With the launch of Sony's newest PlayStation Portable (PSPgo) just around the corner, slated for October 1st 2009, many people are weighing their options as the old PSP 3000 unit will still be available. On the one hand, the new PSPgo is more expensive and doesn't come bundled with any games. At $249 it's nearly $50 more than the PSP 3000 bundle which includes a game, a 2GB flash memory card and features a larger screen. On the other hand, the PSPgo is much lighter, smaller and thus easier to fit into pockets, many believe the button positioning is better suited for handheld gaming, the shoulder buttons are easier to use, and the battery life is longer (because the unit doesn't have to spin an optical drive to load content). While system power, graphics and aesthetics have traditionally been the deciding factors for upgrading console hardware, future devices such as the PSPgo are competing on different dimensions. The PSPgo is not faster or more graphically adept than its predecessors, on the contrary its screen is actually smaller. The real improvements here are in efficiency and convenience which lean towards sustainable design.

The PSPgo can only play digital content and that is both a blessing and a curse. Much like it's peer, the iPod Touch and iPhone, everything has to be downloaded from the web - in this case the Sony PlayStation Store. While it's not quite the iTunes store in terms of ease of use and speed, the PlayStation Store isn't bad and it's going to get a whole lot better in the coming months... Unless you only own a Mac and are not dual booting, in this case you are just out of luck as Sony has opted for Windows only. Mac users will still be able to access games directly through wifi on the PSPgo but can't upload existing music or movies as easily or back the system up using Media Go. One risk and challenge here, in addition to ostracizing the growing number of Mac users, is that gaming retail stores like GameStop are going to be cut out as more and more content goes digital... IGN touched on this point recently in a review of the system, pointing out that system sales are not very profitable or plentiful compared to software sales. This may just be a fact of life as more and more products go online, and for the environmentally conscious consumer this is a great thing because it means less driving to and from stores, less plastic disks cases and accessories, less boxes and papers, and less shipping. While Sony has vowed to continue support for the PSP 3000 by stocking physical games for the life of the PSP, it has openly stated in interviews that digital distribution is the future and it is my guess that physical inventory for PSP games will decline as a percentage of software sales as PSPgo takes market share and game availability through the PlayStation Store increases. John Koller, director of hardware marketing at SCEA, said in a Q&A interview on 9/14/09 "we see digital and the importance of digital content really leading the way into the future . . . there is a significant trend towards digital". Even today, the older PSP 1000, 2000, and 3000 can download games digitally and while system memory is simply more limited than the 16GB that comes stock on the PSPgo (and the ability to add 32GB more with Memory Stick Micro), it's still possible on older PSP's. PSP owners can currently purchase 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo's for roughly $60 online and hold between 9 and 15 games instantly... Run out of space? Just grab another $16GB flash card and you're all set!

Older PSP's relied primarily on Universal Mini Disks (UMD's) which had movies and games printed on them. The trade off that the PSPgo creates here is that traditional PSP owners have no easy way to translate their old games to a digital format to load on their new PSPgo system (should they decide to upgrade to the new system)... Think about it, if Sony made it easy for them to rip and upload their old games, then everyone would be ripping and trading ala Napster and game developers would be cut out of the loop, thus divesting from the platform. I am sure Sony is working on some kind of solution here but truth be told, the real opportunity is to begin downloading on new and old systems, physical disks notwithstanding. If you buy a PSPgo, at least for the time being, you'll have to re-purchase your old games, movies, etc. or play them on your old PSP seperately. The good news in all of this is that the PlayStation Store will be getting faster and stocking a lot more digital content, content that both old and new PSP owners can tap into. This saves plastic, shipping costs, and battery life as mentioned above. All things considered, a PSP 3000 with 16GB of memory would cost about the same as a new PSPgo, function in much the same way, include a free game, still use less battery life than a PSP 3000 spinning a game disk, and feature a larger screen. I don't see a downside here?

All in all the PSPgo is a step in the right direction as far as the environment is concerned. Eventually this will lead to cheaper games, more downloadable content, more interactive social titles, and less waste (as disks can be lost, scratched, and stolen more easily). The PSPgo will probably also load games faster with its solid state memory, it won't skip, and you can pause games and hibernate while browsing the XMB (cross media bar) to listen to a song or use some other feature of the PSPgo. With the new Bluetooth feature stock on the PSPgo you can even use Skype to make inexpensive phone calls using a Bluetooth headset! While I have never owned a PSP, I was there for the launch and have been holding out for a device just like this for many years. One that fits easily in my pocket, syncs with Skype and other digital applications, plays great games like God of War and Little Big Planet using traditional video game buttons and joysticks (vs. touch screen), and avoids excessive plastic and energy waste. I say great job Sony, we're taking a load off the environment and taking one step closer to the Matrix... which I love.

A list of top selling PSP games that will be available October 1st for system launch can be found at IGN here and a full review of the system can be found here.

Do you have staff who need training on this subject?
Looking to break into the renewable energy sector?
Wondering how to assess energy options for your company?
Need cutting-edge information on energy technologies and policies?

The Deming Center and the CU - Boulder Energy Initiative have teamed up to offer a unique event to answer these questions.  Please join us at our information-packed two-day immersion workshop. The program includes a panel of industry experts from key contributors to the renewable energy sector and a networking reception at the Hotel Boulderado, July 10, 2009, featuring keynote speaker Craig Mataczynski, President and CEO of RES-Americas.

• Date: Thursday - Saturday, July 9-11, 2009
• Time: Thursday 1:00 PM through Saturday 1:00 PM
• Leeds School of Business, Room S125, Koelbel Building
  

New Price: $950 per person. An additional discounted rate available for group registrations from the same company, nonprofits, and partner organizations. CEU credits available.

Renewable energy technologies hold the promise to dramatically change the energy landscape in the United States and around the world.  This two-day workshop will provide a thorough overview the renewable energy landscape.

You will learn which energy technologies have the greatest short-term and long-term potential, how energy policy is shaping the industry, where to look for jobs, and what new business opportunities renewable energy technologies bring.

At the end of the workshop, you will have a thorough understanding of how the growth of renewable energy can reshape your career, impact your business, and affect the global economy.

This workshop will be conducted by Professors Paul Komor and Steve Lawrence, with industry panelists.

For more information and a complete schedule please visit the RETool Website or Register Now by clicking here

Still have questions? Please contact JoOnna Silberman at JoOnna.Silberman@Colorado.edu or call 303-735-5415

Just a few moments ago, the US House of Representatives passed the historic American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), otherwise known as cap-and-trade.

The vote passed 219-212. The bill's goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 83% by 2050. While the bill still must go through the Senate and then conference before heading to the President, it represents a major accomplishment in the fight against climate change.

This is your victory!

Solving climate change is ultimately about leadership. We saw this in the House today. But it is your leadership over the last five years that made this bill possible.

Just a few years ago few people had any idea what the term 'carbon footprint' meant. Now the term is used regularly and even spoofed in The Onion. And so-called experts talked about carbon costing $50-100 per tonne, potentially wrecking our economy, not the real-life $5-10 per tonne we see today.

You knew climate change was a serious problem. And while you were under no obligation to take any action, you did. You reduced your emissions and you committed yourself, family or business to being carbon neutral. You supported third-party verified projects that reduced emissions. You spurred investment in clean energy projects and reforestation. And you showed it can all be done without breaking the bank.

Make no mistake, if we were still debating economic models showing theoretical carbon costs, this historic bill would not be possible. ACES is possible today because of what you have shown in the real world, that people want to reduce their carbon output, that it can be done relatively easily and that we can do it very cost-effectively.

Indeed, while the bill aims for an 83% reduction in 2050, and just 17% by 2020, many of you have reduced your emissions by 100% today.

Over 1,200 businesses and organizations and more than 450,000 individuals have reduced and offset their carbon emissions with Carbonfund.org, showing leadership when few even knew what they were talking about.

We'll all need to continue to minimize and offset our carbon emissions even after our country acts, but the commitment you have shown on fighting climate change has created the momentum, visibility, and call for action on climate change.

So enjoy this victory today. Pop some bubbly. Do a funky dance. Solving climate change is about leadership and your leadership has brought us to this historic moment. Congratulations!

Eric Carlson
President - CarbonFund.org

Attendees were required to stand 15 feet away from this Van de Graaf but had it been smaller, and users a bit closer, their hair would have been standing up on end! This is because hair acquires charges of like sign which tend to repel one another. The Van de Graaff generator was one of the earliest particle accelerators used for nuclear physics research. Modern Van de Graaff generators and other similar electrostatic accelerators are still used for that purpose and are capable of voltages in excess of 20 million volts.

One of the interesting things about experiencing this demonstration in person was the smell of Ozone in the air. The Van de Graaff breaks apart Oxygen as it electrofies the air. Splitting dioxygen or O2 allows three Oxygen molecules to bond together and that resulting O3 is called Ozone. This same sort of smell occurs when you use an ionic breeze. Too much Ozone isn't good for you to breathe and it also oxidizes metals but the doors were open and fresh air was flowing at Maker Faire so I don't think anyone was hurt ;)

More about air purifiers and how they work here and Van De Graff generators here. Below is a great video by CNN interviewing Mister Jalopy, a man who supports the maker movement.

A perfect article would be a product review, a "how to" guide for the solar rebates offered in your state or town, a research paper from a class you took, or a story about how you converted your car to a plugin hybrid.

Our aim is to amass the most relevant and helpful clean tech information the world over and that's why we're inviting the real experts to help us out, you! Aside from helping the community, getting published on a professional website, and promoting yourself, you will be able to use links, images, and other widgets (such as Amazon or eBay) to generate a bit of extra cash on your story page (if you have images please note that in your submission and we will contact you for upload if your article is approved).

Please Include:

• Your full name (say if you want to be published using your name or anonymously)
• Your Article (should be at least one page long)
• Links, Widget Code, Other (if you have images please note that and we will contact you)
  

By inviting you to share an article we are not guaranteeing that it will be published or posted unaltered. We maintain a very high quality standard and reserve the right to reject any submission for any reason. We will not accept plagiarized materials and do not promote purely promotional or negatively biased content. That said, we believe there is a lot of great information out there and we are excited to empower readers to share their view.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, each month we will select the top three contributors (in terms of page view, content shared, and our subjective opinion) and award them $50 instantly using PayPal. This process is very organic, labor intensive, and experimental. Therefore, we reserve the right to change or cancel the program at any time and without warning.

Please Note: by submitting a question or comment to CleanTech Authority you forfeit any right of ownership to your content and agree that we may rephrase, modify, correct, update, delete or repurpose it at any time without constraint or limitation.

I first discovered the Certified Nanotechnology & Clean Tech Professional course on Craigslist while adding events to our CleanTech Authority Events Calendar. I proceeded to call the director of the program, Lloyd Tran, and even drove to the classroom site headquarters at 1290 Parkmoor Avenue in San Jose, CA 95126 to get the scoop. For anyone who wants to follow up as I did, their San Jose number is 408-280-6266. At the time of my enrollment there was only one location to choose from but in recent months an LA branch has also opened at 6080 Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045 and it can be reached at 310-220-4365. It is worth noting that the California Institute of Nanotechnology, the International Association of Nanotechnology (IANANO), and the Clean Tech Institute are all interrelated and grouped together. I imagine these various naming schemes are in place as a way to raise funding and garner interest from different groups of students. Personally, I feel this makes it more challenging to distinguish the structure of the CNCP program and may allow for a student's selective perception to guide him or her into the CNCP certification with the expectation of more focus than is actually offered regarding California, Nanotechnology, or Clean Tech. In my experience the course was unfocused and broad in its approach.

After befriending the staff and further reviewing the course materials I chose to enroll and paid close to $4,000 (including registration fees) for a spot in the class. I realize that this course fee seems very large, and indeed I had my second thoughts. One of the clauses for registration is that monthly payments can be made or you can get a discount for an up front payment. Even so, there is a partial refund available for students who choose to drop within the first week. This one week trial "out clause" comforted me but the truth is, our first class had very little substance and was spent making contacts and creating groups. There was no way to determine the overall worth of the class, that feeling of uncertainly and vagueness is part of what I mean to address in this course review.

Building your personal network in the clean technology and nanotech space is one of the more valuable parts of the CNCP course. The people who were in my class ranged from successful international entrepreneurs and chemists, a doctor who was planning to return to China under their "Sea Turtle" sponsorship (to bring entrepreneurs back from the US), and a few people who had recently lost their jobs at Genentech and other leading firms in the area. Overall, a very smart and driven group. I was one of the younger students (being 25) with most in their thirties and forties. Additionally, much of the staff running the program is made up of past students. Some of the students have even gone on to start small companies and that is covered and promoted during multiple lectures, but none of the companies have really taken off at this point.

In addition ot the entrepreneurial spirit that the course fosters, one of the core CNCP offerings is help in locating a new full time corporate style job. The CNCP course itself is marketed as a way for those with traditional project management or engineering skills to transition into the emerging clean tech space. The certification is meant to provide an edge against other applicants who may have the skills, but lack the broad background, vocabulary, connections and up to date knowledge of these new industries. Just how recognized the CNCP certification actually is may be up for debate. Considering that roughly half of my classmates were unemployed or looking to switch jobs, this focus on finding a new job was a good fit but hard to measure in terms of success and job placement.

The CNCP program staffs job development and outreach managers whose job it is to work one-on-one with students in order to place them in apprenticeships, internships, and full time jobs. Furthermore, each week while attending class there is a cork board outside the classroom with paper job printouts advertising the latest jobs that CNCP coordinators have sourced. While these jobs were marketed by the CNCP staff as being "exclusive" I found many of them advertised elsewhere and did not hear back from the employers I pinged, even though I referenced my involvement with the CNCP class. I suppose most employers are just overwhelmed with the sheer number of applicants trying to get a job right now. I cannot speak for other classmates but I would call this a mixed bag and a less valuable resource than I had hoped for.

Our classes were held weekly on Saturdays from 9am to 4ish. Some days went longer nearing 6pm and others were ended at 2:30pm allowing teams to meet up and work on their group projects. These projects, of which there are two, are meant to bring students together and foster creativity in the nanotech and cleantech space. They reminded me of the group projects I did in undergrad at the University of Colorado at Boulder while studying business, creating a basic business plan. This was one of the more interesting and useful parts of the course and with the culmination of each project, groups were asked to do professional presentations for the rest of the class. In this way, each group teaches the rest of the class about their area of focus. After all of the presentations are complete, points are awarded to the "best" business plans and those points are factored into the grade that each student receives. Even though there are grades given for weekly group homework assignments, group projects, and the final, I never received an official grade and one of the assignments I turned in was either lost or ignored by the staff as the grade is still outstanding despite multiple email follow ups. Considering that the group projects were one of the more valuable and interesting parts of the class, they were not what I expected from a certification style offering. I'm not sure that the best way to create clean tech "professionals" is to allow students to randomly choose topic relating to nanotechnology or clean tech and then self research and teach mildly researched topics to each other... Again, the course costs too much for a do it yourself approach and there was a huge lack of structure, direction and discipline on the group projects.

A typical day in the CNCP course would roughly follow this outline: two 1.5 hour lectures by one of the CNCP staff including Lloyd Tran or an industry representative, lunch, two more 1.5hr lectures, group meetup time, finish. Several of these lecture chunks were dedicated to the training and use of a scanning electron microscope. In terms of teaching materials, each lecture provided students with 20-50 sheets of single sided black and white notes to be put into a three ring binder provided on the first day. Considering the class is focused on clean tech I was disappointed that only one set of notes was printed double sided. It was also frustrating that none of the notes were offered in digital form as nearly every student brought a laptop to class and it would have made studying for the final a lot easier in terms of searchability and note taking. In an effort to keep my own notes organized I went out of my way to ask every single member of the staff for digital copies of our class notes, I even asked the speakers themselves for their powerpoint slides but never received them.

So was the course worth it? Would I recommend it to others who are close to LA or San Francisco and the Bay Area looking to broaden their knowledge of the clean tech space? The answer is maybe, but probably not for someone who has already been following these industries on their own. For me $4K was a lot of money to pay for a class that spends over half of it's time focusing on Nanotechnology. Over five hours were spent using an outdated Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) alone, and while that is interesting, I doubt I will ever use those skills. I signed up for the course specifically to learn more about clean technology, solar, wind, electric cars... and to get a certification. I wanted to make Obama proud! The program director assured students that nanotechnology is playing a key role in each of these new cleantech industries, but I'm still not convinced, especially because I have a business marketing background and am not an engineer. It's worth noting that in order to enroll in the class you have to pass an hour long math/science test with over 50 questions and that I scored a 98%, so it's not like I couldn't understand the nanotech science stuff, it just wasn't relevant to me. I was told that part of the reason so much of the course is spent focusing on nanotechnology is because much of the funding comes from government grants focused on that industry. We literally only spent one day on solar and a half day on wind and electric vehicles. Additionally, some of the speakers for these topics (who were invited, probably on a volunteer basis from the immediate area) sounded more like salesmen than teachers. It's not all bad, and I mean no disrespect for those individuals who took time to come in and share with us. There were three lectures I can clearly remember that I would describe as being great, but I would not spend $4k for three great lectures spanning under five hours total, and I found myself nodding off and doing outside work on my laptop in too many other lectures to give the class overall a great rating. The truth is, if I had not paid so much to take the course I would have ditched a few of the sessions (as many of my classmates ended up doing despite the cost). It is worth noting that I attended every single lecture, SEM lab, and out of class lunch session.

So what are the alternatives? Considering the cost, lack of focus, and misallocation of time that I experienced in the CNCP course there are several other classes in the Bay Area that I have found to be quite valuable and affordable. While none of the alternatives I have listed here come with a fancy certification, many of them have been much more informative and actionable than the CNCP in my experience.

My first recommendation is the continuing studies program that Stanford University offers. As I was taking the CNCP course from the Clean Tech Institute in San Jose, I was also taking a course at Stanford called What's the Real Deal with Oil, Gas, and Coal?, SCI 24, offered by the Energy Resource Engineering department. While this course only met once a week for 2 hours, it also only cost $300 and was taught by a focused expert who spoke English I could understand (another drawback of several of the CNCP sections). This course helped me to frame where energy comes from and how clean technology fits into the world's future. Unlike the CNCP course, there were many things in this course that I could not have learned from browsing the web independently. For those of you who are interested, unfortunately this particular course will not be taught again for a while but I can recommend the book Oil 101 by Morgan Downey. It is an excellent history of the world and Oil's role in it. This upcoming summer semester the Stanford continuing ed program is offering another course called Clean Tech Entrepreneurship which comes highly recommended to me from a friend I met in the Energy Resource course at Stan. Again, this course only costs $300, which is amazing to me considering it is private. I am enrolled in the Clean Tech Entrepreneurship course now and will report on that once I have finished.

For those who want a more hands on, mechanical engineering type approach to clean technology, there is a company in Redwood City, CA (just south of San Francisco on 101) called the TechShop which calls itself an "open access public workshop" and allows community members to use advanced tools and learn skills in construction, coding, and project development. While not all of these courses are clean tech related, they are some of the most affordable and useful classes I've taken and could probably be used to learn how to install solar panels, do basic chip programming, and work on electric vehicles.

I hope that these words have acurately represented the CNCP course without being too harsh on a program that was only two sections old when I took it. I am optimistic about their potential to help teach and connect people to clean tech jobs in the community but also see room for improvement. If you took the course or have questions and feedback please post them here and if you are looking for jobs in the clean tech space please visit our free job board at greenjobsauthority.com

Now in this kind of situation there are several options. Trash the laptop (don't do this), recycle it by going to Green Citizen or Best Buy, take the laptop apart to learn about computers, give it away to some young whipper snapper (or sibbling) or... you can reuse the laptop for FREE with minimal effort and have it run faster and better than it did before. You don't believe me? News flash, while all of you normal computer users are out there fighting about how PC's are better than Mac's or visa versa, there is a whole camp of elite smarty pants kids out there making their own sick-ass operating systems using Linux. And did I mention it's free, comes pre-installed with open office (a free version of excel, word, and powerpoint tools put out by Sun and Oracle supported by IBM) and it runs WAY faster than both Mac OSX or XP/Vista? See the fun skits below for more info:

So how does one approach Linux? Well, you pick a version or "distribution" (just like Windows has XP and Vista, Linux has Red Hat, Ubuntu etc.) I like Ubuntu. You go to their official website or google the linux version to find the website. Download the most recent iso and burn it to a CD. Then restart your laptop (or PC) and initiate the disk. This is the hard part that most people don't know about.

To initiate the disk you usually have to hit one of your F keys (F12, F7, F5) to get the boot menu to come up. You are communicating with your computer's "bios" when you do this. The bios is like an underlying operating system that viruses and hard drives and everything else depend on... so it never goes away and you can always call on it to change your computer even if your hard drive is broken or corrupt (this is what thiefs use when they steal laptops to reformat them, they use your bios). So on my friend's IBM I actually had to hit the purple IBM button, I learned this by watching his screen when I restarted the computer, usually there are settings that flash by and instruct you on how to initite the bios during the black boot sequence, you can also google your computer make/model and figure it out.

Once the bios is initiated you choose the boot order and set it up to boot from your CD rom (where the iso for Linux is at) and voila, you are walked through the steps to install a completely new OS on your computer. Note, this will delete everything on your hard drive, but if you have a virus or a messed up computer, you probably already lost everything, so no worries!

By using Ubuntu or other versions of Linux you can take an old worthless piece of crap laptop and turn it into something quite awesome, fast, capable, and best of all, free! In most cases the computer will work even better than when it was brand new because Linux doesn't install extra junk or promotional services, it's barebones but also very powerful and effective. This is really the best kind of recycling, and you'll be learning as you go. Even if you don't need your old laptop, installing Linux and passing it off to a friend is a great way to keep the computer alive and useful instead of junk poluting the environment and when you do this it reformats your hard drive so privacy isn't an issue. If you need help installing Ubuntu just post your questions below and I'll try to respond, it does take a bit of finnicking but is very satisfying once it works, and it WILL work, Linux can run on virtually any computer or laptop.

Again, just to be clear here are the steps, you can also try Linux before installing it by running it directly off of a CD (in a working Windows environment) or on a memory stick.

1. Choose a version of Linux See Chart
   
2. Burn it to a CD (using a working computer)
   
3. Put the CD in your old or broken computer and restart or boot it
4. As the computer is booting hit F12 (or some other key) to enter your Bios
5. Figure out how to change the boot order, set CD as first to boot, maybe even remove the other boot devices
   
6. Let the computer restart again and initiate boot from CD, this could be automatic or require F12
7. Follow on screen instructions, reformat your hard drive, install Linux
8. Once Linux is installed go back into your Bios and restore the old boot order, boot from HD, otherwise if you take the CD out the computer won't know where to go to boot up and you'll get some error like "no operating system" when you restart, which tends to freak people out ;)
   

The Forum consisted of a series of a panels and talks, each with their own sub-topic and a board of experts in the field, with designated moderators who would guide the talks and take questions from the audience.  Some talks focused exclusively on renewable energy, others on transportation, economic policy, ocean acidification, home energy, or the future of energy. Over the next couple of weeks the CleanTech Authority Network will be publishing stories and overviews on these talks right here, so stay tuned and check back often.

One of the most popular subjects under scrutiny was carbon emission. Roughly 40% of US emissions comes from the energy production industry, and 30% from the automotive industry. Targeting these two sectors is the easiest way to reduce our impact on climate change. So what can we do?

On the topic of the energy sector, Nora Mead Brownell, Director of Leaf Clean Energy Company, said "We need to leverage the assets we have. This means introducing technology that utilizes the smart grid and empowers the customers." Also, new business models are needed to more efficiently distribute power to costumers, and to provide the proper incentives to energy companies. "We reward the wrong things." said Nora.

The "smart grid" was a term tossed around frequently during the forum. What exactly makes a power grid smart? It has to do with software and energy automation. Most people don't know that 80% of the energy your dishwasher uses is drawn during the drying cycle. If dishwashers were programmed to run at night and pop the door open so the dishes could air dry, all of this energy could be saved. A smart grid "knows" at what times power consumption is at its peak, and plans accordingly. It would also inform the customer about energy prices at different times during the day so they could make the proper adjustments to their schedules. One company that we visited and reviewed recently called Coulomb Technologies, maker of Charge Point, is already creating and installing tools that link into the grid and make it more smart. These tools are limited to Electric Vehicles for the moment and in order for the grid itself to truly be smart more and more devices will need to join in.

Of course the main issue in the energy production industry, is the use of coal and natural gas. Coal is the largest carbon emitter, but recently natural gas has been used to offset coal. The problem here is that natural gas still has 75% of the carbon footprint of coal.

James Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, had this to say on the topic of natural gas, "90% of power plants built in the last 10 years in the US have been natural gas. Its like the crack cocaine of the power industry."

This is true because natural gas is a fast and easy way for companies to offset their carbon footprint, but it is only a short term solution. To truly decarbonize our energy sector, we need to drastically rethink where we choose to draw our power from. This means considering clean energies like solar, wind, and nuclear, as well as more efficient means of production (combined heat and power is one strategy used in Europe).

The next target is the automotive and transportation sector. Petroleum (crude oil) is by far the largest culprit in carbon emissions in this sector. Domestically, we are the largest users of oil per capita of any country in the world, at an amount of around 70 barrels of oil per person per year. It has been questioned whether or not we have reached peak oil, and what significance it has. Clearly, we cannot continue to consume oil at the same rate we have been and live the same lifestyle. We must either find new sources of oil domestically, or make changes to our infrastructure.

According to Randy Udall, director of Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in Aspen, "Peak oil is a blessing". He believes rising gas prices due to peak oil will force the public to wake up to climate change and the benefits of alternative fuels.

The underlying issue is: what is going to replace the oil? All of the easy oil has been taken and used up, the only sources that remain require offshore drilling, a costly and timely expenditure, or crude oil alternatives such as oil shale, which involves costly mining and retorting techniques. Some solutions to this are electric vehicles, ethanol (corn fuel), and biodiesel. These solutions would have to be implemented on a massive scale throughout the country. Right now, the transportation sector is not properly equipped to make this transition from crude oil. The problem truly is a policy issue, and innovative issue.

Presdient Obama's current goals to cut carbon emission are to obtain a 14% reduction by the year 2020.  What are the necessary steps to reach this goal?

1. Decarbonize our electricity. This means retiring and replacing our coal power plants with cleaner forms of energy.
2. Maximize the efficiency of our energy through use of a smart grid, better and more widespread power distribution, and innovative technologies.
3. Decrease consumption of petroleum in the transportation sector by switching to clean fuels and more efficient vehicles.
4. Implement better legislative and business models that will facilitate a green economy.

We must make an attempt to accomplish all of these steps, and we must do them swiftly. In Aspen, Ernest Moniz stated, "The issue is urgency. Right now we are behind." It's at places like Aspen and other high regions of the Rocky Mountains and glacial mountain ranges that the true consequences of global warming are being seen. To learn more about these changes we highly recommend watching this NOVA special called Extreme Ice.

And how true these words are. Many of the technologies needed to make the necessary changes already exist, but we have been lax in implementing them. There are still people out there who profess that global warming is a hoax and don't believe in the seriousness of carbon emission. Climate change is a slow process, and no one knows for sure when a tipping point will be reached. Many believe the tipping point has been passed long ago.

When scientists take core samples from ice glaciers for example, they are able to see CO2 signatures dating back for hundreds of thousands of years. Over this period of history, global CO2 levels have nominally been between 200 and 300 parts per million (ppm). CO2 is higher now than it has ever been, at an amount of 385 parts per million, and that is a result of man's influence on the planet. According to Yale scientists, the optimum CO2 level to maintain the planet at conditions consistent with human history would be below 350 ppm.

The carbon emission of America and the rest of the world is like a grand experiment on a global scale in which no one knows what the outcome will be, but most assume will be devastating. Can we simply stand by and wait to witness the results ourselves? Even the most conservative estimates put ocean levels rising three feet within the next 100 years. For every one foot the ocean rises it comes in shore 10 feet due to tides and wave action. Millions of people around the world live within one or two feet of sea level; places like Florida in the US will be devastated, not to mention major segments of India and Asia.

The time for change is now. We have the knowledge and the skill to restructure energy use in our country, the only ingredient left is the will.

Sources:
Yale University. "Carbon Dioxide Levels Already In Danger Zone, Revised Theory Shows." ScienceDaily 9 November 2008. 2 April 2009 http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/11/081108155834.htm.

The new Z series computers will be the first to use Intel Nehalem processors including the Xeon 5500 series which represents a substantial boost in performance. In order to support the gains in hardware performance the Z series is built on a completely new line of chassis created by BMW DesignWorks. These new computer cases offer more than visual appeal, aluminum housings disipate heat more easily and are lighter and more durable than plastic. The aluminum case is also more recyclable. Inside the case components have been laid out in modules which can more easily be serviced. This design choice eliminates the need for bundles of wires and in our opinion is more forward looking than older "disposable" designs that were less easy to upgrade and fix. The Z line was designed with elegance and simplicity in mind and can be serviced tool free primarily with the user's fingers (instead of screw drivers), although the concern of electro static disscharge ESD may still be an issue.

In terms of efficiency gains the new Z series is said to run two decibels quieter at idle than older PC's and 1db quieter while loading. All of the new Z models are EPEAT certified at the silver or bronze level which means they meet a set of performance criteria to reduce environmental impact. They also meet the new Energy Star 5.0 qualification which puts them ahead of industry standards. One way they accomplish this is in using an HP exclusive feature called WattSaver that manages power when the computer is sleeping or turned off. Additionally, new power supplies used in the Z lineup are between 85% and 89% more efficient and produce significantly less heat. At end of life the workstations are 90% recycleable by weight. To learn more visit the official HP workstation page here.

Humanity's top ten problems for the next 50 years:

1. Energy - the largest projected source of clean energy in the next 50 years is geothermal. In the USA more than 90% of energy used comes from fossil fuels with less than 8% from renewable resources. If world energy consumption continues to grow at 2.8% consumption of energy will double from 336 trillion BTU's to 672 BTU's in 25 years. 66% of the world's fossil fuels are located in the middle east. Following is an estimate of fossil fuel use and depletion: Gas fuels ie. propane will be depleted in 60 years. Petrol fuels such as oil will be depleated in 40 years. Coal will be depleated in 200 years but is the most harmful fuel on our environment and will definitely increase global warming.
2. Water
3. Food
4. Environment - so far the Earth's temperature has risen one degree as a result of increased greenhouse gasses. As polar ice caps melt and ocean levels rise a one foot vertical increase is the equivalent of ten horizontal feet of reclaimed land (due to tides and storms).
5. Poverty
6. Terrorism and War
7. Disease
8. Education
9. Democracy
10. Population

Population data and trends projected to 2050:

• 2003 World Population 6.3 Billion People
• 2009 World Population Estimated at 6.8 Billion
• 2050 World Population 9.5 Billion People

This past Monday we received a note from the California State Parks Foundation describing the struggles and hardships they have endured over the past several years. Budget cuts causing backlogs in maintenance worth $1.2 billion and a recent funding cut of 10% proposed by Governer Schwarzenegger. The proposed 10% cut would force the closing of 48 parks over the next year and a half. Even as parks remain open, facilities, trails and resources are becoming increasingly strained as funding wanes.

The proactive solution that has been worked out is to attract more attention and funding for the parks by lowering the introductory membership rate from $40 to just $25. This emergency membership drive seems like a great deal to us and we encourage everyone in California who loves camping and hiking to visit the CSPF website at http://www.calparks.org/join/newmember.html and join up.

The $25 membership includes free day-use passes to over 200 parks, an official map of all state parks, the California Parklands newsletter, and a subscription to Sunset Magazine (which you can choose to waive in order to allocate more money and resources to the State Park Foundation).

In addition to the membership offer outlined above, the letter we recieved also included a petition form addressed to the Governer urging him to maintain funding for the parks which are the largest provider of educational programs outside of the public school system in California. That's quite an amazing statement considering the number of private schools and other training centers across the state.

The funding from new memberships will be shared between the parks themselves, the restoration and protection of cultural and historical assets within the park system, and educational programs curently in place. One such program, Coast Alive! brings thousands of children to coastal parks to learn about marine ecology each year.

To become a member of California State Parks go here

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 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.