Google Earth has put together an animated collection of images revealing how the Arctic ice has shrunk since 1979. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, this year, the frozen cover is the second smallest it has been since record keeping began. The worst year was 2007. In addition, the ice sheet is [...]

According to the EPA, 17% of all indoor household water use comes from showers or baths. If an average individual showers 10 minutes a day, a conventional high-flow showerhead, which emits about 3.5 gallons per minute (gpm), uses 12,775 gallons per year. That’s enough to fill more than 182 bathtubs. Care for a bath or [...]

Last week, Go Green Squads attended the annual Austin Apartment Association trade show “Lights, Camera, Action!” It was quite a fun, dynamic scene, with 1,200 registered attendees and 144 company booths. A few booths went all out with popcorn machines and mini golf games to win a free drink. It really was nice speaking with [...]

The sky flashed maliciously onto the rushing black billows of dust and debris. You see tornados on television and they look bad—uncontrollable, destructive masses that threaten lives and homes. This was more than bad. The whirling body measured an estimated 1.7 miles in width, larger than that of the entire city of Greensburg, Kansas; it [...]

I recently read that you can save more money by making every-day payments in cash rather than credit. This way, you can physically see your money leaving your pocket rather than paying with “imaginary” dollars on a card. We have trouble understanding what isn’t measured out in front of us. This is equally true in [...]

Recently, a commenter requested advice on making window doors more efficient. Susan Meredith, co-founder of Go Green Squads, actually wrote a section in her book (Beyond Light Bulbs: Lighting the Way to Smarter Energy Management) about what qualities windows and doors should have to be more efficient. According to Meredith, the main considerations with windows [...]

Switching from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs can save the environment about 30% on energy emissions and you up to $30 per bulb on your bills. Unfortunately, they can also make certain homes look like freshly sterilized oral surgeon’s offices. So, you want to be energy efficient, but don’t want leave your house guests fearfully scanning the [...]

At 95° F, you step into the gleaming sunlight, your hair feels like a wad of R-500 insulation, and you think, “Austin is a bit cooler today than normal.” The Texas sun is powerful. So powerful, in fact, that the state has the most solar energy potential in the nation. You would think we would [...]

Watch the October 11 7 On Your Side News Story: “Returning Stimulus Money”: Added: Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I (Susan) was one of 180+ applicants for the position of the first Chief Sustainability Officer in Austin. I missed the cut for the last six, and after attending presentations of the final candidates, I felt even more honored to have been considered. I look forward to supporting the new CSO, and Austin, in being [...]