Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. It's been 14 days since Black Friday, so chances are your neighbors have had their lights up for...about 14 days.  Show them up this year with an energy-efficient light display.  Not only will you dazzle them with your impeccable taste, but you'll have some extra gift money lying around at the end of the month!  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. Many of you may have spent the week since Thanksgiving acquiring presents for the holidays.  We've noticed a steady stream of deliveries in the office this week as our Black Friday bargains have been arriving.  Here are some environmentally friendly ways to wrap those for your friends and family.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.

2013 has been declared the International Year of Quinoa by the United Nations. Good news for some of us quinoa lovers here in the WegoWise office. Yet, this decision by the UN is surprising for some due to last year’s contentious New York Times article exposing the negative social impacts from increased global quinoa consumption on the Andean indigenous people who grow the crop. Due to quinoa’s soaring popularity, fewer indigenous people in top producing countries, such as Bolivia and Peru, can afford to eat the native grain, consequently switching their diet to cheaper processed foods. However, public discussion about the issue has brought to light the complexity of the situation and put forth some ideas on how to address the issue.

Upon hearing the terms "zero energy" or "net zero", one usually assumes that the amount of energy used by a house/building is equal to or less than the amount of energy produced by that house/building.

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up this week, there is a lot to prepare for, whether you are cooking, hosting, or travelling. Why not make this year's feast green? So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.

Hurricane Sandy tore through the northeast coastline last week leaving millions without power and causing an estimated $20 billion in property damages according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm. By landing in one of the most densely populated areas in the US, Hurricane Sandy’s powerful winds and torrential downpours hit areas at high-risk for contaminant release into the environment. Superfund sites, nuclear power plants, and oil refineries were all in peril. While the Northeast can breathe a sigh of relief that the risks of a nuclear meltdown at Oyster Creek Plant and landslides in New Jersey were not realized, the greatest environmental impacts of Hurricane Sandy might have been manifested in water contamination.

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. Election Day is right around the corner, but it's not too late to make greener choices than you did four years ago.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan,Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. Halloween is right around the corner, but it's not too late to make it a little greener than last year.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan,Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.

At both the beginning and end of their life cycles, modern electronics are a risk to the environment. Both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3, today's top mobile phones, are excellent examples of this. The process of putting these devices together starts, of course, with raw materials. The expensive, hard-to-find substances that polish the glass, make the screen's colors pop, and ensure the vibration buzzes are called rare earth metals--and extracting them from the earth can be messy. The refuse, or tailings, left over from mining are mildly radioactive and toxic acids are required as part of the refining process. When disposed of irresponsibly, the waste products from these mines have harmed nearby communities and poisoned water supplies. 

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. While your porch tomato plants might not qualify you as an urban farmer, you’ve already taken a step in the right direction. Urban farming season is coming to a close, but winter is the perfect time to plan for next year’s harvest. So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Lily, Catherine, Casey, and Joanna.