Linda | 
10 31st, 2010| 
At a time when our political environment, is fueled by discord, and with midterm elections looming, just hours away, there was a show in Washington, D.C. that proved, people can still work together.
Two comedians, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, kept most of their three-hour show, ” The Rally to Restore Sanity, ” to nonpartisan bits, musical entertainment, and gentle ribbing of the purported enemies of incivility, all with a gentle touch of humor. They successfully, gathered hundreds of thousands of people, who felt the need to come together as Americans.
At the end of the program, Stewart switched his black T-shirt and blazer, for a suit and tie. Stewart stated that, “the rally’s intended butt of the joke, was the level of discourse in Washington, D.C., and cable television’s hyperbolic 24-hour news cycle, of continuous coverage. Political affiliations aside, he said, everyone throughout the country found a way to work together.” That seems to be something, that has yet to happen, since Obama, has taken office. There seems to be a constant battle, between the Dems and GOP.
Between noon and 3 p.m., Stewart and Colbert, held forth from a stage on the opposite end, of the National Mall, from the Lincoln Memorial steps, where conservative commentator Glenn Beck, led a similarly vast crowd, two months ago. That rally, with its religious theme, of “Restoring Honor,” had conservative, political undertones, and is what prompted, Saturday’s satiric response.
The two rallies have provided a forum, for two entirely different television audiences, which have now,become self-identifying political communities.
Stewart, was speaking against the backdrop of the Capitol building. In earnest terms, that bordered on political rhetoric, he orated, “If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.”
Stewart was clear to point out that, “This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and we have nothing to fear. They are, and we do.”
“We live now in hard times, not end times. We can have animus, and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating, and the two broke. The country’s 24-hour politico-pundit- perpetual-panic conflictor, did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder.”
So, enter in the political tone across the land, and you will notice, that the majority of people, DON’T feel that our VOICES are being heard, in Washington. Have you noticed, a lot of the big names in Washington, are traveling around the nation, to” Get Out the VOTE,” but NONE of the issues, facing are country, are even mentioned? What does that tell you about election reform, or non-partisanship? They are more concerned about their team winning!
I don’t know about you, but I would like to know about that plan, (if there is one), on how we will strengthen the Economy? What will we do, to give everyone a BETTER EDUCATION? After all, our children and grand children, will one day, run this country. When and how, are we going to break free, from too much government, and put the MILLIONS, of people back to work in GOOD jobs? OH, and what about ENERGY and GREEN JOBS? Ya, well today those topics, don’t seem to be open for discussion. All, I can say is, chose wisely, and be careful who, you vote for. Our Future and Our Childrens’ future depends on it!
What would these tools do for your business, and your POCKETS?
Halloween is right around the corner, and if you're looking a last minute costume, we've got some homemade ideas for you to try out, some of which can be created right out your closet or with recycled objects that may have otherwise been of no use.
Dice
Pretty ... [visit site to read more]
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Our first randomly selected winner did not respond with her shipping info, so a new winner had to be selected.
Congrats to comment #39 - Paislea. She will have 48 hours from the time of my email, which will be sent after this posting, to respond with her shipping info, or it will be take three for winner selection! And yes, it has happened ... [visit site to read more]
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And we deserve to lose the race for a new green economy to China. Why? Because we have systematically destroyed our opportunity to lead through bad decisions and illusion, sold ourselves to China, and blanketed ourselves with cheap and toxic products bought from China.
(No wonder the Chinese are laughing at us in this political ad Joshua Brown wrote about on The ReformedBroker.com this weekend. Of course, as Josh pointed out in his post, China needs us as much as we need them.)
Then there is this disturbing item from an editorial in the New York Times this morning: "Until a little over three weeks ago, the Interior Department had approved more than 73,000 oil and gas leases since 2005, but only one offshore wind energy project and not a single solar project."
Don't get me wrong, I support domestic oil and gas development -- both offshore and on land -- as long as it is conducted using the highest environmental standards and safeguards.
But why has it so long to approve a project like Cape Wind off the coast of Massachusetts while oil and gas leasing has accelerated?
Two things have been happening since 2005 when Congress directed the US Department of the Interior "to approve enough wind, solar and other projects on public land to produce 10,000 megawatts by 2015 — enough to heat, cool and light five million homes."
The first is the so-called "Haliburton loophole," which exempted natural gas drilling companies from the Clean Water Act after the companies raised a "frackas" over having to disclose chemicals used in their fracking process. They claimed it would endanger their proprietary formulas.
A September 2009 report issued by the General Accountability Office (GAO) found that 28 percent of drilling permits issued from 2006 to 2008 (about 6,100 applications) were expedited by the Bureau of Land Management through this categorical exclusion.
Here's an interesting list of exemptions the oil and gas industry currently enjoys from the Federal government compiled by the Environmental Working Group. Any one of these can help accelerate the approval process.
By comparison, the Cape Wind project was subject to meeting a plethora of state and federal agency standards and required almost nine years to get a final permit.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to his credit, has approved six large-scale solar power projects on public lands in California and Nevada, and has moved to close the loophole and reform the process for reviewing all projects on lands under Federal management.
But renewables also continue to be subjected to unclear and inconsistent signals in terms of subsidies and tax credits, which makes investors and project developers wary of going too deep.
As the Times editorial asserts, "When the production tax credit expired at the end of 2003, development of newly installed wind capacity fell from 1,687 megawatts to less than 400 the following year."
Meanwhile, as an Environmental Law Institute study last year illustrated, fossil fuel development benefited from approximately $72 billion in subsidies and tax credits over a seven-year period (2002-2008), while subsidies for renewable fuels totaled only $29 billion overt the same period.
This kind of unlevel playing field and unfair advantage is just another reason why we have already lost the race with China and others on renewables.
In fact, we better stop thinking about it as a race at all and begin thinking about how best to cooperate with our competitors before we are left out of this new economic opportunity altogether.
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| TNC protects places like Raja Ampat, Indonesia |
The first was when the host of a panel I was moderating told me of the passing of a Conservancy legend, Dennis Wolkoff, and the second was when I learned about a group of dedicated Conservancy staff and friends, including CEO Mark Tercek, who were running the New York City Marathon next weekend.
Dennis passed away last Spring, and yet I was only just now hearing about it -- and from a total stranger. How did that happen? I wasn't close to Dennis, but we both shared a passion for the Boston Red Sox and I got to use his Fenway seats on several occasions.
Still, it stung that I'd gotten so far away over the years that I had to hear about his passing seven months after it happened.
My fondest memory of Dennis was beating him in a negotiations workshop a decade ago. Dennis very graciously acknowledged his defeat and, although it was only a game, I could never forget my victory over a master deal maker. His generosity of spirit was in strong evidence that day, as it was every day with his colleagues and with anyone with whom he came in contact.
That's the spirit of the Conservancy; it's a giving spirit.
Which is why it is no surprise that a group of Conservancy staff and friends, including CEO Mark Tercek, are giving of themselves by running to raise funds for the Conservancy's critical work protecting the world's most important lands and waters.
I hope you'll join me in supporting their efforts and cheer them on as they hit the wilds of New York City's streets on November 7th. My support is in memory of Dennis Wolkoff.
You can donate to the team at nature.org.
Both Joey and I have worn B. Joey loved it and come on what is cuter than a father wearing his baby? I just got an Baby Hawk Oh Snap so I can still wear B as he grows. He loves being worn on the back so he can look out and watch where we are going. Okay so this isn't really a 'green' thing but it goes hand in hand with a lot of other crunchy things green parents do. 
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| Solar PV to have its day in the sun? |
"The 'Solar Generation 2010' report also projects investments in solar photovoltaic (PV) to double from 35 billion euros today to 70 billion euros in 2015. At the same time, costs for PV systems are expected to almost halve (-40 percent).
"As a result, PV systems will be able to compete with current electricity costs for households in most industrialized countries. This so-called 'grid parity' will change the PV market significantly."
You can download the report's executive summary here: Solar Generation 2010 (PDF)
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I have tried a few detergents and have not really liked them at all. I always feel like they aren't getting things really clean. I had heard good things about Ecos and decided to try it out. It is a keeper. I find it gets stains out and overall does a fantastic job at cleaning our laundry without having a negative impact on the environment. In fact it is 100% biodegradable and made from plant based surfactants. 
Watch it here:
Or, if your browser doesn't support, you can check it out here at Stocktwits.tv
My apologies for not getting this up yesterday! I was having some internet problems, but it all seems to be worked out now.
The winner of the GreenSmart Bags giveaway is comment #94 - Julie L. Her bag choice is the Indri in Ocean Blue (the same one I chose!). I will be contacting Julie right after posting this, and she will have 48 hours from the time of my email to respond with her shipping info. If she doesn't respond in that time, a new winner will be ... [visit site to read more]
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In 2008, Cisco launched One Million Acts of Green in Canada to show how each individual, organization and community can act on their own, but contribute to a greater good. The success with that project has has led to the extension of the program to ... [visit site to read more]
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| Sign of Good Things to Come in Philly |
First up, Jeff St. John of GigaOm with a story on GridPoint, "the smart grid company with a lot of funding, and a lot to prove," replacing its CEO: GridPoint.
Andrew Winston in Harvard Business Review wrote about Google Doing What the Government Can't: Google Cleantech.
And more on Google's shift from trying to find cleantech breakthroughs to financing mega projects.
In Philly, Viridity Energy got some props in the Inquirer for its efforts to reshape how firms buy and use electricity.
I was at the Cleantech Group's Cleantech Forum New York, where it announced the 2010 Global Cleantech 100.
Tom Friedman of The New York Times wrote about the case for energy technology investment,while Teryn Norris asked "Can Conservatives Support Clean Energy Innovation Policy?" in The Energy Collective.
CleanTechies blog featured an interview with Jigar Shah, CEO of the Carbon War Room on Why Entrepreneurs Are Flocking to Energy.
On the Sustainability front, Tilde Herrera in GreenBiz.com listed 10 Things to Know About Engaging Suppliers for Green Programs.
And finally, one of the things that's been keeping me busy this week, is the US launch of one my clients here in Philadelphia: Mark Group home-energy firm to locate in Philadelphia Navy Yard.
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| Philippe Martin of Veolia Environnement |
Veolia Environnement is a multinational French company with origins in the national water company established by Napoleon III.
You may remember them as part of Vivendi, from which they spun off in 2000, later being renamed Veolia.
Veolia operates utility and public transportation businesses -- everything from drinking water to waste management services; from heating and air conditioning to rail and road passenger transportation systems.
The company had $49.8 billion in revenue last year and operates in 74 countries with 313,000 employees worldwide.
Philippe Martin, senior vice president for research and innovation, explains that the company faces environmental challenges in the field every day and needs the most relevant and innovative technologies. They are constantly searching for new innovations from within and, now, with its innovation accelerator, outside the company.
"We have the ability as an operating company to deploy technology and help companies scale their technology and get to market," Martin says. "We are focused on incubation and acceleration."
Robert Bozza heads up the Veolia Innovation Accelerator (VIA). The accelerator funnels creative solutions into a network of sorts to which Veolia will lend its expertise and deployment capabilities.
And the company promises to move innovation quickly through the incubation period – to accelerate the technologies to market.
"We have made a 1-4-12 promise," Martin and Bozza explain. "Review a company's application in one week. Perform technical analysis of the technology in four weeks. And sign an agreement with the company within 12 weeks. It is designed to move fast and be more efficient than a corporate fund."
While not a fund, VIA can invest in a participating company's technology. "We think this is more efficient than a fund," says Martin. "We are not in the business of creating solutions, only deploying the best."
Thus far, they have 150 applicants under review, each falling within one scope of the company's focus areas: water, waste, and energy. Some have come through traditional routes, such as through venture capital or other investors, but they are also finding great response to the accelerator's web application.
"We're seeing about 50/50 from investors and the web," Martin explains. "Before there were too many channels into the company. Now there is one funnel."
And the companies are coming from both sides of the pond.
One such company is California-based NanoH2O, which provides membranes that leverage nanotechnology to improve desalination. NanoH2O is partnering with Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies to jointly explore new regions for seawater desalination plants in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Australia.
"Working with Veolia," said Jeff Green, founder and CEO of NanoH2O, "will accelerate the adoption of NanoH2O's nanocomposite reverse osmosis membranes worldwide to change the fundamental economics of desalination."
Once selected, companies can enter into joint research projects with Veolia or its subsidiaries (such as with NanoH2O) or use the company to deploy their technology in the field.
And what about intellectual property?
"While there may be some shared IP in joint research projects, it is otherwise IP retained by company/entrepreneur," Martin asserted. "We are not a technology company, so we are not going to be a competitor."
"New technology leverages our strengths," added Bozza.
Currently, Veolia is looking for companies with an emphasis on biotech applied to their core businesses (water, waste, energy, transport), sensors – which are going to be very important, energy conservation and efficiency; and real-time water quality monitoring solutions.
The companies selected will be announced at the Cleantech Group's San Francisco Forum next March.
Our green bin arrived on Saturday! So excited about this. Inside it was a small bin for our kitchen, small and large paper bags to line both bins (not required) and information on what can be composted. It is amazing...basically everything but plastic. We plan on still using our backyard composter but will use the city's system for the things we can not compost at home (pet waste, meat etc etc).
Can't wait to see how much of an impact this makes in the amount of garbage we put out at the curb.
I scored 18/20, missing on questions 3 & 4 (duoh!).
See how well you do: US Energy Information Administration Energy Quiz
Did you know there was such a thing as World Statistics Day?
