Author: admin

WASHINGTON – In 2009, EPA’s WaterSense program helped consumers save more than 36 billion gallons of water and $267 million on their water and sewer bills. That’s nearly four times as much water as consumers saved with WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and faucet accessories in 2008.

“By raising awareness about the value of smart water use, the WaterSense program encourages consumers to take environmental action into their own hands,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “WaterSense labeled products provide Americans another opportunity to keep the country moving towards a green economy.”

EPA created WaterSense in 2006 as a voluntary program to label products that are at least 20 percent more water efficient and perform as well as or better than standard models. WaterSense labels toilets, bathroom faucets and faucet accessories, flushing urinals, new homes, and, most recently, residential showerheads. WaterSense also certifies programs for irrigation professionals.

With about 17 percent of all residential indoor water use in the United States going to showering, replacing a water-hogging showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model can save enough water each year to wash more than two months’ worth of laundry. Like all WaterSense labeled products, showerheads must be independently tested and certified to meet EPA’s efficiency and performance criteria before they can earn the label.

With the addition of showerheads, consumers can now renovate their bathrooms with a full suite of WaterSense labeled products. A bathroom remodel that includes a WaterSense labeled toilet, faucet, and showerhead will not only conserve water, but also save enough electricity each year to run a refrigerator for two months and save about $60 in utility bills.

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes and services.

More information on WaterSense labeled showerheads:

Sixteen states are beginning a ban on dishwasher detergents with high levels of phosphates, according to a report in the Associated Press. Starting Thursday, stores will no longer be allowed to sell dishwasher detergent with more than 0.5 percent phosphorous. However, the law does not apply to commercial dishwashing products.

States instituting the rule include Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

In some areas, the ban has already been in place for years. Spokane and Watcom counties in Washington have had a ban in place since 2008, while Oregon passed a law last year that reduced the allowable phosphate levels in automatic dishwasher detergent from 8.7 percent to 0.5 percent.

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader

Venture capitalists invested $100 million in 14 LED lighting companies in the first quarter of 2010, up from $14 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to Cleantech Group, reports Reuters.

Leading the way is Silicon Valley, the U.S. technology capital. Alan Salzman, chief executive of Silicon Valley-based venture fund VantagePoint Venture Partners told Reuters that his company has $4.5 billion in committed capital in startups across different sectors, but lighting is the largest sector in its portfolio.

Investors are betting that LEDs will take hold with their long life and high energy efficiency benefits, consuming about 20 percent of the energy used by incandescents, despite their higher price tag, report Reuters.

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader

Google hopes to expand the capabilities of its PowerMeter technology to monitor water and natural gas use, in addition to its ability to monitor home electrical use, according to a report on CNET.

PowerMeter allows homeowners to monitor their home’s energy consumption on their smartphone or computer using data collected from smart meter sensors.  According to the report, a Google executive said that while there are no immediate plans to move into adjacent utility spaces, the adoption of smart meters among water and gas utilities could allow the company to add those features to PowerMeter in the future.

Like electricity, PowerMeter could be used by consumers to take advantage of off-peak pricing for gas and water demand, and to monitor their appliances remotely.

The company recently announced a trial in Plumas-Sierra County, CA, in which it will use TV White Spaces spectrum to transmit smart grid data.  TV White Spaces are unused TV broadcast channels made available by the recent transition from Analog to Digital TV.  As part of the National Broadband Plan, the FCC has declared that TV White Spaces are well suited for wireless data networks and can be used to deliver cost effective broadband connectivity for a wide variety of consumer, business and government applications.  The experiment will allow consumers to monitor their energy use from a Google web page in real time.

The company also said it is conducting research and development into “demand dispatch” technology.  Demand dispatch would use PowerMeter to help coordinate small reductions in household electricity loads, allowing power companies to avoid having to increase energy generation at peak times.

Google unveiled PowerMeter last year.  Recently, the company rolled out an API for the application hoping that appliance manufacturers will incorporate the program into new products.  Meanwhile, PG&E has advocated the adoption of an open-source solutions while Microsoft recently introduced Hohm, which also allows consumers to measure electricity use.

About 84 percent of consumers think of “green” products as those that are made of recyclable or reusable material, or include such packaging, according to new research from Grail Research.

About 78 percent associate “green” products as being energy efficient or using renewable energy, according to “The Green Revolution” report (PDF).

Another top association for consumers was that green products are made with natural or organic ingredients. About 71 percent of consumers made that association.

When it comes to water, however, only 30 percent of consumers considered reducing water use to be a green practice, according to the report.

Bill Roth founder of Earth 2017 interviews Lee Ann Head, VP of Market Research with the Shelton Group on what consumers will buy and won’t buy in terms of green or sustainable products.

Even the greenest of consumers are pretty conservative about what they’ll spend their money on, says sustainable-business marketing specialist Lee Ann Head. Customers will try out a product on the strength of its environmental claims, but ultimately they’ll only keep coming back if the product is at least as effective as less-green alternatives. “They aren’t buying to save the world. … If they’re buying a cleaning product, it needs to clean,” Head says.

Watch the video at Environmental Leader