Welcome ! As a young French Marketing professional with a Master's in International Management I have been selecting since January 2007 the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change, cleantech and the world energy sector. Sounds great ? Don't hesitate to subscribe now !
I have been advocating housing insulation back to 2006 when I was writing my Master’s thesis at Audencia Nantes Management School. Then I discovered the huge potential of insulating French buildings.
Since then I have been dreaming that one day politicians, leaders, and other people in charge would finally understand that weatherizing the million of appartments that need it around the world is THE right move.
It seems that my call has been heard, or more plausibly that some important people in the higher European spheres share my belief. Continue »
You would think that the inventor of the iPod would rest and enjoy the money he made afterwards. Well, he isn’t and this is great news for all of us as Tony Fadell invented a smart thermostat, the Nest Learning Thermostat.
Knowing that we adjust thermostats up to 1,500 per year and that over 10 million thermostats are sold each year in the U.S. alone, he started a new company which is now selling these great, design appliances.
Cleantechies notes that these thermostats sell for $249 and save up to $173 per year. It thus have a return on investment of less than a year and a half ! Continue »
The idea might seem a bit far-fetched but recovering the heat produced by data centers could heat buildings. However we have seen similar ideas are extremely cost efficient and environmentally friendly.
To ExtremeTech : ” With a temperature of around 40-50°C, the exhaust from a rack of cloud servers could be a very cost-effective way of heating your house, according to researchers from Microsoft and the University of Virginia.”
” Dubbed the “Data Furnace,” these racks would be hot enough to completely replace the heating and hot water system in a house or office. “ Continue »
CleanTechies often republishes blog posts from the Official White House blog. This enabled me to learn about a significant series of measures designed to help America cut its oil dependence and energy consumption.
Indeed, new standards will enable future cars to cut their oil consumption (not by much though…). US households will also be able to benefit from up to $3,000 rebates for weatherization projects via the Homestar Program.
Of course, given the huge per capita energy consumption, more could have been done, but these are nonetheless several steps in the right direction. Let’s hope President Obama will keep going this way.
This weekend was the occasion for me to go and visit my family in Lorraine (Eastern France). This enabled me to help out my two uncles and their families cut their water and energy consumption.
Indeed, I first helped one family install a rainwater harvesting system that will enable them to water their garden for free. Under my advise they will also install dual flush toilets to further cut their consumption.
I also helped my other uncle and his family insulating their spare bedroom where I generally sleep when I visit them. Continue »
According to the Canadian magazine Corporate Knights : ” If the concept of a sustainable city sounds like a paradox, that’s because it is, according to physicist Geoffrey West.”
” Ironically, because of their urban “metabolism,” cities require only 85 per cent of the resources necessary to double in size, and they’re more energy efficient than rural communities. “
The article follows the release of another United Nations study dedicated to better cities. Make sure to read both the report and the article if you are interested by the topic.
We all know it : energy – and resource - efficiency is the panacea to all our energy and environmental woes. As I finished reading another excellent book on the very matter, I am sharing with you today the main findings.
Factor Five is the sequel of the 1997-book Factor Four. It demonstrates how our world economy could become at least five times more efficient and thus truly achieve a sustainable development in terms of economy and environment.
Full with facts, figures and examples taken from all around the world, it shows it is not only possible but that it makes a lot of sense both economically and environmentally. Continue »
You know it if you have read this blog for some time : energy efficiency is the single best solution to solve all our energy and climate problems. It can be used literally everywhere and in anything and save huge amounts of money.
Now, here comes Dr. Julian M Allwood from the University of Cambridge. His team and him found that “73% of global energy use could be saved through energy efficiency improvements.”
Albeit the figure is huge, this is no surprise as we already produce houses that use ten times less than old ones and as LED light bulbs consume ten times less than their incandescent ancestors. Continue »
One of the main facts of the latest World Energy Outlook is that energy efficiency “is the largest contributor in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases , accounting for over half of total abatement by 2030.”
This means that it has more impact than renewable energies, nuclear power and clean coal combined. But energy is too cheap to be conserved and this even if people may drive less because of high oil prices and the economic recession.
However electricity consumption is not decreasing that much as it is still frightfully cheap : around 10 euro cents per kWh in France and slightly more in the European Union. Continue »
France is promoting via aggressive feed-in tariffs the expansion of solar photovoltaic. I believe this is quite a good thing even if our electricity is 90 percent low carbon. (80 percent nuclear and ten percent hydro)
Indeed, we will soon need additional capacity for both heat pumps and electric vehicles. However I believe the French (and other) government(s) should promote more aggressively solar water heaters.
Electricity is often generated by heating water. So using electricity to heat water is a very inefficient process. Using solar water heaters would enable us to change that. Continue »
