Monday, October 31, 2011

Top 10 Most Energy Efficient States in the Nation

By Vicki Zambito

How energy efficient is your state? A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks all 50 states in terms of how energy-efficient friendly their policies are. States were ranked on an array of metrics that capture best practices and recognize leadership in energy efficiency policy and program implementation. Measured metrics included how much the state is doing to increase efficient transportation and what standards it enforces on appliances. The Scorecard benchmarks progress and provides a roadmap for states to advance energy efficiency in the residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors. Below is a list of the top 10 and the bottom 10.

Top 10:
Massachusetts
California
New York
Oregon
Washington
Rhode Island
Vermont
Connecticut
Minnesota
Maryland

Bottom 10:
North Dakota
Wyoming
Mississippi
Kansas
Oklahoma
South Carolina
West Virginia
Missouri
Alabama
South Dakota

For more information or to download the report, visit: http://aceee.org/research-report/e115.
Read a Fast Company article on the topic at http://www.fastcompany.com/1789668/some-states-are-more-efficient-than-others?partner=rss&utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company+Headlines%29



Friday, October 14, 2011

Top 10 Green Building Products for 2012: A Look Ahead

By Vicki Zambito

The world’s largest conference dedicated to green building just ended – Greenbuild took place October 4th through the 7th in Toronto, Canada. Greenbuild 2011 featured more than 140,000 gross square meters of expo hall floor with 1,700 booths presenting a variety of innovative green building products and services.

Every year at this premier sustainable design event, BuildingGreen.com presents their top 10 green building products as selected by their editorial team. BuildingGreen.com is an independent publishing company committed to bringing accurate, unbiased, and timely green design information. Their top picks for 2012 are below.


1. InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles with PFC-free carpet fibers

2. Lifeline PVC-free resilient flooring

3. CI-Girt Rainscreen System

4. EonCoat waterborne ceramic coating

5. Aqua2use Graywater System

6. Cypress Envirosystems' analog-to-digital wireless thermostat

7. Ritter XL solar thermal system

8. Mitsubishi ductless heat pumps and variable-refrigerant-flow systems

9. AllSun Trackers

10. Philips EnduraLEDs
Visit BuildingGreen.com’s website, http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2011/10/6/BuildingGreens-Top10-Products-for-2012-Our-Picks-for-a-Resilient-Future#more, for more information on these products.