Here are my latest picks of the most notable and noteworthy energy efficiency related news, features and happening in the U.S. and around the world. Can a ’smart grid’ turn us on to energy efficiency? According to research sponsored by the U.S. Government, improving the efficiency of the national electricity grid by 5 percent would be the equivalent of eliminating the fuel use and carbon emissions of 53 million cars… http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/01/eco.smartgrid/index.html Are greener gadgets even possible? This is an excellent article...

A roundup of energy efficiency news, features and happenings from the U.S.  Ameren Illinois Utilities Announce Successful Electric Energy Efficiency Pilot Program at Kroger The first of its type project involved replacing fluorescent lighting with high-efficiency LED lighting in frozen food reach-in cases and refrigerated dairy and beverage cases. It is anticipated the LED lighting will result in annual energy cost savings of more than $9,000 just for the one Peoria store… http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-03-2009/0004982459&EDATE= Energy...

A roundup of energy efficiency news, features and happenings from around the world. A global green building standard? Well not quite. Green Building Councils from the UK, USA, Australia, and the BRE in the United Kingdom (BRE is the owner of BREEAM) have signed an agreement to prepare a common methodology for calculating carbon emissions from buildings… http://www.johnherbert.hk/03/04/global-green-standards.html Dresden establishes Energy Efficiency Innovation Center German research organization Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and the Technical University of...

This edition’s articles focus on solar powered batteries, green gadgets and innovative electricity monitors and AC systems. Solar powered AA Battery Charger Rechargable batteries are a great invention, but if you dont have an outlet nearby to charge them, they are usless. So I designed a solar powered battery charger, which allows you enough power to charge a single AA battery wherever the sun may shine… http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar_powered_AA_Battery_Charger/ Home Made Solar Powered Batteries This is a fantastic idea: When your batteries...