Michael Prager

I just got e-mail from the Prez asking me to party this weekend.

Actually, it's e-dressed to Georgie, but he really does want us to host an Economic Recovery House Meeting this weekend, to invite our friends and neighbors to watch a video and then discuss: 

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will jumpstart our economy and put more than 3 million people back to work.

It was surprising, and pleasing, to see an ad for the smart grid during yesterday's Super Bowl. 

In case you missed it, the ad was one of two (or more; maybe I missed it) by GE's ecomagination brand. It gave a gig to Oz's scarecrow, singing an adaptation of "If I Only Had a Brain," only the "only if" applied not to the singer but to the grid itself.

I first learned about the future and promise of LEDs at a Las Vegas trade show maybe six or seven years ago. I asked how long it might be before they were ready for the marketplace, and they told me, "three to five years."

Last year, when AIA came to Boston, I stopped by the Philips Color Kinetics booth and asked the same question, among others, and the answer was, "three to five years." 

I haven't written on biomimicry since GreenBuild, I don't think, but the Guardian has a story from one of its frontiers this morning, even though the story does not use the word.

The Times has a story this morning about how various entities — California utlities, midwestern colleges, etc. — are using the competitive instinct to enlist energy savers.

Yesterday's dedication of the new wind turbine behind the McGlynn Middle School in Medford was a rousing American celebration, with lots of politicians, fanfare, and presentations by schoolchildren. 

A British construction magazine has come up with a Sustainability Buzzword Generator, which rewards each click with a new phrase chosen at random from three columns. 

It was surprising how few of the phrases that came up for me were nonsensical, proving that the jungle of jargon has far more than one creature to be wary of. (Previously, I wrote about "green fatigue.")

Tourism officials on Bonaire say it will be the first totally sustainable island in the Caribbean. This is dubious, at best, of course. 

The claim, bubblingly reported on Inhabitat, refers only to energy generation, which falls fart short of true sustainability. For starters, we're talking about a Caribbean island — how are people getting there?

Powerpastcoal.org is a new-to-me site focusing on organized efforts during the first 100 days of the Obama presidency to move the nation beyond coal dependence.

It is a clearinghouse where advocates can join an action, or start one with support from others engaged similarly. It is affiliated with 350.org.

To join one, you can enter a zip code and see what's happening in your region. 

With the help of Jeremy Marin, a neighbor and efficiency activist, I've got an appointment with an energy auditor a week from Friday. 

Jeremy is part of the Energy Smackdown, and he arranged with Next Step Living Inc. to offer a volume discount to his teammates, and then to other interested parties.