Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

WegoWise Top 5 Links for Music Festivals

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, May 24, 2013

The WegoWise office is abuzz today in anticipation of our homecity's own music festival, Boston Calling, this weekend. Music festivals continue to gain popularity around the world, with thousands of eventgoers streaming in to remote (and not-so-remote) locations to celebrate and listen to some tunes.  With such a concentration of people staying, partying, and doing the things people do, music festivals have an uphill struggle to avoid potentially serious environmental impacts.  Whether your a concerned citizen, an avid festival-goer, or planning your own Memorial Day "boombox, burgers and buds" backyard festival this weekend, take a look at our Friday links and get some knowledge!

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Recycling, Green living

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Friday

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, May 03, 2013

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, or just looking to kill some time before five on a Friday, WegoWise has got you covered.  So peruse our best links, learn something new, and be sure to leave us some feedback in the comments!

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, News and Policy, energy star

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Friday

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, Mar 08, 2013

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, kill some time on a Friday, or check out a funny video of a dog, WegoWise has got you covered.  Check out this week's links for some neat photos, interesting thoughts on LED bulbs, and perhaps the greatest GIF of them all.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, News and Policy, Recycling, Green living

Smarter, Scrappier, and More Sustainable: Energy Resilience

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, Mar 01, 2013

Formed in conversation with Sustainability, Resilience is the idea that in a future of more frequent severe weather events, long-term global climate change, and geopolitical turmoil, we should restructure our major cultural systems to not only tread lightly on the earth, but to be resilient to disaster, and more adaptable to unexpected changes. 

Resilience is predicated on the fact that the major systems structuring our lives are static and fragile.  Our transportation, food system, and electrical grid, for example, are all massive, complicated systems that we rely upon daily, but which are prone to break during disaster events such as hurricanes, drought, or fuel shortages.  Specifically in this blog post, I’d like to talk about how resilience applies to energy.  

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Energy efficiency

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Radical Futures

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, Feb 22, 2013

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, or just kill some time before 5 on a Friday, WegoWise has got you covered.  William Gibson famously said: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." Each news cycle brings more support to his claim as wild technologies aim to transform the way we use energy, grow food, and live on our planet . Read up on some of the latest revolutions happening around us, and be sure to share the information you learn with other interested parties at the parties you're hopefully attending this weekend.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, News and Policy, Energy efficiency

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Municipal Benchmarking Laws

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, Feb 15, 2013

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, or just kill some time before 5 on a Friday, WegoWise has got you covered.  With President Obama's State-of-the-Union endorsement of energy efficiency, we're looking forward to seeing what new initiatives get pushed forward in the coming years.  One rising trend in energy legislation is the growth of municipal benchmarking and disclosure laws.  From New York to Seattle to Washington, D.C., cities are catching on to the value of measuring, comparing, and analyzing how buildings use energy. So read up on some of the latest developments in this field, and be sure to share the information you learn with other interested parties at the parties you're hopefully attending this President's Day weekend.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, News and Policy, Energy efficiency

Tidal Power: From Grinding Grain to Fifteen Gigawatts

Posted by Nate Brevard on Wed, Jan 30, 2013

Tidal Power has been in the news this month, but for at least 1500 years we have been harnessing the power of the ocean’s tides to improve our lives. Since the Middle Ages, tide mills have been used to grind grain, and beginning in 1966, we have been using tidal generators to generate renewable electricity.

Active old-style tide mill, Portugal

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Holiday Light Displays

Posted by Sam Watters on Fri, Dec 07, 2012

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 DanNateLilyCatherineCasey, and Joanna.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Recycling, Energy efficiency, Green living

Zero Energy Buildings: An Exploration

Posted by Adam Nestler on Tue, Nov 20, 2012

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.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Construction, Energy efficiency, Green living

WegoWise's Top 5 Links for Wind Power

Posted by Kate Voorhes on Fri, Sep 14, 2012

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. Last weekend was pretty breezy here as storms moved up the coast and that got us thinking about wind.  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 DanNateLily, Catherine and Casey.

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Tags: Renewables, Sustainability, Energy efficiency