Cleantech startups have stopped seeing GE as an adversary and have started realizing the company can help them make a difference, Kevin Skillern, a managing director at GE Energy Financial Services, said in a keynote speech at a Thomson Reuters conference called “Financing the Cleantech Vision” in Palo Alto on Wednesday.
In spite of the recession, Skillern assured the audience that the long-term business opportunity for cleantech is still there, though it will require “a strong stomach and a lot of patience” to cash in on it. He also called climate change “one of, if not the biggest, societal challenges of our time” and said technology was an essential part of the solution.
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
“An invention that is narrowly focused on solving a single problem often inadvertently creates more problems because nature is highly complex and interconnected.” - Javier Fernandez-Han
When it comes to environmental news, doom and gloom often rules the day. And it’s easy to get discouraged. But scientists from Yale University say most polluted ecosystems can recover in as little as 5 or 10 years.
The study means it’s not too late to turn things around if societies commit to cleanup, restoration and sustainability, according to Yale’s analysis of 240 independent studies. The findings appear in this month’s issue of the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE. Read the rest of this entry »
Electric cars have been getting plenty of attention recently, but what about electric jetskis? The ECO Jetski–the first all-electric jetski–reaches speeds of 50 MPH and has an impressive battery life of three hours. Check out a video of the yet-to-be-released jetski in action below. Read the rest of this entry »
Move over, corn: there’s a new biofuel in town. A tiny flowering plant called duckweed, often seen in shallow ponds, produces significantly more starch per acre than corn according to researchers North Carolina State University. The plant thrives on animal waste, quickly transforming it into a leafy starch that can be turned into ethanol. Read the rest of this entry »
The BioMara research project investigating the feasibility of using microalgae and seaweed to produce biofuels was launched on Friday by Scotland’s Energy Minister, Jim Mather.
“Effectively, seaweed harvested off a beach in the Outer Isles could be heating a crofter’s kettle for their cup of tea the next morning.” - Laila Sadler, spokesperson for BioMara
Google only announced its PowerMeter smart-meter platform in February (see our posts on the announcement here, here and here). But some startups are already chomping at the bit to access the platform.
In fact, two of the startups that presented at Earth2Tech’s Green:Net conference last week specifically said they are interested in using PowerMeter when it becomes available.
New York’s Ontario County is exploring the possibility of turning garbage into gas at the county’s landfill.
The county is debating whether to let Casella Waste Systems, which runs the landfill in the town of Seneca, build a $5 million pilot plant there. If the pilot proves successful, a $100 million plant could eventually be built on the site, reports the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The idea will be debated at a public hearing tonight.
Currently the landfill takes in about 2,200 tons of trash a day from 33 counties, other states and Canada. Read the rest of this entry »
Looking for a green job and wondering where they are? Well, as job hunters flood the usual suspects — such as solar and wind companies — with mountains of applications, you might have better luck finding your dream job in a more unexpected sector.
That’s the advice from Amy Vernetti, a managing director at headhunting firm Taylor Winfield. She says many of the green jobs are coming from areas that probably don’t leap to mind when you think of cleantech, such as companies developing fuel additives and air-filtration technologies. “These are hidden gems in the market,” she says, adding that some of them are “hiring like crazy.”
Biofuels may have hit an unexpected roadblock with a pronouncement by Sheik Mohamed al-Najimi of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy that the fuel may be prohibited by Islam. According to al-Najimi, the prophet Muhammad prohibited the buying, selling, transporting, drinking, and manufacturing of alcohol - including the ethyl alcohol present in ethanol. Read the rest of this entry »
A fresh, up-to-date perspective on the latest trends in clean tech. From renewable energy sources, to less toxic electronics and more efficient information technology, Cleantechnica introduces readers to the full scope of clean technology in language that doesn’t require an engineering degree.
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
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