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Many people talk a good game, Google gets on and actually does stuff. They seem to have boundless capacity to keep moving forward to explore and imagine new relevant ideas for their technology.

Google's power meter, is just one example of a technology that's much sort after and needed.



Now if only they could get the utilities to play, but then again, perhaps they don't even need them.

It will be interesting to see how far this goes, but a Mint type service with users sharing energy consumption habits and tips seems like a smart thing.


Posted by Ed Cotton Nicholas Carr has another provocative post that calls to attention the inefficient use of energy wrapped up in all our searches, Twittering and blogging.

Apparently some researcher has found that two searches on Google are the energy equivalent of boiling a kettle for a cup of tea. While Carr questions the validity of the data behind this research, he raises the issue of the lack of general questioning and discussion that surrounds the energy use of mobile devices and the internet.

While Carr certainly has a point and calls out all the new media advocates who suggest web-based media is more environmentally efficient than old media.

However, I think this is the tip of the iceberg, forget the internet, nobody is really questioning any purchase and action on environmental grounds. We simply aren't there yet on most things perhaps with the exception of some household appliances and cars, we aren't really interested, knowledgeable or aware of the environmental cost of anything we buy or do.

Life goes on with scant attention to such things. Carbon credits have yet to take off in the United States and there's very little transparency as to the real environmental costs of anything we buy or use. Most beer drinkers couldn't tell you the difference in the environmental impact between a domestic brew and one brewed in Europe for example and nor do they care.

Carr slams Google in his post and make a very interesting point about the company's serious conflict of interest; encouraging prolific use of the web at any place and at any time and the company's mission to do no evil, but Google is just one of thousands of companies who unwittingly and perhaps unknowingly are partaking in and encouraging the inefficient consumption of energy.


Posted by Ed Cotton Many of us have been struggling to find the ultimate example of brand utility, something that goes beyond the cliche that Nike Plus has become, but now I think I have found it.

Created by an enterprising design company in the UK, Wattson and Holmes (the Brits are good with naming puns) are an elegant solution to measuring your home's energy consumption.

Wattson is the sensor unit and Holmes is the software that allows you to see snazzy graphs and data.



Utility companies have some of the worst brand reputations in the world, they get no respect because people feel they are being gouged, a tool like this could help repair their broken reputations and image.

The beauty of the device is that it makes people personally accountable for their consumption and gives them data in an easy to use and understandable format.

We need more tools like this to show people how their individual actions can make a difference.

All Wattson and Holmes now need to do is to hook themselves up to a networked community so the cumulative impact of users energy savings can be measured.


Posted by Ed Cotton Wal-Mart has launched a number of green initiatives in the last 24 months, but all of them have been internally focused.

A couple of days back, the company went further than it's even done by bringing its suppliers into the mix. It's picked some categories and is asking suppliers in DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda to look at their greenhouse gas emissions. It looks more of a carrot, than a stick, allowing suppliers to benefit from its own learning, rather than an accounting system to punish those that don't achieve targets. In fact, there are no targets for individual suppliers, Wal-Mart only has its own goal.

The net impact of the initiative will be to raise the profile of green measurement across a broad range of categories in consumer products. Obviously, the benefits for those that jump on board will be two-fold.

1. Cost savings- the accounting system will identify areas where companies can save money- as well as greenhouse gases

2. PR- There's the potential to publicize your efforts, but tread very carefully here.

Overall, it looks like its a smart step in the right direction with obvious benefits for Wal-Mart and its supply chain.

However, it's toothless and without serious targets in the program, one has to question how much impact it's really going to have.


Posted by Ed Cotton