SFGate - Staff

Following in the footsteps of their wildly popular, uber-hip glass baby bottles, physical therapist Pam Marcus and integrative designer Daren Joy have just released their latest innovation - an adult-size, 22-ounce version that’s also made of glass yet practically unbreakable, eco-conscious and just plain fun to look at.

It took two years to develop their company, Lifefactory, which included finding a glass manufacturer to create the required thickness and curvaceous shape and others to develop the silicone sleeve and wide-mouthed top, all with FDA-approved materials. (Full Article)

Adobe installs tall turbines to create renewable power

The new wind turbines spinning slowly at Adobe Systems’ headquarters in San Jose could be mistaken for sculpture. In fact, they already have been.

Tall, slender cylinders that hold more air than metal, they look nothing like the giant rotors turning above the Altamont Pass. But they generate power all the same.

“The other day I was standing here, and one of the employees was saying, ‘Don’t you think we’ve overdone it with the art?’ ” said Randy Knox, Adobe’s senior director of global workplace solutions. “I told him it’s not just art.”

At a time when companies throughout California are bolting solar panels to their roofs, softwaremaker Adobe has taken a different approach to renewable power, installing 20 small wind turbines at its headquarters.

Sales of small-scale wind systems have grown rapidly in recent years. So far, they remain niche products, garnering just a fraction of the attention lavished on rooftop solar. (Full Article)

The RNLI’s only year-round lifeguards have spent their first Christmas working at Europe’s first artificial surf reef in Dorset.

Three lifeguards are providing cover at Boscombe beach throughout the festive season, including two on Christmas day.

Bournemouth Borough Council is funding the new year-round operation. RNLI lifeguards normally operate on beaches only until autumn.

RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews were also on standby across the Dorset coast.

Michael Winter, 27 and Andy Reakes, 23, are the lifeguards who were due to be on duty on Christmas Day.
Mr Winter said as he prepared for his shift: “We’re preparing for a busy time on Christmas day.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed for some surf and hopefully the reef will be working, but I am sure there will be plenty of people making the most of their day with the family and wanting to get into the water whatever the conditions.” (Full Article)

The Copenhagen talks may have ended on a whimper, but that doesn’t mean we can’t individually continue to explore ways to extend the planet’s lifespan, even just a tad.

With such considerations in mind, One Block Off The Grid (1BOG) and groSolar are offering a discount to Bay Area homeowners over the next month to bite the bullet and install solar panels. At the same time, they are launching a pilot program with Solar Richmond which will provide 4-week vocational solar training and soft employment skills to low-income Bay Area residents for green-collar jobs. (Full Article)

One Block Off the Grid, groSolar and Solar Richmond are offering solar customers an opportunity to sponsor a solar worker through Jan. 31.

Solar Richmond offers technical training to potential solar employees. Through the new program, residents interested in solar can make a tax-deductible $112 donation on top of their solar system costs to sponsor a graduate of Solar Richmond’s green jobs training course. That sponsored worker will get two days of hands-on training installing the customer’s solar system alongside solar installer groSolar. (Full Article)

Consumer demand for mobile TV and VOD is being driven by the ability of smartphones to deliver personalised and targeted content that can be accessed immediately. ¬The recent Olswang ‘Digital Convergence’ Survey of UK consumers revealed that ownership of an iPhone encouraged 37% of users to substitute their home TV viewing by watching VOD services on their device.

MobiTV, a provider of live streaming and VOD services, believes that devices like the iPhone have transformed the experience of watching TV on a mobile handset and support the view that smart phones will continue to drive consumer adoption of mobile TV services. (Full Article)

Consumers Earn Virtual Currency By Shopping Online, Publishers Gain New Revenue Channel

LOS ANGELES - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sometrics (www.Sometrics.com) today launched a new in-game Shop & Earn Shopping Feed that enables consumers to earn virtual currency for games when they make online purchases at select brand-name retailers. Shop & Earn helps consumer’s purchases go further while generating revenue for publishers of free-to-play games.

Much like earning airline miles or cash back when using a credit card, people playing participating games online can use the Sometrics Shop & Earn Shopping Feed to earn virtual currency for use within a participating online game, extending and enhancing their game play. Players looking to earn game currency simply click through the Shopping Feed to get to their favorite participating retailers, purchase products as they normally would, and watch their game credits increase. (Full Article)

Largest Solar System in the upper CT River Valley

groSolar, a national leader in solar power with headquarters in Vermont, announced today completion of the largest solar power system in the Upper Valley on the roof of RSD Companies. The building is the location of groSolar’s White River Junction, Vt headquarters.

RSD Companies financed the 100 kw system through a 3rd party “power purchase agreement,” which gives the company stable long-term power costs and a greener building, without any up-front costs. The system should produce 120,000 kilowatt hours per year and will be net-metered to offset up to 20 percent of the power used by multiple tenants of the building, including groSolar. Net metering means that excess power will be sold back to the area utility: Green Mountain Power (GMP). (Full Article)

In front of City Hall here, three white cylindrical structures have recently been installed. They look like minimalist Danish sculpture, and their name, Windspires, evokes that as well.

But these are totally functional devices. The Windspire, brought to the market last year by the U.S. company Mariah Power, is a small, vertical-axis wind turbine. In a bid to introduce wind power into the cityscape and to raise public awareness of energy use, the utility company Dong Energy, 73 percent-owned by the Danish government, has acquired exclusive rights to sell it in Denmark. (Full Article)

Couple hopes to make a climate difference while on vacation

Copenhagen/White River Jct., Vt. - When most people take vacation the idea is to escape, not to make a difference. Jeff and Dori Wolfe of White River Jct. are not “most people”.

They are the co-founders of groSolar, the nation’s fourth largest residential solar energy installer and nationwide distributer. Jeff and Dori will be “vacationing” in Copenhagen on the darkest month of the year. The main draw for the couple - the climate change conference in Copenhagen.

“We’re going to Copenhagen not simply to watch, but to move the world toward a sane climate policy. Taking vacation at a climate conference is not most people’s idea of fun, especially in Denmark in the winter, but Dori and I did not hesitate to commit to it,” said Jeff Wolfe.

The couple will be traveling as part of the delegation from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the U.S. national trade group for the solar power industry. SEIA has “party status” - meaning the organization has been nominated by the U.S. to participate in climate discussions at the conference. SEIA will be working with other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) during the conference. (Full Article)