The California Energy Commission passed a new policy this week that would require all TVs sold in the Golden State to meet specific energy-efficiency standards. The law is the first of its kind in the country and is projected to save the state over $1 billion in annual energy costs.
Beginning January 2011, new standards will take effect that prevent the sale of energy-sucking televisions with screen sizes 58" and smaller, requiring new models to consume 33% less electricity by 2011 and 49% less by 2013.
As the standard for television size has grown, so has the energy consumption of the appliances, increasing from 3-4% in the 90s to 8-10% in 2008. Without intervention, this number is expected to climb to 18% in 2023, according to the commission. The new standards will reduce energy consumption, thereby lowering energy bills. It will also help avoid the construction of a new power plant and reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions.
The regulations include both liquid-crystal display and plasma HD TVs and the old-fashioned cathode ray tube and rear-projection sets.
"The real winners of these new TV energy efficiencies are California consumers, who will be saving billions of dollars and conserving energy while preserving their choice to buy any size or type of TV," Energy Commission Chairman Karen Douglas said in a statement.
Some retail groups and trade associations aren't exactly fans of the new regulations, claiming it needlessly limits consumer freedom, and has potential to cause employee layoffs.
"Manufacturers are already making energy-efficient models, so imposing regulations is absolutely unnecessary, " said Jason Oxman, senior vice-president of industry affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents companies within the consumer technology industry.
The regulations don't require consumers to get rid of their current TV sets, and wouldn't prohibit them from buying less energy-efficient models online or across state borders (though we can't imagine why you would want an energy wasting model vs. a more eco-friendly option.)
Anyone who has ever used a social network is familiar with "unfriending" - the act of deleting someone from your friends list on sites like Facebook for one reason or another. The term has become so popular in recent years, the New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen "unfriend" as their 2009 Word of the Year!
The Word of the Year is supposed to reflect the ever-evolving English language. Each year, Oxford University Press chooses one word that they feel best sums up the mood of that year.
So for 2009, this word is "unfriend." Am I the only one that thinks that is a little bit sad?
Other contenders were: netbook (a small laptop), and sexting (sending sexually explicit texts and pictures via cell phone). My, my what a tech-heavy world we are living in!
What do you think of their choice? Do you regularly use the term "unfriend?"
Life is full of things that just aren't fair, like bad traffic when you're already late, the person in front of you getting the last blueberry muffin, getting the flu the night of your big graduation ceremony, or in graffiti artist Tony Quan's case, becoming paralyzed from head to toe and no longer being able to do what you love the most, draw.
Tony, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's Disease, is not one to let something silly like paralysis stand in the way of his dreams. So he developed EyeWriterEyeWriter, the open source computer program that allows him to draw and create art using nothing but his eyes - the last body part he still has control over.
Learn more about the EyeWriter technology in the clip below from the documentary that tells Tony's amazing story:
Do your friends and family give you a hard time about spending too much time online, calling you a loner or saying you have no social life? You and I know they're wrong, but a new study proves that time spent on the Internet can actually increase your social activity rather than create isolation, as previously thought by many, especially in the days before the popularity of Facebook and celebrities on Twitter.
The study, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that social networking, e-mailing and blogging can lead to larger and more diverse social networks.
“Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.”
The study states that though social isolation still effects roughly 6% of the population (and has since about 1985), internet usage isn't making that number grow.
In addition to confirming that internet users are more likely to reach out to those from different ethnic backgrounds, the research confirms some data already widely accepted, such as the primary reasons for use, i.e., keeping in touch with "IRL" family and friends. The group of 2,512 adults polled reported that they called each person in their close circle of friends at least 195 days in a year, and saw them in person 210 days a year. 71% of MySpace and Facebook users listed at least these same members of their core network of friends as a friend on one of these services.
The study also found that 45% of internet users are more likely to visit a coffee shop, bookstore or other public, un-isolated place where internet access is readily available for use.
The entire study's findings are pretty interesting and can be read here.
Has your internet usage caused you to be more or less social in the real world?
Have you always dreamed of taking a trip into outer space but couldn't convince your parents to foot the bill for space camp? Come 2012, you might be able to take a luxury vacation in space, as a Barcelona-based company Galactic Suite Ltd. is planning on opening the universe's first "out of this world" hotel.
The Galactic Suite Space Resort will be a multi-billion dollar resort that allows visitors to take a trip around the world 80 times, watching the sunrise an incredible 15 times a day (do you think that would be as interesting the 15th time as it was the first?)
Prior to their three-day retreat in their space condo, complete with velcro suits and fuzzy walls for Spiderman-like mobility, guests will complete an eight-day training session in the Caribbean. We hope that includes a few massages, because the cost of this trip will blow your mind.
The Galactic Suite will cost a mere $4.4 million, apparently chump change to some, as there are already 23 people who have booked reservations, and a growing list of others who are interested in taking a trip.
Providing food aid to Iraqi refugees in Syria is about to get a little bit easier, and a little bit more technologically advanced. The UN World Food Programme announced today that they are launching a new initiative that will deliver food vouchers to all 130,000 refugees via text.
The vouchers can be exchanged for food products such as rice, wheat flour, lentils, chickpeas, oil, canned fish, cheese, and eggs at certain stores. The 4-month long test project would provide 1,000 refugee families with $22 (15 euro) vouchers every two months via SMS through a special SIM card.
WFP spokesperson Emilia Casella told reporters that all food aid recipients in the region already have mobile phones: “We’re currently providing news about distributions on mobile phone messages to the 130,000 caseload right now.”
If the mobile distribution of food aid is successful, the organization will consider extending the program into other regions. Casella also pointed out the socio-economic benefits to allowing the refugees to buy food locally as they need it, as opposed to visiting distribution centers or having it delivered.
"It also is better for the economies of the communities in which we're able to use food vouchers because in essence we're not giving food away but we're actually providing an additional market to the local shopkeepers," she said.
We hope the program is successful and that it serves as an effective means to distributing food relief to those in need.
If you were impressed by the kid who created his own version of Guitar Hero using a bicycle and some sidewalk chalk in his neighborhood, you're really going to be blown away by this. This promo video for the UK band Kasabian's new album recreates the game by creating giant buttons attached to the wall, which are "pushed" by soccer players kicking balls at them in time with the music.
See the madness for yourself:
Pretty cool! What a creative way to promote an album.
Great news, members and friends of SocialVibe - we're a finalist in this year's Think Social awards! The Paley Center for Media's Think Social awards recognize individuals, initiatives and organizations who are using social media to connect people and ideas to address society's most pressing challenges.
We're in great company with the other list of worthy nominees, so we need your help to win!
This is a highly respected recognition and we are honored to have been nominated at all, much less make it to the final round. With your help, we have a great shot at winning. Please help us by voting for SocialVibe at this link, and don't forget to leave a comment on the voting page about why you think we deserve a Think Social award!
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