In an earlier post where Matt Dillon asks on how to save energy, I rejoiced because Yahoo! Answers has incorporated a feature such as having celebrities ask relevant questions pertaining to environmental messages. Once again, Yahoo! shows us what being green is all about with its new environment online hub called Yahoo! Green.

When you get to the main page, there’s a tagline which says “Many small changes equal one great change.” Yahoo! Green is focused on one of today’s hottest environmental topics: climate change. It has a section wherein you can calculate your personal impact to the earth. Apart from that, it also contains relevant information on environment and tips on how to be a better environmental steward. Take action and be counted!

I super recommend this site. Go visit Yahoo! Green and live it green!

Recommended must-read for today: How to Green your Coffee and Tea.

Last June 21, millions of Londoners joined the campaign to raise awareness on climate change. London turned off its lights from 9-10 PM during this night in an effort to make a difference for the environment.

An estimated 2 million light bulbs went out around the capital, saving roughly 750 MWh of electricity in just one hour – enough to run 3,000 televisions for a year.

Homes, shops, businesses, the Buckingham Palace, and Tony Blair participated in this noteworthy endeavor, showing to the rest of the world that London is a green city that respects the earth. Even the Piccadilly Circus Advertising Lights went out for the first time since World War Two! That is just amazing.

Check out the video of this event:

This is again another success story that can be replicated in other places. I admire London, its people and leaders, for their sense of environmentalism in spite of its first-world status. They are not afraid to give back to the environment what they have taken from it. For your social conscience, London, you are now close to my heart.

Know more about this initiative…

The music scene is definitely aware of the increasing need to decrease one’s carbon footprint. The Premises, a recording studio in London, has installed photovoltaic cells on its roof around last year to save energy and ultimately, money on the long term.

This just shows that businesses can take advantage of modern technology to be more earth-friendly.

Hmmm. You may be wondering what this post is about. Well, it’s about Adobe Systems. I coined the word Adob-E for them as a double monicker: E for their industry e-business and E for environment. I laud them for their great work in making their headquarters as energy-efficient as possible. They started to replace their energy-inefficient practices in 2001. Adobe identified 64 ways to end unsustainable practices. They began by replacing all the bulbs in their HQ with energy-efficient ones. After realizing the benefits of that action, they intensified their conservation and efficiency practices. Because of this, the company saves US$1.2 million annually and gets an additional US$400,000 in rebates. Neat, huh?

Guess how much they spent on their energy retrofitting, $1.4 million. And in a little more than a year, the investment already given its returns. It does not only give financial savings, it also helps the environment. So, cheers to Adobe!!

More photos and descriptions (Credits: Adobe Systems, CNET News)

This is how the building looks at night. Adobe HQ is America’s greenest building.

Adobe has tied digital electric meters to software that displays ongoing energy usage visually and in real time, allowing building engineers to respond quickly to any unusual spikes. Adobe estimates that this system has saved a total of $96,000 since 2001.

This is an example of their waterless urinal. It filters waste though a liquid sealant within replaceable cartridges. At the sinks, motion-controlled dispensers pump soap that is free of toxic fragrances and dyes.

Germany is one of the countries that prioritizes environmental health. They do that, not as a luxury, but because they have learned from the past.

It was in the 1980s when Germany and neighboring countries experienced great environmental loss. A disastrous fire at a chemical giant, , broke out spitting around thirty tons of highly toxic and hazardous agro-chemicals into the River Rhine. River Rhine, according to Wikipedia, “is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe” with nine basin countries (Belgium, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Netherlands).

Rainer Durth, Senior Policy Advisor of the German Development Bank, said “For many Germans, this catastrophe proved to be traumatic: fishing was stopped, waterworks were closed, drinking water was rationed, and walks along the Rhine were forbidden.”

Thus, as a restoration project, the River Rhine Basin countries cooperated and took on a change of paradigm. It was coined “Bring back the salmon,” since the return of the salmon to the river was Germany’s most important perimeter for environmental improvement.

Germany learned it the hard way. But the good thing is that they learned. The question now for the rest of us is, “Will we ever learn or shall we wait for nature to hit us so hard, so hard we can no longer stand?”

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When I went to Germany in 2004, I was aboard Max Pruss and cruised the Rhine River. The sight was breathtaking and yes, the salmons are well and thriving.

With environmental envoys from China, Singapore, and India

Other scenic views of Germany:

Train ride from Frankfurt to Cologne

From this side, you can see the tall Cologne Cathedral, tallest building in the world from 1880 to 1890 (Credits: www.ambrosiasw.com). Really wanted to share this because the shot is sooo beautiful.

Here’s the shot of an amateur. Haha. I took this shot using my mobile phone. This is the facade of the Cologne Cathedral. The temperature there during that time was around 3 degrees Celsius.