Green:Net Recap: Thank You All for Making the Event A Success
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
Whew. Green:Net, the first green conference for the Internet industry is done and done. As twilight descended onto the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco’s Presidio last night, the 400-plus attendees at the sold-out event were able to grab a glass of wine and reflect on the day’s happenings. Everyone I talked with seemed to agree that it was a success and filled a niche for entrepreneurs focusing on the intersection of information technology and green technology.
There were a lot of highlights: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gave the opening remarks, which featured how he’s using IT for green aims in San Francisco. Later in a video interview with me he unveiled a partnership with Cisco for an eco map that would pinpoint greenhouse gas emissions, and told me how he would put green tech issues at the forefront of a gubernatorial race. Bob Metcalfe, inventor of ethernet, gave his (somewhat controversial, according to some of the attendees) thoughts on “Enernet,” or the next generation energy network. The always-inspiring Saul Griffith, founder of Makani Power and Wattzon.com, rocked. Jonathan Koomey, project scientist and professor with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, delivered all the hard research on making IT infrastructure more energy efficient. You can find a bunch of the speaker’s presentation’s here.
The show seemed to make a splash with the press, too, including coverage in: PC Magazine, Grist, San Francisco Business Times, Sustainable Industries, Fast Company, CNET and GreentechMedia.
Be a good green consumer
jchait - Home & Garden
Because this blog is “Best Green Home Tips” I tend to discuss green home options - ideas for in and around the home-front. However, I’m betting you leave the house once in a while (hoping), so this week I thought we’d look a few issues that happen outside the home. A few issues that affect your family when you’re on the go include shopping options, transport, and on the go green gear. We’re not going to stray too far from home but these are important eco-issues so we should take a peek at least.
Today; how to be a better green consumer.
This is actually something we’ve looked at a little here. Check out the post Is This Product Really A Smart Green Choice?
When it comes to finding a green company, one that you actually want to buy from and support you want to look for the following traits:
- A local company over a distant company (whenever possible).
- A company who has some sort of eco goal or statement that’s backed up. Look for a company brochure or check out their website. Look for green minded goals that aren’t greenwashing. For example, a company who makes bleach, yet claims to be green because they recycle is pretty iffy - their goals and actions collide and not in a green way.
- A company who doesn’t test on animals.
- A company who uses minimal packaging for their products and when they do package they go with recycled content.
To learn about various companies you can visit some of the following sites:
- Climate Counts = rates companies and gives them scores based on the companies impact (or non-impact) on global warming. You can even print out a pocket scorecard to carry in your wallet.
- For beauty product safety visit Skin Deep.
- Visit Caring Consumer to learn about companies that do and do not test on animals.
- Co-op America has a basic green code that their listed companies follow. This is a great place to find merchants with your eco-ethics. They also have LOADS of green shopping guides available for free download.
How do you make greener shopping decisions?
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