Sierra Club Green Home

OSAKA, JAPAN — Sierra Club Green Home sits down with Peter Fannon, Panasonic’s US vice president of technology policy, to talk about Panasonic’s goal to be the leading eco innovation company in the global electronics industry. Fannon also tells SCGH what all the exciting technology being developed in Panasonic’s Japanese facilities means for US consumers and homeowners.

Steve Jobs left a legacy that began with the launch of the Apple Lisa in 1983 and the Apple Macintosh a year later. In light of the enormity of these changes and their impact on our lives, it might be a good idea to check Apple’s green legacy. (Photo courtesy of Apple, Inc.)

OSAKA, JAPAN — Panasonic Corporation wants to take over the world, or at least the electronics world. And the global consumer-electronics giant, based in Osaka, has a vision for what that world looks like. The company seeks to provide all the technology for home electronics, appliances, and even electrical vehicles (EVs).

Cloud computing technology can save US companies more than $12 billion in energy costs by 2020 and reduce 200 million oil barrels of carbon emissions per year. Such massive energy savings and carbon reduction is not pie in the sky … . It’s in the clouds. (Photo: Freedigitalphotos.net)

In today’s economy many businesses are looking for ways to save money. Whether companies are drawn by economic or environmental concerns, many simply do not have the time or desire to investigate solutions. Hence you, the eco-hero, can use these five tips to guide your company towards effective environmental solutions. (Photo © Iqoncept | Dreamstime.com)

The beauty of FTL Solar’s larger charging units is that they can provide a sustainable, secure source of renewable power. Able to power everything from small temporary structures that power laptops, cell phones, water purification and sanitation systems to large scale, state-of-the-art installations, the electrical energy produced by these lightweight, high density solar panels can be immediately used, stored in batteries, or even sold back to the grid. (Photo courtesy of FTL Solar)

There’s no shortage of energy to be saved in the world of computers. Today almost 90 million U.S. homes have at least one computer, and about 65 million new ones are shipped to homes and businesses every year. Computers and their attachments (“peripherals”) vary widely in their hunger for electricity. An efficient laptop, for instance, uses only 20 percent as much energy as some desktops.

It is now possible to green your audio system. The world’s first environmentally-friendly speaker systems are now available for purchase. You can jam to your favorite digital songs through these green music systems, and help the environment as well.

For those who love both music and the environment, we recommend the cardboard Eco-Speakers which are foldable and portable.

Browsing the record store for your favorite new CDs might be fun, but direct music download is a lot faster and sustainable. Why? Before downloads, you drove in your gas guzzler to the local music store, and then purchased CDs in those hard plastic cases which are definitely not sustainable.

More efficient TVs could save a lot of energy. According to the EPA, Americans’ 275 million TVs consume over 50 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. That’s 4% of U.S. households’ total electrical consumption–enough to power all the homes in the state of New York for an entire year.