February 2009 Archives

In association with National Geographic, the Aspen Institute in Colorado is putting on an Environmental Forum from March 25 through the 28th. The event has been added to our CleanTech Events Calendar (which you can subscribe or add events to through Google Calendar).

According to their website here the event theme this year is "Powering the Planet: Energy for the Long Run," and will present topics including climate change, energy extraction and use, innovation and technology, efficiency, conservation, plus many more. All sessions will be led by energy experts, government and business leaders, writers and photographers, and other knowledgeable and committed voices in the field of environmental sustainability and clean tech.

Representatives from the University of Colorado in Boulder and NOAA will certainly be attending and if you want to join in on the action a general forum pass is $1,800 with day passes at $500. The Aspen Institute has been around for over 60 years and describes itself as a combination of experts, insiders, and the public, meeting in a manner seen nowhere else with relaxed dinners and breakfast meetings as well as walks around the beautiful Aspen landscape. Considering the cleantech innovators that live within the state of Colorado, including Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Pete Hansen of Salida Conversions, this event is sure to be a moving experience for business people, students, and the general public alike.

Generize launched its demo site today which is a cross between a nonprofit community awareness project board and Kiva.org which offers microfinancing to entrepreneurs in developing nations around the world. Unlike Kiva however, Generize hopes to offer project investors a return on the money they contribute to projects. Also unlike Kiva, all of the projects on Generize are based in the United States and when we last visited there were 35 active projects and over $800K in savings in 2009 alone!

Generize was entered into the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) earlier this year and is competing in several other cleantech related funding activities but is also opened to investors. Clean technology is certainly a sexy subject these days with wind power expansion in texas, solar pv breakthroughs in Silicon Valley, and biofuels like ethanol popping up across the nation. Generize is focusing more on cost effective energy savings that can be accomplished without massive upfront investment such as insulation, new light bulbs, and solar thermal hot water heating. In many cases the projects address outdated technology as wiht he following example (note this is just an example and not a real proposal):

The Deluxe School district recently had its budget cut 10% while it's energy costs have been increasing 5% in recent years. All of its classrooms have old T-12 fluorescent lighting fixtures, some which flicker and distract students while wasting energy. This project will utilize high-efficiency T-8's to save 20% off the schools lighting costs while creating a much more productive learning environment.

Learn more about Generize here and consider contributing to one of their open projects or sharing the project with an investor. Generize was created by MBA graduate students from UC Davis.

The International Association of Nanotechnology, Clean Tech Institute, California Institute of Nanotechnology, American Energy Choice, and West Valley Engineering Technology Group are sponsoring a nanotechnology and cleantech job fair in San Jose California February 26th, details follow:

Date: February 26, 2009
Time: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: 1290 Parkmoor Avenue, San Jose, CA 95126

• Seeking a career in emerging technologies?
• Meet hiring managers from Clean and Green Industry
• Opportunities such as R&D, Manufacturing, Quality Control, Marketing, Sales, Corporate Management, and many more.

Register at: http://www.cinano.com/JobSeekerReg.htm