Unless you’re completely oblivious to what’s happening on Earth, you know there’s a world full of concerts going on.  Live Earth.  With some things, I like to exercise a modicum of skepticism to make sure I know my feelings on the issue.  I was slow to come around to Live Earth.  I mean, I love a good concert.  I’ve seen DMB in concert multiple times.  I respect many of these artists for their tireless contribution to musicality.  But, I popped open the Live Earth Global Warming Handbook and here’s Tip #45: Take a Bath Together.  How am I supposed to take this book seriously?  What is this, some silly excuse to get it on?  Well, I kept reading.  Tip #45 talked about low-flow toilets and a future world with water shortages.  Water heating can take up to 25% of a home’s energy use.  I decided I should change my attitude and bought the book.  To take the words of one of the greatest musicians (and I mean musicality when I say that), John Mayer:

To the journalists who will lay in wait for the perfectly maligned moment of hypocrisy, you will probably find one if that’s how you want to spend your time. Just use this as a measuring stick; give Live Earth’s initiative at least as much benefit of the doubt as you’ve given to the iPhone, or a new Radiohead album…Sure, if I wanted to be cynical, I could pose the question as to what happens if the biggest concert on Earth takes place only to hear the world respond with a resounding "that’s nice, but have you seen the cat that plays piano on YouTube?" But all I feel going into Saturday afternoon is hope. And lots of it.

Point well taken.  I’m watching Live Earth highlights of what looks like Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Ludacris, Jack Johnson, and maybe the Pussycat Dolls?  I’m also thinking this event should raise the world’s awareness of the low hanging environmental fruit.  Plastic bags, CFLs, Junk Mail, etc.  I’ve spent the last 2-3 hours reading through David de Rothschild’s Global Warming Handbook and there’s some good leads here.  Here’s some content relevant to the scope of Jetson Green,

Good Links:
++The 10 Easiest Ways to Green Your Home [MSN RE]
++Re-Thinking Energy in Homes [Live Earth Green]
++Green Construction Saves Money and Earth [MSNBC]

So I received from HarperCollins a copy of Ron Pernick + Clint Wilder’s latest book called The Clean Tech Revolution.  I’m a big enthusiast of renewable technology because it has the potential to change the world of real estate and green living.  Preliminarily, let me say that this book is an incredible read.  Seriously.  It’s smart and approachable.  To get an idea of the breadth of the book, here are the chapter subjects:  solar energy, wind power, biofuels and biomaterials, green buildings, personal transportation, smart grid, mobile technologies, water filtration, creating your own Silicon Valley, and clean-tech marketing.  And the book is geared towards individuals, investors, corporations, and governments alike. 

The authors are Clean Edge guys and they know what they’re talking about.  The research put into each topic is unbelievably thorough.  The Clean Tech Revolution is not some chump book by someone that just recently jumped on the green bandwagon (not that there’s anything wrong with that).  The authors talk about the tipping point of green brought about by six C’s–cost, capital, competition, China, consumers, and climate.  These six things have come together to make clean tech something of a revolution that will occur over the next 20, 30, 40 years plus.  It’s pretty exciting.  In each of the chapter categories mentioned above, the authors identify several companies to watch.  For instance, the authors say we should keep an eye on the following companies in the ‘green building’ chapter:  Aspen Aerogels, Clarum Homes, Cree, The Durst Organization, Interface Engineering, Ortech, PanaHome, Rinnai, Turner Construction, Wal-Mart Stores. 

Update::  BusinessWeek published an extensive review over the weekend saying, in part: "But what sets Pernick and Wilder’s book apart is its focus on the business benefits of going green, from money saved by building eco-friendly corporate headquarters and lowering heating and cooling bills, to money earned by startups committed to creating clean technologies. Other books, magazines, and Web sites tend to include clean-tech and green business within a spectrum of other lifestyle, political, environmental, or design topics."

I’m not going to give away too much, but I’m really impressed with this book.  Actually, I’ve got two people in mind that I want to pass a copy to, and they’re not getting mine. 

A couple months ago, I wrote about Josh Dorfman and his Modern Green Living directory, so I wanted to kick out a shout for his new book in stores now.  For some reason I thought the book was coming out in August and had it on pre-order, but it never came.  Today, I was surprised to see it on the shelf, so I bought it on the spot.  With The Lazy Environmentalist, you’re not overpaying for the hardback variety just to get good information.  It’s out in sturdy paperback.  And if you’re wondering about taking the plunge, there are two good interviews of the author at Treehugger and Green Options.  Josh is smart and extremely informed on the subject of environmentalism.  Don’t be fooled about the "lazy" moniker.  There’s nothing lazy to his approach.  The way I see it, Josh is bridging the gap between idealism and behavior, finding ways for everyone to live happier, healthier, and more plentifully.  $10.17-$14.95. 

Recently, I wrote an article for another website (full disclosure: I decided to stop writing for this website) called, "What’s the Deal with Big Green Homes?"  The article lead to some good comments and discussion, but I’ve been nagged by some thoughts that were in the comments.  Two of the homes that were discussed in the article were very green by almost all green measures except that of size: one was 4,700+ sf and the other 6,000+ sf.  I readily admit the superior green amenities and features of each home, but here’s a portion of my argument:

Think about all the materials that went into such a behemoth. In many ways, big a** homes represent the unsustainability of gross commercialization and over-consumption. Good old fashioned American waste. If you’re the Cheaper by the Dozen family, a big house might be necessary. Otherwise, big does not equal green.

One of the entrepreneurs of this green website disagreed stating, "if it’s Green, go as Big as you can and want."  I don’t understand this line of thinking because for this to be logical, a green home would have to have absolutely zero impact.  But there’s always an impact, even if it’s managed or negligible or offset or balanced.  There’s always an impact, even if it’s the impact of taking something that could go to someone else. 

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One of my goals for the new year is to flaunt the business case for sustainability.  When you add that to the fact that I’ve seen several blogs talk about reading 1 book/month (as a New Year’s Resolution), you get a nasty combination: my resolution + your resolution = reading Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Building Competitive Advantage.  As a caveat, however, I haven’t read the book yet, I’ve only thumbed through the pages and table of contents.  (I couldn’t get it before Christmas because that’s when you shop for other people, but now, the copies are all gone and I’m waiting).  The book was written by Dan Esty + Andrew Winston and is getting considerable attention in business circles.  The authors also have a blog called Eco-Advantage that I’ve been reading since November or so.  It’s good.  But here’s the gist, if you need a book to read, give it a shot. 

Fiona Harvey of Financial Times recommended Green to Gold in her list of books designed "to help the entrepreneur take advantage of [the green trend]."  I’ll leave it up to you to determine whether this is a trend.  Here’s what she said: "The business reader may have more luck with Green to Gold, a manual on how to turn your company into an eco-success, catching the current wave of consumer and government interest in saving the world from environmental catastrophe."  There you go, what’s your review??