Looking to find out what the technology trends are for 2016, and find out how they can be expanded into the kitchen? GE teamed up with TrendHunters to give us 5 of the top tech trends for the home:

Dual Purpose Prep

Nowadays, appliances have to have more than one purpose. And that’s because the age group that’s coming up as home buyers are some of the most tech-savvy, and have shorter attention spans. Millennials (1982-1994) work on an average of 3 screens (I know I use two), and Gen Z’s (1995-2009) have an average 8-second attention span.

Clean Connectivity

The evolution of the phone and the tablets show how clean designs are more intuitive for users. If a design isn’t intuitive, many would argue that it’s poorly designed.

Remixed Retro

There is nothing like bringing back classics designs, even if they were before your time. There’s a huge appeal for retro looking technology – but that’s brought into the 21st century.

DIY Health

As information becomes more and more accessible, and consumers are looking for ways to take control of their own health, there’s a surge in the desire to bring back a more DIY approach to health. Whether it’s simply growing fresh herbs in a window sill, or using less chemicals when cleaning.

Connected Home

There’s been a huge focus on the connected home, and how every piece of technology in the home can talk together. From biometric security systems to connecting thermostats and lighting to help reduce energy costs by connecting them to your smartphone.

The GE Cafe with Keurig

This is a first-of-its kind technology, coming out in May. You can free up some counter-space by bringing the Keurig brewing system right into your refrigerator door. This is your fridge doing Dual Purpose Prep.

I absolutely love this. The fridge no longer just dispenses water and ice, but your fresh coffee and hot water (with 4 preprogrammed temperature settings). And the Precise Fill setting, will give you the exact amount of water you need – no guessing or holding down a button.

And to top it all off, GE’s Master Filtration System removes 15 different contaminants, and a minimum 94% of 5 trace pharmaceuticals from the water. So you know you’re getting good clean water.

Having your fridge do more than just keep your food cold is brilliant.

The BlogHer16 conference is back in Los Angeles August 4-6. It is “the world’s largest celebrations of women content creators across social media, video, photos and the web.” Over 3,500 women attend this event! Just think of all that woman power in one place!

We’ve attended in previous years and it is an amazing and inspiring weekend. This year promises to be another incredible event with Keynote Speakers Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mayim Bialik.

But you’ve got to hurry if you want to get your early bird ticket pricing and save $150. Early registration ends Monday, February 29th! So what are you waiting for?! Head to their website to learn more about the conference and grab your tickets: Blogher.com

The average global temperature has been slowly rising in the last few decades. And the main culprit is carbon emissions. Often times we don’t think much about it, if we have to go to the store, we hop in our car, we make purchases from factories that emit carbon. And while making purchases keeps the economy moving, perhaps we need to be making smarter decisions about how much of a carbon footprint we’re leaving.

Last month, a global conference was held in Paris to tackle just this question, on a larger scale – what can countries do? The Paris Agreement noted that we needed to keep the average global temperature from rising more than 2°, because while that doesn’t seem like a lot, it can mean all the difference for icecaps, crops, and water sources.

To do so the Paris Agreement asks that each country implement its own climate action plan by 2018. Each country faces it’s own challenges when it comes to carbon emissions, and some will have more work to do than others.

Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America have some of the lowest emissions per capita, while North America, Australia and parts of the Middle East have some of the highest. China actually consumes the highest fossil fuels, due to their large population.

If you have any recommendations on how you and your family can help reduce carbon emissions for 2016, share it with us.