VP Confabs On Green Jobs
Guess who's coming to the first meeting of Joe Biden's Middle Class Task Force with its green jobs focus. A list
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February 27, 2009
Financial Advice From Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch says free CO2 emissions permits as the best way to win passage of federal climate legislation. Any buyers?
On Ice
Andy Revkin defends the melting polar ice position against climate skeptic's challenge. Chill
B-Schools Go For Green
Graduate business schools like Michigan, Stanford and MIT are going for LEED-rated campus buildings. Climate Wire {Subscribers only]
February 26, 2009
Climate Linkage
President Obama's proposed budget would link CO2 revenue from new climate legislation to tax relief, but will the politics and the numbers line up? Stay tuned
Into The Pool
What a crowd lobbying Congress on climate change! Jump in
Cree Fight Oil Sands Plan
Canada's Bear Lake Cree funded to gather environmental evidence for a law suit to block oil sands projects in Alberta. Drill down
Beware The Climate Cynic
Climate cynic John Tierney meets his match, a Cornell U. undergrad. Kapow!
February 25, 2009
What To Do With RGGI $$?
New York issues a draft plan for investing $525 million in RGGI auction proceeds. For public comment
Get Reconciled
Budget reconciliation, the process where both branches of Congress agree on funding, could include Democratic climate language, but some Democrats are opposed. Work it out
Climate & Costs Clash In California
California, the nation's climate-action leader, faces stiff challenges over costs estimates for cutting carbon emissions. Serious stuff
Our Eco-Economic Experiment
Many nations pin hope on a green New Deal. How do US, EU and Chinese spending plans compare? Find out
UK: Construction Industry Warms To Green Renovation
Upgrade the energy efficiency of the UK's commercial and government buildings to create thousands of new jobs and save money for owners, urges new study. New view
Franco-Italian Atom Plan
By 2020, Italy could get four new nuclear power plants from a French-Italian utility deal. Learn more
Show Me
Gore v Will on how to make the case for (or against) climate change. Far from the last word on the art of persuasion. Start here
February 24, 2009
Carbon Markets: Downs And An Up
The EU carbon market and related clean development mechanism is a study in gloom, but the US states' RGGI market could be a bright spot. Trendy
UK: Our Friend The Atom
Four prominent UK environmentalists, in light of the climate challenge, now support nuclear power. Go nuclear
Tide Power Plans
Owners of the six turbine East River tidal power project have expansion plans. Dive in
NASA Climate Satellite Crashes
A new NASA satellite crashes to Earth, ending the agency's GHG mission. Downer
Weatherization At Work
The $5 billion for building weatherization in the federal stimulus package is a proven path to energy savings and good jobs. Look into it
Dutch Grid Good To Go
Dutch researchers find nation's electric power system is able to cope with wind power. Plug in
Climate Brain-Truster to EPA
Law professor Jon Cannon, author of a pivotal memo on regulating GHGs, is named EPA deputy administrator. E&E Daily [Subscribers only]
February 23, 2009
High Speed Railing
Now that the stimulus package has billions for high speed rail and critics too, where could new projects be located? Map it
It's Rebateable!
Can a US climate policy be consumer friendly? Could be
Alternative Alchemy
Scientists to explore whether offshore wind turbines can power algae agriculture for biofuel production. Stay tuned
Into The Hedges
The EU's sinking carbon market is looking to hedge funds for a lift. Learn more
Unregulated CO2 Ending
Carol Browner, the Obama administration climate-czar, announces that the EPA will start down the path to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, Begin here but says the President would prefer Congressional action E&E Daily [Subscribers only]
February 20, 2009
Make A Connection
How do scientists link global climate change with local environmental changes? Click in
Cap & Trade v Tax - Again
For those who can't get enough of this debate, here's the latest NRDC position. Fine print
Cloud or Silver Lining?
Plummeting oil prices are good news for some and terrible news for others. Look into it
Climate, Congress & China
The Obama Administration must persuade Congress as well as emerging economies like China to act decisively on climate change. Stay tuned
Conflict On Climate & Trade Policy
A battle is brewing around climate and trade issues that could make passage of a global warming law tougher. Look into it
The New Carbon Debate
Should the EPA regulate CO2 emissions now or wait for new federal legislation? Think
February 19, 2009
MisLEEDING
Green buildings are so popular that some projects are claiming LEED status without actually being certified. Caveat emptor
Green Transmission
New FERC chairman Jim Wellinghoff sees renewables, demand side management and distributed power ahead for the nation's electricity grid. That's powerful
Blueprint For A Greener NY
The NY League of Conservation Votes has a plan for a more sustainable state. Start here
LA LED's The Way
Los Angeles will light the night with 140,000 ultra-energy efficient LED bulbs. A Clinton Foundation loan will help to pay for the program. How bright
Forecast: Sunnier
The investment climate for solar power is getting brighter with passage of the federal stimulus bill says executive. Plug in
Trees Working Overtime
Scientists report that tropical trees soak up almost 20% of the world's carbon emissions. Keep growing!
The Laggers' List
CERES, a coalition of environmentalists and investors, is keeping a climate corporate Watch List. Who's on?
Alberta's Bitumen Battle
President Obama is disturbed by the carbon footprint left by Alberta Canada's oil sands industry. Seeking solutions
Coal-Fired Civil Disobedience
Why is Bill McKibben willing to face arrest to stop America's coal addiction? Powershift here
Germany Catches The Wind
A major German utility orders 250 wind turbines for a 1,000MW offshore wind farm. Turn, turn
February 17, 2009
Enough To Boil An Egg
Mayor Bloomberg issues a prediction about the hot, flooded NYC ahead in a climate-changed world. Whew!
Less Gas Next Year
A steep drop next year in US natural gas production is feared. Low prices blamed. Learn more
Undoing Bush
The EPA will reconsider a late Bush-era rule on carbon emissions from new coal-fired power plants. Considerable!
Cut Carbon, Save Euros
A study claims that use of CCS technology by coal-burning German utilities could cut both GHG emissions and costs. Capture that
Green Collar Skeptic
Can green collar job programs raise overall employment levels? Is this the right question? Look into it
Long Island Trends Solar
The Long Island Power Authority has big plans for commercial, inustiral and residential solar power. Plug in
Carbon Climbing
Scientists are alarmed by sharp increases in global carbon emissions since 2000. No declines detected. Here's why
Smarter Than A Shovel
Stimulus dollars could be spent on shovel-ready projects or invested in smart infrastructure; choices matter. WSJ
Last Year's Good News
Researchers calculate that in 2007, the EU's CO2 market was the major force in shrinking emissions in participating countries. Look back
February 13, 2009
National Grid v Eminent Domain
Building a 21st Century national electric grid could be harder than building the 20th century's interstate highway system. Go BANANAs
Adapt Or Else
UK engineers warn that Britain must plan for climate change impacts or suffer the consequences. Or else!
New Directions Offshore
Interior Secretary Salazar favors offshore renewable energy that relies on wind waves and ocean currents. Dive in
UK: Zero Ahead
The British government promises a nation of zero carbon emissions homes by 2049. Look into it
Red Tape Risks For Green Projects
The Department of Energy needs a makeover to speed approval and oversight of some $40 billion in stimulus funds to grow green projects. Snip, snip
It's Melting. So What?
A glacier and ice sheet expert delves into the specific impact of Antarctic melting and rising global sea levels. Hot stuff
February 12, 2009
Hey Big Lenders!
Large European utilities still have the will and the cash to go ahead with offshore wind energy projects. Spend a minute
The Good Stimulus Story
Get a rundown on green funding in the economic stimulus bill that's headed for the President's signature. Start here
The Bad Stimulus Story
The compromise stimulus bill slashes funds for energy efficient buildings and federal fleet vehicles by 50%. Energy loan guarantees are zeroed out. Learn more
More Green Moves Markets
Home builders and suppliers see energy efficiency becoming a market plus. Same goes for renovation firms. WSJ
February 11, 2009
Do You Wanna Dance?
Who's up and who's down on passing a US climate bill and what that's got to do with public opinion? Start here
Save At Home
It seems that residential demand for natural gas is dipping, although the winter is cold and prices are dropping. Ditto for home heating oil. WSJ
Under The Sea
The UK's National Grid Plc wants to pipe CO2 from coal-fired power plants to North Sea gas fields for sequestration. Let's see
Empire State Green
A New York-based, LEED certified firm launches a line of green modular homes. How stimulating
Canadians Want More
Ontario Canada's alternative energy feed-in tariff program met its target in year one of a three year program. Plug in
The House Climate On Climate
See this February portrait of House member sentiments on passing a climate change law. Come closer
The Train In Spain
Passengers can travel from Barcelona to Madrid at 310 mph on new high-speed trains. BTW, domestic air travel is down. Get on board
February 10, 2009
Unplugging
European industrial electricity use declines for the first time since WW II. What's up?
On Fire!
Climate scientists will meet to get out an emergency call-to-action aimed at global policy makers. Listen up
Not So Smart Grid
A skeptical take on the smart national grid idea from an environmental perspective. Plug in
NJ Loves PV But LH Loves ST
A New Jersey utility will spend $774 million on photovoltaics while an Op Ed writer's heart beats faster for solar thermal hot water devices.
Fallout From Falling Economies
The deep downturn in industrialized economies means falling funds for GHG curbs in developing ones. Consider that
Canaries In The Climate Coal Mine
The north-moving range of more than 300 bird species is a clear sign of a warming US. Be warned
Revkin's Nightmare
Andy loses sleep over a world where limitless solar energy could fuel limitless appetites on a finite planet. How about you?
Beat The Clock?
A leading House Democrat presses for a US climate law before the December UN treaty meeting in Copenhagen. Tick tock
February 07, 2009
Don't Mourn - Measure Better
The Energy Star label may overestimate energy savings on consumer appliances. How can the program improve on the real numbers? Make it count
February 05, 2009
Fish Getting Lost
Scientists find evidence that acidifying sea water resulting from elevated atmospheric CO2 levels can impair fish navigational abilities. FInd out more
February 04, 2009
China +Clinton=Climate
Secretary of State Clinton will soon visit China, with the climate crisis on the agenda.Details emerging
Far-Sighted Or Near-Sighted?
How the President's clean energy goals look depends on where you look from. Start here
Will Nation's Oldest N-Plant Stay Open?
New Jersey's aged Oyster Creek nuclear power plant faces an NRC delay in renewing its operating permit. Stay tuned
Obama To OMB: Change
President Obama launches a make-over of the Office of Management and Budget. Scientists are optimistic. Fine print matters
Alt Energy On Ice
Economic and credit woes add up to trouble in the emerging US solar and wind power industry. Brrrr
Russian-German N-Power Talks
Vladimir Putin and German energy giant Siemens discuss cooperation on nuclear power projects. Look into it
February 03, 2009
Stimuli: Compare & Contrast
Get a graphic comparison of House and Senate stimulus funding for energy efficiency and alternative energy. Surprised?
UK Climate Progress Doubted
The official 1.7% drop in UK GHG emissions in 2007 is called 'creative accounting' by critics. Look into it
Moving The Wind
A $5 billion investment for new electric transmission lines will send Texas wind power from prairies to consumers. Read more
Fuel Costs Pinch Military Plans
French, UK and US military budget makers, pressed by recent high fuel prices, seek energy efficiency and alternative fuel options. Learn more
Start Your Engines
Wal-Mart's truck fleet test drives hybrid diesel electric vehicles. Ready, set
The Bronx, Yes Thonx
Intervale Green, a $39 million, 128 unit, Energy Star-rated, low income apartment building opens its doors in the Bronx. Welcome
February 02, 2009
Davos: Energy Infratructure Needs
The recent World Economic Forum in Davos called for billions in new infrastructure investment plus government action and regulation to combat climate disaster. R U listening?
New Space, New Faces
Green jobs sound like a business opportunity. President Obama is committed to creating five million new green jobs via subsidizing energy alternatives and conservation, and discouraging reliance on fossil fuels. The same commitment is occurring at the state and local level. On January 26 New York's Governor David Paterson told a conference on green jobs that he intended to convert 45 percent of the state's energy use to alternative sources by 2015.
Do New York City's green entrepreneurs have "shovel-ready" business plans? The Sallan Foundation has asked me to look at the green movement through the prism of a new (less than a year old) eco-incubator in Brooklyn called Green Spaces. I come to the assignment having worked on the 1999 study of the New York City software industry undertaken by the then City Comptroller, Alan Hevesi. From that study, I became enamored of Henry Etzkowitz's concept of the "Triple Helix" — bringing together government, business and university resources to create new companies.
Later, I spent more than half a year working in the incubator of the NY Software Industry Association at 55 Broad Street. Green Spaces is located on less expensive real estate, yet easy to get to from Manhattan via the 2, 3, 4 or 5 train to Nevins Street, right across from the incubator building. See bottom of Google map below. I note approvingly the proximity of universities — a campus of Long Island University is a block away and northwest of that is tech-mecca Brooklyn Polytechnic, just recently absorbed into NYU.
Green Spaces occupies the fifth floor of 33 Flatbush Avenue (name on the building is Metropolitan Exchange). The intercom directory shows all the tenants. I am buzzed in, take the elevator up and meet the founder of the space and resident manager, Jennie Nevin. I never got to ask her whether Nevins St. was named after one of her ancestors.
The light streams in to the fifth floor from the front and the back of the long industrial-standard floor. The 16 incubatee companies, composed of 1-3 people each, occupy physical as well as business niches. The center of the floor houses an open kitchen that has samples on hand from Kumkuat Cupcakes and coffee courtesy of Crop to Cup.
I am most interested in the green companies that have a strong technical component and are scalable, i.e., can expand quickly if they get the model right. On this basis I pick half of the 16 tenants to interview:
· Sea to Table
· Crop to Cup
· Sustainable Edge
· My College Calendar
· Ecosystems
· Translate Media
· Catch Interactive
· Global Workers Justice Alliance
I would also have liked to interview SunOne Solutions, which helps make a carbon trading market, but the principals were in Washington.
My general observation about Green Spaces is that it's a nice place to work. Everyone here, it seems, has a laptop that they treat with the highest respect and affection. Just as someone walking a dog is easy to approach if you admire their pet, so also a quick way to break the ice here is to admire the incubatee's laptop.
Didn't see any large computers. If green entrepreneurs are cowboys and their laptops are their horses, they seem to prefer Shetlands to Clydesdales.
But this is no rodeo. It's more like a study room, with all the incubatees hard at work on their theses. Their collective thesis is that business can make the world a better place. These entrepreneurs are studiously engaged in envisioning more environmentally friendly systems and then making them happen. They are engaged in God's work.
Sea to Table
The first incubatee I interview is Sean Dimin of Sea to Table. His business card has a slogan on both sides. One side says: "Direct from fishermen, delivered overnight." The other side says: "Connecting fishermen with chefs." These slogans leave out what is most important for a green company, the fact that Sean is deeply concerned about overfishing and handles orders only for wild fish, sustainably harvested and delivered direct. He seeks out fish certified to the standards of the Marine Stewardship Council.
Sean provides fish advice to large restaurants in New York City and elsewhere in the United States, and he has associates in four other cities providing the same service. He has a list of large restaurants and another list of fishermen (Sean insists that the word is not sexist; it is "gender neutral") and he puts the two groups in touch with each other.
Sean has two large posters over his desk. One is of "billed fish" like marlin (is that a nephew of mine up there?). The other poster shows various kinds of tuna. His main fish he sells are Tobago Wild, Alaska Wild and Dixie Wild (from the Gulf and Southeast Atlantic). These fishermen fish with hand lines.
He is able to bypass the markets by relying on email and phone and keeps track of everything on his laptop. Deliveries are made via FedEx with gel ice (FedEx won't take dry-ice packaging). This is a green business because of great benefits to the environment: (1) Only one trip, from fisherman to restaurant, meaning less of a carbon footprint (and less cost); (2) Shipping is consolidated with other shipping, eliminating fish trucks; (3) Assurance by Sea to Table that no endangered fish are being purchased, with MSC-certified fish; (4) No fish market is required; and (5) Much less waste and fresher fish.
Incubators are for babies that will grow bigger. What is the growth trajectory for Sea to Table? It needs to expand supply by working with more fisheries. It needs to expand demand by adding more large restaurants in more cities. The sustainable model takes longer to catch fish and so they are more expensive. I would bet on the idea that people are going to care increasingly about where their food comes from.
Crop to Cup
The second incubatee is Crop to Cup, which is a small ethical trading shop that imports coffee and sells both unroasted "green" coffee to roasters around the country and roasted coffee on its website. It also sells the coffee wholesale to restaurants, grocery markets and the food service industry.
Ethical trading is quite simple means paying small farmers in a developing country more than market price for their products. The consumer gets quality coffee that competes on price with similar quality coffee, with the additional pleasure of knowing that the farmer is being well treated. I have tasted the Crop to Cup coffee at Green Spaces and at home and it's good.
There are quite a few such ethical trading efforts under way, and coffee is a product that is very likely to be ethically traded, especially coffee sold in coffee shops. Once it is known that a coffee shop, say Starbucks, is selling only ethically traded coffee, who would want to be seen drinking coffee in a coffee shop that denied farmers the extra money for their labor under the hot African sun? Crop to Cup's unique selling proposition is that its coffee that is branded with the photo of the farmer from whom the coffee is purchased. I'm looking at a baseball-card type handout showing us Topista and Joseph Namisi, two Uganda farmers who have a farm in Gabagi Village, Bugisu, Uganda. The card tells us that they have 2,000 coffee trees and six children. Topista also teaches in the local elementary school. The link to the local farmer is a very nice touch that is likely to be imitated in future if it isn't already.
Crop to Cup says that it pays the farmers 20 percent more than market price. In addition, it gives 5 percent of revenues and 10 percent of profits to community development organizations in the areas where the farms are located. Through Crop to Cup's nonrpofit arm, DevelopNet Iganga, which supports Uganda development, the 5 percent of revenues that are reinvested in farmers are treated as donations on behalf of customers. So a wholesale customer sending $5,000 with Crop to Cup in one year can take a year-end deduction from taxable income of $250.
In addition it gives 5 percent of revenues and 10 percent of profits to community development organizations in the area where the farm is located. In addition, Crop to Cup accepts tax-deductible donations to a nonprofit organization (Iganga) that supports Uganda development.
C2C's credibility depends on the individuals who run it. The two young men in the incubator have the eco-credentials as well as the appearance of a well-organized operation. Taylor Mork used to work with Cal Safety Compliance Corporation (CSCC), a worldwide certification body, and therefore understands the importance of traceability and quality and the need for management systems to ensure these elements in the supply chain. C2C is not certified to any standard yet, but neither are most small startups.
Taylor's partner at the incubator is Jose Fernando Aguilar, who grew up in a coffee-growing area. Both of them have cards giving "Farmer Representative" as their titles. Their firm has two other partners in Chicago — Jake Elster and Neil Balkcom. This project is eminently green. Worker conditions are part of the green movement. Taylor's background in the certification business should be very valuable as the organization scales up. However, maintaining contact with the farmers is labor intensive.
A shortcut to expansion would be for Crop to Cup to be acquired by a larger business that wants to sell ethically traded coffee. I like the link to the farmer but predict that as the company gets bigger some shortcuts will need to be made. For example, the supply chain and information on farmers could be connected to a number or name on each bag of coffee. The consumer could then find out about the farmer on the Crop to Cup website or on a poster at each retail outlet.
My other six interviews will be posted on Huffington Post under the Green Edge brand. Green Spaces is a good idea and is well executed.
One last thing — I have been asked by Jennie Nevin to help publicize their green business competition, for which the deadline is March 22. They are giving away three baskets of startup help for the right companies worth $25,000, including up to one year of free desk space at Green Spaces. For more information just click on Green Spaces.
John Tepper Marlin, Ph.D.
Principal, CityEconomist, CSRNYC,
Adjunct Professor, NYU
Green U?
University research labs are pressing for federal stimulus funds to fuel new clean and efficient energy technologies. Stay tuned
Working Up A Sweat
A scorching summer in Australia gives some clues about what it's like to live with climate change. Whew!
Too Cheap To Matter?
The EU market price of CO2 is down two-thirds since last summer and may no longer influence energy investment decisions. Dig down