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Join the staff of Sustainable Industries as we cover exclusive industry events, share our thoughts on the daily news and offer insights on trends in the sustainable business sector.

The state of Washington State's cleantech industry

By Charles Redell

December 1, 2010

How strong is Washington's cleantech sector? Not very according to a piece on Washington's tech-industry focused blog TechFlash from earlier this week. Jon Prentice wrote: ...Investors and entrepreneurs recognize that the Evergreen State has largely failed—thus far—to become a national leader in the development and deployment of clean technology.

PG&E taps scrapped appliances for carbon offsets

December 1, 2010

Northern California’s largest utility is looking to old appliances to supply carbon offsets for a customer program, a move that could also bolster a nascent corner of the carbon credit market.Pacific Gas and Electric this week said that it has added a new offset project to its ClimateSmart program, which allows residential and commercial customers to offset the emissions from their electricity use through a surcharge on their monthly utility bills.

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GE launches home energy management division

November 30, 2010

Smart appliances, electric vehicle chargers, energy management devices: GE has already established itself as a major presence in the space where consumers will interact with the smart grid. Now the global conglomerate has launched a new business unit to develop and commercialize its home energy management technologies as part of its Appliances and Lighting division.

Coda joins Hertz's EV initiative

By Sara Stroud

November 22, 2010

Travelers heading to Southern California late next year could have a new option at the rental car counter. Electric carmaker Coda Automotive on Monday announced a deal with Hertz to supply its electric vehicles to the company’s rental locations there.

What's your water heater's IQ?

By Sara Stroud

November 18, 2010

Smart home appliances could slash energy use and help ensure a smoothly operating smart power grid. But for the devices to make a dent in electricity consumption -- and market share—manufacturers, utilities and other industry players have some work to do, according to a Pike Research report released Thursday.

Charge it!

By Sara Stroud

November 16, 2010

Got MasterCard? Then you can charge up your electric car and charge it, at least on San Francisco's Pier 27.Parking lot operator Priority Parking has installed the city’s first two commercially owned, credit card-enabled public charging stations. The stations, supplied by Silicon Valley startup Coulomb Technologies, will make charging an electric vehicle "as easy as buying a Coke from a Coke machine," according to Richard Lowenthal, the company's chief executive.

Oregon company has big plans for small wind

By Sara Stroud

November 16, 2010

The small wind industry is poised to swell in the next several years, according to manufacturers and industry analysts. But to really take off, projects must overcome siting, permitting and financing hurdles.Xzeres, an Oregon-based small wind company, this week said it has developed a program to smooth out and speed up the process of getting turbines up and running.

Doxo wants to get rid of your mail

By Sara Stroud

November 12, 2010

Seattle startup doxo says it can save companies money while eliminating the waste and greenhouse gas emissions that come from billing customers by snail mail.

Obama administration launches three home efficiency initiatives

November 10, 2010

The Obama administration has cited a shortage of reliable information, financing options and skilled workers as three things keeping energy efficiency retrofits from taking off.On Tuesday, federal agencies announced a three-pronged strategy to tackle those problems and jumpstart the home energy retrofit market by unveiling a home energy scoring system, a retrofit financing program and worker training and certification guidelines.

Accounting for graphic design impacts

November 8, 2010

About 80 percent of a product's environmental impact is determined in the design stage, according to sustainable design guru John Thakara. Driven both from within and by customer demand, designers are increasingly striving to measure the impacts of the products they create. But in the graphic design field, designers say they run into a lack of standards and information about how to measure the real-world ramifications of their work.

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