

• Bio-Generative
  
• Renewables (sounds like an air-freshener – oh wait, I think it is!)
  
• Eco-Friendly Packaging (really underestimates the effect this can have)
  
• Do you have an idea? Respond to my blog and share your ideas with me (and others)…
  

My comments on three well-known categories of refuse…

Best Kind of Refuse: Compostables

These are the best kind of refuse. In an ideal world, most – if not all – of what we dispose of would find its way back into the natural world as a compostable item. Kitchen scraps, yard waste, all of it seems to be the most "desirable" kind of stuff to throw away. In Seattle, where I live, we have a weekly pickup for compost.

This is picked up, processed, and sold locally as Cedar Grove Compost. It is available in five different "blends", which makes it sound much like coffee.

Second Best Kind of Refuse: Recyclables

Recyclables are second best, because – of course – they have a chance at a second life. They don't get returned to the Earth, but rather stay in the realm of human artifice. A whole set of companies has been started, in the past decade or so, that specializes in finding ways to reuse discarded bottles, recycled paper, and so forth.

Worst Kind of Refuse: Landfill Fodder

Then there is the landfill fodder. Landfills involve putting anything not recycled into a huge earthen pit that is lined with plastic. The liner prevents ground water contamination. The net result is that there is an awful lot of garbage that has been buried as inert, unrecyclable matter. I have heard stories of newspapers that have been dug up after forty years and the text is clearly readable.

I do not know what is going on in today's landfills. But it does make me wonder.