Ocean wind turbines: good, bad or both?

Imagine slender white windmills grazing the ocean's horizon.  They produce a steady flow of power to the land nearby letting you cook your dinner and wash your clothes with power generated by the wind.  It's not just a dream anymore, although it isn't quite a reality yet either; as these are more expensive than the turbines on land).  

While harnessing ocean's current and it's constant wind patterns may seem like a good answer to our energy dependency concerns, there are a few things we could think about (that I haven't really heard discussed yet, let me know if you have!)  Would these wind farms affect aquatic life?  They must stretch deep into the bowels of the ocean to anchor, perhaps disturbing the ecosystem.  What material would they be made of?  Would it leach into the water?  Some folks are concerned about 'views'  and that is a valid point too.  We already see so much of our land cluttered with buildings, sidewalks, infrastructure, do we want our oceans teeming with it too?

I'm not trying to knock wind turbines on the ocean, I think its actually a fantastic idea.  But I wonder ... if those who put in the first roads saw what our landscape is today, would they have done things differently?  

Its just as important to design for today as it is for tomorrow.

Vampire Electronics: save 75% of the energy you use!

Vampires can be sexy, but vampire electronics are not.  Vampire electronics suck on energy instead of blood, and consume more energy than you use when your appliances are ON!  Yes, this means even when your electronics are in the off position they are sucking away on the neck of your electricity bill.  It is unfortunately our appliances weren't designed to stop consuming energy when in the off position & still plugged in.  But alas, even designers don't think of everything.

If you are too lazy or forgetful (like me) to be plugging things in and out all the time, try the smart power strip by Gaiam.  It basically acts a shield to protect your electronics from wasteful energy use.  It may cost $39 dollars but you will save on that in your electricity bill, if you have your entertainment system plugged into it.  Even better, it reduces your carbon footprint, and maybe you can feel better about your Nintendo, Playstation, Wii and whatever other game console you have plugged in all at once :)

Efficient Lighting: LED's!

What's the story about the lighting in your workplace/ store/ restaurant/gallery? Is it energy efficient? Will it pay itself back? Does it get rebate incentives from the state?

Check out eco-story's LED lighting solutions!

-You will increase the life of your current galogen or incandescent bulb by 35000 hours!

-Easy install (screw baby screw)
-No mercury or other harmful substances!

-Tax credits available for installation cost!
-Custom Manufactured to your lighting needs: Kelvin color, beam spread, and light output.
-Return on Investment of 1.3 year on average.

Also, if you are interested, you can call them and they will create a spread sheet showing your savings over time AND they will help you find a rebate in your area.

If this isn't incentive to use less energy for your lighting plan, I don't know what it.