Imagine H2O Prize Competition to Drive Water Innovation

3p Guest Author | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

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As 3p readers know, the growing scarcity of freshwater is causing significant social and environment problems around the world.  From a rise in cholera in parts of Africa to chronic water shortages in Australia as a result of drought, people everywhere are feeling the impact of the global water crisis. 



Imagine H2O, a non-profit that aims to turn the world’s water problems into opportunities for entrepreneurs, is running a business plan competition to encourage water technology innovation.  Through the inaugural Imagine H2O Prize Competition (which is accepting entries until Nov. 16, 2009) and its business incubator, the organization aims to bring water technology from entrepreneurs, investors, inventors and academics around the world to address critical water challenges. 

As research from global water organizations, such as the World Water Council, indicate, addressing water conservation is critically needed.  Participants of Imagine H2O’s competition will not only help solve a timely global issue, they will also receive assistance to bring their business idea to market.  In addition to having the opportunity to receive $70,000 in cash and in-kind services, competition participants will also benefit from Imagine H2O’s incubator program.

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Thanks to Triple Pundit’s Sponsors

Nick Aster | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment

As November rolls along, we’re happy to see our community of readers, contributors, and sponsors growing. Our sponsors in particular are what make it possible to continue to publish great content and continue to build the 3p movement. Please take some time to check out what they’re doing and if you’re in a position to do so, thank them for their support of TriplePundit. If your company is interested in getting involved with 3p in any way, please get in touch with us!

The Bard Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College is an interdisciplinary curriculum which closely echos the founding principals of Triple Pundit – the idea that economy, ecology, and society are inherently intertwined and cannot be looked at as silos in addressing issues of sustainability. In the case of the Bard CEP, faculty from the school’s science, law, policy, and economics disciplines coordinate an integrated curriculum to address environmental matters. We’re excited to announce Bard CEP as our newest sponsor and will be periodically publishing interesting developments from the program.

EDF LogoThe Environmental Defense Fund Innovation Exchange is continuing to evolve into an invaluable resource for businesses. You’d swear that there was a catch, since you rarely expect great resources like the Innovation Exchange without someone trying to sell you something, right? But the EDF partners with businesses, doesn’t take a dime in return, then open-sources the IP for all to share. You’ll also notice that the content on the Innovation Exchange is Creative Commons licensed, so share it all you want, as long as you share the credit with them. Check out the EDF Innovation Exchange Blog and their Twitter for more. Thanks EDF!

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European Lawmakers To Give Free Carbon Credits to Heavy Industry

BC Upham | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments
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Satellite Image of European Air Pollution

The EU, that bastion of environmental common sense, is giving away its carbon credits. For free. To some of their biggest polluters.

Reuters reports that European Union lawmakers have approved a list of heavy industries, including metals, textiles, building materials and ceramics, that will be handed free carbon credits starting in 2013, rather than have to pay for them like everyone else. The credits will be handed out under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, or ETS.

The lawmakers acceded to industry complaints that the cost of carbon credits would make them uncompetitive with companies operating in India, China and other nations with fewer environmental safeguards, forcing them to move operations out of the EU. The end result, industry argues, would be the same companies making the same products for the same consumers, only in a more polluting way overseas, a phenomenon known as “carbon leakage.”

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Barcelona Climate Talks End after a Week of Boycotts- Next Stop: Copenhagen

Tom Schueneman | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment


The International chess game of climate negotiations - COP15The final week of climate negotiations in Barcelona have now ended. The last meeting before the main event in Copenhagen next month served to emphasize the lingering stalemate between rich and poor nations, and the equally unmoving impasse between political factions in the United States.

On Tuesday, delegations from 50 African nations boycotted the climate talks in Barcelona, insisting that developed nations must make stronger commitments for short-term emissions reduction targets – specifically in the neighborhood of 40% of 1990 levels by 2020 (in contrast, the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House last summer, when referenced to 1990 levels, targets only about a 7% reduction in emissions). In Washington, Republicans in the Energy and Public Works Committee (EPW) staged their own boycott, failing to show for a markup session of the Kerry-Boxer climate and energy bill. The reason, they claimed, was because the bill needs more cost analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Democrats countered, saying it was simply a stalling tactic, and that there is already extensive analysis in place. The ranking Republican on the EPW committee is Senator James Inhofe, who is nothing if not a vociferous climate change denier. The ability for the United States to break through their political logjam will directly influence how negotiations play out at the COP15 climate conference next month.

Talks resumed in Barcelona onWednesday, but key issues of mitigation targets and financing remain largely unchanged on Friday from where they started on Monday; the Democrats in the EPW Committee passed the Kerry-Boxer climate bill out of committee on an 11-1 without the Republicans present. Thus the stage is set, for better or worse, and there is but one stop left on the Road to Copenhagen. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer delivers his closing press briefing in the following video (see also Ben Jervey’s analysis from earlier this week.)

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Give more, Useless

Audrey | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment

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teef2Believe me, USELESS, I get it. I get the point you’re trying to make. Your anti-consumerism, “Use less, give more” message is not a new one. However, following it with a list of products to purchase definitely is.

I understand that you mean to be somewhat ironic. And I get how handy it is that when you combine the words “use” and “less” into one word, you end up with “useless” (somehow I suspect that’s how this whole company came about – clever name first, company second).

And sure, your cleverly designed hoodies are made of organic cotton and your cute, logoed bottles are BPA free. And I appreciate that you donate 10% of your profits to fund water and sanitation projects in the developing world. You’re better than a lot of companies out there. BUT, you’re still selling products!

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SolarReserve: Everything’s Better With a Little Salt

BC Upham | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 3 Comments

startup-friday.jpgMRTN-HotSaltIt’s the holy grail of renewable energy: power, even when the sun don’t shine, or the wind don’t blow. Some companies are hoping advances in battery capacity will provide the answer, others are looking to flywheels, or hydrostorage. But SolarReserve, an 18-month old start-up based in Santa Monica, uses a fundamentally simpler technology: hot, hot salt.

SolarReserve’s solar power technology uses thousands of mirrors, called heliostats, to focus the sun’s energy on a tower filled with salt. The solar energy heats the salt over 1000 degrees F., turning it into a liquid, which then boils water to run a steam turbine, generating electricity.

But that’s just the half of it: SolarReserve’s plant can store that molten salt and release it to run the turbine whenever it is most cost-effective to do so — including at night, when traditional solar power is unavailable. They can do this because of the amazing heat-retention qualities of salt: 98% or higher if stored properly.

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Warrior Film-making: The Story of Free Range Studios

Ryan Mickle | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

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Jonah Sachs and Louis Fox at Free Range Studios in Berkeley, CA

Jonah Sachs and Louis Fox at Free Range Studios in Berkeley, CA

I recently visited Free Range Studios to meet with its talented co-founder Jonah Sachs in Berkeley, California, to talk about his startup story. Free Range began 10 years ago as two guys, one laptop, one apartment, and enough creativity and change-the-world-or-bust aspirations to eventually challenge agribusiness, and our consumer lifestyle, with The Story of Stuff, The Meatrix, and countless other films and stories. If you haven’t see these incredible web videos, which have won countless awards, I genuinely suggest taking the time to so.

From Childhood Collaboration to Warrior Film-making

After graduating with a degree in journalism, Jonah moved to Washington D.C., where he interned for NPR, then did graphic design work for a local studio for a meager 8 bucks an hour. He didn’t last long. After getting offers for freelance work for $50 an hour, he was on his own before 6 months had passed.

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How to Bring Green Weddings to the Masses

Paul S | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 7 Comments

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Screen shot 2009-11-05 at 6.21.43 PMOne’s wedding is usually one of the pivotal, most memorable events in one’s life. And yet for an increasing number of people, there’s a nagging sense that things could be done differently. The wedding favors, where did they come from? Who made them? What are they made of? My choice of location, while idyllic, does it necessitate thousands of cumulative extra miles by my guests to get there? What can I do to make my event enjoyable and memorable, while not leaving a huge impact?

But there’s a confusing array of choices out there. One option is to hire a green wedding event specialist. But in this tight economy, many may want to just take care of the details themselves.

So it’s a wise move that Dream Green Weddings launched an online store that serves as a hub for just about everything but the food, photographer, and where to have it.

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SC Johnson Ahead of GHG Reduction Target

Bill DiBenedetto | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

scjohnsonSC Johnson, maker of a variety of household products that include Glade, Drano and Scrubbing Bubbles, says in its latest sustainability report that it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions 27 percent at its worldwide factories over the last eight years.

In the U.S., the Racine, WI, company reported a 17 percent reduction in GHG emissions since 2005. Both reduction numbers “have been met three years ahead of the company’s internal 2011 target,” it says in its 2009 Public Report, titled Responsibility=Resilience.

Those reductions are the equivalent of taking about 11,100 U.S. cars off the road for one year, the report says.

The 2009 Public Report is SC Johnson’s 18th year of reporting on sustainability objectives.

It reveals that SC Johnson is closing in on another major goal, to reduce combined air emissions, water effluents and solid waste by 50 percent by 2011. Last year it reduced waste and emissions by 40.5 percent, compared to a 2000 baseline.

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Why Attend The Cleantech Open?

Bill Roth | Friday November 6th, 2009 | 0 Comments

CTOsquarebannerHere are a few reasons I am attending The Cleantech Open on November 17, 2009 at San Francisco’s Nob Hill Masonic Center:

  • Bill Weihl, Google Green Energy Czar, is the event’s key note speaker.
  • There will be 120 of the latest clean technologies displayed in the exhibition hall.
  • You can imagine how many venture capitalists will be attending looking for their next “Google” opportunity. This is a great opportunity to meet money!

As an economist I am not a big fan of taxpayer “stimulus” funds given to technology companies selected by well-meaning and educated government officials. It has been our entrepreneurs and venture capitalists that have been America’s secret weapon in selecting the technologies we now cannot live without. In recognition that any one of the above reasons justifies going to the Cleantech Open the reason I am going is to talk with the entrepreneurs pioneering the clean technologies we need to restore jobs, our economy and the environment. The Cleantech Open will be an unbelievable opportunity to measure the entrepreneurial pulse of The Green Economic Revolution that will forever change what we buy and who we buy it from.

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Video: Al Gore Interviewed by Katie Couric

Steve Puma | Thursday November 5th, 2009 | 0 Comments

It has been three years since the release of Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”.  Yesterday, Katie Couric sat down for an exclusive interview the former Vice President in advance of the release of his new book, Our Choice.

In the interview, Mr. Gore talks about the potential impacts of climate change, the need for sustained action, the importance of reducing dependence on foreign oil, and the benefits that can be realized in the process. He also addresses questions about his most vocal climate change critics.

The following are highlights from the interview, or you can watch the full show on the CBS News website.

Clip 1: We’ve Got To Act

Al Gore speaks about the key to solving the climate crisis is having a strong grassroots consensus, and how many people are beginning to stand up.


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Xerox Aims for Carbon Neutrality and Paper Sustainability

Kathryn Siranosian | Thursday November 5th, 2009 | 0 Comments
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Many Xerox products are returned for recycling and remanufacturing. Photo courtesy of Xerox Corporation.

Xerox wants to be carbon-neutral … and that’s not all.

The company also wants to:

Eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals to achieve a zero toxic footprint.

Develop a “zero waste to landfill” goal for its company-wide operations.

Insure that 100 percent of its paper, by volume, meets stringent requirements for a sustainable paper cycle.

Ambitious goals for the world’s leading document management, technology and services enterprise, wouldn’t you say? But, take a look through the 2009 Report on Global Citizenship that Xerox released on Tuesday, and you’ll see that the company is well on its way to making significant progress in each of these areas.

“We view environmental sustainability not as a cost of doing business, but as a way of doing business,” the report says. “For us, it’s an integral part of developing products, serving customers and posting profits.”

Here are a few specific highlights from the environmental sustainability portion of the report:

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3P Founder Opens Closet for Ecouterre

Jen Boynton | Thursday November 5th, 2009 | 1 Comment

nick-aster-10 Nick takes his sustainability seriously- from his head down to his toes. He let Ecouterre take a tour of his closet and he let it all hang out. Click the link to see his labels and his adorable message tees.

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Liberty Mutual Responsibility Project Conjures Laughs AND Consciousness

Gennefer Snowfield | Thursday November 5th, 2009 | 0 Comments

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liberty-mutual-RPI haven’t been blogging too much ’round these parts lately, mostly because I’ve been busy creating the types of videos and films I’m about to feature, but Liberty Mutual’s latest short, “Good Vibrations” made me stop in my tracks so I decided to make the time to share it with all of you. (No need to thank me.)

It’s part of their Responsibility Project to get consumers to act more responsibly. Obviously, it serves an insurance company well to have responsible policy holders, but if you look deeper, you’ll realize that these messages, ensconced in entertainment, actually serve the greater good, too.

The video below had me positively riveted for the full four minutes, a mix of that awkward laughter that unexpectedly bursts out when someone trips and the cringe of the inevitable guilt that follows. It’s funny and sweet, and leaves you newly inspired to keep the karmic flow of the universe going.

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