Green Bubble

 Could there currently be a Green bubble that is causing so much hype right now that could possibly go away in a couple years? There is currently a lot of investors and venture capital money getting poured into Green Tech and the reasons could be to make a positive environmental impact or to try to make money from this trend. Green Tech companies are doing a pretty good job attracting execs and IT people in making a transition over to the Green Technology industry. Other than the obvious reasons that there is a big Green trend, in 2002, VCs and entrepreneurs would be very hesitant to put money into Green technology companies. Solare panels and electric cars have existed for awhile but there hasn’t been any extreme break-throughs. Fast forward to 2007, and we have a solar panel startup called Nanosolar raising $100 million and funded by hedgefunds and VCs. Numerous Green Tech companies are creating hype in the stock market as well with P/E ratios up to 300. Could this be just a bubble that could all go away or can it continue to thrive and create a Green Silicon Valley? With the increase in energy and gas prices along with the social and political awareness drawn from Al Gore and his movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” it will be very interesting to see whether this is really just a trend or a beginning of a new era….

CNN Article on a Green Bubble

Add comment May 29th, 2007 Alex

Popular Mechanics covers 25 Green Designs

The Popular Mechanics website has a Green page that focuses on the technology that benefits the Earth and the environment. One article covers 25 innovations or “Green designs” that use materials wisely, conserve energy, and save money. One design is a Zody chair that is made of 51% recycled content and is 98% recyclable. Another product is IceStone’s glass countertops where 75% is made of crushed windshield, computer screens, glass bottles, and other waste. Hybrid Solar Lighting by Sunlight Direct uses a parabolic dish and takes sunlight and transfers it into buildings through plastic optical fibers.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4212653.html?series=15

Add comment May 29th, 2007 Alex

Green Drinking Water

The advantages of drinking mineral water have been questioned by many whether it is really better as opposed to tap water. Filtered water such as using a Brita, solves the problem by filtering tap water at home. (If you currently only drink bottled water at home, you should go get yourself a Brita!) In the office however, many companies continue to have bottled water delivered. This requires monthly per bottle fees and a delivery person to come pick up the empty containers and bring new ones every month or so. Instead of this, why not put in a water system that connects to your water supply and filters it? There are companies that make water systems that have a purification system that will give you freshly filtered hot or cold water just like old school bottled water. It works pretty much the same way but instead of waiting for the next guy in the office to change the water bottle when it runs out, the water system is connected automatically to a water source. All that is necessary is a low monthly fee of renting the machine and changing the filter once a year. Installation is also fairly simple if it is located in the kitchen or near a water source. To learn more, here are two sources that I know of.

http://canteenrefreshment.com/howsthewater.html

http://www.mackewater.com/naturalchoice.asp?d=CS&t=2

Add comment May 26th, 2007 Alex

Alternative Green Fuels for Cars

Six choices that we currently have as alternatives for gasoline are battery, diesel, biodiesel, hydrogen, natural gas, and ethanol. Gasoline powered cars will not be disappearing anytime soon but Hybrid car sales continue to grow every month as more choices appear on the market. Electric cars will definitely take the lead in alternative fuel for cars because of the current technology, effectiveness, and price benefits. Half of the cars in Europe currently use Diesel and more than 7 million more are sold every year. In the US, less than 50,000 are sold. Diesel fuel has a price advantage in Europe as it does not get taxed as much by the government. The manufacturers of diesel cars are mainly European so the costs are reduced since they are made locally. Japanese and American manufacturers have recently been concentrating on hybrid cars. Biodiesel is a great source of energy but there is a limited supply of sources and it currently costs more than gasoline or regular petroleum diesel. Hydrogen fuel produces zero emissions if it comes from renewable source. The fuel is competitively priced with gasoline but can produce double the mileage. Natural gas and ethanol are also both good choices that can be better than gasoline, but because of the limited resources and price, gasoline is still the best choice for cars because of the ease of access to gas stations everywhere you go. Here is a website that gives a good summary of the different alternative car fuels that we could be using in the future.

http://www.time4.com/time4/microsites/popsci/futureofcars/altfuel_main.html

Add comment May 25th, 2007 Alex

The ecological capital of Brazil

The New York Times Magazine published a great article this past Sunday on Curitiba and its eco-friendly planning. Curitiba is the capital city of Parana, in southern Brazil and is considered one of the best examples of urban planning in the world. In 1965, the population was 350,000 and called itself “the ecological capital of Brazil” in the 1980s for its “Green” policies and systems. Today, the city has 1.8 million people and 3.2 million in the metropolitan region. The streets have a bus system that gets used by 85% of Curitiba’s population. The roads consists of two one-way streets surrounding a smaller two-lane street which is exclusively used by the express buses. Buses arrive at the tubular boarding stops every 30 seconds. The city has a garbage-recycling program that separates its garbage for recycling and has 82 sq ft. of green space per inhabitant. As a result of the huge growth in population, keeping the city Green has been a continuous battle. The city’s only landfill is running out of room and cars are becoming more popular while less people are taking the buses. You can read more about this ecocity in a six page article here.

1 comment May 24th, 2007 Alex