Author: Staff (Page 26 of 30)

      Venture capital starting to look at sustainable agriculture

      April 25, 2010 /

      This is a very encouraging story. Serious early-stage investors are taking a close look at what many are calling Agriculture 2.0. Trends like urban farming have tremendous potential, and innovative trends like that can accelerate with the backing of Silicon Valley.

      “Sustainable agriculture is a space that looks as big or bigger than clean tech,” said Paul Matteucci, a venture capitalist with U.S. Venture Partners in Menlo Park, Calif. “Historically, we have not seen a ton of entrepreneurial activity in agriculture, but we are beginning to see it now, and the opportunities are huge.”

      A catch-all phrase for environmentally beneficial farming, sustainable agriculture has long been the province of organic enthusiasts. But venture capitalists say a growing awareness of conventional agriculture’s contribution to climate change and concerns over its consumption of water and energy are creating markets for technological innovation to minimize those effects.

      The Johnny Appleseed of what is being called Agriculture 2.0 is a 33-year-old former Wall Street investment banker named Janine Yorio. Her New York firm, NewSeed Advisors, brings together sustainable agriculture entrepreneurs and investors.

      At the Four Seasons hotel in East Palo Alto, Calif., last month, NewSeed Advisors attracted a crowd of well-dressed investors from some of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms. They packed a ballroom to hear entrepreneurs pitch start-ups developing everything from nontoxic pesticides and analytical tools for soil analysis to indoor urban farming systems.

      I think the urban farming trend in particular has huge potential, particularly in Rust Belt cities like Detroit and Cleveland.

      Global Warming, Sustainability

      Earth Day today!

      April 22, 2010 /

      shutterstock_51220249

      Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which is celebrated April 22 every year. We’ve come very far in 40 years in terms of individuals making a positive impact on the environment, particularly on cleaner air and water, but in many ways the challenges today are even greater.

      Adam Rose has a great posted on Wired.com about the significance of the original Earth Day.

      Larry Carroll offers up Earth Day lessons to be learned from the movie “Avatar.”

      BusinessWeek explains how “air like split-pee soup” in LA helped spur the first Earth Day.

      USA Today asks if at 40 Earth Day has gone too corporate.

      There are tons of great articles out there, and frankly this is an exciting time as new technologies and a new commitment from government is spurring a real effort to accelerate the changes made over the past 40 years.

      Conservation, Energy Independence, Global Warming, Renewable Energy, Sustainability

      nPower Personal Energy Generator (PEG)

      April 12, 2010 /

      One of the great developments in the green energy revolution is the notion of mobile energy sources. In our new mobile world, running out of power for our devices is to be avoided at all costs. Now, we have plenty of new options for mobile power such as battery packs, but new devices that rely upon kinetic energy maybe the coolest developments yet. Here’s a recent review of such a gadget:

      Set to release later this year, the nPower PEG keeps your gadgets charge while you roam Gotham’s rooftops. The PEG harnesses the kinetic energy of your movement to keep any device that can be charged via USB at full. The thing that sets the PEG apart from other kinetic chargers is its shape and size. It fits perfectly into a backpack or satchel. If you’re in a pinch you could always just stuff this bad boy in the front of your superhero garb. Is that a PEG in your pants?

      This will definitely be one of the coolest green products of the year.

      Renewable Energy, Sustainability

      Renting Green

      March 1, 2010 /

      Looking for an apartment with both an ocean view and an environmental conscience? Good for you. Luckily for you, more and more Oceanside property management companies feature “green listings” of rental homes and apartments, many of which sit right on the beach. You’ll find them in all sizes and all price ranges, too. Renting an earth-friendly ocean-side apartment is just one way you can do your part to help save the planet.

      Of course, creating a green living apartment complex at the seashore should be planned before the developer breaks ground. Still, even older apartment buildings can be refurbished with eco-friendly changes. Simply switching out the plumbing in a building to low flow toilets and water saving faucets can be a big plus for the environment. Adding insulation to older apartment building walls and ceilings can lower utility bills, saving on carbon emissions, and these are just a few ideas.

      Of course, some responsibility for keeping the apartments earth friendly falls on the renters and landlords. Recycling programs on site to help cut down on litter that goes to fill up landfills is only going to work if the tenets bother to use it. Also, landlords who switch out regular light bulbs with those that have longer lives help cut down on pollution. And don’t forget to keep that sliding glass door open and let the ocean breeze do some of your air conditioning for you. It saves money and cuts down on waste.

      The seashore is an environmentally complex and challenged area. If you are concerned about the effect of people living in this delicately balanced eco-system, be sure to check with your local property management company for a listing of green apartments and rental homes. Choosing to rent green will provide you with a place to live that makes things better for both you and for the planet we all call home.

      Uncategorized

      How the Bloom Box works

      February 24, 2010 /

      Today is the official unveiling of the Bloom Box by Bloom Energy, so we’ll hopefully be getting more and more information on this innovative new fuel cell.

      The Christian Science Monitor has an article that nicely summarizes how the technology works.

      In case you’ve not read how the Bloom Box system works, each “power plant-in-a-box” come chock full of thin fuel cells, bundled and packaged into an outdoor-safe case. The individual cells soak up oxygen on one side, “and fuel on the other. The two combine within the cell to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity,” reported CBS last night. “There’s no need for burning or combustion” but it still requires some form of fuel to work. What kind is up to the owner.

      “Our system can use fossil fuels like natural gas. Our system can use renewable fuels like landfill gas, bio-gas,” Sridhar says. “We can use solar.”

      In some cases, CO2 is still being emitted by whatever power is feeding the Bloom Box. Rather than calling this new device “zero emission energy,” maybe it’s better to think of it as a booster pack for already-green sources and as an impressive new filter for dirty ones.

      Also, The New York Times reports that the Bloom Box generates electricity at competitive rates.

      Mr. Sridhar said the Bloom Energy Server has been generating electricity at a cost of 8 to 10 cents a kilowatt-hour.

      In California, where Bloom has installed 30 fuel-cell systems, commercial electricity rates averaged about 14 cents a kilowatt-hour in October 2009, according to the latest figures from the United States Department of Energy. Elsewhere, commercial rates averaged 7 to 24 cents a kilowatt-hour.

      Last July, eBay flipped the switch on five Bloom Energy Servers that now supply 15 percent of the electricity at its San Jose, Calif., campus, or about five times as much energy as generated by its 3,248 solar panels, according to Amy Skoczlas Cole, director of the company’s Green Team.

      “We’re expecting a three-year payback period,” said Ms. Skoczlas Cole, adding that the calculation includes state and federal tax incentives that halved the price of the fuel cells.

      Very impressive!

      Energy Independence, Renewable Energy

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