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.
“Eco Snoop (13:48:04) :
Well,
You guys have a lot of energy and anger.”
I noticed most people laughing at you and your app. Regardless of your intentions you have set about to create an atmosphere of surveillance and harassment against many people who actually do need their lights on.
I went to the ecosnoop site and I must say that I am not impressed. Some of the “cases” seems very personal indeed, not all though. Most are concerned with public and corporate cases. The personal ones are the ones that I worry about.
“Waters when it rains”, not as straight forward as one might think. I use irrigation in my garden and some systems are set to a certain amount of water in the ground. Below a set amount, irrigation will take place.
Well…it doesn’t seem to be getting much action….last I checked, only 32 total submissions….and when did it come out? In March 09? Or possibly not till their update in June. Either way, i don’t think we need to worry too much about this one.
Domain Name: ECOSNOOP.COM
Registrar: EASYDNS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Whois Server: whois.easydns.com
Referral URL: http://www.easydns.com
Name Server: NS1.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server: NS2.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server: NS3.EASYDNS.ORG
Name Server: NS6.EASYDNS.NET
Name Server: REMOTE1.EASYDNS.COM
Name Server: REMOTE2.EASYDNS.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 11-jun-2009
Creation Date: 15-mar-2009
Expiration Date: 15-mar-2011
I’d question the premise of the app and the name “snoop”:
“to pry into the private business of others”
If it is to be used as you describe, in open public spaces, then there is no need for the word “snoop”.
I’d also question… gosh there are so many… the notion of using photographs. You can’t tell what is going on in a building, so what meaning is there in whether the lights are on?
You should perhaps also include some very clear instructions about what people can and can’t do. In the UK we have ASBO laws which are capable of turning any behaviour into a criminal act. All it takes is for the individual to be perceived to be doing something which causes alarm, harassment, or distress. If the sight of you wondering around in your underpants distresses the neighbours, you can be told by law not to do it. Recently a woman was ASBO’d for making too much noise during sex. She ignored the ASBO order, “persisted”, and is facing jail.
I get the feeling you are very principled and well meaning, but how on earth is this app supposed to help in reality?
@ecosnoop
OK, if you are truly the person(s) who invented this app, then you should be applauded for your effort to come here and explain it.
Yes there is a lot of anger here. Climategate did nothing but prove that all the anger has been well deserved. And the State Run Media with their masters in the White House continue attempting to push us toward some kind of strange world ecocracy.
I for one have taken a quick look at your site and will make the effort now to read through it and attempt to comment here soon.
Eco Snoop (13:48:04) :
(bold mine) and
Wonder why?
No matter how noble your cause, there is still something insidious in creating an application whose purpose is to inform on other people. Perhaps not now, but there is a potential for abuse, too.
Mark
@ecoSnoop
So…
1) you didn’t intend for it to be used for personal use yet you release it to the general public for personal use….
2) You don’t mean for it to get people snooping about so you called it “Eco Snoop”…
Do you have any openings in your marketing department? If not then you should consider it.
@ecosnoop –
one more point – if you guys do nothing else other than get people to turn some of their lights off at night, more power to you – this coming from an amateur astronomer. 🙂
{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.
Can we have eco swoop on CRU, NASA etc in terms of how much of the money they have been given has actually achieved environmental outcomes!
http://twawki.com/2009/12/28/how-much-for-the-real-cause/
And dont forget the met offices carbon spewing mega computer!
Eco-snoop,
Spare me the victim act.
Eco Snoop (13:48:04) :
Folks like Al Gore want us to waste Trillions to change our economy to eliminate CO2 emissions. Would you like a constructive alternative?
Just get Al Gore’s fingers out of our wallets. That would be great. Thanks.
‘Snoop’ is a word with bad connotations. Maybe a rebrand would be a good plan.
Gulags? Spying on neighbors? Reporting actions against Gaia? There’s an app for that! LOL
Seriously, I’m going to keep using my iPhone to scan UPC codes and find out where I can get the item cheaper, I’m going to use my iPhone to listen to music and tell me all about the song, where I can buy it, listen to it for free, etc., and I am definitely going to use my iPhone to show the word, “JUNK” whenever a junk call comes in for the umpteenth time to sell me crap I don’t need….
Eco Snoop (13:48:04) :
Well,
You guys have a lot of energy and anger. You make many relevant points that we can use to make the site serve its purpose. unquote.
Eco Snoop – I am not a guy in any of the word’s meanings.
If you genuinely wanted to be positive, perhaps you should have thought more about your choice of name. What did you expect with a name like that for your business? Eco has become a red rag for many ordinary people, as personal freedom is being taken away under its banner.
Eco-fascism is a real threat in the world today. People are losing their farms, their businesses and are threatened with jail and being killed by the eco/environmentalist groups if we don’t toe their line.
Snoop – well the word conjures up nasty connotations immediately.
So you chose a provocative, nasty name, then you comment that there is a lot of energy and anger! Da – go figure.
Hey I need a sticker. I just had central air installed in my sailboat. Don’t we get carbon indulgences for sailing? The toilet is thru hull discharge. The grill is natural gas which Pelosi says is not a fossil fuel.
The first new office building I had that was computor controlled HVAC. Lighting was on a timer but the cleaning crew turned lights on to clean at night. Our measurements show the computors and monitors give off a lot of heat.
Reminds me of an “almost an app” that circulated (briefly) inside Apple about 20 years ago… It was called “Rumor Monger”. ANYONE could put up an anonymous ‘rumor’ that would be circulated to any other Mac running “rumor monger”. An early experiment in peer-to-peer serverless distributed apps/communication.
It was great fun for about 2 weeks. Then “unacceptable rumors” started floating around…
I won’t mention how it was eventually eliminated (it was hard to kill a distributed app that had no central server…) but it WAS eliminated.
Aside from the legal risks from such rumors on a corporate network, “The Powers That Be” did not like when it was aimed at them…
So I’d suggest taking any such “rumor monger” application you run into and finding just how it can best be used to demonstrate to the perveyors that “It is a Bad Idea.”
But be careful. While it is possible to do things like, oh, post a picture of a CIA U2 taking off burning lots of fuel, or of a police car idling on a stake out: it is very hard to do it in such a way that you can not eventually be ‘found’ (especially if your iPhone ‘leaves fingerprints’ that you can not control…) So be safe, and be playful, but only do things that are things you would be willing to have “explained” in the local newspaper (or courthouse…)
Except, perhaps, for those of you in the UK where the courts have decided you can break the law “for a greater good”… You would be playing “double or nothing”, but it would be an interesting test case. (“Your Honor, defense of the planet for all of us outweighs the minor infringement of this public person driving a saloon car all alone!! ” … ) But have a lawyer on retainer first. And get AlGore lined up as expert witness. Unless he’s the target. No, wait, it would be sooo cool to have him be target AND witness for the defense. 😉
China is a massive producer of CO2 from rice paddies. Massive. They also still have heating and cooking for 75% of their people from wood, charcoal, trash and coal fires. No where will china allow a real audit. They are adding a lot of coal fired electric and are doing excellent PR. In reality, they are putting on a show.
@ur momisugly Ecosnoop
This sounds like every other consulting firm advertisement I’ve ever seen. I have some considerable experience in that regard, and have yet to employ a consulting firm that did anything other than suck money out of my company. Go away.
The advertisers on EcoSnoop’s site are alternative lighting companies using a business model that seems to say- buy our product or else! I would personally boycott any company using threats to force people to buy their product. I can’t find the money behind the site other than the “advertisers.” Perhaps extortionists is a more proper term than advertisers. Talk about your unethical business practices!
EM Smith,
On killing a runaway app. I was in a call center farm in the 90’s with 500+ people in one room, when we had a runaway network install go bad.
Every computer locked up and crashed as the forced install ranamuck. They had to have every employee turn off their computer and wait until every machine was confirmed off for the floor before we were allowed to start the reboot process on any of them.
Did you guys have to shut down the whole “network” to kill the app?
E.M.Smith (14:45:29) :
…
But be careful. While it is possible to do things like, oh, post a picture of a CIA U2 taking off burning lots of fuel, or of a police car idling on a stake out: it is very hard to do it in such a way that you can not eventually be ‘found’ (especially if your iPhone ‘leaves fingerprints’ that you can not control…) So be safe, and be playful, but only do things that are things you would be willing to have “explained” in the local newspaper (or courthouse…)…
For General Info… even if it’s not a data tagged iPhone (or other phone camera), digital imagery files tend to have a lot of info stuffed into them.
Here is an example from a picture of my dog.
EXIF Info:
Make – Canon
Model – Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Orientation – Right top
XResolution – 180
YResolution – 180
ResolutionUnit – Inch
DateTime – 2009:12:19 01:14:49
YCbCrPositioning – Centered
ExifOffset – 196
ExposureTime – 1/10 seconds
FNumber – 3.50
ExifVersion – 0220
DateTimeOriginal – 2009:12:19 01:14:49
DateTimeDigitized – 2009:12:19 01:14:49
ComponentsConfiguration – YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel – 5 (bits/pixel)
ShutterSpeedValue – 1/10 seconds
ApertureValue – F 3.51
ExposureBiasValue – 0.00
MaxApertureValue – F 3.51
MeteringMode – Multi-segment
Flash – Not fired, compulsory flash mode
FocalLength – 26.00 mm
UserComment –
FlashPixVersion – 0100
ColorSpace – sRGB
ExifImageWidth – 2816
ExifImageHeight – 2112
InteroperabilityOffset – 2772
FocalPlaneXResolution – 12515.56
FocalPlaneYResolution – 12497.04
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit – Inch
SensingMethod – One-chip color area sensor
FileSource – DSC – Digital still camera
CustomRendered – Normal process
ExposureMode – Auto
White Balance – Manual
DigitalZoomRatio – 1.00 x
SceneCaptureType – Standard
Maker Note (Vendor): –
Macro mode – Normal
Self timer – Off
Quality – Superfine
Flash mode – Not fired
Sequence mode – Single or Timer
Focus mode – Single
Image size – Large
Easy shooting mode – Manual
Digital zoom – None
Contrast – Normal
Saturation – Normal
Sharpness – Normal
ISO Value – Auto
Metering mode – Evaluative
Focus type – Auto
AF point selected – Manual AF point selection
Exposure mode – Program
Focal length – 600 – 7200 mm (100 mm)
Flash activity –
Flash details –
Focus mode 2 – Continuous
White Balance – Cloudy
Sequence number – 0
Flash bias – 0.00 EV
Subject Distance – 118
Image Type – IMG:PowerShot S3 IS JPEG
Firmware Version – Firmware Version 1.00
Image Number – 1005492
Owner Name –
Maybe they should have avoided the word “activism”. I’m so tored of all the activists, hacktivists, artivists and jiggymahooeyvists you don’t know. Maoists.
DirkH (15:01:54) :
Make that a “tired”.
Their response in the update was certainly encouraging.
I would recommend they hook up with these guys.
http://www.darksky.org/
As an amateur astronomer, I joined. I was impressed with their low key efforts to make intelligent “win-win” arguments.
I’m very sensitive to “mission creep” within non-profit organizations (they often get taken over by activists, who frankly, haven’t had much practical experience in life), but I never saw any evidence with darksky that they lost track of the need to work with people.
EcoSnoop would do well to emulate their model. The name might need some work, though.
Please; you know not why ‘lights are on in a building’ after so-called work hours!
Usually, it is going to be one of us working (unpaid!) overtime on an engineering project and involving persons and groups on other far-reaching continents and time zones (e.g India and China for instance).
Not EVERYONE works a straight 9-5 you know … and then property management receives a “phone call” … from who? And we are called up by our management to ‘answer’ questions (site management and project/company management are *two* different entities don’t you know on account of tax laws/business reasons: someone else owns the actual building which we lease space in).
Yes, please, we need more meddlers and busy-bodies sticking their noses into other’s business (my parents used to call them ‘social workers’ … akin to ‘community organizers’ come to think of it).
BTW, I have off this week on account of a “utility shutdown” to save energy over this week and a half period. So there and as my little sister would say “MYOB”.
usJim
.
.