Author Archives: Scott Cooney


About Scott Cooney

Scott Cooney (twitter: scottcooney) is an adjunct professor Sustainability in the MBA program at the University of Hawai'i, green business startup coach, author of Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill), and developer of the sustainability board game GBO Hawai'i. As a serial eco-entrepreneur who has started, grown and sold multiple green businesses, Scott believes that capitalism, true capitalism, can be a powerful force for change, but that our current version of capitalism is severely hampered by perverse subsidies and negative externalities that make unsustainable products less expensive than healthier alternatives. Scott is a vegetarian, an avid cyclist, and an organic gardener. Find Scott on Google Plus

Yikes! Huge Disconnect Between Environmental Attitude & Behavior

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Image Credit: EnergyChangeMN

This article originally appeared on CleanTechnica sister site The Inspired Economist. To learn about sustainable economics, see Special Reports by The Inspired Economist. People frequently respond very positively to polling about environmental attitudes. Even in down years, a grand majority of people respond that they’re concerned about the environment (and/or describe themselves as “environmentalist” in attitude). But the behavior often doesn’t follow the attitude, and it is perhaps the biggest missing link in creating real sustainable change. In the introductory workshop … Read More

Solar, Wind, & Geothermal Help Hawaii Reach Renewable Goals Ahead Of Schedule

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Wind farm on the windward hills of Maui

America’s most fossil fuel dependent state has made great strides since laying out a statewide sustainability plan known as Hawaii 2050. The state acknowledged its challenges: 90% of food imported, greater than 90% of energy derived from burning imported oil in large scale generators, and a solid waste challenge highlighted by extremely limited landfill space and a tourism-based economy that thrives on throwaway goods. To address the energy challenge, the state and its citizens have … Read More

Hawaii’s Energy Excelerator: A Cleantech Incubator

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hawaii cleantech startups

  In the world of energy, Hawaii is known for its need for alternative energy sources, excellent conditions for test bed projects, and access to the Asia Pacific market. So button up your Aloha shirts and slide your feet into a pair of slippers (flip flops); to kick off 2013, the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) has launched Hawaii’s first cleantech business accelerator, the Energy Excelerator. After funding ten companies and $12 … Read More

Heavy Hitters Abound As Speaker Lineup Announced For Total Energy USA Conference

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All of the above Total Energy USA conference

  The big picture for energy issues in the United States and around the world is that a myriad of sources are likely to be needed for the foreseeable future. But each energy source has its own challenges, benefits, and drawbacks. The Total Energy USA Conference November 27-29 in Houston, TX will provide participants with an in-depth look at the energy landscape, from biomass and energy efficiency to natural gas, nuclear, and oil. Terry Tamminen, … Read More

Gamification in Clean Tech: GBO Hawaii

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Gamification in Clean Tech: GBO Hawaii

A new board game from GreenBusinessOwner.com aims to make clean tech, and sustainability in general, fun. GBO Hawaii (ages 13+, 2-4 players, 45 minutes, to 1.5 hours) is a game of strategy, impact investing, and skillful maneuvering of public policy. The idea is that players are impact investors, and invest their money across the island state of Hawaii to help create clean energy, alternative transportation, local food, and waste reduction businesses. The aim? To get the … Read More

Apple Jumps Back on EPEAT Bandwagon

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The image Apple would love people to have of its impact on the environment and public health…

  Eduitor’s Note: So, as Chelsea noted the other day, Apple decided this week that it no longer meshed with the eco-label EPEAT. As a response, San Francisco told Apple it was out (city officials wouldn’t be buying its products). And, now, due to that or the media pressure or consumer dissatisfaction with this change (or all of the above), Apple is changing its mind and sticking with EPEAT. Here’s more from Scott Cooney of … Read More

Best Counterargument to Price on Carbon Hurting Jobs?

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At yesterday’s Sustainable Industries Economic Forum, keynote presenter Paul Hawken was asked, “What is the best counterargument to the argument that carbon caps will raise energy costs and hurt our economy?”  In typical Hawken style, his earlier speech was well done, inspiring and insightful.  In typical Hawken style, his off-the-cuff answers to audience questions was where he really shone.  And this answer was perhaps his shining moment of the day. … Read More

Paul Hawken on Being a 'Doomer'

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During yesterday’s Sustainable Industries Economic Forum, keynote speaker Paul Hawken suggested that it will take a somewhat monumental effort to get back to 350 ppm in our atmosphere (we’re at 387 right now). His list was daunting.  We’d need one new olympic sized pool of bioalgae fuel production every second for 25 years, for example.  He said that while being a ‘doomer’ has a negative connotation, the facts are the facts, and that there is … Read More

Is Condensed Water the Salvation for Developing Countries?

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Yesterday, I wrote about the new DH9 from DewPointe, one of the cool eco-innovations to be showcased at West Coast Green October 1-3 in San Francisco.  The DH9 is capable of extracting water vapor from the air and converting it to (very) pure drinking water, at a rate of about 6.5 gallons per day.  The technology is inspiring, in that this is a free-standing water manufacturer, needing no water supply, and conjures up images of … Read More