Rewarding Trash: RecycleBank's Ron Gonen has big plans. | photo illustration by Matthias Clamer
"I had this idea that there were going to be these recycling carts all over the country with chips embedded in them," says Ron Gonen, CEO and cofounder of RecycleBank and a former Deloitte consultant. "Trucks owned by cities or haulers would have a mechanical arm that would go out and grab these carts, weigh them, and transmit that info wirelessly to my server. We would run an algorithm to convert the volume into points, and people would come to my Web site, and then I would have all these businesses accept those points. Nobody ever pulled me aside and said, 'Are you out of your freaking mind?' "
Gonen isn't crazy. In fact, he is one of a vanguard of green-tech geeks -- at both startups and established companies such as IBM -- who have developed sophisticated sensors and software systems to let individuals and companies measure and manage gas, electricity, and water usage; power-grid surges; traffic congestion; pollutants in rivers and other bodies of water; the effects of green roofs and solar panels; and, of course, the impact of increased recycling. These technologies aggregate the data they gather in easy-to-view interfaces, displaying relevant feedback in charts on a BlackBerry or in a 3-D virtual world.
The guiding principle behind these advancements is that "with better information, people will make better decisions," says Collin Breakstone, VP of business development for Agilewaves, a startup by three former NASA scientists who set out to give homeowners the same view into their energy use that Wal-Mart has of its supply chain. Research backs him up: Thirty years of studies about home energy show that simply seeing the impact of your behavior in real time cuts consumption by 5% to 15%.
Although a product such as Agilewaves' Resource Monitor can be installed in a home or small office for as little as $7,900, cities and large government agencies are the ideal customers for this basket of related technologies. Agilewaves hopes to market its product to municipalities, which need accurate predictions of energy use. IBM is introducing a Smart Planet label to link ongoing initiatives including a traffic-congestion-pricing system in Stockholm; a demand-based electricity-pricing scheme in the Pacific Northwest; and several water-management projects that will employ sensors and visualization tools in locations as diverse as New York's Hudson River and China's Yangtze. RecycleBank's Gonen has already wooed more than 70 cities and towns to use his service, with Dallas expected to come online this winter. Cities pay to put trash in landfills; RecycleBank diverts part of the waste and then shares in the savings.
RecycleBank's second revenue stream -- the targeted marketing data it collects along with customers' milk cartons -- signals the potentially controversial nature of smart technologies as they roll out to a wider audience. "As soon as you log in, we know things about you which almost no other Web site knows," Gonen says. "We know where you live, we know your email address, we know each week you've been home; we know how much you like to buy because we know how much you're recycling." There's a fine line between sensing and surveillance, especially when the government is the one screening the numbers, as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg discovered when his proposed congestion-pricing plan failed due in part to privacy fears.
For green-tech geeks, though, a nudge from Big Brother is unavoidable if these technologies are to radically improve the management of scarce resources. "A lot of the response to climate change depends on changing behaviors," says Colin Harrison, IBM's director of corporate strategy of earth, water, fire, and wind. "This is one of the most powerful levers we have to pull on."
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 20 Total
October 22, 2008 at 6:20pm by david winston
I'm glad to see fastcompany catching up to greentech. the page that I trust for my daily does of greentech/cleantech is www.greentechmedia.com they have the most in-depth reporting of all the pages that I check daily. the other good ones are nytimes green inc blog, earth2tech and WSJ Environmental Capital.
David Winston
NY, NY
October 23, 2008 at 10:10pm by Andy Funk
There are hundreds of amazing new companies in the greentech space. As a venture capitalist with a social and environmental focus, I have seen a large increase in the amount of greentech opportunities that require funding.
A great up and coming company to watch out for is Cyber-Rain (www.cyber-rain.com), which provides a smart sprinkler control unit that eliminates overwatering and will generally save more than 50% of your monthly water cost.
October 25, 2008 at 7:36am by Kevin Smith
Another company to watch out for is Energy, Inc. They developed The Energy Detective (www.theenergydetective.com) that monitors and reports your home energy consumption in order to help you conserve and save on your power bills.
September 14, 2009 at 2:42am by kagy helen
MOD Converter MOD Converter, as a professional conversion software,Can convert MOD to almost all the video formats support by PC,such as AVI,MPEG,MOV,WMV.The best MOD Converter also support Convert MOD to DVD,Blu Ray HD formats Devices.In additong,you also can use MOD converter to convert MOD to iPod ,iPhone,MP4,mobile phone and so on.Ok,now let's know more Features about the Emicsoft MOD Converter.
October 23, 2009 at 3:09am by jessic smith
In our daily life, online videos are more and more popular, we enjoy them.
However, just videos online can't satisfy our needs. Sometimes, we are likely to download it or put it on our portable player. If you want to this, the
information above can help you a lot. Now, just find what's your favorite online videos and do more with them.MTS Converter Mac
October 25, 2009 at 11:20pm by jessic smith
User-friendly and professional designed PowerPoint to video conversion interface PowerPoint Video Converter
Easy-to-use, no professional program knowledge required PowerPoint Video Converter
November 5, 2009 at 3:50am by shao miao
iPod Ripper Mac
November 6, 2009 at 12:48am by shao miao
Mac TOD Converter
November 18, 2009 at 3:42am by bodom bodom
QuickTime Converter for Mac, known as Mac quicktime converter, has powerful function of converting between all conventional video and audio formats, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, Divx, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB etc. What's more, the Mac quicktime mov converter can also convert video to audio formats, such as MP3, AAC, AC3 and so on.
Have you ever dreamed of making movies by yourself? If you want to realize the beautiful dream, let me show you the wonderful tool---QuickTime Movie Converter for Mac. The quicktime converter for Mac can convert all different formats of movie, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, Divx, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB etc. Furthermore, with the help of quicktime media converter os x, you could edit the video files according to your own need.
QuickTime File Converter for Mac, is the multifunctional file converter quicktime for mac, which can perfectly convert all popular video and audio files between AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB Video, MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc. Not only can it convert QuickTime files, but edit perfectly the files for you.
Convert QuickTime to MP3 for Mac, as the literal meaning, can convert QuickTime to MP3 for Mac. In fact, its functions are far more than this. The file converter quicktime to MP3, can also convert between almost all video and audio files on Mac, such as AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB Video, MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc. So it's really very easy for the software to convert QuickTime to MP3.
Convert QuickTime to MPEG for Mac, also known as Mac QuickTime to MPEG converter, is professionally designed for Mac users. It can convert QuickTime to MPEG for Mac quickly with high quality.
Convert QuickTime to AVI for Mac, is an excellent software which could convert QuickTime to AVI for Mac. The Mac QuickTime to AVI converter offers the most robust and progressive function not only to convert QuickTime to AVI for Mac, but to convert almost all video and audio files on Mac, such as MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB and HD Video (TS, MTS, M2TS), MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc.
Convert QuickTime to WMV for Mac is a all-in-one Mac QuickTime to WMV converter, which has abundant functions. The most basic one is to convert QuickTime to WMV, with fast conversion speed and amazing output quality.
Convert QuickTime to MP4 for Mac, which is an ideal, simple-to-use and popular video converter for Mac users, can easily and quickly convert QuickTime to MP4 for mac with high output quality.
November 20, 2009 at 1:48am by bodom bodom
iPhone 3G Ringtone Maker, the best ringtone maker expert, enables you to make whatever ringtone you like. The powerful 3G iPhone ringtone maker, can convert a variety of video and audio formats like AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV, MKV, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MOV, RM, RMVB, MP3, WMA, AAC to iPhone Ringtone M4R and transfer to iPhone directly without iTunes.
The iPhone 3G Ringtone Maker for Mac, professionally designed for Mac users, can create all kinds of ringtone for iPhone owners. If you are one of the owners, the iphone 3g ringtone maker for mac is the best choice for you to make dulcet and unique ringtone by yourself.
With the iPhone Ringtone Converter 3G, you are allowed to clip any segment of the video or audio files and convert it to iPhone. It's a good idea to clip the most wonderful part and convert it to iphone 3g ringtone. Using the software, you are free to edit the added iPhone ringtone by removing it or renaming it directly. Besides, it is very easy to operate. All you need to do is just a few clicks to convert iphone 3g ringtones.
With 3G iPhone Ringtone Creator, you will be able to select any video and audio files, including AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV, MKV, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MOV, RM, RMVB, MP3, WMA, AAC and transform it into 3G iPhone Ringtone. What's more, you can also choose any part of the song you want.
iPhone 3G M4R Converter, also known as M4R converter for iPhone 3G, is an excellent software to convert almost all video and audio formats to M4R formats. The powerful input video and audio formats are beyond your imagination, such as, AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV, MKV, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MOV, RM, RMVB, MP3, WMA, AAC etc.
Convert MP3 to iPhone 3G Ringtone is professionally designed for iPhone 3G users. It can not only convert mp3 formats to iphone 3g ringtone with ease but can convert a wide range of video and audio files, including AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV, MKV, H.264/MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, MOV, RM, RMVB, WMA, AAC to M4R files that could be used as the ringtone.
M4A to iPhone 3G Ringtone Converter is designed specially to convert M4A to iPhone ringtone. Besides, it can also convert the other audio formats, such as MP3, WMA, AAC etc. to M4R as the ringtone for iPhone 3G. So you can use it not only to convert M4A to iPhone 3G ringtone, but also can easily convert your favorite MP3 or WMA songs to M4r as your ringtone.
Most people get their favorite ringtone by paying on the Internet every month. But now, we have an excellent creator which could free provide you any ringtone you want. The creator is MP4 to iPhone 3G Ringtone Converter.
November 20, 2009 at 1:52am by bodom bodom
MKV Converter is the best mkv video converter software that created to help you convert mkv video files to MP4/MKV/WMV/AVI and other popular formats such as: MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc with high speed and excellent sound/image quality.
MKV Converter is powerful and useful MKV Converter that make you Convert MKV File a enjoy thing, it is produced to help you convert MKV file to MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc with high speed and excellent sound/image quality.
With MKV Converter, you can conveniently Convert Video to MKV as well as crop the play region or cut any part of the video into MKV(Matroska Video) video clips by setting up the start and end time after preview. While the image quality is high, the conversion speed is very fast.
MKV Converter for Mac is a excellent Mac MKV Converter. This versatile MKV Converter Mac can convert between MKV and all popular video, HD video and audio formats with super fast conversion speed and satisfied output quality. In addition, the MKV converter for Mac can also extract audio from video file and convert video to MP3, AC3, and AAC… as you want.
MKV Video Converter is the Best Video Converter software that invented to help you convert MKV to AVC H264 with high speed and excellent sound/image quality.
MKV to HD Video is designed to convert .bdmv and m2ts file, it can convert the BDMV files to MKV format. BDMV folder and .bdmv files are mostly seen in the Blu-ray disc (BD) content and AVCHD video folder. There usually is a index.bdmv file in the root directory, while BDMV folder contains video, audio, menu, subtitles, playlist and other stream.
MKV to Portable Devices is the protable player video converter software that created to help you convert MKV to all the popular iPod formats such as: iPod Video, iPod Touch MPEG-4, iPod Touch, iPod Touch for TV, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, etc. with high speed and excellent sound/image quality.
MKV Editing Software is the Best Video Joiner software that created to help you join MKV files and and then convert them to other popular formats such as: MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc with high speed and excellent sound/image quality.
November 23, 2009 at 8:26pm by bodom bodom
TOD Converter Mac is a professional TOD converter to convert high definition video files captured by JVC TOD Camcorders, ie: GZ-HD7, GZ-HD3, GZ-HD5, GZ-HD6, GZ-HD30, GZ-HD40 etc. These HD files can be converted into MPG, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, RM, FLV, SWF and more, which delights many JVC TOD Camcorders.
TOD File Converter Mac supports trimming, cropping and you also can add effect and special effects in synchronization with conversion. Those functions of TOD File Converter Mac could better adjust converted files to portable mediaplayers you have and make it more satisfying to your needs.
To solve the inconvinience of .TOD files, I strongly recommend you TOD Editor Mac which is all-round, multiprofile-supporting, free trial, virus-free, easy-to-use. So it is easy to understand why TOD Editor Mac is popular in JVC camcorder users.
We introduce you a powerfull Convert TOD To AVI Mac Converter, which can trim, crop tod files, add effect or special effect to tod, take snapshots from tod movie...Smoothly converting, easy-to-use, mutual-convert-supported, Convert TOD To AVI Mac can fullfill your needs.
Convert TOD To MPEG Mac enables you convert .TOD to other common formats like avi,mpg,mp4,mov that denefinitly supported by iMovie and FCP. The Converter (TOD To MPEG) uses least time and give out highoutput video quality. You can also extract audio from .Tod and take snapshots at will.
Convert TOD To MOV Mac will convert high definition video files captured by JVC TOD Camcorders, ie: GZ-HD7, GZ-HD3, GZ-HD5, GZ-HD6, GZ-HD30, GZ-HD40 etc. TOD file formats cannot usually be edited with consumer video editing programs such as Windows Movie Maker, Apple Movie or Sony Vegas but iOrgsoft TOD Converter can.
Convert TOD To MP4 Mac utility, which is powerfull TOD converter, could convert TOD to MP4 on Mac freely on your will. You can also take snapshots and store them in different image formats: jpg, bmp, png. Convert TOD To MP4 for Mac has professional editing functions like trimming, adding effects, adjusting aspect ratio, croping,etc.
Convert TOD To FLV Mac program can convert between many formats like MPG, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP, RM, FLV, SWF and more. Being accepted by iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, Blackberry, Gphone, PSP, Zune, Creative Zen, iRiver and any other MP4 players, Convert TOD To FLV Mac can output files with unpreceded compatibility.
November 23, 2009 at 8:31pm by bodom bodom
MP3 Converter Mac is an excellent Mac MP3 converter tool that can convert video files and audio files to MP3 on Mac OS. If you are looking for MP3 file converter for Mac users, it is the ideal one.
MP3 Editor Mac is designed to help you edit MP3 files on Mac OS. It is the best Mac MP3 editor tool, that can function as Mac OS X MP3 splitter and MP3 joiner Mac.
If you want to convert WMA into MP3 on Mac OS, this WMA to MP3 Converter for Mac will be your best tool. With professional codecs integrated, it can finish all conversions with fast speed and excellent sound quality.
If you want to convert WMA into MP3 on Mac OS, this WAV to MP3 Converter for Mac will be your best tool. With professional codecs integrated, it can finish all conversions with fast speed and excellent sound quality.
Is there a Mac CDA to MP3 converter to convert CDA to MP3 files on Mac OS? Surely yes, this CDA to MP3 Converter for Mac is exactly this kind of tool. Free download CDA to MP3 converter Mac and have a try.
AAC to MP3 Converter for Mac can help you convert AAC to MP3 files on Mac OS, so that you can enjoy AAC music on your portable MP3 players. It is the most powerful and easy to use Mac AAC to MP3 converter.
As the best Mac M4P to MP3 converter, M4P to MP3 Converter for Mac can help you convert M4P files to MP3 on Mac OS with fast speed and high sound quality. It can accomplish all M4P to MP3 conversion tasks on Mac.
FLAC is the more and more popular lossless audio format, which is typically reduced to 50–60% of it original size while 100% keeping the source audio quality. While lots of devices and media players don't support the playback of FLAC files. To enjoy FLAC files more freely on Mac, you need this FLAC to MP3 Converter for Mac tool to convert FLAC to MP3 with customized encoding settings. You are also allowed to edit FLAC files as you like.
January 5, 2010 at 11:12pm by bodom bodom
MKV Converter Mac is designed to convert mkv on mac, and is an excellent Mac Video Converter for Mac. It can convert between all popular video and audio formats with super fast speed and high output quality, such as AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB and HD Video (TS, MTS, M2TS), MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc.
January 12, 2010 at 9:52pm by bodom bodom
As the most powerful iPod transfer to Mac tool, iPod to Mac Transfer can help you transfer songs from iPod to Mac. Transferring music from iPod to Mac is easier than ever with this handy tool.
iPod to Mac Transfer is so powerful that you can easily use it to transfer iPod video, iPod music, podcast and TV shows from your iPod or iPhone to Mac. Apart from that, it can add all these files from your iPod or iPhone to iTunes library. On the other hand, it is also Mac to iPod transfer, Mac to iPhone transfer software. The music and videos on your Mac, whose formats are supported by iPod and iPhone including AAC, MP3, MP4, MOV, WAV etc., can be directly transferred to your iPod with this software.
The iPod to Mac Transfer is a perfect transfer software to transfer music, playlists, video, photos and games from any iPod or iPhone to your PC or Mac PC. The iPod to Mac transfer shall work automatically. What's more, you can rearrange their settings as you wish.
January 28, 2010 at 2:17am by dadaozei dadaozei
FLV to WMV Converter is a powerful FLV Video convertor in converting FLV to WMV format. It can convert FLV movie/Video to almost all video formats, e.g. WMV, AVI, MPEG, DivX, Xvid, 3GP, ASF, MP4, iPod, PSP, Zune video.
FLV to WMV Converter is professional FLV video converter software, which can convert FLV to WMV, AVI, MPEG, Divx, Xvide, ASF, MOV, 3GP, MPEG Video format. In addition, the FLV to WMV converter helps directly convert FLV video files to Ipod, PSP, Zune compatable video formats. All presetted for u.
FLV to WMV Converter is a superior flv video converter which can free download FLV video from YouTube at incredible speed as well as convert FLV to WMV the proprietary video format of Microsoft. Converting FLV to other popular video formats including AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP4, RMVB, 3GP etc. are also supported.
January 28, 2010 at 9:24pm by dadaozei dadaozei
AVI to GIF Converter is just the tool that helps you to make animated GIF images. The converter can capture selected frames of the video file and save them to animation GIF or JPEG, BMP, PNG, TGA formats. AVI to GIF converter, being a powerful converter, can easily convert AVI to GIF for you.
ISO Creator is a compact and fully functional application that lets the users perform different tasks with any kind of files, such as writing audio/video/photo/data to CDs, DVDs and new generation Blu-Ray discs, disc copying, burning, creating and editing ISO-images, disc erasing. The powerful ISO Creator has a very easy-to-use and understandable interface that lets you create your own audio, data and video discs effortlessly in just several mouse clicks.
January 30, 2010 at 4:26am by dadaozei dadaozei
Many iPod users may encounter this question: how to transfer songs from iPod to computer? You need this powerful iPod to PC Transfer, which is designed to transfers your iPod and iPhone music, video, playlist, photos back to PC and iTunes, iPods.
Use iPod to PC Transfer as pc to ipod transfer software, you can transfer PC to iPod, transfer songs without itunes. You can also transfer PC to iPod without iTunes including photos, and it can be easily used like a portable hard disk to manage your iPhone content, import and export files between iPhone and PC.
iPod to PC Transfer features the ability to help you transfer songs from iPod to PC, videos, photos and playlists are all supported. You can backup your iPod with a few clicks. This iPod computer transfer enables you to transfer music from iPod to PC, as well as transfer music from PC to iPod.
February 1, 2010 at 1:42am by jillianuruz7 jillianuruz7
MP4 to MP3 Converter Mac is the best software to convert MP4 to MP3 on mac os x with super fast conversion speed and excellent output quality. It can convert itunes mp4, m4v movie files to music mp3 files but also can convert mp4 files in any codec such as AVI, MPEG4, H264 to MP3 music format.
MP4 Converter for Mac can convert almost all the popular video format MPG, MPEG, MPEG 2, VOB, DAT, MP4, M4V, TS, RM, RMVB, WMV, ASF, MKV, AVI, 3GP, 3G2, FLV, SWF, MPV, MOD, TOD, QT, MOV, DV, DIF, MJPG, MJPEG and HD video to Apple TV supported video MPEG-4, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC formats.With the best Aiseesoft MP4 Converter for Mac you can output videos to iPhone, iPod, Sansa, Sony Walkman, Creative Zen, Apple TV, Nokia, PSP, Zune and so on.
February 8, 2010 at 2:34am by jillianuruz7 jillianuruz7
DWG Converter is a professional AutoCAD DWG converter tool, that can help you convert DWG files to other popular files。 This DWG convert software can also function as .dwg file version converter tool.
DVD ISO Converter is a great converter for users who often convert dvd iso image. It is usually used as dvd to iso converter, for it converts dvd to iso and provides convenience for you. In addition, it also prrforms the role of dvd iso image converter and iso to dvd converter, because it supports mutual conversion between dvd and iso.