Environmental Software

What are the areas for opportunity in Clean Tech in 2010?

To learn of the challenges the industry faces and enhance learnings, here are a few more events in Silicon Valley: Image from Silicon French website... read more

A Smart-Grid is defined as an interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers. It can be referred to at a city level, county, state, or national level, or even throughout a continent. The grid supports electricity generation, electric power transmission and distribution.

Other terms for Smart-Grid are smart electric grid, power grid, intelligent grid, FutureGrid, microgrid, intergrid and intragrid.Original photo from FreeFoto.com

Smart grids use digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency. Software is a critical component to successful Smart-Grid operations. Software standards, security and Open Source/Open Access methodologies have been gaining traction as the solution to Smart-Grid software applications: they are sustainable, cost effective and collaborative.

The Open Source initiative and Free Software methodology are two movements that focus on everyone’s right to use software.

products freely without paying the high costs required by the software companies. They also focus on the principle that the software source code must be available to everyone to modify, enhance, distribute or port to new environments.

Open Source is an architecturally driven approach that is not linked to a particular software company and can be applied at the strategic and enterprise levels as well as in tactical projects.

Using open source software enables the concept of FISDev, a Framework for Integrated Sustainable Development, which helps organizations move towards a software development approach focused on Sustainable Development.

Read more about Green software and sustainable software design.... read more

Remember how hitchhiking was an accepted mode of transit in America years ago? Well, now we have ride sharing. With approximately ¾ of commuters driving alone to work in the U.S. every weekday, alternative transportation modes bring many benefits.

Photo by dreamstime.com

Ride sharing is a simple way to save money, reduce one’s carbon footprint, provide opportunities to network and expand one’s contacts, reduce driving stress, as well as pleasant. Find friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are traveling the same way you are – for school, work, events or leisure – and share a ride.

There are several variations of sharing transit: carpooling, where pool members use their own private cars. Ride-share also refers to members jointly share the costs of a rented car; or sharing a ride in a hired vehicle with a hired driver, like a shared taxi, shuttle, vanpools, etc.... read more

One of the most popular Facebook applications is called (Lil) Green Patch.  As of April, it was the 6th most popular application on Facebook.  The application is a little game, where you have a pretend "garden" that you tend to.  You can send your friends things to plant in their garden, such as an apple tree or flowers.... read more

Everyone knows the say, "Put your money where your mouth is." Well, according to a recent CNET Greentech article that is exactly what they are doing.

 ... read more