Suzuki Foundation finds little evidence of strong engagement by the parent organization, and recommends the IOC play a stronger role to ensure that future host cities like London and Sochi follow through on their environmental commitments. (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) February 04, 2010
Selected by energy
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Energy Priorities
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VANOC's Consultant Gives It a Bronze for Greenness
4 Feb 2010 | 9:12 am -
New Guidance Issued by Securities and Exchange Commission for Climate Change Disclosures by Public Companies
4 Feb 2010 | 8:26 amOn February 2, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") published an interpretive release to provide guidance to public companies on the SEC's existing disclosure requirements relating to climate change. Those requirements apply to registration statements and periodic reports filed under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) February 04, 2010 -
How Green Are the 2010 Winter Olympics? - Building Priorities Briefing
25 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pmThe 2010 Games are being dubbed the "Sustainable Olympics," but is Vancouver BC setting any world records? In this month's Briefing we examine some lessons from the global spectacle. First we look at the venues that Canada constructed for the upcoming Winter Games, to see if they win any green medals. Seven years after winning the bid, we find Canadians are not entirely happy about the upcoming games. Green business guru Martin Westerman shares his thoughts about how to really make the games green. (podcast) (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) January 25, 2010 -
How To Really Make the Olympics Green
25 Jan 2010 | 11:52 amIf we had no choice but to make the Olympics environmentally neutral, how would we do it? Martin Westerman has some ideas. He is the author of "The Business Environmental Handbook," a lecturer on sustainable business for the University of Washington Business School and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. (podcast) (transcript) (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) January 25, 2010 -
Energy Monitoring - Energy:Minute
25 Jan 2010 | 11:14 amYou can't manage what you can't measure. Monitoring is an essential component of managing energy use. (podcast) (transcript) (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) January 25, 2010
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Forbes: Energy News
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Mining The Grid's Middle Mile
2 Feb 2010 | 10:20 amFor the Current Group, the smart grid isn't about meters or renewable generation but the "middle mile." -
Eco-Tech
2 Feb 2010 | 7:00 amAdvances in solar, energy efficiency and the smart grid are taking hold in the U.S. and around the world. -
GE Helps Brazilian Amazon Go Green
29 Jan 2010 | 1:41 pmU.S. power giant is supplying natural gas engines for northern Brazil's second-largest city. -
The World's Biggest Green Energy Projects
29 Jan 2010 | 8:35 amThe U.S. and Europe have led the way in renewable power, but right now China has the grandest plans. -
Chevron Tanks on Refining Rut
29 Jan 2010 | 8:10 amCollapsing crude oil and natural gas prices hit the U.S. oil major's refining business hard.
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Green Building Law Update
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Can a Green Schools Program Be Inequitable?
5 Feb 2010 | 5:51 amIn Ohio, there is LEEDigation brewing. But it's not the LEEDigaiton that I anticipated. The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) requires that new OSFC-funded schools achieve LEED Silver certification. The Washington-Nile school district is balking at the additional costs incurred as a result of the LEED certification requirement. When a school project is pursuing LEED certification, OSFC provides three percent more funding than the estimated project costs in order to pay for the incremental costs of certification. According to Washington-Nile… -
LEED Funding for Green School Causes Construction Delay
3 Feb 2010 | 3:21 pmLast Thursday, during a webinar on green building legal issues, I stated the following: "I really believe schools will be a hotbed for green defect claims, in terms of energy efficiency, and other green building components. Schools rely on tight budgets. . . . Be careful what you are promising on these green school projects." On Friday, I read an article titled "Construction Delayed at West School," which led with the following paragraph: "Construction is at a stand-still at Washington-Nile School, where issues surrounding state-mandated LEED (Leadership… -
Important Revision to the D.C. Green Building Act
1 Feb 2010 | 11:43 amIn December 2009, an Amendment to the D.C. Green Building Act of 2006 was introduced by the D.C. Council. Labeled the "Green Building Technical Corrections, Clarification, and Revision Amendment Act of 2009," this Amendment includes many revisions to the original Green Building Act. One of those revisions involves the "performance bond" requirement: "'Sec. 6. Bond requirements.'. (2) Section 6 is amended by striking the phrase 'performance bond' wherever it appears and inserting the word "bond" in its place." That's it. This feels… -
Hitting Reset on the D.C. Green Building Act
29 Jan 2010 | 11:09 amBack in April 2009, I took a vow of silence. I promised to stop writing about the "performance bond" requirement in the D.C. Green Building Act. I had faith the D.C. Council would address the issue. Thankfully, it appears our long nightmare may be coming to an end. Today, I am going to reset the "performance bond" issue (I have not written about it since April 2009!). On Monday, I will discuss the "Green Building Technical Corrections, Clarification, and Revision Amendment Act of 2009" (pdf) and the proposed revision to the… -
Live Webinar (1:00 pm EST): "Green Building Legal Issues on the Horizon"
28 Jan 2010 | 6:18 amYou can view my webinar "Green Building Legal Issues on the Horizon" live at 1 pm EST or archived on demand. If you are having trouble, you can also try the BrightTALK website. PLEASE NOTE: We experienced some technical difficulties at the beginning. Please fast forward to the 2:10 mark for the beginning of the presentation. Thanks!
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Dot Earth
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When Coal Flows Between Countries, Who 'Owns' the CO2?
9 Feb 2010 | 10:02 amWhen rich countries sell coal to poor countries and buy the resulting goods, who "owns" the resulting CO2 emissions? -
Exxon and the Climate Fight
8 Feb 2010 | 2:40 pmA British newspaper reports that oil companies direct money to climate skeptics. -
Reality Check on Old Ice, Climate and CO2
8 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pmAn expert on glaciers and climate explains how ice records relate to global warming. -
Signs of Damage to Public Trust in Climate Findings
5 Feb 2010 | 1:27 pmCBS News has run a report summarizing fallout from the illegal distribution of climate scientists' email messages and files and problems with the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The conclusion is that missteps and mistakes are creating broader credibility problems for climate science. [UPDATE, 2/8: Elisabeth Rosenthal has filed a piece reviewing [...] -
If the Climate Accord Works, Will the Climate Notice?
5 Feb 2010 | 9:13 amA member of the American negotiating team in Copenhagen assesses whether the resulting accord can limit climate risks.
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Renewable Energy News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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Petra Solar Secures $40M in Financing
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmPetra Solar has raised $40 million in funding for expansion. Two new investors, Craton Equity Partners and Espírito Santo Ventures, led the latest round with 100% participation from existing investors, Element Partners, Blue Run Ventures, OnPoint Technologies (U.S. Army's Venture Fund) and Kuwait's National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC). -
NREL: Feed-in Tariffs Legal in US When Certain Conditions Met
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has issued a long-awaited legal analysis of how states could implement feed-in tariffs and still comply with federal law. -
Spire Ranked 9th Fastest-Growing Public Company in Massachusetts
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pm -
BC Hydro To Purchase Stake in Waneta Dam Hydro Project
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmThe British Columbia Utilities Commission has given the green light for BC Hydro to purchase one third of Teck Resources Limited's Waneta Dam and generating facility. -
Areva To Acquire CSP Company Ausra
8 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmAreva this week said that it will acquire 100% of Ausra, provider of large-scale concentrated solar power solutions. This acquisition launches Areva's new global solar energy business and the company said that it reflects Areva's strategic objective to be the world leader in concentrated solar power (CSP) and will further strengthen and diversify its renewables portfolio.
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Green Building : Jetson Green
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Efficient Simple Modern Home for $150k
8 Feb 2010 | 9:24 pmSince we last mentioned his efficient home built for under $70,000, Caleb Schafer's been quite busy. He has a new website for Simple Modern Homes with a number of new home designs. He's also doing new work with new clients, and one home in particular looks interesting. Referred to as CL24, the design is for a 2,000 square-foot green home in Canyon Lake, Texas. What's most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that CL24 will come in below $150,000, including land, utilities, and septic. It's Texas -- where land isn't necessarily scarce or expensive -- but we definitely like this… -
If It Doesn’t Perform, It’s Not Green!
8 Feb 2010 | 2:06 pmIn a forthcoming keynote address to the Green Cities conference of the Green Building Council of Australia, green building guru Jerry Yudelson intends to tackle a important concern in the sustainable building world: performance. His keynote, entitled “If it doesn’t perform, it’s not green,” is at the center of a hot button topic that seems to be taking on new fervor these days. Yudelson, principal of green building consultancy Yudelson Associates, said in a press release, "The major focus of the green building movement has become the performance of green-rated and green-labeled… -
Waste Not with a Combo Sink Toilet
8 Feb 2010 | 9:16 amYou’ve probably already seen this toilet and sink combination before. It’s the W+W – short for washbasin and watercloset – from Roca. The product, currently available overseas, reuses waste water from the sink in the discharge of the cistern, which helps it reduce water usage by up to 25% compared to a standard 6/3 liter dual-flush toilet. According to Plumbing Park, the system has two waste options. Once the basin is full of water, the user can either flush it down the main line or recycle it for use in the toilet. When the water is reused, it goes through a double filtration… -
Fly Ash Concerns, Greener Ways, Living Incentives, + 10 Million Solar Roofs
6 Feb 2010 | 10:54 pmPerspectives on sustainability. About the new 10 million solar roofs bill. NY panel suggests 100 ways buildings can be greener. EPA and DOE form State Energy Efficiency Action Network. Economy forces a holistic view of corporate responsibility. Seattle bends the rules for up to 12 living buildings. Los Angeles might require rainwater capture. Fly ash designation could be problematic. Also, follow @jetsongreen on Twitter or fan Jetson Green on Facebook for more news, links, and commentary. -
First LEED Platinum Home in Indiana
5 Feb 2010 | 9:55 amA little over a month ago, this home received the first LEED Platinum certification for a home in the state of Indiana. Located in Franklin, the 2,000 square-foot contemporary residence has three bedrooms and two bathrooms for a family of three and a dog. Castalia Homes built the home, which has a number of green features. Perhaps most importantly, the home is very energy efficient. It was built with a tight envelope that tested at 3% air leakage. This has been accomplished, at least in part, with foam insulation and carefully placed double-pane argon filled windows. The homeowners,…
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GreenBiz.com Green Business News
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Chicago's Green Economy Grows, But Struggles Remain: The State of Green Business Forum-Chicago
9 Feb 2010 | 9:43 amThe Chicago area has seen growth in its green economy and exciting action around services for new and small businesses, but hurdles still remain as companies, non-profits and other groups look for resources and funds. -
Green Policies Can Add Billions to the U.K.'s Budget
9 Feb 2010 | 5:09 amA new report argues that axing tax breaks for carbon-intensive industries, curbing spending on road expansion and improving public sector energy efficiency could cut the country's national debt by £12 billion a year. -
Energy Efficiency Gains Horsepower: The State of Green Business 2010
9 Feb 2010 | 4:50 amAs managing greenhouse gas emissions approaches the importance of simply managing energy bills, a new generation of technology is making it easier for firms to pull the plug on wasted power. -
The Age of Sustainability: Why 'Less' Should Be More of Your Business Strategy
9 Feb 2010 | 12:30 amBusiness has officially entered The Age of Sustainability, and businesses that don't figure in sustainability aren’t likely to survive. Here’s a look at the reasons why as well as pointers on how your company can adapt to the change. -
Toxic Toys Scrutinized Under Washington State Law
8 Feb 2010 | 12:39 pmThe state government has launched its pilot test of a new law that will require manufacturers to disclose potentially hazardous chemicals in toys and children's products.
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EE/RE Investing: Tom Konrad
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Greenwashing at KB Home
8 Feb 2010 | 12:42 pmI took this picture on February 7, 2010, in Denver’s Stapleton New Urbanist development in Denver. Most of the houses in Stapleton are EnergyStar qualified, but this picture tells a story about some that aren’t. The blue house in the background was built in 2009 by Wonderland Homes. The tan house in the foreground is a KB Home built in 2008. Note how the still-falling snow is melting on the north-facing roof of the tan KB Home, but not on the similarly oriented roof of the blue Wonderland home. Also note that clear lines of unmelted snow where the… -
Delta Montrose Electric Association Leaves Colorado Rural Electric Association
29 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pmThe Delta Montrose Rural Electric Association (DMEA) has long been the most progressive utility (Let alone electric coop) in Colorado. I wrote about their forward thinking promotion of geoexchange / ground source heat pumps in 2007, long before there was any rule requiring any Colorado utility to have a Demand Side Management (DSM) program. Now DMEA is taking another step that I find reminiscent of the defections of big businesses from the US Chamber of Commerce last year over the Chamber’s stance on Climate Change legislation. DMEA has quit the Colorado Rural Electric Association… -
My Microwave, GE, and a Failure of EcoMagination
4 Jan 2010 | 12:33 pmI’ve long been a fan of General Electric’s (GE) Ecomagination initiative. I believe that CEO Jeff Immelt believe that more efficient and renewable energy products will be strong growth industries for years to come. I quoted him in early 2007, “Renewable energy, energy efficiency, environmental technology – we’re going to own it." But being green goes much deeper than selling Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency products. It’s also about product lifecycle. A truly green company makes sure that the lifecycle of their products… -
The Cost of Transmission
29 Dec 2009 | 8:29 pmTom Konrad, Ph.D. I’ve been reading a report out of the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office called The REDI Report: Connecting Colorado’s Renewable Resources to the Markets in a Carbon-Constrained Electricity Sector. I summarized the REDI report’s main conclusions and drew some conclusions for stock market investors here. I found the report’s discussion of transmission costs particularly interesting, because I’ve had trouble finding numbers for the cost of transmission in the past. I once resorted to Wikipedia in order to find costs for… -
Will 2010 Mark the Shift from the Backward-Looking and Unaffordable Electric Cars to Forward-Thinking Smart Mobility?
25 Dec 2009 | 8:02 pmCleantech Group Chairman Nicholas Parker Thinks So Tom Konrad, Ph.D. I’ve long argued that the future of mobility in the peak oil era will center on alternative modes of transport, not alternative fuels for the same old car infrastructure. Electric cars are probably the car of the future, but the cost of batteries and escalating cost of oil will mean that the number of electric vehicles is likely to remain low, while how often we use conventional vehicles will decline as fuel prices rise. In his annual clean technology predictions for 2010, Cleantech Group Chairman Nicholas Parker…
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GreenerBuildings
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Chicago's Green Economy Grows, But Struggles Remain: The State of Green Business Forum-Chicago
9 Feb 2010 | 9:43 amThe Chicago area has seen growth in its green economy and exciting action around services for new and small businesses, but hurdles still remain as companies, non-profits and other groups look for resources and funds. -
Spotlight: Being Honest With Ourselves: Putting Numbers Behind Green Business
5 Feb 2010 | 1:25 pmThis slideshow, a companion to Saul Griffith's lightning-paced presentation at the State of Green Busines Forum 2010, offers a look at the personal and global levels of responsibility for reducing our environmental impacts. -
Geoengineering -- Our Responsibility to the World: State of Green Business Forum 2010
4 Feb 2010 | 4:45 pmHumans have been altering the planet for more than hundreds of years, so it's only our responsibility to actively use geoengineering to avoid catastrophe, said Jamais Cascio in his State of Green Business Forum presentation, “Hacking the Earth (Without Voiding the Warranty).” -
When GreenBiz Meets Cleantech: State of Green Business Forum 2010
4 Feb 2010 | 12:55 pmWhat happens when green business meets cleantech? When those companies are like Best Buy, Autodesk and Serious Materials, you get firms that align their products and services with efforts to foster sustainability -- and in some cases guide the marketplace toward broader and deeper adoption of environmentally responsible practices. -
Perkins+Will to Receive National Building Museum's Honor Award
4 Feb 2010 | 6:08 amPerkins+Will is the first architecture firm to be named a National Building Museum Honor Award recipient and joins musical artists Harry Connick Jr., Branford Marsalis, Ann Marie Wilkins and Jim Pate as well as the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon program as 2010 honorees.
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RSS Feed for Sustainable Industries
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Energy management overload
Energy management has been called the hidden sector of the energy business. Before the sector can take off, though, some issues must be addressed, including how to finance capital-intensive projects and train a new workforce. -
2010 Top Green Building Product nominations open
Sustainable Industries opens nominations for Top 10 Green Building Products Awards. -
Utilities test Office of the Future
A new approach to utility incentives is being tested. -
GSA taps Lumenergi for retrofits
Lighting control firm Lumenergi looks to lighten the government's energy load. -
NASA embarks on Sustainability Base
NASA hoping to create a test bed of cleantech and green building innovation.
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ALT Energy Stocks: Cleantech News
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AltaTerra Research Web Conference Presents Status Update and Outlook for Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs in North American and Worldwide
(Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com) Once "unthinkable" in North America, renewable energy feed-in tariffs are gaining momentum in the U.S. and elsewhere. On March 4th, author, advocate, and renewable energy industry analyst, Paul Gipe will present the latest developments in the -
Sir David King: Half Right on the IPCC and Global Warming Policies, Despite Bad Logic
(Source: Watts Up With That?) Guest post by Indur M. Goklany Sir David King, erstwhile Chief Scientific Adviser to Her Majesty’s Government, famous for his claim that “climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of -
Q&A: Vulcan Power’s CEO on the Potential of Geothermal
(Source: Earth2Tech) At times it’s seemed like geothermal power is the Rodney Dangerfield of clean energy – it’s gotten little respect compared with glitzier cousins like solar and wind. But that image is changing as more investment flows into the industry -
EU ETS cap should be lowered: UK MPs
(Source: Point Carbon News) The EU’s carbon trading scheme needs a tighter cap to drive low carbon actions, UK MPs said. -
California's global-warming law Under Attack
(Source: ENN Global Warming and Weather - References: My Green Element) Republican politicians and conservative activists are launching a ballot campaign to suspend California's landmark global-warming law, in what they hope will serve as a showcase for a national backlash against climate regulations.
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Clean Break
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Is Vestas planning to lay roots in Ontario?
9 Feb 2010 | 5:40 amI have a story in today’s Toronto Star about Vestas and why the world’s largest maker of wind turbines is seriously looking at setting up shop in Ontario. Vestas already has a large manufacturing footprint in Colorado, but its interest in southern Ontario has more to do with the potential North American market for offshore wind. So why Ontario? Because offshore wind in the Great Lakes provides a huge opportunity, and Ontario happens to have the most freshwater offshore real estate, as well as a developer, Trillium Power, that is well ahead of the pack with respect to project… -
Areva gets deeper into renewables with Ausra purchase
8 Feb 2010 | 6:55 pmFrance’s Areva SA is known mostly as a designer of light-water nuclear reactors, builder of transmission and distribution systems, and a miner of uranium, so the announcement today that it has purchased 100 per cent of concentrated solar power company Ausra Inc. came as a surprise. Ausra, based in Mountain View, Calif., was founded by Canadian inventor Dr David Mills. Mills developed the underlying technology as a student and professor in Australia, but located the company in Silicon Valley as part of a major venture capital infusion from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield… -
Nuclear power “renaissance” not the expansion boom the industry expected
5 Feb 2010 | 7:28 amThe Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), an Ottawa a Waterloo, Ontario-based think tank founded in 2002 by Research In Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, says we shouldn’t expect any major expansion of the nuclear market before 2030. After that, the future of the industry is no more certain. After three and a half years of extensive study, which included exhaustive consultation with industry experts and review of peer-reviewed literature, the policy think tank released a report yesterday that says the nuclear industry will have a hard enough time just replacing older… -
100% coal-to-biomass conversion reduces GHGs by 92 per cent: study
1 Feb 2010 | 11:52 amOntario is making solid progress with its plan to convert some of its coal-fired power plants to biomass. And not just co-firing, like what many U.S. jurisdictions are considering, but full out 100 per cent biomass burn. It will prove a key part of Ontario’s greenhouse-gas reduction strategy. A new University of Toronto study has concluded that converting coal-fired units at the Nanticoke and Atikokan plants to burning wood pellets would reduce GHGs by roughly 92 per cent, and this is based on a full lifecycle analysis. On top of that, it would create a local biomass supply chain… -
The challenge of life-cycle analysis in a world of rapid innovation
29 Jan 2010 | 9:43 amThere was a big stink this week when a published study, led by University of Virginia civil engineering professor Andres Clarens, concluded that producing biofuels from algae isn’t as climate-friendly as many people believe, at least when compared to getting biofuels from switchgrass, canola, and – Huh? — even corn. The results, according to an abstract of the study, “indicate that these conventional crops have a lower environmental impact than algae in energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water regardless of cultivation location.” Why? Because of the need…
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Greener Computing
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Energy Efficiency Gains Horsepower: The State of Green Business 2010
9 Feb 2010 | 4:50 amAs managing greenhouse gas emissions approaches the importance of simply managing energy bills, a new generation of technology is making it easier for firms to pull the plug on wasted power. -
Energy Star: Coming in June to a Data Center Near You?
8 Feb 2010 | 1:21 pmThe latest expansion of the EPA's energy efficiency certification is nearly ready for companies to adopt, speeding up the trend in greening data centers. -
State of Green Business Forum 2010: Can IT Solve the World's Problems?
5 Feb 2010 | 11:14 amAt the end of yesterday's Forum, a panel representing the world's largest IT companies talked about how to successfully apply technology to environmental challenges. -
Geoengineering -- Our Responsibility to the World: State of Green Business Forum 2010
4 Feb 2010 | 4:45 pmHumans have been altering the planet for more than hundreds of years, so it's only our responsibility to actively use geoengineering to avoid catastrophe, said Jamais Cascio in his State of Green Business Forum presentation, “Hacking the Earth (Without Voiding the Warranty).” -
Has the Economy Helped or Hurt the Growth of Green Business?
3 Feb 2010 | 2:59 pmThe third annual State of Green Business report, released today by GreenBiz.com, tracks 20 facets of green business operations to measure whether firms are moving the needle toward lower-impact and more planet-friendly operations.
