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July 30th's Tip

Recycling CFLs: We all know that CFLs contain mercury and can be dangerous if broken, so caution is required when handling these types of bulbs. But do you think about what to do ... [visit site to read more]

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Calvin on the Beach @ OKI.

A vacation edition of The Green Skeptic's Friday links.

I've been on the North Carolina coast this week and haven't been paying close attention to the web and Twitterstreams, but here are a few things from some of my pals that caught my eye from the beach:

Two posts from Julian Wong of The Green Leap Forward about the "battle" between China and the US for the leadership position in cleantech: US Clean Energy Investment at Home Is Best Response to China and Julian's testimony before the US-China Commission: Of Solar Tech and Chicken McNuggets.

Chris Nelder published "Beyond Carbon Legislation: Energy Transition," in the wake of the US Senate Climate Bill being declared DOA.

Gregor MacDonald pointed us to Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute's 2000 predictions about coal consumption trends, evolution in the auto industry, and future world oil production Optimism, harsh realism, and blind spots—10 years later.

Gregor also had this to say about California as the Governator declared a state of fiscal emergency for the state: Collapse is a Process.

Finally, CleanTechies posted "A Price for the Volt, But None for Carbon.

Have a great weekend. I'm back from vacation next week.

Sometimes It Seems Like One Green Step Forward, Two Oily Steps Back The White House renews the promise that BP will pay for the Gulf oil disaster, as CNN reported, the oil giant officially announced on Tuesday that CEO Tony Hayward is leaving his position and being replaced by Robert Dudley. Hayward will retain his post [...]

Read the rest on my blog.

A few weeks ago my post 25 Things You CAN Compost You Never Thought About, drew in some great comments, from current composters to newbies looking to ... [visit site to read more]

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The following is a guest article written by Jennifer Gorton from Forex Traders

If we think about why being a locavore (one whose diet consists only of food that is grown in the local area) is such an effective approach to reducing our impact to the environment, it ... [visit site to read more]

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Give yourself the time and serenity, of relaxing with dolphins.  To me, they are the most fascinating and amazing creatures.  This should help FREE, your mind for a few minutes…ENJOY! Share and Enjoy:

San Diego has a lot going for it: beautiful weather all year round, a great coast, and...well, the new StockTwits HQ on Coronado.

And now, after several years of investment, hard work, and a smart Republican mayor, Jerry Sanders, who saw and seized the opportunity, San Diego has an emerging cleantech community.

"We're here to serve as a catalyst," says Holly Lepre, vice president of CleanTech San Diego, a non-profit formed a few years ago to promote San Diego as a world leader in the cleantech economy. "We're trying to stimulate the demand that drives and attracts new companies."

When I visited in May, CleanTech San Diego was about to announce that the region has reached 700 cleantech companies.  Earlier in the year the organization ranked number seven in the Cleantech Network's global "Top 10 Cleantech Cluster Organizations for 2010."

San Diego is also fast becoming a hub for next generation biofuels.

In June, the California Department of Labor granted $4 million to the region to develop a job training initiative for the emerging biofuels industry in both San Diego and the Imperial Valley

And earlier this month, the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, received a large part of a three-year, $9 million federal Department of Energy grant, and a consortium of seven companies, including San Diego-based Sapphire Energy, General Atomics, and Sempra Energy, are providing an additional $3 million to finance research and development.

Sapphire is developing what it calls "green crude," a 91-octane gasoline made from CO2, sunlight, and photosynthetic microorganisms. Last year, Sapphire attracted BP's former head of global refining, Cynthia Warner, to be its president. Warner saw the writing on the wall and decided "it was a lot better to create the key to the future than to nurse along the dying past."

Sapphire is not alone among next generation biofuels companies attracting dinosaur industry interest.   J. Craig Venter's La Jolla-based Synthetic Genomics recently launched a new greenhouse facility as a part of a multi-year partnership with Exxon Mobil Corporation.

But it's not just biofuels in sunny southern California. There are, according to Cleantech San Diego's Lepre, 176 solar companies in the region, including Spanish turnkey solar manufacturer Siliken, which has its US headquarters here, and Envision Solar, whose "solar trees" are starting to sprout up in around the country.

Envision is based in the Kearny Mesa district and housed in EcoHub, the area's first cleantech incubator. Yves Perez, founder of the Eco Investment Club, formed a partnership with Mark Mandell of property management company Square One Development, to start the incubator in a 12,000-square foot office plaza.

"We're in a secret race for the cleantech capital of the world," says Perez. "Win this secret race and we could double the number of San Diego-based cleantech companies and startups, and 700 becomes 1400 or more."

Bob Noble, president of Envision Solar explained why his company became one of the first in the EcoHub, "We wanted to be in a space where the building owners not only understood our mission but wanted to be part of it. Being surrounded by like minded-professionals opens up new avenues for collaboration and partnership."

That collaborative spirit is a key to San Diego's success, according to Lepre. "San Diego is a natural setting for a clean tech 'collaboratory.'"

The following is a guest post from Lior, who works for an online task management tool company and also for a nursing wear clothes online shop.

<img src="http://focusorganic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/erdan.jpg" alt="" title="erdan" ... [visit site to read more]

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Related Posts - Check them out
Hand Me Downs
Ho Ho Hold the Holiday Cards

Where to start? Well, first of all, I’m not the greenie Stefanie is. The things that are important to me are rather simple - mostly, I want to leave the world in a better condition than when I got here. Stefanie and I agree on that.

As a child I can recall the uproar over asbestos, mercury, and lead ... [visit site to read more]

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First, I want to thank everyone for submitting today, and to everyone who submitted in the past, especially our frequent submitters! ... [visit site to read more]

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A few months ago, I was interviewed by Tom Schurman for BizVoice, a publication of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, on the subject of clean energy, green jobs, and the difficult balancing act of the green movement overall.

Here is a link to a PDF of the BizVoice article "Balancing Act."

Image via Wikipedia We are NOW on day 96, since the blow-out preventor exploded, on BP’s Deep Water Horizon (Macondo Well).  On April 20th, that explosion killed 11 workers, and has triggered the worst environmental disaster in U.S. History. Within, the next 48 hours, we can expect an announcement, from BP stating, that their future, does NOT [...]

A Next-Generation Solar Powered Overhead-Suspended High-Speed Monorail Sky Train Corporation (STC) and STC International, based in Palm Harbor, Florida is a unique team of world-class scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and associates all committed to their STC Green Transportation Mission. STC in collaboration with the University of Central Florida’s Solar Energy Center (FSEC), designed...

Read the rest on my blog.

July 23rd's Tip

Refrigerator Temperature: Do you know the temperature you keep your refrigerator/freezer? Are you wasting energy by having them set colder than necessary? For a few dollars, you ... [visit site to read more]

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Greetings, it's Friday. I'm getting ready to head down to Oak Island for a little R&R, but not before posting this week's links of interest:

Applied Materials ($AMAT) gave the ax to its thin-film solar business, laying off 500, according to a report in VentureBeat, which could be a blow to Green Skeptic fav First Solar ($FSLR) and other thin-film companies: Thin Film Solar.

A new report from Navigant Consulting describes how US Utilities need clean energy to remain competitive: Utilities.

A piece in the New York Times on privacy and social networks is a must-read: "The Web Means the End of Forgetting".

Green Skeptic favs Silver Spring Networks and EnerNoc ($ENOC) made Greentech Media's Top 10 Green Incumbents List: Top 10 Green.

Another Green Skeptic favorite, Cree, extended its LED market leadership with what it calls the industry's most color-consistent LEDs (press release): $CREE.

No surprises really that China topped the US in energy use. The first time since the early 1900s that the US has not been the top energy consumer: China.

Earth2Tech's Katie Fehrenbacher compares plug-in car chargers: Design Battle: How The Plug-In Car Chargers Compare, while Philly-based and self-proclaimed "cheap electric car maker" BG Automotive gave up the game (a wee too early, in my opinion): BG bites dust.

Senator Mark Udall Co-Sponsors The Startup Visa Act of 2010.

And, finally, the Climate Bill officially died as Senate Dems determined it could get no power, Captain: Climate Fail.


(Disclosure: I hold long positions in FSLR, CREE and ENOC. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)

A few years ago, Adam Sherlip was working with the New York Islanders hockey team and Team USA star and Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero, coordinating their  Charles B. Wang Ice Hockey Project Hope initiative, a youth hockey development program in northeastern China.

Project Hope hosted a team from China to compete in a tournament against teams from the New York metropolitan area. But when Adam visited Heilongjiang Province and saw the rinks Project Hope had built at schools there, his life completely changed.

"Traveling to the opposite side of the world teaching kids hockey was one of the most memorable experiences in my life to date," Adam says. "Hockey has a culture and a language that transcends borders and the differences we may have off the ice."

The experience led him to start The Hockey Foundation to support grassroots hockey around the world, especially in places remote to the rest of the hockey world. Places like Ladakh, in the Indian Himalayas.

To Adam Sherlip, hockey is more than a game. He believes sports can help bring about social change and improve understanding between people.

For those who have never played a sport, it is hard to grasp how sports change lives, but they do. Sports promote leadership and teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving skills, as well as physical activity that can improve self-esteem and confidence.

Hockey, by virtue of its fast pace -- and the dangers of having blades on your feet while and carrying a big stick -- has other lessons to teach: about perseverance, coordination, and paying attention. Despite the impression given by fighting in professional hockey, the sport also teaches respect for others.

Adam brought all of these things with him to Ladakh in January 2009, along with donated equipment..

Why Ladakh? "Ladakh came about from a random email from Angela that mentioned it briefly," Adam says. "And when I researched this Buddhist region and the progressive, self sufficient school there, I knew I had to be there to assist and see how they lived."

He hopes to spread to other parts of the world in coming years.

For now, Adam wants to return to India this fall. He's actively raising the $10,000 it will take to support hockey development for children and adults in Ladakh, a region of Jammu & Kashmir, India's northernmost region, as well as children in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It will also help support the Ice Hockey Association of India.  They are also looking for equipment donations and corporate support.

His ultimate goal with the Hockey Foundation? To "share happiness and change lives, one puck at a time."

Now that's a real cool goal.

For more on Adam and hockey in the Himalayas, including video footage or to support their efforts, go to The Hockey Foundation. You can also follow The Hockey Foundation on Twitter @HockeyFndtn and find them on Facebook.

How about a little Summer Relaxation, without having to go anywhere? I think you will find this, does the job nicely!    Enjoy the music and tranquility, you deserve it! Share and Enjoy: