Alternative Energy
Dark clouds of crisis have a shiny silver lining called alternative energy
There are strong signs of a rebound for the alternative energy sector, but how soon will green jobs start impacting the U.S. job market? Though the U.S is surrounded by economic, security, and climate crisis – can green technologies really save us from ourselves?
Some say alternative energy could spark the next “industrial revolution”. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get dirty. Click here for a must-read article from Manufacturing.net that just may provide some fuel for thought!
I’ll trade you a cup of water for my new Prius?
At The Churchill Club of Silicon Valley’s Annual Top Ten Tech Trends Debate in May, five prominent venture capitalists argued about which trends are going to gain traction in the coming year. Joe Schoendorf, partner at Accel Partners, and past vice president of marketing for Apple, had the crowd nodding as he advanced the prediction that water technology will replace global warming as an international priority.
Schoendorf explained that the world is running out of usable water and that this is a higher immediate threat than global warming.
Energy production consumes large volumes of water…coal, nuclear and biomass gasification all require water. According to a report on theoildrum.com a 50 million gal/yr plant will use 600,000 gallons of water a day – much of it used to dissipate the heat of the process. Gasoline refining processes use about 3 – 4.5 gallons of water for every gallon of gas.
Do you have a plan?
EPA ruling has my phone ringing
Big news! The EPA has ruled that C02 is an air pollutant that they are “legally bound to regulate”. Andy Stone reports that it’s “a decision likely to have a vast impact on the U.S. economy and the way American companies do business. It is also a boon for cleantech, and may turn investors away from carbon intensive industries for good.”
So I just hung up the phone with a B2B client who wanted to know what my thoughts were on this. (She knows that I hail from an environmentalist enclave in the Pacific Northwest, and she teases me when I drop my gum wrapper in the recycle bin. What can I say – it must have been something in the artesian spring water I drank growing up.) Anyway, she’s concerned because several of her biggest clients may be impacted…I told her that now might be a good time for some targeted research to assess impact and opportunity. But now that I think about it, that’s good advice for any company at any time, really.
Is affordable solar energy closer than we realize?
Renewable energy continues to remain in the headlines as it not only can help mitigate global warming but it can also create jobs in a struggling economy. But this seeming strong and emerging industry does face certain hurdles. The lack of available credit/financing even to companies in this high potential industry is issue number one. Then of course there is the ability to take these products mainstream. The issue specifically is whether the cost of renewable energy will become affordable enough for the general population. The solar industry says yes to overcoming the latter of the two problems.
Bright Outlook For Green Energy
blue skies for sustainable energy
Welcome to CBD’s inaugural energy blog. As an Account Supervisor specializing in business within the energy sector I have developed a keen interest in this category—especially in the green/renewable category because I see the potential here, and believe it can have a huge impact on our environment and quality of life.
I have been tracking what’s going on with green energy. Turns out the $700-billion bailout goes beyond Wall Street. It includes many potential items aimed at assisting the renewable energy world. ”Bailout Generates Energy Incentives,” (Green Energy News, Oct. 4, 2008) indicates that though it will take quite a while to define, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 includes:
