This week in Jetson Green Energy News, Australia has a new addition to its list of carbon neutral cities, the Indian state of Gujarat will reduce water evaporation and produce energy from solar panels over canals, a new shower head from New Zealand engineers reduces water flow by fifty percent, Wisconsin is reducing pollution from a coal plant, New England is getting new high-performance housing communities, a new solar panel reduces cooling costs, a report shows the United States is the largest wind power market, and a Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative aims to improve the U.S. manufacturing sector’s energy productivity, and we have new upcoming green events.

Melbourne Achieves Carbon Neutral Status

Low Carbon Australia, an independent carbon offsetting authority for the Australian Government, has certified the City of Melbourne to join Sydney, Yarra, and Moreland City as having met the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) for carbon neutral status.

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Bright Beads lighting pendants by Marz Designs are handcrafted from American Ash, American Oak, American Walnut, Rock Maple, and Smoked Ash (FSC-certified timbers), and come with E27 screw-in lamp holders that are suitable for LED and EE bulbs.

Six configurations are available, dubbed Abacus, Africa, Aleenta, Alice, Art, and Aztec, which can be hung individually or in clusters to create chandelier arrangements. Five feet of electrical cord facilitate their installation from ceiling hooks or through less obtrusive methods.

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Scott Bergford is a custom builder in Olympia, Washington, who is managing to keep his company afloat during the housing slump by building green, cottage-style homes that are affordable and use high-performance technologies and products. His Scott Homes are known to be “some of the most energy efficient houses in Washington State.”

The recently built 2,020-square-foot Inspiration Home is certified to Energy Star 3.0, EPA Indoor airPlus, and Built Green Level 5, and sold for $450,000.

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Whether you live and work in a large space or tiny home, green garden interior design serves form and function, not to mention brightening a space to improve livability and productivity. Industrial designer, Marko Vučković, loves to bring a unique approach to create elegant and comfortable environments, and his brainchild, the Grass Lamp is a beautiful example of his inspirational solutions. Read more »

Many of our home devices are wasting electricity when they are consuming power in standby mode.  Some of these gadgets don’t even have an on/off switch and you have to unplug it or connect it to a power strip that you can turn off.

It might only be a few watts, but add up all of the phantom power consumed in your home and you might be motivated to find a way to save electricity costs. Some estimates put the power usage of standby devices at ten percent of total consumption. Heat generated from devices can limit their lifespan and require your air conditioning systems to work harder. Read more »