So if you haven't had a chance to get in on the energy talk over at EnergyBabble, you might want to try it out. EnergyBabble is a new WhiteFence blog dedicated to giving you the scoop on energy and natural gas — and how that relates to you in your world. Definitely worth a place among your regularly visited websites.
EnergyBabble is often updated with new and exciting material. Just this morning Brett penned some thoughts about wind power and its place in the future of energy. Apparently, while wind power is growing in and around the country, significant changes need to take place in order to make it a more viable long term option for renewable energy. As of now, it only accounts for a small percentage of total energy. If you're interested in learning more about wind energy and would like to be a part of the energy conversation, be sure to read up on it at EnergyBabble.
Ever wonder if your home television or music entertainment system is helping or hurting the environment? Monica has posted an interesting find over at CommJunkie about a new speaker model from Klipsch. For those who are unaware, Klipsch is a maker of high quality audio products. Apparently they are doing some revamping with one of their speakers. Typically, "the line is made from zebrawood, an exotic type of wood which is often used in the production of high-end speaker cabinets". Unfortunately, this type of wood is found in the Rainforest.
To make things better, Klipsch is changing its ways and moving to a veneer made from different trees from a controlled harvesting forest. For more information about these greener speaker cabinets, hit up CommJunkie, WhiteFence's new blog that helps you feed your home entertainment addiction.
Want to find out what the people in your city are paying for their utilities? WhiteFence is proud to introduce the new-and-improved WhiteFence Index. If you aren't familiar with the WhiteFence Index, it's a tool to help you compare your monthly utility bills to the average that your neighbors pay. Whether you're switching, transferring home services or moving into a new home, the WhiteFence Index is a great resource to help budget your move and monthly utility bills.
The WhiteFence Index is currently available for 21 of the nation's top cities. The averages for telecommunications services are based on the orders that we see from our many websites, while the averages for electricity and natural gas are obtained differently. Due to our widespread relationships with service providers and our knowledge of the energy industry, WhiteFence has been able to get the actual price for each city published. If you'd like to read more about how these averages are compiled, feel free to read more at the WhiteFence Index methodology
A couple of features and improvements have been added to the newest version. One of the more notable upgrades is that each city now has its own city-specific page, so that you can compare between two different locations. This is especially useful for movers who are relocating and can really help you plan out a secure budget for your first few months in a new home or apartment. The other important addition to the WhiteFence Index is the ability to compare the average costs on individual home services. This means that you can compare what people in Houston paid for Internet service to what people in Atlanta paid for Internet service.
To discover more about what you could be saving on home utilities, head on over to the WhiteFence Index.
With oil and natural gas prices climbing, it looks like we're all in for one hot Summer. Naturally, there are some consumers growing concerned with the way that costs are continuing to rise, especially as the price of cooling a house during the summer looms. Fortunately for Texas electricity users, companies like Reliant™ and TXU are stepping in to help seniors and low-income households during the Summer months.
Apparently, TXU said recently that for the months of July, August and September, it won't be turning off anyone's electricity. Rather, customers will work out a payment plan of some kind in order to continue receiving their power. Likewise, Reliant™ "says it's calling a moratorium on
disconnecting power from July 1st through September for critical care,
low income and senior citizens or low-income customers".
While offering deferred payment options can be common for some electricity providers, it's not every day that you'll see companies offer a moratorium for several months, along with some heavy discounts for low-income households. If you want to read more about the Reliant™ and TXU summer savings, you can do so at KTEN. To find out if you or someone you know is eligible for these kinds of savings, be sure to call your provider directly.
With many countries from around the world quickly turning their attention to green energy, several governments are working on plans to create long term energy efficiency strategies, where the end goal is to have a country running on a certain percentage of green energy within a few years. The products of these strategies are new and ambitious projects that look to change the landscape of green energy all around the world. In a recent article, Forbes takes a gander at some of these astounding green undertakings.
While the projects are worldwide, a few are located here in the United States — namely California's Mojave Desert, home to many new solar-thermal power plants. Texas is also mentioned for its 2,700 turbine wind farm which "will be able to power 1 million homes when construction ends." It is being built by Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens.
Other projects that Forbes takes note of are interesting as well, including "the world's first building-integrated wind turbine skyscraper" as well as an offshore London wind-farm. Visit Forbes to read more about the other green endeavors that made the list. Also, check up on GreenEnergyChoice to find out how you can contribute by offsetting your energy and make great use of all of that excellent Texas wind energy.
Cream, sugar and high-speed Internet? Last week, AT&T announced
that starting in May, AT&T customers and caffeine addicts alike
will get to experience Wi-Fi service in 7,000 Starbucks stores nationwide. The first market to get access to this exciting new addition will be San Antonio, Texas, whose residents should be seeing Wi-Fi access in many locations starting May 1st.
The benefit of using AT&T Wi-Fi will be included with several of the broadband Internet packages that the provider offers, including the AT&T U-verse package. To use the complimentary wireless access, "AT&T customers can connect to the Internet from Wi-Fi enabled
company-operated Starbucks locations nationwide by simply selecting 'ATTWiFi' after powering up their computers." For those who are not AT&T customers, there will be options in the coming months to purchase time on the Wi-Fi service.
To find out more about the Wi-Fi service, head over to the AT&T News Room to get the full details. Expect to see access at locations all around the country soon.
As you may already know, Earth Day is just around the corner. On April 22nd, 2008, hundreds of millions of people from around the world will be celebrating Earth Day in order to raise the general awareness about energy conservation and environmental protection and care.
While there are several great ways to participate, TampaBay has posted some helpful tips to help parents educate children about energy conservation. The tips are both practical and effective, ranging from teaching your children good habits like turning the lights off when they leave a room or unplugging non-used appliances to taking them out in nature and showing them what a treasure it is. Another tip mentioned is demonstrating that children are a part of this world and have a role to play in affecting the environment, for good or ill.
Since Earth Day falls on a weekday, many cities are holding related events this upcoming weekend. The guide also has a few tips on some fun Earth Day activities if you happen to live in the Tampa or St. Petersburg, Florida area. For more information, read up on the full article at TampaBay. To get more education about April 22nd, EarthDay has plenty of online resources as well. But most importantly, check out your local city guide and find out how to participate in the celebration locally.
Starting this weekend, Spike TV is launching the basic-cable premiere of all six films from the epic science fiction saga, Star Wars. The network is kicking off a two-weekend event tonight at 8/7C with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Episodes II and III will play on Saturday and Sunday (April 5-6), and Episodes IV, V and VI will run next weekend, April 11-13. This is the first time that all of the Star Wars movies will be played together in this chronological fashion on basic-cable.
In addition to the classic films, Spike will be running small featurettes about the films that were created by LucasFilm that inform viewers about the making of the movies, etc. One of the big selling points is that there will be a special preview of a new Star Wars video game coming in September, The Force Unleashed.
For those with HDTV, the first three films will be appearing in pristine high-definition. If you don't want to miss out on the Star Wars action, make sure that Spike TV is a part of your home cable or satellite service. To read more about the two-weekend event with all six movies, head over to Spike TV.
On Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 8 pm local time, many businesses and individuals from around the world are going to participate in Earth Hour. If you're wondering what Earth Hour is, it's an energy conservation awareness event that began in Australia in 2007. For one hour, people turn off their lights and non-essential electronics in order to raise awareness about saving energy and lowering carbon emissions. The event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.
One particular city that has received attention for its upcoming participation in Earth Hour is Phoenix, Arizona, which will reportedly turn off all the lights for the city-run buildings downtown. Shutting the downtown lights off for a large city seems to be quite the ordeal. "It sounds easy, but its kind of sticky, when you're talking about big,
tall buildings, ball parks and convention centers," commented Leslie Aun, a World Wildlife Fund representative. "There's a whole
electrical system
that really isn't designed to be turned on or off. So to actually pick
a specific time in the day and have all of these buildings go off at
the same time is quite a logistical challenge."
Millions of people around the world will be participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29th. To find out how you can help be a part of history, read more at Earth Hour. Likewise, AZCentral has more details about Phoenix and its participation.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released its data concerning the overall penetration of high-speed internet connections in America. To gather this information, the FCC asks providers to give some basic information a couple of times a year.
As of June 30, 2007, it seems that high-speed connections increased by 22 percent "from 82.8 million to 100.9 million lines in service, following a 27
percent increase, from 65.3 million to 82.8 million lines, during the
second half of 2006." What's interesting is that many of the "advanced" high-speed connections are to homes and domestic residences. And while there are over 100 million broadband connections, it seems that America is still ranked 15th in terms of the scope of its broadband use.
If you want to find out more about the FCC's data for broadband internet, you can read about it at Government Technology. Are you one of the millions that has yet to enter the broadband world? Moving and need to find the best service in your area? Find the high-speed internet service that works for your situation.
Last month, students at the University of Central Florida held a competition. And no, the NCAA was not involved. This particular competition had students squaring off to see who could save the most energy. The record-setting results have come in, and it seems that the students gave UCF a good show for green energy.
Nearly "6,000 students reduced their energy use by a competition-record 8.9
percent --enough to power 150 homes for a month or the equivalent of
nearly $17,700 in energy bills". The three winning buildings now have a chance to win prizes including scholarships, gift cards and pizza parties. Residents from each building have a short window to send in essays about their efforts to save energy.
All of this is part of UCF's long term plan to transform into a greener campus. By 2011, "the Center for Energy and Sustainability wants to reduce UCF’s energy
consumption up to 20 percent in all education and general buildings". To read more about the green contest, you can head over to the University of Central Florida.
Think your high-speed internet is fast now? Wait until 2009, when Comcast plans to roll out its new 100 Gbps optical networking. The provider is currently "conducting what it claims is the first test of 100-gigabit-per-second
optical networking equipment carrying live Internet traffic over a
production fiber infrastructure". The test is happening at the same time as the gathering of the Internet Engineering Task Force, which occurs this week in Philadelphia.
“This is a significant milestone in readying for the deployment of 100-gigabit optics,” said John Scanz, executive vice president of national engineering and technical operations for Comcast. “It’s an enabling building block for going to wideband.” The term "wideband" refers to one of the latest technology hurdles in the high-speed industry that puts several channels together to give users download speeds that are unheard of (100 Mbps or more).
To give an idea of how fast this wideband test is, current broadband speeds operate at around 10 Mbps on the high end for the average home. If you want to learn more about the test of this blazing fast internet, feel free to read up on it at Multichannel News.
Thinking about purchasing a hybrid automobile as your next vehicle?
In a recent article, the Star-Telegram out of Ft. Worth analyzes some key things to know about the energy-efficient autos including charging, how the car works and its fuel economy. It's an extremely helpful and informative piece, and should tell you all you need when considering your options for your next vehicle.
This week, Pacific Gas & Electric and BioEnergy Solutions opened a pipeline to transfer manure-generated gas. The gas is produced through the use of "digesters", machines that convert manure into gas. This gas, after being refined and separated, is then sent to PG&E, where they plan to use it to run their electrical plant as well as help give natural gas to homes. The process all starts at Vintage Dairy, a 5,000-cow farm.
Apparently the "Vintage Dairy facility is expected to provide enough gas for 1,200 homes." Additionally, BioEnergy expects to "deliver 3 billion cubic feet of gas to PG&E a year, enough gas for 50,000 homes." While being a great renewable energy resource, the process has the added benefit of protecting the environment, since "manure storage facilities are a source of groundwater pollution as well as greenhouse gases".
For more about the "cow power" process, read up on it at CNET.
Been looking to jump into the HD pool? Right now might be the perfect time to dive into the high-definition world. Best Buy and DIRECTV are teaming up to bring an enticing deal to consumers: buy an HDTV and receive $30 credits per month towards your DIRECTV bill, in order to "upgrade to a high-def service plan."
According to Chris Homeister, Best Buy's vice president of merchandising for home entertainment services, Best Buy wants to help people experience at home the same quality they witness in stores, and that the company is "making a dramatic statement about the importance of connecting a television to the right source for HD programming."
As with any deal, there are certain terms depending on the nature of your purchase. Head on over to Best Buy to check out the rules of the DIRECTV deal, which is only available in-store.
On February 17, 2009, the big switch happens in television— analog to digital. In order to adjust for this change, people will have to make sure that they have a television capable of receiving a digital signal, or a set-top box that converts a digital signal to analog. As you can imagine, this is causing quite the stir for consumers and corporations alike.
To help ease into the transition, the Federal Communications Commission has stepped up, releasing a "digital TV transition education order requiring broadcasters, pay-TV
services, retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers to promote
awareness of the nation's switch to digital television".
This information will be given to the public through notices on bills, on-air commercials, and more. All are trying to ensure that nobody misses the boat that leaves the
analog landscape, sailing off for clearer, high quality shores in the
land of digital. To learn more about the education order, visit SkyReport. For more information about the switch to digital, get caught up at Digital Television.
If you are a person that loves sleep, then you probably have March 9th already circled in an angry red color on your calendar. The time to move our clocks forward an hour happens in just a few weeks— but what happens to our energy bills?
While daylight-savings time has traditionally been thought to reduce energy use, there is a new study out of California suggesting otherwise. Professor of economics Matthew Kotchen and Ph.D. student Laura Grant have conducted a study using data from the state of Indiana, whose counties didn't fully participate in daylight-savings until 2006. Using data from the counties that already did move their clocks as a constant, they were able to look at the new participants' data and find the difference in their energy bills. By the study's calculations, the change of time at daylight-savings "costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills".
Though the study is not conclusive, the information put together is worth a read. For a full break down of the study (and even the history of daylight-savings), be sure to visit the Wall Street Journal.
Ever gotten a bonus from the boss for recycling? How about carpooling or putting less miles on your car? A recent post by Kelly Spors at Independent Street looks at a growing trend in companies— rewarding employees who participate in green energy programs.
For carpooling, taking public transportation or biking to work, Clif Bar & Co. give out "gift certificates and massages and forgivable loans of up to $5,000 for buying fuel-efficient cars, such as hybrids". Green Mountain Energy Co. in Austin, Texas is also getting in on the fun, providing incentives for employees who find better ways to commute.
It is definitely an interesting read, and begs the question of whether or not it is beneficial to renewable energy awareness for employers to offer bonuses in these kinds of programs. For more info, you can read the full Independent Street article.
It's that time of year again. The time of basketball upsets, rooting for the underdog, last-minute heroics and "bracketology". March Madness is upon us and it's bearing down fast.
It's lucky then that CBS and Comcast are teaming up to bring video-on-demand content to satiate the appetite of rabid college hoops fans. That's right, CBS and other providers are hosting HD content straight out of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship tournament, complete with highlights from dozens of games. There will also be a way to view "highlights from 25 of the greatest games from previous tournaments".
“Video-on-demand and
high-definition content are top priorities for MSOs,” commented Tony
Petitti, executive vp and executive producer, CBS Sports. “CBS College
Sports Network and CBS Sports are delivering exclusive, compelling
programming that has never been available before, as well as leading
the way in serving fans with more options, access and control.”
Blast off! Japan sent a satellite into orbit over the weekend, full of high-speed aspirations— the idea is that this satellite can provide all of Asia with blazing high-speed internet. A successful launch took place on Saturday evening, with the rocket taking off from the Space Center located at Tanagashima island.
Supposedly, the satellite will be of value to Japan for the next 5 years, supplying a signal that will allow for up to 1.2 GB per second download speeds. While the service won't be available until July, Japan is hoping to provide high-speed internet to rural areas that are hard to access given the current infrastructure.
Netflix announced last week that along with the rest of
the entertainment industry, it has chosen a side in the high definition movie
format war: Sony’s Blu-ray.The company
will move solely to Blu-ray in the near future, leaving HD-DVD behind in the
graveyard of previously ditched formats.Betamax or MiniDisc, anyone?
Confused about the next-gen format war between HD-DVD and
Blu-ray?So were most of the major
studios, until just last month.In
January, Warner Bros, who previously supported both formats, took the plunge
and went all-in with Blu-ray.This
tipped the scales heavily in favor of Sony’s new discs, leaving only Paramount (which signed
an exclusive deal in August) and Universal with Toshiba’s HD-DVD.The announcement from Warner Bros. came only
days before CES, one of the year’s largest entertainment and technology expos, leading HD-DVD backers to cancel their press conferences.After that, the dominoes kept on falling.
As Warner Bros. is the parent company to studios like New
Line and HBO, they followed suit soon after and voiced their alliance with
Blu-ray as well.Seeing this trend emerge, Netflix is now
making its move to Blu-ray also. Just this week, in fact, there are rumblings out of Japan that Toshiba is dropping HD-DVD for good, making Blu-ray the only sensible choice for high-definition home video.
Currently, Netflix offers over 400 Blu-ray titles.The online movie rental company will not be
picking up any new HD-DVD movies, but will continue to rent out HD-DVD titles
that are already in stock.
For more information about the Blu-ray announcement, you can visit Netflix.
Last week the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation announced a multi-million dollar plan to bring clean and renewable energy to the LoneStarState.To make this happen, the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation is
partnering with the Energy Foundation, a group dedicated to finding a solution for world-wide energy problems.The three year program is designed to help
lower global warming pollution and provide cleaner air, all while “benefiting Texas businesses,
consumers, and the environment," said Meredith Dreiss, the foundation’s
president. The proposal to bring green
energy to Texas is sorely needed- Texas gives off more
global warming pollution than any other state.In fact, Texas would rank in the top 10 as one of the world’s largest
emitters if it were still a country. This doesn’t mean that Texas is a newcomer to
the renewable energy game, however.According
to Eric Heitz, president of the Energy Foundation, Texas is ahead of the curve and “already
leads the nation in power generated from wind."
The hope is that the changes this initiative outlines will
help educate companies and consumers alike to the growing need for clean
energy.Such a process can be beneficial
to everyone involved, and can help the economy as well.Recently, other states have become involved
in the push for renewable energy— North Carolina now ranks
as the number three state in the nation as far as the quantity of clean energy
buildings is concerned, thanks to Food Lion LLC.How many other states will choose green
energy in the months and years to come?
Curious how much people are paying for their utilities in major cities across the country? The WhiteFence Index compares utility prices for phone, Internet, TV, electricity and natural gas among 21 of the nation's top cities. The WhiteFence Index not only provides averages for each type of home service, but also provides the national average for all home services as well as the average price for each city.
Phone, Internet and TV data is pulled from the hundreds of thousands of orders made through WhiteFence sites each month. WhiteFence determines the average cost for these communications
products based on the customer's base orders. To see more in depth details on the process for determining both the communications as well as the electricity and natural gas data, WhiteFence Index methodology.
Whether switching, transferring home services or moving into a new home, the WhiteFence Index is a great resource to help budget your move and monthly utility bills.
In the late 1980s, scientists and engineers began developing a new cable television system that would broadcast an all-digital television (DTV) transmission, and create the most significant advancement since color TV in the 1950s. The new technology is more efficient and allows for better sound and picture quality, as well as more programming options for consumers.
In 1998, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) worked with Congress to pass legislation to require the conversion from analog television transmission to the new digital format. They found by converting to the DTV system, analog frequencies will be freed up to be used for public safety, such as police, fire and emergency rescue services. In addition, the frequencies will be used to advance commercial wireless service.
So what has changed so far? As of March 1, 2007 all televisions receivers shipped interstate or imported into the United States must contain a built-in digital tuner. The digital tuner will allow consumers to view free, over-the-air programming much like the programming received via antenna today, the difference being the digital capabilities for more programming and enhanced audio and video output.
Analog televisions without a built-in or external digital tuner will NOT capture the digital signal, so a digital-to-analog set-top converter box will need to be used in conjunction with an antenna. In addition, the digital tuner is not necessarily a HD (high definition) tuner, and must be specified as such; HDTV will pick up the high resolution transitions that the digital tuners will not.
The transition has been pushed back to help the public prepare for the change, and the FCC has also provided for those consumers without paid television to obtain converters. Starting January 1, 2008 and ending March 31, 2009, households in the U.S. can request coupons at $40 each to use towards the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box.
So on February 17, 2009 all broadcasting will be in DTV format. The shift will create nationwide advancements in cable television, as well as public services. We are entering an age of technological innovation that will be touching every household in the country and simultaneously providing the same benefits to every consumer, entertainment and general safety.
The AT&T Foundation recently announced their launch of a $1.5 million competitive grant to help nonprofit organizations extend their educational outreach programs with wireless communication technology. It is a one-time award ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 for wireless applications and hardware.
"AT&T is committed to improving education and to supporting innovative applications of wireless and other technologies that help students achieve academic success," said Laura Sanford, AT&T Foundation president. "Mobile technology provides students of all ages with opportunities to learn anytime and anywhere."
Qualifications for the grant include:
Open to 501(c)(3) public charities and government instrumentalities nationwide
Funds are to be utilized to enhance education through wireless technology
Program must engage youth and adults in the process of life-long learning
51 percent or more of the project must target underserved populations, including racial and ethnic groups, low-income populations, seniors, youth and/or people with disabilities
For more information, such as deadline for submission and specific guidelines see the AT&T press release.
In keeping with their company motto to give back to the community they serve, Qwest has generously donated $8,000 to the Montana Conservation Science Institute's Camp Eureka.
Camp Eureka is a summer natural history camp for blind children between the ages of nine through 14. At camp, the children can learn to explore Montana's nature using blindness skills. This is also a chance for the kids to come together with peers that face the same daily challenges and mentors that are there to guide them and teach them new tools.
Beth Underwood, director of Camp Eureka, expresses her extreme gratitude for Qwest's donation. She knows that because of Qwest's generosity, the children can know realize their dreams.
In a time where cable theft is on the rise, EMBARQ has stepped up as a community partner to lend a hand and ask for help from the people of Las Vegas.
They have offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of any and all involved in the theft of their copper cable wires that transmit information to their valued customers.
Officials speculate that the wire is taken for the purposes of selling it to a scrap yard for a monetary profit.
Jim Hansen, senior vice president of Network Services at EMBARQ, says that copper theft is a danger to the public in general.
"When people steal cable, it puts the entire community at risk. Cutting cable can cut emergency communications which affects everyone. Imagine having a loved one suddenly in need of emergency medical assistance, only to find communications services don't work because someone just cut the cable to steal the copper."
Detective Mike Hope, director of Crime Stoppers of Nevada, states, "We're starting to see companies and associations across the nation start offering rewards, and I am pleased EMBARQ has recognized the seriousness of cable theft enough to get actively engaged and really take this effort to another level."
EMBARQ not only is dedicated to brining people reliable phone and Internet access, they strongly believe in focusing on the community it serves. By getting involved in Las Vegas, this company truly does stand by their word.
