REPOST: Green technology

Technology is often associated with waste and harmful elements that are damaging to the planet. However, in recent years, a new kind of technology has emerged that can change this general view: green technology. Learn more about it in this article from MotherEarthNews.com.

There are a lot of ways in which technology has transformed modern life, and it is simply wonderful just how much easier each new development has made our lives. However, for many years, with each new development came a new and more harmful challenge to the earth. Whether it is the non recyclable materials that are used, or harmful emissions from the processes that make them, there is a lot of new technology that is not what we would call eco-friendly. However, in the last decade or so, there has been a wave of new, green technology, a sort of “green revolution”. New, efficient technology is replacing the old, and it is transforming the way in which we live, and more importantly, our impact on the environment. Here are a few of the best new green innovations that have replaced less efficient tech.

Image Source: www.motherearthnews.com

Temperature Control

If there is one place where it literally pays to save energy, it is in your home. The cost of wasting energy is high, and it takes its toll when you get round to paying your bills every month. However, new technology means that we no longer have to waste energy by overheating or using too much air conditioning in our homes. When you are out, it is so easy to leave your heating running, so that it is nice and warm for when you get back. However, with the smart thermostats that are on the market these days, you don’t have to worry about that, because you can program it to follow your habits precisely. This means that, while you do not have to waste energy by heating or cooling an empty house, it will still be the right temperature for when you get home. With a system from industry leaders like Vivint or ADT, you can also automate your lighting, add solar power, and control everything from your phone, making it the ultimate green machine.

Green Cars

Automobiles are often held up as one of the largest contributing factors towards global pollution. However, in recent years, car manufacturers have made great strides towards completely eco-friendly practices. Companies like Toyota and Honda are often celebrated as some of the most eco-friendly companies in the world, let alone the automobile industry. They are constantly working on using green-friendly production processes, and have released a number of fuel efficient vehicles and hybrid cars.

Green Appliances

Furthermore, you can transform even the most traditionally environmentally unfriendly parts of your home. That is to say, your appliances. Companies like General Electric (GE) are starting to take notice of the effect that they can have on the environment, and GE has started a large green initiative that encourages energy efficiency in all of their products. You can even check on energystar.gov for an extensive list of energy efficient products to use in your home. In all of this, there is a lot that we can take away about the impact that our purchasing decisions have on the environment. But the one thing that we learn is that the future is green, and the future is now.

A business development manager from San Diego, Janique Goff is an advocate of green technology and continues to be involved in various projects that are pro-environment. Follow this Twitter page for more updates about green technology.

REPOST: How to tell a sustainable business from a greenwashing one: Interview with Paul Gilding

Eco-Business.com recently spoke with environmentalist and author Paul Gilding about his take on sustainable business practices, greenwashing companies, and government policies on climate change.

Paul Gilding, a writer and sustainability advisor based in Australia, is one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming Responsible Business Forum in Singapore this November 25 to 26. Image: Sustainable RSM

Paul Gilding has been fighting the good fight for over 40 years, from heading the well-known non-profit Greenpeace International and establishing his own sustainability-focused companies, to working with chief executive officers of many global companies.

The Australian environmentalist is also the author of the internationally acclaimed book called “The Great Disruption”, which discusses the critical juncture that humanity finds itself in, a period of transformation starting with how businesses operate and can grow the economy without adding to further environmental and social impact. Responsible businesses are those that recognise that society’s success is their success, he says. Truly sustainable companies “do good things in order to make money”, he explains, whereas a greenwasher merely does good things after they’ve made money.

Despite the worsening climate conditions and the implications it has on food, water and energy security, Gilding, who lives in southern Tasmania, believes that people will act within this decade, and the impetus to drive this change will be led by the private sector.

This November 25 to 26, he will be a keynote speaker at the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. He will be sharing his insights on the changing economic landscape and how businesses that innovate and act sustainably will triumph.

In this wide-ranging interview, Gilding speaks to Eco-Business about the green economy transformation, human nature and how history has proven we can respond strongly to global crises.  

You’ve spent more than three decades seeking to change the world and yet sustainability is still at its infancy in many parts of the world. What made you start then and why do you continue to do so until now?

I guess it’s the same with what has always been said to me from the science of climate change and risks and resource constraints – that we face very serious issues as humanity. My motivation is not so much protecting the environment – it is needed terribly – but protecting the stability of civilisation and humanity. And to do that we have to protect the ecological systems and the social systems which we depend on. That was my motivation 30 years ago and that is my motivation today. The big difference today is there's so much more urgency.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Saving the environment is Janique Goff's passion. Visit this blog for her thoughts on green initiatives, environmental preservation, and sustainable business.