UPDATE: EcoSnoop responds – see below.
Now, you can rat on your neighbors, your company, even your friends and family. Thanks to EcoSnoop, there’s an app for that.
This can also be useful for catching those who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. This might just backfire on more than a few people. But since the green movement started this Stasi-esque information gathering campaign on “eco-offenders” [their word], that makes it OK to snap photos of green activists too, right? I could see some examples. Bill McKibben leaves lights on after leaving a room? Joe Romm takes his car instead of the bus? Monbiot lets his car idle at a stoplight? Jim Hansen uses electricity generated by coal? William Connolley leaves his computer on after a frenzied all-nighter of Wikipedia editing? Gore uses the elevator to his penthouse suite in SFO rather than take the stairs? Lots of opportunity there.
Now before the usual suspects get up in arms about my satire, let me say that I’m a fan of energy conservation. As many readers know, I walk the walk with my own energy saving measures. In fact just last week I upgraded part of my office to LED lighting, and I’m so impressed with it I’m going to showcase the product here. I’m not, however, going to turn in my neighbor because he left his porch light on one night or forgot to turn off his sprinkler when it rains. Yet you’ll find examples like that on the EcoSnoop web page. [Update: EcoSnoop has now removed those, saying they were “demo images” – see their note below -A]
Here’s what they say about the iPhone app campaign:
EcoSnoop for iPhone is an activism tool that allows green-aware users to assist and encourage corporate green initiatives.
What’s the big deal?
It has been estimated that as much as 30% of the energy consumed in office buildings is wasted.
This suggests a significant opportunity for energy use reduction, cost savings, and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities.
To help identify the best opportunities, both from the perspective of the building owner and the utility, it is important to examine how, where, and when energy is used and the savings are likely to occur. (Excerpt taken from the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency Sector Collaborative on Energy Efficiency Office Building Energy Use Profile)
Q: How can I help using my iPhone?
A: Users locate and report on eco-offenders by submitting pictures and descriptions of blatant abuse and misuse issues.
Q: What happens with my pictures?
A:The EcoSnoop website and iPhone applications are a centralized repository of environmental awareness and a tool for actively promoting energy conservancy and green awareness. By using the EcoSnoop iPhone application, the user becomes an important link in the chain of helping to report and mediate green waste (energy, pollution, etc.). Additionally, by going yourself and encouraging friends to utilize the website to add as much information as possible about the picture (address information, responsible party information, etc.) you are giving the EcoSnoop community the tools to encourage positive change!
EcoSnoop: We need your help saving the world…1 picture at a time.
Online: EcoSnoop.com
Twitter: @EcoSnoop
*An Appency Press Video Promo Reel – www.theappencypress.com*
h/t to WUWT reader Steve Keohane
UPDATE: A response from EcoSnoop who called me personally via telephone. Since their message seems to have missed the mark, I offered to elevate their message here. I believe this to be a sincere and reasonable response, and certainly nobody among us likes to see government or corporations waste energy. But the implementation here invites abuse. They ask for suggestions, let’s offer them some. – Anthony
{Anthony, for a posting to all users}
All,
Thank you for very much for the spirited conversation. We clearly have a lot of work to do to get EcoSnoop tuned into a constructive tool.
EcoSnoop is aimed at helping Government building owners understand when they are wasting energy. Energy efficiency hopefully is a non controversial solution in that it saves money, emissions and enhances national security. Our current policy is to prevent the posting of any information about ones residence. Unfortunately some old demo pictures are on the site, and they will be removed.
Our objective is to educate people on energy waste, not call them out. Our newer version which is still in work masks the location to all but the person who submits and the person who owns the building.
EcoSnoop is an evolving social community. As community, we need to maintain a certain decorum to assure everyone benefits from the “networks” observations to eliminate waste. As such, we ask that everyone follow some basic rules:
•Respect the Views of Others – EcoSnoop is not a political platform. EcoSnoop is about using technology and social networking to help people, companies and communities understand how awareness can eliminate waste, reduced CO2 output, and save money.
•No Personal Attacks – Do not use EcoSnoop to single out and attack people or companies. The best way to help people understand is through better information and cooperation. In taking pictures and making notes on the EcoSnoop site, think about what information will help a person or company understand how energy efficiency and waste reduction can help them improve profitability and community appeal.
•Avoid Mentioning Company Names – It is helpful to identify opportunities and describe ways to improve, but EcoSnoop finds the property owners take action quicker if they are not threatened or attacked. Sometimes when lights are left on at night it might be a simple instance of light night maintenance rather than persistent waste. The EcoSnoop community assumes everyone is well meaning, so given them a chance to take action. If they take no action, assume there is a good reason or work to better educate.
Since we are evolving, we are open to your ideas and suggestions. Please feel free to send your comments to us at snoop@ecosnoop.com.
Does anyone have that photo of Al’s new boat plugged in at the dock? That would be a great picture for that website.
He kind of has to where he lives (unless he buys Al’s indulgences), but one thing is information available on the internet. He resides in Kintnersville, PA and works in Manhattan. That’s 65 miles each way.
Probably rides a horse.
REPLY: No, it is known he has an apartment in Manhattan that he uses on weekdays. Commutes back to the farm on weekends.
Probably Jerry Seinfeld’s old apartment 😉 – A
Gores home office:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840348/posts
Hey on my linux system I can have as many desktops I wish, with one computer and one display! Will I receave a price now?
If Eco-nuts were serious:
a.) They’d invent a roof shingle that not only converted sunlight to electricity and, thereby, let the world eliminate all the coal fired power plants and nuc-reactors, but also be a neutral heat reflector.
b.) They’d apply the technology in a.) above, to streets, roadways, autobahns, interstates, country lanes, and sidewalks.
c.) They’d have a telethon every year and buy up the Amazon rain forests and stop the wanton destruction of the global environment by those seeking a few grains of gold.
d. They’d convert every sanitation system on the planet into eco friendly biogas production sources.
e. They’d place the world’s biggest eco friendly heat pump across Northern Africa in order to heat Europe through the winter months.
Nope! They’re just not serious.
By using the EcoSnoop iPhone application, the user becomes an important link in the chain of helping to report and mediate green waste…
The Greens are the real waste.
—-
P Gosselin (09:28:03) :
I sometimes throw food away too.
Yes, but you don’t (can’t) waste it. Some other species will make use of it: bugs, bacteria, rodents, etc.
This is not so in the UK, as we now have a “czar” reporting to the government that we are wasting food. So we have different laws of the universe.
These guys will have some big corporate names suing them rather quickly.
Anthony.
In fact just last week I upgraded part of my office to LED lighting, and I’m so impressed with it I’m going to showcase the product here.
Question.
What is the difference between a halogen light bulb and an electric heater.
Answer.
Not much.
So you use low energy lighting and if you save 500w of power, you lose 500w of heating. Result is, the heating stays on longer to make up the 500w of lost heat input. Therefore you only save money when the lighting is on but the heating is off. But of course the time you need the lighting is when the sun has gone to bed and it’s getting cold. Of course if you live in a really hot country you will save the most but most do not.
How about a simple experiment comparing a halogen bulb and an LED bulb in a glass dome with an electric heater to maintain the temperature for the led. Most of the savings are illusary with the saved electricity cost going onto the gas bill.
Saving money is fine; saving “energy” isn’t.
There is only one truly finite, irreplacable resource and that is TIME. It make no sense to “save” energy by burning “time”.
I’d be very interested to hear what you think about the LED lights Anthony. I am none to impressed with CFL’s. I made the switch to CFL’s 5 years ago and find they do not last anywhere near as long as promised. I have not had to buy a single one since as they have all failed prior to the warranty running out. Hardly a sound thing environmentally speaking. My main question with the LED’s has to do with the same thing; longevity. My Christmas lights are all LED’s. They are going on 5 years old as well, and still work well. As I said, I am most keen for your article.
Cheers!
Do they recommend what color (colour for you Brits) shirt should be worn while doing this –
Brown – or green?
.
.
This is part of the brainwashing and turning kids who do not know better into the green gestapo…
See this:
http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/green-gestapo.html
Or this:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/carboncops/
Or you can order a bumper sticker to protest…
http://www.zazzle.ca/the_green_gestapo_bumper_sticker-128688781222941464
Very sad state of affair.
The solution is easy: LET US RECYLE THE GREENS
I’m also excited about LED lighting possibilities (keep us posted), but I don’t need someone in my business when I choose to drive my GMC Sierra over my hybrid. Besides, I didn’t sign up for the AGW bandwagon, but for those who did, I see this as fair game!
I am dreaming of a new career in the ECO-police. Its important to get as low member-number as possible.
Imagine…. probably a green uniform… High brown boots…
An officers cap, with perhaps…an eagle up front?
My son could be in the green-jugend… Learning every day about tree-hugging and AGW?
As I arrest eco-criminals, promotions will surely come, and
I will rise up in the system and finally become a sturm-tree-fuhrer.
NOT!
“But, seriously, volks, does this tattle-tale application have genuine appeal for people of other than 2nd grade mentality?”
You’ve just defined the warmers. Everytime I get into a conversation/debate with a warmer, his/her inability to look beyond his/her little narrow focused world astonishes me.
What about all the energy used by the 12 million iPhone batteries to take the tens of millions of pictures of buildings with security lighting. (Because you know these folks will inadvertently take pictures of the same building several times.) … Or the energy used to upload said pictures through the carriers “Cell Towers” to EcoScoops “Server Farm” where these billions of pictures will be stored and served in an “Air Conditioned” room for a website running 24/7.
Hopefully someone will take a picture of EcoScoops building.
“…and snap a picture of the offense”
I am getting scared now, hopefully, such an eco-law will never pass
I think those who band together to rat out their neighbors for such a worthy cause deserve uniforms. I suggest “brown shirts” with maybe little crooked cross thingies on the sleeve. Might even want to come up with some sort of snappy salute to demonstrate fealty to the cause when they greet one another!
I wonder if they’ve featured photos of the mother-load over at The Goracle’s home in Tennessee?
CH
Kids, turn in your parents to the Eco Authorities! Do it today! Have your folks hauled off to climate re-education camps!
(btw, Stephan, the MP sketch was “Liver Donors”, not kidneys.)
Yes, who runs the EcoSnoop.com website? And what are their associations? How much editing of the submission stream will take place?
Ah, the Eco-Stasi. Well if they want someone to try out their new app on, come on by my crib. Now I am not just going to tell you where I live, down Toto, for the fun should be in the hunt, so get to it. Just don’t try during the spring months as I tend to spend more time in the basement. Anyway, until then I will help the economy by buying lamps needing 100W incandescent light bulbs and flood lights for the exterior, also I’ll leave all the lights on 24/7, that should be easy make the hunt easy enough. Oh, and if you look carefully, you might even see me with a “one-finger salute.”
The irony of this app is just too juicy. I seem to recall that the iPhone has a wee bit of a battery issue and since Apple has yet to come out with the iSolar charger or the iWind charger, the users of said app should be reporting on themselves.
This is so sad. Privacy, good manners, community spirit, all gone.
How did this behavior become the norm????
During the Stalin era, whenever targets were not met, those “responsible” were denounced as “wreckers of the struggle of the proletariat” and shot.
I don’t see any difference (other than not being shot) between being denounced as a wrecker of the revolution by a Bolshevik party member, and being denounced as a “wrecker of the glorious struggle against climate change,” by a Green Pary member. They are both a form of fascism despite having different labels.
By the way, Hans von Storch is just now warning that many of the greens is dreaming of such a career just now;
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,669398,00.html
If you want to translate… just start google, click translate and enter this Der Spiegel address…. it is interesting reading. It is not only Monckton that is warning about a world wide dictator-ship . So is von Storch.
Who is the upcoming Dictator ? Al Gore ?
Back in the USSR….