The new issue of Business 2.0 magazine – where Green Wombat is an editor – is out and the cover stories feature companies developing technologies to help solve some of the planet’s most intractable environmental challenges. The wombat’s colleagues at CNNMoney.com have transformed the print version into a great online package of stories, photos and video. Check out "8 Technologies for a Green Future" and profiles of companies tackling nine of the world’s most pressing problems in "Go Green, Get Rich."
Now we want to hear from you. Can technology save the planet and ensure
a green future while making a buck for entrepreneuers? Let us know
what you think by giving us your comments below.
I have a project that:
– has not been attempted
– can make a huge difference
– cannot fail
I want to raise TERMITES to convert garbage into animal food.
Why not? Anyone wants to join me?
Maybe stop newspapers from having a printed product. It’s not necessary now that we can get it online and it takes up landfill space!!!
Can technology save the planet? Not with the current level of investment and government support. Looking specifically at global warming, we need to generate tens of terawatts of carbon-free power, and that will require a far higher level of innovation and investment than we see today. Biomass and cellulosic ethanol (from newspapers, among other sources) are part of the answer. See the General Biomass website, http://www.generalbiomass.com.
Yes and No. The current problem is that the current gov. is still pushing old tech or anything designed to prop up old tech. We have the means to move off oil, natural gas, and coal. There are plenty of wind plants going up. Solar is being pushed in CA and other states. new tidal and geothermal is up and coming. But the president pushes doing coal with buried CO2 (i.e. leaves it for future generations to deal with leaking CO2) or hydrogen (that allows the oil company to strip it from coal/oil). Almost all the new approachs involve electricity, but we do not the grid nor a good storage. So what is needed is for the feds to invest in good electrical grids (a grid vs. ptp to a coal plant) as well as multi-prong research into energy storage. W. wants hydrogen, but most researchers into it have shown that it is one of the worst ideas. A better one is using salts to store thermal as that can even use waste heat from current plants. Or perhaps more research into superconductors or even ultracapacitors. Yes, it is possible for tech to help us. But not with this admin giving preferential treatment to help his cronies.
I am concerned in equal parts about economy and environment. I think the current environment/energy situation is a chance for US to reclaim some key technological leadership and bragging rights by being a generation ahead of all other economies in being majority reliant on renewable energy. Wanna reduce the trade deficit? Then lets become net energy exporters rather than importers! I think some of the brightest minds have been working on these energy/environment problems, and the right technologes already seem to be here. The only way to get renewable energy to replace the extremely entrenched coal/oil infrastructure within a decade is to get a comparable amount of investment in these areas. That kind of ‘serious’ investor money comes by creating a much larger differential in incentive for alternative power vs traditional. We as a population have to give our governments enough political capital, support and latitude to push through a phased $3/gallon increase in gasoline taxes and dial that back to income tax cuts, to help offset pain caused to end consumers. Then just sit back and watch as free markets will do what they do best. I fully believe that you will then see energy companies performing miracolously fast transformation to being majority alternative energy.
yes it is our only hope, and we need that to be common knowledge.
the only thing can save the planet is: to stop over compsumption,but very few people is ready for that..we all want to be rich ,thats what is killing us …MONEY.
Hello…I just love Biz 2.0. This article is timely and also very important. I think the topics covered here are just the tip of the iceberg related to what the World will be needing in the next decade or less. Global Warming, Peak Oil, population growth, national security…take your pick. I’m just an average homeowner. I happened to stumble upon the following program just before Christmas. We can all reduce our carbon count and lock in our electricity rates for 25 yrs. I hate spam like the rest…I apologize. I just wanted to let you all know about this great new service offering….www.Solargies.com
Sorry, I don’t see the downside to global warming. If the seas rise, hopefully people aren’t going to stand near the water for 30 years and watch it rise and do nothing, i.e., move. Humans will just have to adapt, build new cities, move inland, stop having so many children (biggest solution). The worse case is humans die off and animals die that don’t adapt. Like I said I don’t see the downside to global warming. Approach the issue, and seek out solutions that will improve life but that don’t have bad side effects, like wind farms, ethanol based on corn, etc. Wind farms, if you get enough of them, can change wind patterns, slow down the wind, redirect the wind, etc. that I think may have a huge bad effect on the climate. Wind is a major contributor to the type of climate. You get humans mucking around with the climate, and things are going to get worse, guaranteed. Maybe global warming helped fend off the big ice age that was suppose to happen. (we were told that in the 60’s)
No. Technology can only slow the degradation of the planet’s ecology and resources. The issue everyone dances around when it comes to the environment is population. Without any limitations to population growth, eventually no improvement to technology will work. The math is actually fairly straightforward and worth the time for anyone interested in the facts. Even if technology becomes so advanced that it allows us to populate the solar system and beyond, the number of human beings would exceed the total number of atoms in the universe within 10,000 years. Obviously that won’t happen, but is illustrative of the point that some controls on population will have to happen. The bad thing is countries with negative population growth are becoming desperate as their citizens age into the retirement years and the younger generations have to foot the bill. Those governments then actively try to counter the trend thus setting up a situation where growth becomes inevitable. I say that these efforts will destroy the theories of demographic experts who claim that population levels will level off sometime in the mid 22nd century (at what I believe is now estimated at some 15 billion people). Boy won’t it be fun to live on a planet with nearly three times the number of people already messing with it.
FRANKLY HUMANITIES BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS TO GET THE POPULATION DOWN TO ABOUT 2 BILLION. THAT SHOULD SOLVE ALL THE OTHER PROBLEMS………. PEROD
Technology, as well as business processes and practices can certainly help. Mainstream consumers are finally starting to get it. Should have mentioned the associations and their members who have been engaged in green business and its solutions for decades, such as Coop America (http://www.coopamerica.com) and Business for Social Responsibility (http://www.bsr.org ).
Thanks for putting out this timely issue.
Help me help homeowners convert to solar energy the EASY way…25% by 2025
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>>>”Go Green, Get Rich.”
That perfectly sums up everything that is wrong with the business world. Everything, EVERYTHING is an opportunity to satiate their INSATIABLE GREED.
Business 2.0’s cover article should be the 102nd DUMBEST MOMENT at the 7th annual “awards” ceremony that appears on the cover.
Gimme a break.
I just want to know what’s the starting price of shares for these three companies.
Where will we get the energy to build the alternative technologies,especially those that produce transport energy?
Also if there should be shortages in fossil fuels within the next 25 years where does that put industry on the financial scale.
I think technology has a promising future but ther will be som very serious obstacles slowing it. We need to embrace some deindustrialization
regardless. And a vital question is how do we ready ourselves for that.
Unfortunately, it is going to be difficult to battle the entrenched coal/oil industry. We’re talking trillions of dollars flowing through these industries, and they have huge monetary ties in government. To do the right thing would cost politicians those sources of income. Not going to happen. Plus these idustries will do anything they can to protect their profits, which may put people’s lives in danger.
Is there anything we can do? Yes. And it needs to be done. Unfortunately, it will result in a war like situation. If you doubt it, take a look at what the oil companies are doing in Africa.
hey why cant people think that maybe we dont have to carry on the lifestyle we have? people get so lazy and everything has to be handed to them on a plate. how about walking, cycling not using a car or a alternative to do the work. we do we have to carry on the way we are? as we’ve seen industrialization clearly wasnt the way to go.
Re: Ethan –
“>>>”Go Green, Get Rich.”
That perfectly sums up everything that is wrong with the business world. Everything, EVERYTHING is an opportunity to satiate their INSATIABLE GREED.
Business 2.0’s cover article should be the 102nd DUMBEST MOMENT at the 7th annual “awards” ceremony that appears on the cover.
Gimme a break.”
I actually think that your attitude is the dumb part. If I, for instance, invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of my life and develop a new way to power cars that produces little by-products & side effects, eliminates our reliance on fossil fuels, and costs less than any other potential solution…can you give me a reason why I shouldn’t make money off of it? If I’ve invested that much of my life and capital in it, I imagine I’ve done more than every NIMBY-fanatic who started a website to rant about government policy, or who’s picketed every planned new oil refinery in the U.S. (one hasn’t been built since 1974, IIRC).
Profit is not evil. Especially when it’s used as an incentive to do something good. If I offer a product that helps millions of people AND makes the world a better place, then it’s up to the people to decide whether they want to pay for it or not.
Why shoot yourself in the foot by saying that everything that helps the environment has to be profit-free? IMHO, if profit is an incentive to make a better world, what’s wrong with that? Why shouldn’t people be rewarded for finding ways to allow people to “do their part” without sacrificing the conveniences and freedoms they now enjoy?
Good
1.Definetly TECHNOLOGY WILL save the planet by e docments / e paper lets automate all the companies to use e docments cut down the paper usage which will save the TREES , SAVE from Heat generates by XEROX MACHINES , PRINTERS AND ETC
2.locate the AREA where most of the Air pollution is coming from by placing some sensors / detectors
3.By inventing New filters for Automobiles to filter the smoke from Engines
4.Prevent the FIRE Accidents
Can we make energy from snow or ice for those countries in the north where they do not have much sun?
Yes technology is the answer. Problem – Current methods make too much money for companies that are not willing to give up their paychecks.
Hydrogen is a fairly plentiful element that is ideal as an energy source. It can be created easily by passing current from photovoltaic sources through water. The storage requirements are similar to LNG and the technology is tried and tested.
No CO2 emissions, no by product storage issues or problems for the next generation.
The main obstacle is that the oil companies have a stranglehold on the governments and aren’t about to see their golden goose cooked without a big dirty expensive opposition to any change. After all, they can’t say all the water is theirs can they?
The termite idea is a bad one. All the waste ends up as carbon dioxide or methane (worse than CO2).The best idea is to not produce waste, reuse poducts or materials, recycle materials, or have the waste from a product be sent someplace like the earth’s mantle or the sun.
Technology will only save the planet when combined with an exponential evolutionary leap in the human spirit. Earth’s biosphere, of which we’re a part, is one organism. When we grock that, we’ll have the perspective and feelings required to not only survive but to thrive. We are doing it– it’s in process, but we better hurry!
Eliminate laundry chemicals from our water. Use technology to clean our clothes…
Eliminate laundry chemicals from our water. Use technology to clean our clothes… http://www.freshmenz.com
The Planeticians
A Perspective that All Humans on Planet Earth Need to Consider
I am reminded of the words of a US/Chinese astronaut on seeing planet earth from space: A Chinese tale tells of some men sent to harm a young girl who, upon seeing her beauty, become her protectors rather than her violators. That’s how I felt seeing the Earth for the first time. I could not help but love and cherish her–Astronaut Taylor Wang, China/USA.
Astronaut Taylor Wang captures the commitment of planeticians-to protect and cherish the earth and not violate her in any manner. Planeticians see themselves first and foremost as citizens of planet earth. Their focus is the planet as a whole, not this or that political, economic, ethnic, or religious group. Planeticians are committed to improving the quality of life for all inhabitants of the planet. This quality of life depends directly on the interconnected and interdependent systems of land, air, and water and how all humans use and manage these systems. Damage or violence to the systems anywhere impacts all systems and all life as we are seeing in the growth of carbon dioxide emissions and the effects on climate change and global warming.
The key to the success of any undertaking to improve the earth’s quality of life is the understanding that planet earth is a shared spaceship adventure. All inhabitants of earth-all human, animal, and plant life travel together through time and space aboard this spaceship at the high-speed of 67,000 miles or 107,826 kilometers per hour. All humans are crammed onto this huge traveling home for a ride that is often perilous because of the calamities that are experienced on our planet from time to time. These calamities, some brought about by people, include wars, famines, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, genocides, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, tsunamis, and the daily death and suffering that humans inflict on each other. Then there are the less obvious calamities that are also very corrosive of the quality of life on the planet such as pollution, poverty, the arms race, discrimination and prejudice, and carbon dioxide emissions.
To contribute something worthwhile to improving the quality of life on the earth spaceship, we urge each individual person to transcend the limiting and often harmful confines of her/his cultural, political, social, and religious systems of thought and practice, and make the betterment of the planet a first priority. We know that every person yearns to live a life that is worthwhile, and one sure way of doing that is to become a true planetician.
The concept of shared traveling on planet earth and hence shared responsibility for conditions on the planet is extremely difficult to get across to our fellow citizens of the planet (Al Gore and Kevin Wall with their Live Earth Concerts have pioneered a way).
Hence, our first big challenge is to get all peoples on earth to transcend their own closed worlds with their separate political and religious allegiances, their separate and unequal cultural and scientific advancement, their histories of hot and cold wars with each other, their arms races, their development and use of weapons of mass destruction, their use of suicide missions against each other, and consequently the buildup of deep mutual distrust handed down from generation to generation, and come together and reach consensus on how best to work in harmony for the common good of their spaceship home-planet earth. This is planet earth’s greatest challenge, requiring hard choices, change, and commitment from all humans to be care-givers to an ailing planet.
As we climb that difficult mountain demanding sea changes in attitudes and behavior, we need to hammer out a blueprint for the betterment of all inhabitants of the planet going forward. And thanks to the Internet, we have the tools to succeed. We have at our disposal all the information collected over the centuries in our libraries; the findings of our many research institutes; the writings, insights, and dreams of scientists, scholars, and ordinary people across the planet; and the necessary communication tools. And we have at our fingertips the many search engines of the Internet system to access the vast reservoirs of information and knowledge that we have accumulated.
We would also want deliberations on a blueprint for the betterment of our planet to be interactive, so that the entire planet is directly involved in fashioning the outcomes of any deliberations and corrective actions that need to be taken. To that end, we would want our deliberations to have total visibility to every human being on the planet-broadcasted across the planet using all media including newspapers, blogs, television, and radio with opportunities for feedback and input from readers, viewers, and listeners. To achieve this we need resources. We need the participation and support of philanthropists, media organizations, and national and international organizations and their networks, as well as the participation and support of each and every human on the planet. In the interests of full visibility, total openness, transparency, and interaction, we want deliberations conducted before live audiences at various venues around the planet. We will rely heavily on the Internet as a principal tool in gathering and disseminating information and feedback as well as in fostering total openness and transparency.
Happily, we are informed by our best scientific minds that our miracle spaceship-planet earth-has the raw materials, the natural resources, and in this year 2007 the technology for all its inhabitants to enjoy a life of quality. But we are also very much aware that a shared quality of life is not now actual, but a dream to be realized. All humans across the planet, the rich and poor alike, have hitched rides on this spaceship for very short periods of time. And the challenge during our short ride on the planet is to contribute to the development and enrichment of the planet’s quality of life.
To get started, we invite people everywhere at all levels to get involved through discussions and actions to contribute to the betterment of the planet. We invite all schools from kindergartens to universities, all churches and the many groups within each church, all neighborhood groups, all community and social organizations, all local, regional, and national government organizations, and all international and global organizations to become actively involved, for it is going to take the combined efforts of all caring humans, young and old, to effect change for an improved quality of life for all.
If the above perspective interests you, please pass it on to your friends and associates with the request to pass it on to their friends or have them copy and paste this URL to their browser: http://www.planeticians.com-a.googlepages.com/home. If you have comments or ideas on how to proceed with this undertaking, please email them to: ajmeagher@planeticians.com or visit the website: http://www.planeticians.com. Much thanks for any input to this undertaking, which we hope will grow to include all humans on our planet. A journey of a million miles begins with one step! Your step is a critically important contribution.
Let’s see, humans have been trying to make the world better with technology from the start. Most of the problems we have now are due to technology. Do you really think that technology can solve these problems without creating even bigger ones?
If we try to use technology to solve “problems of character” without dealing with the fundamental issues of why we got into this, there will be no difference made.
What do I mean by “problems of character?” If humanity continues to relate to the planet as something to dominate and control, and individuals continue to act out of personal selfish interest, then all we may be doing is greenwashing technology and it may only make our grave deeper and more spectacular. There are always unforeseen consequences of our actions. A selfish view narrows our ability to see those consequences.
Maybe we can save the planet with technology, but only if an enlightened few can design technology with fewer negative consequences. Then the less aware masses of people can do less damage to the planet, and we don’t have to wait for them to change their ways.
We are researchers who are developing renewable energy products and solutions. We believe technology is not in itself in conflict with the environment. It is our abuse that is the problem.
We must focus on improving our environment and lessen our dependence on other non-renewable energy sources.
http://www.altenergytech.com
Silicon Valley needs to go green.
http://vidsonly.blogspot.com
One possible solution to economic and environmental issues confronting us all at this time is the Aqua-Terra transport system project that will allow us to transport cargo containers, and later persons, at speeds of 14,000+ mph (around the world in two hours when all twelve Aqua Stations are completed).
This is not science fiction, it is science fact. Take a look at http://www.invention.net/yon and see the immediate application to our present day global economic and environmental situation.
People – technology can make a difference – but so can you and your business. Cahnge the way you do many things, and the planet will benfit.
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